Raven Quest

by R A Oakes

  Even if Dynarsis and Raven had seen it, the ledge would have appeared insignificant, being so steep and narrow as to be deemed unusable, certainly by any two- legged creature. But in a crevasse overlooking the ravine, a giant wolf, a rarity in these parts, was watching them with hungry eyes and licking its chops. It hadn’t eaten in days.

  Chapter 5

  Unaware of the giant wolf and eager to reach the plateau, Dynarsis and Raven walked as fast as they could, making rapid progress along this last leg of their journey. After finally reaching their destination and standing in front of a huge natural bridge made of solid rock, Raven was absolutely amazed.

  “It’s got to be 30 or 40-feet-wide and maybe, what, 50-feet-thick?” Raven asked.

  “Sounds about right,” Dynarsis said smiling.

  “Let’s head over to the plateau,” the teenage girl suggested, eager to see what else her friend had discovered.

  “Lead the way,” Dynarsis said with a sweep of his hand towards Ravensgate Bridge.

  “The plateau seems vast. How long and wide is it?” Raven asked, marveling at the incredible view.

  “Three or four miles long, I suppose, and maybe a mile across at its widest point.”

  “I can hardly believe my eyes. Lush grasslands and countless pine trees this far above the valley floor, it’s truly incredible.”

  “Which is exactly why no one listens to me if I try to tell them what’s here.”

  “It’s a paradise.”

  Dynarsis started laughing, and threw his arms wide and shouted, “We’re safe! Trolls will never get us up here!” Keeping his arms outstretched, he began spinning in circles, laughing as hard as he could. Then, getting dizzy, he dropped to his knees but kept on laughing, at least until he saw the expression on Raven’s face.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, a bit perplexed.

  “Don’t make any quick moves,” Raven said quietly.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Get up slowly and walk over to me. And don’t look behind you.”

  “Why?”

  “Just do what I tell you,” Raven said firmly.

  Dynarsis obeyed, but once the boy was standing next to Raven, he asked, “Is it okay if I turn around now?”

  “No, let’s just finish walking across the bridge. Calmly.”

  “If I upset you, I’m sorry, sometimes I get carried away.”

  “It’s nothing you did, just keep walking.”

  Once they reached the plateau, however, Raven said, “I think we’d better run for the trees.”

  “G-r-r-r,” the giant wolf behind them growled.

  Dynarsis turned around and gasped. The shaggy wolf approaching them seemed almost as big as a horse with long fangs dripping saliva. For all his talk about fighting trolls, Dynarsis was still just a boy, and at the sight of the enormous predatory beast, his legs went weak.

  “Get behind me,” Raven said.

  The frightened boy, a head shorter than his friend and a year younger, obeyed without hesitation and asked, “Are you going to scare it away, you know, by shooting flames at it?”

  Looking up at the dense cloud cover, Raven said, “There’s something I forgot to tell you.”

  “What?”

  Being so focused on the longhaired wolf, Raven didn’t quite hear her friend’s question. Reaching out with palms wide open, she launched a burst of fire at the oncoming beast causing it to do an immediate about-face, running away as hard and fast as it could.

  “And don’t come back!” Dynarsis shouted, looking at the singed animal from behind Raven, who was proving to be a very safe vantage point. But as soon as the girl extinguished her flames, the hungry wolf wheeled around taking a renewed interest in its dinner.

  “Go ahead, teach him a lesson, nail him again,” Dynarsis said, filled with boyish enthusiasm.

  Raven pointed her open palms at the shaggy beast and tried shooting another blast of fire, but the flames weren’t nearly as blistering-hot as before and went only half as far. Undeterred, the famished wolf kept its distance for a few moments, then began testing its opponents, inching its way towards the two tasty-looking humans. Drained and exhausted, Raven nevertheless struggled to unleash a torrent of flames hoping to force back the crouching, drooling animal. But this time, only sparks shot out of her hands.

