Child of the Gryphon

by David Lugsden

  ‘I don’t understand,’ Gabriel said, ‘is everyone really that afraid of humans?’

  Omari sighed again. ‘Humans are not our primary concern. The Council feared that we may have had a traitor in our midst.’

  ‘A traitor? Here?’

  ‘Unfortunately yes. You see, Gabriel, for every chain there is always a weak link. For every civilisation there are always those treacherous individuals that seek to bring about its collapse. You need look no further than human history for evidence of that; Brutus of Rome, Judas Iscariot and Guy Fawkes to name but a few. Sometimes certain individuals lose their faith and perspective and act out against the very societies that raised them. They begin to believe that their best interests may lie elsewhere. Unfortunately, Colony society is not exempt of such duplicity either.’

  ‘But why would anyone betray Sanctuary? To what end?’

  ‘Fear, Gabriel. Fear of our enemies. Fear can drive even the most rational men to behave irrationally. Even defect to the enemy camp.’

  ‘Our enemies... you’re referring to Kalladon?’

  ‘Well yes, he is the current recognised leader of our enemies. But he is one in a long line of many.’

  ‘So who exactly are our enemies? Vampires? Werewolves?’

  ‘That,’ Omari said, ‘is a view that is to be expected I suppose. In the eyes of humans, it is these creatures that are the epitome of evil. Unfortunately that view is very misguided. Despite a rather temperamental - and sometimes volatile - nature, both races are generally very tolerant of others... just not always each other.’

  ‘So who is it then?’ Gabriel asked again, feeling himself growing impatient.

  ‘Gabriel, you have resided here a week now. You have met creatures of Mammalian, Avian and Aquatican heritage. Think: what class of animals is missing from that list?’

  Gabriel thought for a few seconds. It was true, he’d met people who were related to cats, dogs, goats, cows, horses, eagles, owls, fish... But who else was left?

  And then all of a sudden, as clear as day, it dawned on him.

  ‘Reptiles?’

  ‘Precisely.’

  ‘Kalladon is a lizard?’

  ‘Actually he is a descendant of the cobras,’ Omari said.

  Gabriel shuddered. He had never been fond of reptiles of any sort, but especially snakes. He had always assumed that this had been a trait that he had inherited from his mother, Nancy Millar. On trips to the zoo, the Millars had always given the Reptile House a wide berth. But he realised now that perhaps it was a fear that ran much deeper.

  ‘J-just how much of a threat do reptiles pose?’ Gabriel asked, a little shaken up.

  ‘Well the problem is,’ Omari began, ‘reptiles have had an evolutionary head start on the rest of us of over a hundred million years.’

  ‘But you said we all evolved at more or less the same rate!’

  ‘Species within Colony society did, yes. But the Reptilians are not a part of our society. Their “society” – and I use that term very loosely indeed – was established long before ours. As a result, their inherent abilities far outmatch anything we could ever hope for. Sometimes I find it quite remarkable that they do not hold the dominant position that humans do. And at the same time extremely relieved and thankful that they don’t.’

  ‘Why is that?’

  ‘Because, dear boy, if the Reptilians had become the dominant force on this planet, I truly believe that this planet would have been left a lifeless husk millennia ago. The Reptilians are a lethal force such that you have never seen before.’

  ‘Lethal how?’

  ‘Well, consider their evolutionary lines: you have the lizards, the chameleons, the pythons, the crocodilians and the cobras; advanced regenerative capabilities, camouflage, immense strength and toxic venom. And that’s just for starters. These abilities alone have been perfecting themselves over the course of the last three hundred million years.’

  ‘But why are they our enemies? Fish, birds and mammals live here in harmony. Why not reptiles?’

  ‘To understand that you have to understand their nature. They are a vicious, hostile and distrusting race that does not hesitate to slaughter one another to get what they want. Kalladon himself claimed his role as leader of the Reptilians after murdering his predecessor. It mattered not that in doing so he was also committing patricide.’

  ‘He killed his own father?’ Gabriel was aghast.

