Flashback Childhood Matters (FlashBack) Pt 5

[Akarn]

Childhood Matters (FlashBack)
Spring 18th day 510 AV
Part 5

The leader of the Riverwalker pavilion took in a deep breath and let out a large regretful sigh. The morning fog floated above the ground like a white blanket and a moisture hung in the air. Jaden's massive arms dripped with the morning dew. His brows were pointed inwards and his eyes narrowed as he surveyed the crimson carnage. There was one dead glassbeak, also pieces of several horses lay scattered about so did the arm of a man. The man was one of the Ankal's cousins, he had been on guard last night and was probably the first to fall.

It was a hard fought battle in the early hours, but the clan had managed to kill one of the predators that attacked the herd and drove the others off. The encounter had taken a heavy toll upon the Riverwalkers. A skilled hunter and protector lost, two striders torn to shreds and a third had to be put down due to its injuries. Not to mention two of the Drykas warriors being tended to for their cuts and gashes. Akarn and his father had arrived towards the end of the battle and the glassbeaks was already in retreat.

Now everyone in camp was up from their nights slumber trying to help with the situation anyway they could. Akarn stood not too far away from his father and felt sorrow towards the death of man, strider and glassbeak. The Drykus teen understood that the glassbeak had to be killed, but even though something has to die does not mean you could not mourn its passing. Akarn had learned his father's lesson well; respect all life and only take a life out of necessity. Behind the boy was a large frame of a horse, Maverous, a magnificent dapple-gray strider that stood 16.5 hands high. The horse snorted almost as if in disgust at the scene before them.

The ground was uprooted and dug in to where the battle took place. The grass was painted with both human and horse flesh. The blood seeped between the stalks of grass and pooled in several of the new scars in the earth from hoof and talon. It was indeed a bloody mess and Akarn at first had felt a little queasy but the Drykas warrior in him would not let him show any sign of weakness.

The dead glassbeak lay sprawled out in the field. They reminded Akarn of a large flightless bird, but on their face, neck, chest and leg areas had tiny scales rather than the feather markings that adorned the rest of the body. This glassbeaks feather plumage was a mixture of vibrant blues and reds. They had translucent beaks and talons, hence their name. If the boy had to guess at the beasts size he would say this one was about 18 1/2 hands. A little taller than Maverous but much more deadly.

The elder Drykas took a few steps and stopped, he peered straight down at the ground. He turned to face his son and with two fingers motioned his son to his side. Akarn caught the gesture and moved to where his father stood with Maverous in tow. Jaden watched the two approach and was thankful that the two seemed inseparable. It could have been his son's horse that laid in pieces out here.

When the boy finally reached his destination, his father gestured his head downward. The boy stopped and tried to follow his father's line of sight. There several indentation in the wet earth below the trampled grass, there was one that was larger than the rest. Akarn knelt down and studied the depression. The young Drykas looked back up, "Is that two toes?" He asked not wanting to believe his eyes.
He had heard the stores and thought they were just that, stories. He had heard other warriors and hunters talk about Two Toes. A vicious glassbeak that actually roamed the Sea of Grass and was a true monster to behold. Whereas most glassbeaks stood around 18 hands tall it was rumoured that Two Toes was twice their size but it also depending on who was telling the tale. It was also said that he was missing half a talon off of one of its feet. Looking at this track this one was huge but could not stand past 24 hands.

Jaden nodded, "It appears so." Then Akarn saw something in his father he had never seen before and it was hard to describe. To the boy it almost looked like sorrow, but he had never seen his father sad before. The Ankal knew if it truly was two toes then he would return again and again until they were out of the beast's territory or killed. More Drykas were going to die and that was not a pleasant notion.

"Akarn, follow the tracks. Warn any other Drykas that you come across." Jaden did not like sending his own son in to harms way, but he was of age now. If Akarn was going to lead some day he could not be sheltered away from the horrors of being a warrior. "They are probably headed back to their nest, track them only. I will gather the men and the supplies we need. We should catch up to you by mid day."

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The dapple-gray stallions powerful muscles rippled along the horses frame as it trotted along. Akarn gave his companions mane a light tug and the large strider came to a halt. The young Drykas teen slipped from the horses and paced the ground looking for the tracks again. Frustration began to set in, Akarn had to back track several times already because he kept losing the glassbeak's trail. Most of the trail had been easy to follow with the trampled grass but other parts of the trail where the grass seemed to thin made the task more difficult.

Maverous let out a snort to let his Drykas friend know how annoyed he was at having to keep stopping. Then the stallion turned and trotted several paces away and his gray ears turned this way and that. Once the Strider was sure that they were alone he bent down and tugged at a piece of grass. The horse raised its head and chomped the grass while it waited on his partner.

"There it is," Akarn whispered more to himself then to his strider. He stepped over by the tracks that he had found. He bent down to study them. The teen pulled back a tuff of his black hair and tucked it behind his ear while he tried to decipher the indentations. Judging by the length of stride and that the impacts were not as heavy the young tracker could tell the beasts had slowed down and were no longer running in haste. The young Drykas warrior pulled an arrow from his quiver and laid it on the ground to indicate his intended direction. The boy walked over to the huge strider and pulled himself back up on to the horses back.

The two set off again, wading back in to the sea the of golden grass. Akarn kept his gaze cast downward following the tracks with an occasion peak around to stay aware of his surroundings. Maverous let the boy guide him while he stayed alert, he knew what they were following and he knew the danger they could be in. Still the two forged forward following the predators hoping that they would not run out of track and face the beasts before Akarn's father found them.

[Jackalope]

Akarn :

Experience
+1 Tracking
+2 Observation

Lore
Respecting Life
Two Toes: Glassbeak of Legend
A Father's Sorrow

Interesting. I'm excited to see what comes of Two Toes! PM with any questions.