  Sensing that the girl’s power was weakening, the wolf’s confidence increased dramatically, and with a low, rumbling growl, it crept closer, bloodshot eyes filled with the desire to make a kill.

  “What’s wrong?” the boy whispered, his voice shaking.

  “It’s an overcast day.”

  “So?”

  “There’s been no sunlight.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “My mother and I both draw our power from sunlight.”

  “How?”

  “By absorbing the sun’s rays.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, we both get our strength from it.”

  Raven and Dynarsis slowly backed away from the bridge, the girl eyeing the pine trees, wondering if they could reach them and climb up high enough before the giant wolf attacked.

  “He’d be on us before we take ten steps,” Dynarsis warned.

  Both young humans held their breath as the shaggy beast got closer and closer. But when it reached their side of the bridge and was about to step onto the plateau, Dynarsis seemed to undergo a transformation. Squaring his shoulders, the boy drew his sword and walked towards the wolf.

  “This plateau is my home, and you’re trespassing,” the small boy said, holding up a sword almost as big as he was.

  Unsure of what to make of this new development, the wolf glared at Dynarsis and bared its teeth displaying long, sharp fangs.

  “If you were a troll, I’d be frightened, but you’re not,” Dynarsis said trying to be brave, thankful that his voice wasn’t trembling.

  Stepping onto the natural bridge, he swung his razor-sharp sword back and forth as a warning, but it did little good. The ravenous wolf was as determined to kill as Dynarsis was to defend himself and his friend.

  “Tell him who you are,” Raven said, wanting to bolster the boy’s confidence.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’re standing on an unattainable precipice, on the very top, on the king of the mountain.”

  “I’m an unattainable precipice?”

  “You’re standing on it, the unattainable plateau. Now you’re king and lord of all you survey, King Dynarsis Kardimont.”

  Upon hearing that, Dynarsis seemed to grow taller. The small boy, the undisputed ruler of a plateau that no one else knew about or wanted, straightened his back, gripped his sword with both hands and slashed menacingly at the giant beast. The wolf ducked, crouched down low and got ready to spring. Dynarsis and the shaggy beast were only a few feet apart, their eyes locked onto each other.

  As the wolf appeared to leap into the air, Dynarsis went down on one knee and prepared to impale the animal, lifting his sword over his head. However, the wolf was an experienced hunter and had only pretended to jump. Instead, it rushed Dynarsis and knocked him down, running right over the boy. But as the shaggy beast whirled around to attack once more, Dynarsis struggled to his feet and swung his sword with all his might, catching the animal across the snout with the tip of his blade.

  The pain was excruciating, the location magnifying the impact, and the giant wolf whipped its head aside and stumbled back a few paces. Fear momentarily overcame hunger. However, the beast quickly recovered and lunged again, swinging a massive paw that slashed Dynarsis, sharp claws ripping human flesh down to the bone. Screaming in agony and close to blacking out, the boy struggled to stay on his feet as blood oozed down his ravaged chest and soaked his shirt.

  Now, fighting for his life, Dynarsis tried to lash out at the giant wolf once more but couldn’t even lift his sword. Seizing the advantage, the shaggy beast swung a paw at Dynarsis’ head, knocking the boy unconscious and sending him sprawling
. Then, after nudging and sniffing its victim’s inert form, the victorious wolf tilted back its head and gave a loud, violent growl that echoed off the mountain.

  Interrupting its revelry, a rock suddenly struck the wolf hard on the left side of its skull. Next, adding insult to injury, a second rock bounced off the animal’s wounded snout. Howling in pain, the shaggy beast looked around searching for its attacker, catching a glimpse of Raven right before a third rock smashed into its left eye.

  Enraged, the giant wolf charged at Raven but was surprised by her reaction. Having encountered a form of creative life energy while on the mountain trail, Raven turned to it once more. Looking up at the clouds, at the dense barrier between herself and the sunlight she so desperately needed, she took a chance.

  She dared to believe.