  Omari nodded. ‘This is synonymous with the way of life of the Reptilians; brutality, murder, corruption and betrayal are rife. You will no doubt understand therefore, why they look upon us as little more than prey. However, with the rise of the Gryphons, the balance of power shifted. The Gryphons became our saviours, the Reptilians’ staunchest rivals and one of the main reasons that they never ascended to becoming the dominant race. By the time the Gryphons disappeared, the humans had secured their position of supremacy. The Reptilians have been fighting to regain their former glory ever since.

  ‘When they learnt of your birth it reignited their age-old fear and they intensified their attacks, terrified of the threat you would pose to them if you ever reached maturity. They became relentless in their quest to not just kill you, but to obliterate you. Several times they even managed to breach our defences and came close to achieving their goal,’ Omari sighed heavily before he continued. ‘That is why your parents made the decision to flee. Unfortunately, the Reptilians were informed of their intentions and ambushed them.’

  ‘So they were the ones that- they killed them?’

  ‘I am afraid so. And despite your mortally wounded mother escaping them, the Reptilians believed they had succeeded in killing you as well. It wasn’t until many years later that, like us, they learned that you had in fact survived.’

  Gabriel’s stomach plummeted. ‘Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no. So the Summer Fête... that was...?’

  ‘Gabriel, I am so, so sorry. I have no idea how they found you.’

  Gabriel was stunned. He sat there for several minutes unable to speak. Trying to process everything he had just heard. These barbaric reptiles were the reason he had had to leave Sanctuary in the first place. They had murdered his biological parents and then years later they had destroyed his life again. It was-

  ‘Wait a minute... You searched for me. You had me monitored during that time. How do you know it’s not because of you that they found me again?’

  Omari’s face contorted with anguish. ‘Gabriel, I-’

  ‘NO! DON’T YOU TALK TO ME!’ Gabriel yelled, anger pulsing through him. ‘I was happy in my old life! Happy, do you understand me? My friends, my family, everyone I ever knew are dead! Hundreds of people are dead because of you! Why didn’t you just leave me be? Why did you have to interfere? All those people...’

  Omari bowed his head and said nothing.

  ‘And why are you only telling me this now? Did you want to hide your guilt or something? Did you hope I’d never find out?’ Gabriel paused as the eye of his emotional hurricane passed over him. ‘I have to get out of here! I can’t even look at you right now!’

  And with that he ran.

  Before Omari even had a chance to react, the front door had been thrown open and Gabriel was sprinting away as fast as he could. He didn’t know where he was headed, all he knew was he had to escape from the source of his overwhelming emotional torment. He ran and ran and ran. He was racing along so fast that the world around him became a blur.

  As his energy levels began to deplete his whole body began to scream in protest. Yet on and on he ran. His lungs burned. His limbs grew heavy. Eventually Gabriel’s knees buckled and he crashed onto the floor, rolling over and over. He picked himself up onto all fours and began to beat the ground in front of him with his fists, roaring with grief.

  Exhausted, Gabriel finally sank back onto his haunches. He was panting heavily, gasping for breath. Tears streamed down his face.

  After a long while he began to calm down. As he finally began to relax a little he looked a
round. He was knelt by the jetty across from the school. Why have I come here? He slowly picked himself up and walked to the end of the jetty. He slumped down and dangled his legs over the edge. Looking out over the dark waters, he took several deep breaths. What have I done? Omari isn’t responsible for what happened and yet I’ve just blamed him for everything.

  The sound of the waves lapping gently against the cave walls and the wooden posts of the jetty was suddenly broken by another. A louder splashing sound was steadily approaching. He looked up.

  ‘Gabriel... are you alright?’ It was Marina. The mermaid’s head and shoulders bobbed in the water as her powerful tail flapped rhythmically beneath her.

  For several moments he was speechless.

  Despite the low light, the girl’s long hair glistened as it floated on the water’s surface all around her like a glorious, turquoise oil slick. Her sapphire-blue eyes twinkled like fairy lights.

  ‘Gabriel?’ she repeated.

  ‘Yeah, I’m- I’m fine,’ he managed. ‘What are you doing here?’

