Dark rise-1

Prologue

It was raining. Not the kind that just goes unnoticed and doesn't make puddles. It was raining very hard. The trees in the forest didn't block out the rain. It just dripped the rain onto you when you least expected it. And if you looked closely enough, you'd just barely see two smudged figures hurrying through the downpour. But if you moved closer, you'd see that they were two animals, two cats, in fact; with wings. And if you got right close up, you'd hear them complaining about the rain.
"How long was it you said? Just a bit more; and yet, we're still traipsing around the woods like a pair of lost kittens. Are you sure you remember the way, Askro?"
"Oh, be quiet," griped Askro. "You think I control the weather?"
"No," muttered the other cat. "Though I really wish you could. I'm getting so confounded wet." They continued some time without saying anything else, then the bigger cat, Askro, jumped up and then exclaimed "Here we are! Moon Haven."
"Could you shout any louder? The whole forest probably heard you just then, you know."
"Could you shout any louder?" mimicked Askro. "Stop being such a sourpuss, Silchro."
She bristled and said "Well at least I'm not a bigmouthed fool who goes yelling his head off in a forest filled with who-knows-what." She paused, in which both cats looked around fearfully. "Anyway, shouldn't we go in? We're not getting any drier standing around insulting each other.
"Good point," replied Asgro. "Come on." Just as they were about to enter, Silchro stiffened as a fox strolled around a boulder, then relaxed as she realized it was a friend.
"Hello, Silchro. Good day, Askro. Though it isn't really a good day, is it? Not with all this rain," said the fox.
"Greetings, Fire-eye. Have you any news for us?"
The fox snorted, and then commented drily. "News? I've got more than just news. Oh no, this is too serious for news." Fire-eye shook her head her head sadly. "Because, you see; Bloodclaw is on the move again, and Wingstrobe is missing. No one's seen him for three moons now." She cocked her head to the side. "But I do bring some good news. Larkflight is back."
The cats' eyes widened.
Five seasons ago, there had been a terrible famine that lasted for several moons. During this time, a creature had come to give food and water to the hungry animals. He had called himself Blocoawld and said he was a kind, lonely hermit who longed to see others again. A wolf. And during this time, another wolf called Adreas had tried to oppose him. No one noticed. And so it was, when Blocoawld changed into the now famous Bloodclaw, she had blamed herself for not trying hard enough to warn the others. The other wolves fell under the reign of Bloodclaw, and some of them were her family. That broke her heart, and so she changed her name to Larkflight and fought the Blosk. After that, she journeyed to faraway lands to seek the secret that she could use to defeat Bloodclaw, and had never been heard of again. Until now.
They stood there quietly in the rain. Then the she-cat, Silchro, stood up and thanked the fox. "Thank you for your news, Fire-eye. You are dismissed."  The fox slunk around the boulder and disappeared. Then the two outlaws, Askro and Silchro, went into their den, Moon Haven, and went to consider the news Fire-eye had brought to them.


Chapter One:
Where it begins
Time: Reign of Bloodclaw, King of the Earth and Skies


He was in a hole, falling, falling. His wings beat against nothing, refusing to lift him up. The earth rushed up at him, and in a ditch, pointed upward, he could see sharpened metal stakes; and impaled on the stakes, were the carcasses of long dead animals that had fallen into the trap. He was twisting, writhing, anything to get away from that hell-hole. But it was no use. As he fell, the gaping hole turned to darkness, and he was rushing through darkness, waiting for the impact that would never come...
Floudus woke up with a start. He'd been dreaming again. He remembered the dream, still real as ever: The stakes, the hole, the never-ending darkness in it. He shivered, and shook himself.
He'd been having the same dream for over two moons now. The first time he had it, he'd told no one. The night after, he'd had it again, and told someone he'd thought to be his friend. It turned out, that "friend" betrayed him, and told his dream to everyone. All of them thought he was unnatural, for it was unusual to dream among the canidis, or winged wolves; he was driven out as an outcast and forced to live on his own.
"Sssso; you isssss having a nightmare again?"
He started. Floudus hadn't realized who was beside him until now, Ssssllssst the snake.
"Good morning, Ssssllssst. How are you today?"
"I isssss good, Floudussss; I isssss very good today," replied Ssssllssst nonchalantly. "But you did not answer I'sssss question. You had ze dream again, hassss you not?"
Floudus sighed. "Yes, Ssssllssst, I had the dream again. Now I have to go. I am looking for the Seer."
"The Sssseer?! No one searches for ze Sssseer unless they really need her, or she invites them to hers home. It isssss unheard of!" exclaimed the snake.
"Well, I'm going," said Floudus. "It doesn't matter much to me if you come or not." Just as he got up and stretched his wings out, Ssssllssst called out, panicking.  
"Wait! I have news. You said you wanted a companion, is it not true? Well, I have brought you one."
Floudus froze, pondering. He did want someone to travel with. It got lonely talking to a snake only. At last he replied, "Where is he?"
Ssssllssst squirmed, agitated. "It isssss not a he, it is a she. She wuzze only one who wanted adventure, so she came with me; I let her?" and without waiting for an answer, he left Floudus and slithered away as fast as his body could carry him.