  Spreading her arms wide and lifting her face to the sky, she sensed that not only did life energy flow through the mountain, filling the ravine and covering the dangerous trail, but that it lived in all things, was the creator of all things. And most of all, she believed it was the source of the sun’s life-giving rays.

  “Creative Light, I beg you, help me!” Raven shouted with all her might, holding her ground and not retreating even though the wolf was almost upon her.

  Suddenly the clouds parted.

  With a sense of anticipation and excitement she’d never known before, Raven braced herself as a wide beam of sunlight shot down from the heavens drenching her with its warmth. Rapidly absorbing the sun’s rays and quickly feeling whole and complete once more, Raven looked at her hands and was relieved to see flames flicking along the tips of her fingers. Then, as the giant wolf stopped and stood directly in front of her, so close their noses were almost touching, the girl smiled.

  The shaggy beast was so eager to devour Raven and Dynarsis, however, that it disregarded this quiet display of confidence. Opening its massive jaws, it lunged at the girl, prepared to clamp down hard on its intended victim. What the wolf got instead was a mouthful of flames.

  As fire covered its head and neck, the heat quickly becoming unbearable, the giant beast turned tail and ran, looking over its shoulder at Raven whose hands were still smoldering, flames flickering through wisps of smoke.

  Now anxious to escape, the wolf headed for Ravensgate Bridge where it grabbed Dynarsis by his shirt and tried to drag the boy away, hoping to have at least one filling meal this day.

  “Put him down!” Raven shouted as she raced after the monstrous animal. “Do you hear me? I said put him down!”

  The wolf looked at its enemy and saw that Raven’s hands were no longer on fire, the girl having extinguished them, and the shaggy beast refused to give up its dinner.

  “Let him go,” Raven said, giving one last warning.

  But the giant wolf looked at the girl mocking her through bloodshot eyes, defiantly refusing to yield and cutting loose with a savage growl.

  Unfazed, Raven ignored the animal’s anger and braced herself, unleashing a second torrent of flames that totally engulfed the shaggy beast, setting fire to its long, mangy hair and turning it into a living torch.

  Wild-eyed in disbelief and howling in frustration, the giant wolf reared up on its hind legs and stumbled to the edge of the bridge, desperately trying to regain its balance so it could once again lash out, unwilling to give up the fight. Equally determined, however, Raven sprinted towards the shaggy beast and leapt into the air, kicking its shoulder with both feet and landing on her side with a thud, rolling over several times before coming to a stop in the middle of the bridge. Then, as the enraged wolf began falling, clawing frantically at the edge with its hind feet, it gave a final defiant growl and dropped into the ravine.

  Raven quickly crawled to the side of the bridge, peeked over the massive stones and heaved a sigh of relief as she watched the ball of fire plummeting deeply into the abyss. It wasn’t until the flames had disappeared entirely that the girl was sure the beast wouldn’t be coming back. Next, she forced the wolf from her mind and ran to Dynarsis.

  What Raven saw made her sick.

  Dynarsis’ shirt and the ground around him were soaked with blood. Kneeling down next to her friend, she took off her jacket and tried to staunch the flow, but the wounds were far too severe.

  “My aunt made this shirt for me, now it’s ruined,” Dynarsis mumbled, only semiconscious.

  “That’s unimportant,” the girl said, close to tears.

  “I’m too badly injured. I can’t make it down the mountain. You’ll have to leave me behind.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, we’ll go down together or not at all,” she said firmly.

  “I’m sorry, Raven, the wolf was just too fast for me.”

  “It’s okay, try to rest.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” the boy said, his voice growing weaker.

  “Dynarsis, don’t fall asleep, you’re going into shock.”

  “What?” the boy asked, feeling swamped by fatigue.

  Through eyes spilling over with tears, the girl looked up and saw a flock of ravens circling overhead. How long have they been watching? she asked herself.

  “Get my mother!” the girl shouted in desperation, certain her friend was dying.

  Raven’s mother, Zorya, had a deeply intuitive connection with these clever and resourceful birds, and for as long as Raven could remember, they’d been perching on trees around the yard almost like pets. Seeking to strengthen that bond, Zorya had named her daughter after them, and the birds knew it, taking a special interest in the girl.

