The Death Bridge

Brongr stared at Axil as if he had just lost his mind.

"Fly!?", he exclaimed. "Look, lad. I know yer worried abit her but, to grasp around at nothin' in hopes that it'll help ye is jist insane."

Axil stared at Brongr, his brows raised. "I'm not grasping around at nothing."

Brongr turned his back to Axil. "Ye are! Flyin'!? 'at's impossible! I can nae understand why you'd suggest somethin' like 'at!" Brongr started pacing back and forth as he rubbed his forehead in frustration. "I understand that ye-"

"Brongr."

"-that ye want tae-", the big man kept talking.

"Brongr!", Axil said again.

"Nae, let me finish", he said as he held up his hand. "But tae think 'at ye-"

"Brongr!!"

"Whit!?", Brongr yelled and swirled around.

His eyes widened and his jaw dropped when he saw the white-haired man.

Great wings sprouted from Axil's back, silver scales adorning the wing radius and disappearing into the white feathers covering the rest of the wings. The scales returned on his forehead and faded down his face. A long tail, covered in silver scales, sharp spikes and ending in a slender and sharp arrowhead shape, swept from side to side behind him. Two powerful claws dragged across the ground as he slowly walked closer to Brongr.

"Ye…ye…", Brongr stammered.

A chuckle sounded through the air. "If you would've allowed me to explain…"

"Whit are ye!?", Brongr asked in shock as his eyes glided over Axil.

Axil smiled. "I am a Lohiörneth." His smile fades away. "I'm the…last Lohiörneth."

"Lohiörneth?"

"Yes. An ancient race of warriors, born to protect everything good. But…we… were hunted down for our magic."

"Whit's so special abit yer magic?"

"Our scales are imbued with powerful magic. It protects us from anything.

No magic or weapons could harm us. But…in the wrong hands, the magic in our scales could be used for terrible things." .

"If nothing could harm ye, how were they able to hunt ye down then?"

Axil sighed. "Only a Lohiörneth can kill or harm another Lohiörneth. But if you make a weapon and enchant it with our magic… "

Brongr's eyes widened. "But tae do 'at…"

Axil nodded. "Centuries ago, one of our own betrayed us and paved the way for our extinction. My parents were the last remaining Lohiörneths. The left me with the sorcerer Aulran when I was a baby."

"They abandoned ye?"

Axil shook his head. "Hardly. They left to join the fight against Nira. But they didn't return…"

"So 'at sorceress knew how tae destroy them?"

Axil shrugged. "No one saw them again."

"But, could it be possible 'at they are still-"

"No. They are gone."

"How could ye be so sure-"

"Brongr!" Axil sighed. "I can feel it. Don't ask me how, just…I can feel it."

Silence fell between them. Brongr's eyes remained fixed on Axil as he contemplated everything that the white-haired man had told him. A frown crept on his face and he lifted his eyes to meet the silver ones.

"Why didn't ye tell us before?"

"I have been hiding my true nature for all my life. I guess…I guess I got so used to it and how much easier it was to hide, that I…didn't want to complicate things. And every person that knows what I am, is in danger."

Brongr chuckled. "Ye don't have tae worry abit us, lad. It is the exact opposite. Those who want ye are the ones in danger. Nae us."

Axil smiled. "You know, I still find it hard to believe that you were actually a bandit."

Brongr raised his brows, amused. "Why? Am I not frightening enough?"

Axil laughed. "Oh, you are… That is until you open your mouth."

"Oh really…", Brongr said with a chuckle.

From the shadows, he watched the two men. His eyes followed their every movement. "Soon, Lohiörneth…soon", he whispered before disappearing.

***

A loud thud sounded through the air.

Raven stumbled backward. "Ow!", she cried indignantly. She pulled her hand away from her nose and stared at the wet blood on her dirty hand. She lifted her eyes to stare at the creature in front of her. "Seriously?!"

The small creature stood up on its antelope-like legs. Its tiny ears moved in every direction as it glared at Raven.

And Raven glared back.

"You'll pay for that you little…whatever you are. I'm going to bash your ugly reptilian face so hard that it'll be even flatter than it already is."

The creature chittered in response.

Raven raised her brows at the creature. "Oh, oh, mocking me?", she exclaimed, balling her hands into fists. "I've had a…very…long morning and I am tired, frustrated, and filthy. And now you come along and bother me while I'm trying to cross this ridge. And to top it all, you punch me in the face?! I. Will. Bash. Your face. In."

The creature stared at Raven silently for a moment.

Raven tilted her head to the side, her brows still raised. "Now get!"

The creature chittered softly, tilting its head from side to side.

"I said g-"

The creature lunged at Raven before she could complete her sentence. Raven stepped back while shielding her face with her arms. The creature's claws scraped against her arm as it fell to the ground.

Raven glanced at the claw marks on her arm, anger rising from within her. "I warned you…", Raven said through clenched teeth before charging at the creature.

The latter swirled around and jumped further up the ridge with Raven close behind. At the top of the ridge, the creature suddenly came to an abrupt halt. Raven reached the top and threw a side kick towards the creature. Her foot made contact with the creature just as the ground beneath gave in.

She glanced up just in time to see the long way down before tumbling along with the dirt in a rough slide down the other side of the ridge. The slide continued down and Raven felt the rocks scraping and bruising her back as she was dragged along.

And then she saw it. A cliff.

Raven frantically looked around for something to grab on to but to her consternation, there was nothing. Her eyes widened as the edge came nearer and nearer. A scream escaped her throat as the ground beneath her disappeared and plain air took its place. Suddenly, a hard, solid object struck her in the stomach. Raven tried to grab ahold of it, but her hand slipped and she fell further through the dust-filled air. Another scream escaped her throat.

But then the ground appeared beneath her and Raven braced herself.

She lay nearly motionless, gasping for air and her eyes closed tightly. As the air gradually returned to her lungs, she opened her eyes. She slowly sat upright and looked around with wide eyes.

"Impossible", she mumbled as her eyes traveled across the valley and glided over the luscious green grass, the large trees, and the beds of beautiful flowers.

The sweet song of birds filled the air and a peaceful breeze danced through the valley to the rhythm of their songs. A beautiful lake with crystal clear water decorated the valley and the sunlight reflecting from within its depts gave everything a surreal appearance. Raven stared and stared, shock, amazement and disbelief taking turns to appear on her face.

With a soft chuckle, Raven stood up and winced at the sharp pain that shot up from her leg and traveled up to her side. She sighed and glanced up, her eyes following the slope up to the cliff.

"If that slope wasn't there…