  ‘Nothing really, swimming around, killing time,’ Marina said. She approached the jetty, rose out of the water and leant on the jetty. Looking up at Gabriel, she smiled her dazzling smile. ‘I often come here just to be by myself and to think. It’s so peaceful don’t you think? And it’s usually deserted on weekends.’

  ‘Oh, OK. I’ll get going then-’

  ‘No don’t- I mean, you’re quite welcome to stay.’ She thrust up from the water, twisted in mid-air and plopped down in a seated position next to him. Her emerald green fluke-like tail dangled over the edge, flapping gently in the surf. ‘Is something bothering you? Do you want to talk about it?’

  ‘I don’t know... to tell the truth, I don’t even know where to begin.’

  ‘I know what you mean.’

  ‘You do...? How?’

  ‘Well, what I meant was I understand how you must be feeling. You’ve had your whole world ripped out from under you. I felt exactly the same when my mother died.’

  ‘Oh no, I’m so sorry. Was it... recently?’

  ‘You don’t have to be sorry, it wasn’t your fault! It was years ago. Finn and I were only six. My father was away at the time. Our home was attacked by a leviathan and my mother gave her life to protect us.’

  ‘I’m really sorry. I- I don’t know what to say.’

  She smiled again, ‘You don’t have to say anything. Anyway, it deeply affected us for a long time. My father did his best, but Finn never really got over it. Ever since he has been fiercely protective of me, he’s terrified of losing another family member you see.’

  ‘And what about you, did you manage to get over it?’

  ‘I don’t think you can ever fully get over something like that... but in time the pain does ease and you learn to accept what happened. What helped me was the knowledge that my mother gave her life for us to live. To live. It was a tragedy, but we had to get on with our lives and enjoy them, otherwise her sacrifice would have been for nothing. There are so many things that are out of our control and spending a lifetime worrying about them isn’t going to change that. So we might as well try to make the most out of life and enjoy the time we have.’

  ‘I guess... but what if we’ve already ruined some of those things within our control?’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Marina queried.

  Gabriel explained everything that had happened, everything that had been said. Throughout, Marina wore an expression of concern yet understanding, nodding her head in acknowledgement. After Gabriel finished talking, she held a deep, thoughtful look for several moments.

  ‘Your grandfather cares for you a great deal and is a very intelligent person,’ she said finally, ‘I’m sure he understands what you’re going through and how you’re feeling.’

  ‘You think so?’

  ‘I’m sure of it! And if he doesn’t... well... maybe you could come here each weekend and spend time with me instead!’ she winked at him and grinned again. Gabriel’s cheeks flushed crimson.

  ‘Well- well may- maybe I could do that anyway... regardless of what happens,’ Gabriel stammered.

  Marina held his gaze. ‘Maybe you could,’ she said, ‘I’d like that. Now, you go and smooth things over with your grandfather and let me know how it all goes, OK?’

  She touched his hand, then after a brief hesitation kissed him on the cheek. Gabriel felt a surge of electricity pulsing through him but before he could say anything she had plunged back into the dark water. He touched his cheek and waved after her until she was no more than distant ripples in the lake.

  Maybe this new life will be pretty good after all, Gabriel thought to himself.

  ***

  Gabriel returned home to find Omari knelt in his studio, facing the opposite wall, bowing deeply.

  ‘Grandpa...’ Gabriel began.

  Omari spun round faster than his years should have allowed. ‘Gabriel? Oh my dear boy! Thank Gaia you’re back! I’m sorry-’

  ‘No, grandpa. You’ve got nothing to be sorry about,’ Gabriel cut in, ‘I’m sorry. You’ve done nothing but look out for me since I arrived. I shouldn’t have exploded like that.’

  ‘Oh don’t you worry about that at all. Grief comes in many different forms, - anger is but one of them - and the amount of grief you have been carrying around with you since you arrived... well, I’m very impressed you’ve managed to keep it in this long! But I should have been honest with you from the start. I know that now. That was my mistake. We all need to be aware of how great a threat the Reptilians pose, and you do probably more so than anyone else in our world! If you’ll allow me, I’ll gladly tell you anything you want to know.’

  ‘OK,’ Gabriel said, his voice grave, ‘then tell me all you know about the Reptilians. They destroyed my life twice. I want to hear everything.’

