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40th of Summer 517 AV
Of all the outcomes of his early morning walks under the last of the moonbeams and the first rays of the sun, Eamon hadn’t been expecting giant bats to appear. His leisurely stroll towards the Commons had started out well enough. He’d emerged, pleased to see the moon was full overheard, and briefly debated taking his shirt off to soak up more of Leth’s light. It wasn’t just because he loved the god; it actually helped him survive. Still, he didn’t want to get a reputation for walking around shirtless, as some of the other men around here did. It wasn’t that he was ashamed or upset at the idea, it was simply that the other settlers didn’t tend to take such individuals seriously, and Eamon was trying to establish himself in every way that he could. So instead, he compromised by pushing his sleeves up as far as they would go, leaving his upper arms exposed. He turned his face up to the sky and closed his eyes, letting himself simply bask for a moment in what might be his favorite time of day.
He began walking, careful to watch the sand underfoot, the sky brightening as Syna started to take over from her lover and Eamon’s god, Leth. The Ethaefal hurried to mutter a prayer. “God of moon, thought, change, and reflection, give me guidance through the night and let me use the darkness productively.” It wasn’t his finest blessing, but it would do for now. As the buildings grew closer, Syna rose more fully in the sky, and Eamon felt energy drain out of him in a wash as the daylight took away his more otherworldly form. There was a curious tension in the air that morning, and odd sounds, shrieks, and shouts, and something that sounded like wings coming from closer to the center of the settlement. Frowning, Eamon picked up his pace, wanting to see what the disturbance was.
Unfortunately, Eamon had forgotten that he should be careful what he wished for. Shapes in the sky resolved themselves into giant creatures, with shining white fur. Eamon nearly stopped in his tracks, shocked. Giant flying animals, bats apparently, of any kind were an unpleasant surprise, but he wasn’t aware of animals that shimmered in a very similar fashion as he did at night. Surely these monstrous looking bats didn’t have a connection to the moon god. Still, he couldn’t ponder the implications for all that long. It was chaos all throughout Syka, as the bats first sought to find places to roost, and then, meeting the shocked and resisting community members, shifting into an attack. Eamon couldn’t follow it all, unused to battle as he was. He even thought he saw a giant cat launch itself off the commons and take a bat down, but surely that couldn’t be the case; nature could be crazy sometimes, but not that crazy.
One of the shrieking fiends broke off from the swarm and made a beeline straight for Eamon. The Ethaefal cursed, as he didn’t possess a weapon, or the skill to use one. Still, whatever these animals were, they appeared to be at least somewhat violent, although it was hard to tell if the wounds they were inflicting were deliberate or just accidental as the frenzied beasts flew around. It didn’t really matter, to be honest, as Eamon was defenseless. There was a board nearby, no doubt intended for use in constructing a new building, but Eamon snatched it up and swung wildly at the incoming attacker.
Of course seeing as he wasn’t a fighter in any way, shape, or form, he missed both the timing and the location of the target, swinging both too fast and too low. Then, before he had the chance to attempt another strike, the bat was on him, clawing and screeching. It got completely tangled up with him and he panicked. Eamon dropped the plank, alternating between thrusting fists at the bat and trying to grab it and drag it off him. Nothing connected though, and he started yelling, sure that he was about to die or become seriously injured.
Before that could happen, though, the bat gave an especially loud cry, before tumbling out of the air. It sprouted an arrow in the center of its chest, and Eamon stood there dumbfounded for a moment, unsure where it had come from or how it had avoided missing him. As relief flooded through the Ethaefal, he took stock of both himself and the situation. He was sporting quite a few scratches all over, mostly on his arms and face, but otherwise was unharmed. Spotting the bowman, Eamon nodded to the other man, before grabbing a wing tip of the now still and dead bat, and started dragging it to the center where a small group seemed to be gathering. The stupid creature was heavy and Eamon could feel an ache in his arm even from just dragging it. As he struggled, he noted some details he’d been unable to tell earlier. First, the bats had concentrated on infiltrating tents and trying to get under the Commons before going on the offensive. Eamon spared a moment to worry about his own lodgings, as he couldn’t remember if it had been shut securely or not. If he came home to a bat, he didn’t know what he’d do.
Finally, he reached relative safety, as the bats seemed to either be recoiling somewhat from this immediate area or one of the colonists struck them down. Eamon saw some familiar faces – Karin, a man he’d met at a bonfire whose name was eluding him, and a woman he thought he knew, given her distinctive brindled hair. However, he wasn’t sure it was she given her complete state of nakedness. It certainly gave him a new perspective, and a new appreciation, if it was her. He couldn’t remember if any of them had seen him in both forms. There were a few strangers, not least of which was the man who’d saved his life.
Eamon nodded gratefully at the bowman. “Thanks for getting me out of that spot earlier. I owe you one.” There were other unknown faces here, a man and two women; girls, rather, now that he took a closer look. The man sported an axe, the woman a dagger, and Eamon could see that most everyone here was armed. As one of the exceptions to that rule, he felt slightly nervous, but he wouldn’t let it show. The older girl was brown-haired and blue-eyed and nothing remarkable. The even younger girl hovering beside her bore such a resemblance that they had to be sisters. The man with an axe was nothing remarkable, of average height, indeterminate age, and plain brown hair. Eamon figured that this crisis was dire enough that introductions would wait; they had to figure out if they should brace themselves for another attack. The women were off in their own clump, having some sort of discussion over the corpse of one of the bats.
Eamon, for his part, turned to the group around the bowman. “Does anyone know where these things came from or why they attacked?” Animal attacks weren’t unheard of, especially given Syka’s uncivilized conditions and proximity to nature, but they usual didn’t occur on this scale, nor did they attack the heart of the settlement. “Something must’ve driven them out.” He made this comment hesitantly, as he wasn’t actually sure of this at all. Most everyone appeared to be sporting small wounds of some kind but given that they were wild animals of some kind, they shouldn’t leave them alone too long.
Eamon instinctively turned to his savior, who was brown-haired and brown-eyed, with a warrior’s build. This man seemed to be their leader at the moment, which made sense given his aura of authority. “Where should we head next?” Eamon wasn’t sure. They should probably either head to somewhere fortified to defend themselves or go off hunting the source of this trouble, although they’d have to rescue everyone first. The Ethaefal, if asked, would say that they should go to the healers first, just in case, before haring off on any adventure. Until then, he’d sit tight, awaiting further instructions, as he wasn’t a warrior, a hunter, or a leader really. Better let more experienced and cooler heads take control here. After all, Eamon’s heart was still racing from his brief contact with the bats.
word count1409 + 6905 = 8314
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