Gentleman’s Guide to Fantastic Beasts 60

Gentleman’s Guide to Fantastic Beasts 60

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Wordcount: 2500

Commissioned by Sivantic.

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There was something I wished to verify, before I started hunting the Wyverns, especially as I began to observe them.

The main reason was that they communicated with one another.

I’ve already encountered another form of life that did not resemble humanity as I knew it in the form of the parasite. Though that creature was well away from me now, and hopefully being hunted by the Kingdom successfully, it still remained a thinking, feeling creature. The captive that had been interrogated only further proved that fact. If their entire existence did not revolve around the killing of others to take their bodies, I would not have put the kingdom on the path of their complete destruction.

Meanwhile, if the wyverns were intelligent creatures, then I faced a dilemma. They would be powerful creatures that held this land for innumerable years. We were invaders trying to take their lands. If they interacted with one another and communicated beyond their roosts, then our efforts will be largely meaningless. As strong as I am, and as strong as most of the people were in the town, we could not withstand the unified force of Wyverns if they came together.

So, before hunts took place on the creatures, I moved to observe and understand them.

Thankfully, while they were certainly smart monsters, there was nothing beyond predatory pack tactics. They fought one another for dominance, played with one another, hunted together, and competed for mates, but beyond that were aggressive against others outside their pack and to any other creature. Some showed curiosity, perhaps they could be tamed and used like dogs in the future, but right now they were analogous to feral packs of wolves.

In time, they could become powerful creatures that have a place in civilization, but such was not the case now. I gathered knowledge from over tend different packs, and each time tested them at the end by offering food to them at intervals, and each time they rejected the meat in favor of trying to kill me. When I observed the meat I laid out, it was always left aside and untouched, as though they did not trust what they did not hunt themselves.

They were definitely smart creatures, but they were not like the parasites with their ability to strategize, infiltrate, read, make use of more than feints in combat, and communicate.  

With that in mind, I began to plan to assault a roost.

From what I’ve seen, it would be pointless to attack them outside their roost, as they were ready to call upon their own for aid.

No, if we were to hunt these creatures, it would have to be in their own dens.

Perhaps, we could try and tame the hatchlings that were born from the eggs, but I was sure that the whelps would have to perish.

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Interlude: Djet’Is

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The wyvern of these lands was a fearsome foe. Their claws were sharp, jaws capable of crushing bone, and were both swift and well armored. However, most of all, they worked together much like a swarm. Despite their strength and power, they were not solitary beasts with pride, but predators that tore apart their prey together. Their long necks and limbs only accentuated this, three at once can bite or slash at a warrior at once, and the others would rear their heads up above those in front, and breathe flame or lightning upon their foes.

A veteran warrior would perish against them, even when provided with their steed. A group of capable new warriors would be able to overcome them, but only at great cost of their own, and perhaps they would all even perish in the process.

I could see father venturing towards a roost and coming out hale and hearty, but not myself.

I would need to strategize, to plan, and to strike with both speed and precision to kill as many as possible before engaging them on their terms.

Will?

He killed them all while they could not react.

On a peak opposite of the roost that we found, he stood by my side. His chosen weapon was a sharpened bone of the great beasts that ate the vegetation in the valleys of this land. Polished and sharpened, it resembled a bladed arrowhead, and he attached his string to its base.

I watched as he sent the string forth from the mountain top, and it disappeared from view instantly, while the spool he attached to his new ‘staff’ unwound to its fullest length.

He showed me the gift of the sorcerer of the kingdom of the forest.

He told me that it allowed him to extend his ability to control and to detect by an immense amount. His praise for it had been immense. He showed me how to use it by attaching multiple threads to the staff, and then manipulating multiple implements for his treatment of flesh and bone. He could use a dozen tools at once with his mind alone, and each one operated completely under his control.

But I had not understood what that truly meant.

Not until now.

The kingdom of the forest gave him the means to conquer the entire world.

The bone shard flew faster than the eye can see, and he guided it at the speed of thought, towards the wyverns. They could not react to it, even as it was strengthened and sharpened beyond what mere metal could hold. The flesh of monsters have long been bathed in their own primal essence, while metal typically lay inert in the soil or stone. Properly treated metals can be of great worth to a warrior as a protection through various means, but for weapons the bones of monsters or living armor was the most suitable.

Will infused the small, sharpened bone with enough power to shatter metal and guided it through the eyes of the powerful predators.

They noticed when the first of their number fell. The wyverns came together and grouped up. The largest coming forward to man the front, while the younger ones went to the back. They assembled around their whelps and eggs, and roared challenges through their attackers… but that was Will’s plan.

The moment they grouped up, he called upon a dozen more of the bone-shards and wires, and sent them flying towards the wyverns.

Into the eye, then back out.

Once each for every threat.

They collapsed and died, falling upon one another, and all the weapons returned to Will but a moment later. In their place, I could see a formation of veteran warriors supported by our new warriors, all of whom had less armor and strength than each wyvern. Could the veteran warrior see the attack as it surged towards them? Could they try and cut through the wire before the bone reached them? Would the new warriors be able to launch an attack against Will, while the veterans weathered the storm?

Or would they all die around the young ones, before those were dispatched as well, and only the true children remained?

“It’s done.” Will declared simply. The death of over eighteen powerful beasts and that statement was the end of it. A task completed. Nothing more nor less. “Let’s see what these beasts are worth.”