  Reptiles, Omari revealed, had already been on the Earth for tens of millions of years prior to the arrival of the dinosaurs and since then had evolved to survive in almost every single type of environment and terrain on the planet; some had even taken to the air! The crocodilians and amphibians had conquered the waterways, snakes and lizards the land and the most fearsome of all, the dragons, soared menacingly across the skies. Once again human myth and legend was steeped in truth and history. Although earlier evolutionary branches of the Draconus line had mostly died out over the millennia, there were still true dragons flying around, although sightings were now scarce.

  Unfortunately, as the Reptilians had evolved into higher forms of intelligent life their inherent abilities had evolved too. None of the Mammalian, Avian or Aquatican species even came close to equalling the longevity of the Reptilians. Their thick, scaly hides were also resistant to injury. They had even developed an extra-sensory ability that was unique to the reptile world: the ability to detect heat signatures. This particular sense had become so well refined over the ages that the Reptilians now relied upon it more than they did their own eyes.

  In addition to these common traits, individual species had further refined their own unique abilities. The crocodilians and constrictors had become supremely strong and powerful. The chameleons’ ability to change colour had evolved to such an extent that they could now change their entire appearance and body shape. The venomous reptiles on the other hand had refined their venom into a highly corrosive acid. However once again, the dragons remained the most terrifying. Although some had retained their wings and ability to fly, the most frightening aspect of their physiology was the highly developed gas pouches in their throats. It was these pouches that granted them the ability to breathe fire.

  As with the lower orders of the reptile family, Omari explained, the Reptilians nimbleness on land was equalled by their agility in the water. They were such strong swimmers, in fact, that some even rivalled the Aquaticans themselves.

  ‘They should all be killed,’ Gabriel said with unconcealed resentment. ‘Why don’t we send out an army to wipe them out?’

  ‘Gabriel, my boy,
their fate is not for us to decide. Of course our lives would be inevitably easier without the Reptilians. But it is Mother Nature who decides which species live or die. Everything and everyone serves a purpose and no one person or race has the power, knowledge or privilege to determine another’s worth or right to exist.’

  ‘But the Reptilians don’t live by that principle!’

  ‘No they do not, you are correct. Indeed there are many, not just our enemies that ignore this ideology and instead believe in the idea that “might makes right.” However Mother Nature is a source of unimaginable power and to go against her wishes is a serious error in judgement, to say the least. Unfortunately for these individuals that do so, I fear that it is something they will no doubt live to regret.’

  ‘So our plan is to sit around and let the Reptilians eliminate us one by one?’ Gabriel said with irritation.

  ‘No, not at all,’ Omari replied calmly. ‘If one is attacked then one has every right to defend oneself. But that does not mean that one should actively go looking for trouble. It is common knowledge that any animal is at its most dangerous when it feels threatened. In such instances it becomes the predator, not the prey, which is at the greater risk. Believe me, Gabriel, Kalladon and the Reptilians might be physically superior to a good many of us here, but we are very adept at defending ourselves. Brute force is no match for cunning and ingenuity and unfortunately for the Reptilians, that is a lesson they still have yet to learn. Now, changing the subject entirely; I want to hear all about your first week of school.’

  Until early that evening the two of them caught up on the week’s events. Gabriel told his grandfather of all that had occurred at school: his lessons, his teachers, his classmates and especially Grandmaster Bysonn. Omari listened intently and informed Gabriel not to worry too much about Bysonn, the Grandmaster was very good at his job, despite being an egotistical bully. As long as Gabriel kept his head down and stayed out of trouble, he would most likely have no further dealings with him.

  After a late supper of bangers and mash, the two both retired to their rooms. As Gabriel drifted off to sleep, his thoughts flitted between images of his parents, his old friends, his new friends and Marina. That night he slept restlessly, plagued again by nightmarish dreams of being surrounded by fire, with shadowy figures looking down on him and cackling manically. This time, however, he could see their faces more clearly, particularly their eyes. He could feel the merciless stares from those cold reptilian eyes boring through him, a sensation that, despite the heat of the flames, sent icy shivers racing through him, from the base of his skull to the ends of his toes.