  Being highly intelligent creatures, the ravens had already informed Zorya, the Lady of the Well, about her daughter being attacked by a giant wolf. Watching the birds hurtling downward towards the bridge, their wings folded tightly against their bodies, the girl realized the birds were serving as guides for her mother who wouldn’t be far behind. And Raven was right.

  There, up in the sky, shooting through the clouds like a comet was her mother. Engulfed in flames, with a long fiery tail streaming behind her, Zorya raced to the plateau ready to do battle with anything or anyone who was threatening her child.

  As Zorya landed on the bridge and stood before her disobedient daughter, the Lady of the Well sized up the situation immediately.

  “We’ll have to cauterize the wounds on his chest, or he’ll bleed to death,” Zorya said. “Rip off what’s left of his shirt.”

  After doing so, the girl looked up at her blazing inferno of a mother and asked, “Now what?”

  “Take one of your index fingers, allow it to turn into fire, and slide it along each wound.”

  “How about if you do it?”

  “Do I look like I could do it? I’m so mad at you young lady that I can’t control the intensity of my flames. Anyway, since you think you’re adult enough to come up here against my wishes, you can be adult enough to help this boy. Now cauterize those wounds.”

  Raven took a flaming finger and ran it along the claw marks on the boy’s chest while Dynarsis gritted his teeth and tried not to scream.

  “What now?” Raven asked once she’d completed the task.

  After assessing the boy’s condition and being certain the greatest danger was over, even though Dynarsis had passed out from the pain, Zorya looked sternly at her daughter and asked, “What’s so important about this boy that you’d risk getting involved with a human?”

  “I’m half-human.”

  “Don’t get smart with me, young lady. You know what I mean. One false move on our part and every human around us could be burned to death.”

  “Like what you did to father?”

  “How dare you bring that up? It was an accident,” Zorya said, horror stricken over the memory.

  “You drove father away. It’s your fault he left.”

  “Please don’t say that,” Zorya gasped, fearing that it could be the truth. “I miss your father very badly.”

  “You should, I do. And why does my mother have to look like she was born on the surface of the sun? Why can�
��t I have a normal mother like other kids?”

  “We’ll find him, I promise.”

  “When?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Well, I’m tired of being alone, and this boy needs a friend.”

  “Why him? What’s so important about him?”

  Still kneeling next to Dynarsis, Raven looked down at the boy and brushed a few strands of hair out of his eyes. Looking up at her mother, all that Raven could think of to say was, “Mom, this is King Dynarsis Kardimont.”

  “Who?”

  “He’s the king, Mom. He’s the king.”

  Chapter 6

  On the plateau, the next day, Dynarsis was resting in the shade of a tall pine tree when suddenly awakened by an elderly man who was loudly reciting some sort of rhyme. Still half-asleep, the boy couldn’t quite make out the words, but Zorya and Raven were wide-awake and listening intently.

  “Fire burning to the core,

  Going deep, revealing more.

  A sword, an heir, a king for thee,

  A Trinity of Fire to set us free.”

  “Aldwen, could Dynarsis truly be the king?” Zorya asked her friend, an elderly mystic wearing a long, gray wizard’s robe, his white hair flowing halfway down his back, and a full white beard nearly reaching his waist. Zorya, having extinguished her flames, was now a tall, attractive woman with shoulder-length red hair. She was wearing black boots, forest-green leggings and blouse, and a full-length cloak which seemed to shimmer like the embers of a fire. However, if Zorya wished to go unnoticed, her cloak could turn a dull gray, as if one were looking at the ashes of a campfire which had gone out. When she covered her hair with the cloak’s attached hood, she became almost invisible in the woods.

  “I believe so,” the wizard said, sounding both grave and pensive.

  “For years, you’ve been seeking a king who would unite the people, binding all villages together as one. After Raven referred to Dynarsis as king, I decided to notify you just in case.”