The various bones and threads formed a platform of interlacing threads at his feet, and he threw a rag upon it. The rag was stretched out, tension pulling it taut, and he stepped upon it and motioned for me to do the same. It was solid beneath the sole of my sandal and after a moment he dispersed the winds around us, so that we could fly from one mountain to another.

He took note of my wary look at his newly shown skill.

“It is the same method used by the Forest Kingdom for their flying ships. Inside the hulls are blocks inscribed with the ability to move and carry weight through space. This requires much more time and skill comparatively. A ship is far more efficient.” He explained the weaknesses of his new ability, but I could still only see its strengths. If he did not need to carry me, he would simply wrap the threads around himself, and carry himself through the air unfettered without the need to account for the wind.  He can fly and maneuver in the sky without difficulty, stopping, turning, and moving anywhere he wished at any moment. He can hover a mere inch off the ground, and become untouchable and out of reach. “Djet’Is? We are here.”

Here was the place where he slaughtered multiple beasts with effortlessness that sent shivers down my spine.

The weight he had to carry, to keep the tree of light lit while nobility of the Forest Kingdom rested, has truly put him beyond my reach.

Father told me that once I believed myself incapable of winning, then the battle is already lost.

I’ve accepted long ago that I will never defeat Will.

However, now, I could not see my own father, with all his power, weapons, and armor defeating Will in combat.

Even without his oath, Will can surely defeat my father now.

I managed to find my tongue as we walked towards the dead beasts.

“You are beyond strength now, Will. With your power and might, even with your choice not to harm, you can carve out a legend to be remembered by for all of time.” My words did not even stagger his step. That incensed me and washed away the doubt crawling all over my heart. I spoke to him with heat filling my throat. “Why limit yourself to your current path? Do you not see that you can do everything that you wish and even more by taking on the mantle of a leader?”

“A leader? No. I would become a tyrant. Someone whose word supersedes all others thanks to strength alone. I would demand all to follow my path, and they will comply because of my strength.” He shook his head at the words. I felt my jaw clench as my teeth grit against one another. My frustration must have been evident. “You see nothing wrong with that because your father is a great leader and you will be as well. Both of you are strong, but you still both compromises, listen, and heed the words of others. Have I ever done so?”

His words struck me harder than any blow I’d ever endured in combat.

He was right.

Will never bent and never compromised. In the face of losing all that he knew, the As’Kari, he stood firm by his ideals. Despite all his efforts to help and be acknowledged, the moment father declared his intentions to unify the desert, he discarded everything to follow his own path. Will did not look back. Not at those who followed him in his hunts, not at those whom he worked with to find remedies and curatives, and not even towards those who would speak to him. He stood alone, firm, and unshakeable in the face of losing all that he knew for the sake of his beliefs.

If he ruled over others, then he would not lead.

He would indeed be a tyrant that would put all others under the shackle of his own ideals, and with all this power… he would need not compromise or listen to others.

Was such a person fit to lead normal, fallible people with desires and wishes?

The answer that arose from the tumultuous mess of thoughts and emotions within me was a resounding no.

“I see. I believe that I understand now. Perhaps not everything, but enough to accept your choice.” Will turned to me and searched me falsehood with his usual, calm gaze. He nodded a moment after and turned away. “You truly only wish to leave behind this knowledge that you’ve gathered. Not stories of your obscene strength.”

A rare laugh left Will’s lips.

“Obscene? Yes. I suppose that it is… and it is true that I would rather be remembered for my knowledge and teachings than my power.” With the As’Kari, he left behind whole scrolls dedicated to monsters and remedies, as well as detailed the effects of the consumption of monsters. For the Kingdom of the Forest, he gave them a means to find their current foe and destroy it. Now, he worked to create a future for the people abandoned by their nation, and he works to understand and control the surrounding environment. His was not the path of a warrior or a would-be king. “You seem pleased by that, Djet’Is. Have you finally accepted my choice to leave the As’Kari?”

A part of me did, nonetheless I shook my head.

“I wish that you would’ve stayed. That you would’ve bent your pride for our sake, even if there were so few of us. I doubt that will ever change.” There was a tightness in my chest and throat as I admitted the words. Memories that I buried, along with feelings that I swore away, bubbled up to the surface of my stomach and gripped my heart tightly. I looked upon Will. Some part of me saw him as a younger brother, but it would be a lie to say that I did not wish for him to stay by my side as a partner through all my years. “I feel that you could’ve seen the As’Kari rule over the whole Great Desert, then once that is done, returned to your oaths and spread your knowledge across the land. I may never forgive you for leaving the As’Kari… and myself.”

Will offered no excuses nor apologies. He nodded and acknowledged my words.

Though we were a few strides apart, I was sure that we were both beyond one another’s reach now.

No.
We’ve been beyond one another since father declared his intention to take the whole desert.

“You will be a fine leader for the As’Kari. No. I have no doubt that you will be able to lead the Great Desert into a new age of prosperity after all is done.” He said words that I’ve always wished to hear, but also never wished to hear from him. It was a true separation of our paths. “Despite everything, Djet’Is, I think of you as a friend. If you are in danger, call for me, and I will come to your aid.”

I nodded at his words and accepted the end of the path we walked together.

Bowing my head, I looked at my friend since childhood and steeled myself.

“I can only accept your offer and return it as Djet’Is. Once I am chieftain of the As’Kari, I cannot receive your aid or return it, Will.”

“I understand.”

Two words marked the true beginning of my path to leading the As’Kari.