                                              §              §              §

When Ssssllssst came back, he was edgier than ever. "I have come back with you's companion, Floudussss. Will you care to meets hers?" And then she came out into the tiny clearing.
She was a medium-sized black wolf, with sharp claws that gleamed in the light and a silvery-white patch on her shoulders. When she spoke, it was with a voice regal and proud. "Greetings, Floudus. I understand you want a traveling companion, my name is Moonflash Chillbreeze. Where are you heading?"
Floudus was stuck with amazement, for he'd never seen a wolf like Moonflash before. He'd never even known there were clans in this forest before! It was sometime before he found his voice.
"Well—er—I'm going to the Seer," he finally finished in a rush.
Moonflash narrowed her eyes, and then said "The Seer's place is a long way from here. Shouldn't we be going now?"
"Um—er—yes—ok," spluttered Floudus, flustered.
"Then come on!" she called over her shoulder, launching into the air.
They traveled quickly, but they only got a little way before it began to turn dark and they had to stop. They alighted swiftly and both hunted their own meal before they turned in for the night.
"G'night, Moonflash."
"Good night, Floudus."
The sun winked its last ray over the hills as it sank down and the stars came out one by one. The darkness settled over them, and the crescent moon shone a gentle light on the two sleeping bodies. Suddenly the bushes rustled. A slanted yellow eye gleamed out from the shadows, and a piercing whistle echoed through the valley. Instantly, many more eyes joined the one in the bushes. At an unseen signal, they jumped out onto Floudus and Moonflash. They woke up to find a dozen wolves trying to ensnare them. They fought back fiercely, wounding several of the enemies severely. Fur flew, and fangs gleamed momentarily in moonlight before they were brought down on an opponent. Finally the remainder of the attack party retreated, snarling angrily before leaping into the air and whisking away. The leader of the group turned around and growled a warning before he lifted off into the darkness: "We'll be back for you, and with more wolves next time!"
Moonflash looked after him disdainfully until she couldn't see him anymore, and then turned around to check on Floudus. Both of them had sustained a few injuries, but not too bad too keep them from traveling.
"So, I see you're not a bad fighter," she remarked.
Floudus stared at her incredulously. Not a bad fighter?! He wasn't 'not bad'! He was pretty good. In fact, he thought he was brilliant! He was just about to tell her that when she broke in.
"Don't tell me that you think you're above an average fighter. Trust me; I've seen real fighters fight. And compared to them, your little fighting moves," she said this snidely, "are pitiful. I bet you've never even had battle training before."
Floudus was becoming angrier with every word she said. He was to the point of exploding when she said, "Relax. I'll teach you some strategies tomorrow, or when we have enough time." So they settled down and went to sleep.

Next morning the two woke up early to get a good start on their journey. They ate a light breakfast and jumped up into the air. They flew, but the headwinds buffeted them fiercely and it began to rain, so they had to land to avoid being blown off course. Floudus alight in a hollow, and Moonflash followed suit. As they made themselves comfy in the leaves and pine needles, Moonflash asked a question.
"What was your life like before you began to seek the seer?" she said.
Floudus shifted uncomfortably. "I don't want to talk about it," he replied, a melancholy note to his voice.
"Tell me. Please," she said pleadingly. "I won't tell anyone; I promise," she added in an undertone.
"All right," Floudus agreed. He sat for a while, getting his memories together. And then he began to tell his tale...