spitting feathers // twili curtain event [c]

The eagle-owl watched the lizards scurrying into the blanket with slight dismay. She would much prefer to have them in a safe place first before continuing, such was her mind who liked to finish one thing one step at a time. But on the other hand (or wing) she understood that they might feel uneasy of venturing out. It was true that they could not guarantee their safety during their journey either.

"Yes. I think that is the least we can do," agreed the eagle-owl. She did not waste much time, flying out and picked several branches and twigs from the scant few trees which remained, and broke them into small pieces with her strong beak and talons. The small mound she put a little further from the fireplace. With the lizards small sizes, perhaps they did not need a very big fire, too. The fuel should last a while. And just for posterity, she gestured to the branches and then to the fire, and nodded. That much should be obvious, shouldn't it.

"May Hylia holds you all in her protection," she muttered when it was time to fly out and leave the lizard family. Stopping suddenly as if she remembered something, the eagle-owl turned mid-air and faced the shack, already a few distance away.

"I... think I can still manage at least a low-level spell...." she said, concentrating hard, "...There."

A beam of crimson light shot up from the shack, piercing the darkness above. Or at least it was what seemed for Marianne. Because the Light Beacon, the spell she learned from the silly old man on the clouds, could only be seen by those she allowed to see.

"A nifty Hylia spell I picked up once," she explained to the magpie,, flying close to her and tapped her gently with one of her wings, "Now you can see the crimson pillar of light-" she tapped at the magpie again "-now you can't." And she tapped at her again so the magpie can see. "It will be very useful when we send a team for the lizards later!"

She sighed a little when she turned around, her voice seemed to be smiling "I have fond memories of this spell...."

And so, onwards, to Oseria Plains! They had been flying for a while when, suddenly, a shrill cry pierced the sky. A big black silhouette emerged from the distant sky, spewing purple flames towards the sky. It spread its mighty wings and let out another piercing shriek, inhumanly shrill for its size, as if daring anyone or anything to challenge its mastery of the sky.

"Quick!" Marianne's thoughts echoed, diving below to the ground behind a sparse bush, "Hide!"

Not Helpful Lizards!

Marianne's simply smiled in her mind at Klara's request. "Remind me later, Lady Klara."

But for now, any thought of the future seemed far far away. The eagle-owl hunched underneath the shrub, trying to stay as still as possible so that the creature's attention would not be drawn to the ground. Her plumage was mottled and not very eye-catching, but her size worked against her. The eagle-owl eyes watched the creature soaring in the sky, unblinking.

"What is it?" came Klara's thoughts. The eagle-owl stood still. "I am not sure.... It looks like a dragon but...."

If it was a dragon, under Twili control, Hyrule's future looked bleak indeed. The winged shadow let out another ear-piercing shriek, before turning northward. After a few tense seconds the creature flew past their hiding place and disappeared into a speck on the horizon, only its purple flame flared menacingly in the sky.

Marianne did not realize she was holding her breath until now. She let out a long sigh.

"I... think we are safe now...." Her thoughts whispered, unsure. Her head rotated around, in a way only owls could do. "Yes... it is clear. Let us continue on our way, Lady Klara...."

But with the spectre of such a gigantic creature ruling the sky, the flight southward was uneasy. The eagle-owl flew in silence, keeping herself rather close to the ground to avoid being seen in the open. And there seemed to be a tacit understanding not to make unnecessary movements.

Soon, Osseria plains came into view.

Whew

The eagle-owl flew once around the plains, seemingly a little discontent. There was the Osseria plains underneath them, its once lush rolling grasses now wilted and blackened, and there were no signs of monuments or even any artifacts that might have been left from the last war: things like rusted helmet, remnants of broken palisades -anything to show that, yes, something had happened here in the past.

"For supposedly being a site of a major battle, this plains clearly does not show it," she commented idly, flying lower to the ground. Then she noticed the uneven ground and some of the destroyed shrubs being flattened in one direction. "There was a large group moving through here recently -perhaps an army. I really don't like the implication of it...."

Swooping up again, she turned westward, "Then, to Daval Peak we go -eh?"

There was a glint from deep within the waters which caught the eagle-owl's attention. She carefully spiralled downwards, before landing near the pond's shore.

'Ah....'

From underneath the rather cloudy water, a face of a statue stared back at her. The one depicted there was a handsome Hylian man but with clear Gerudo features, his eyes sharp and unyielding, his lips curved in a brave smile. Its head was the only thing that was left, apart from some indistinct debris around, but even from it one could imagine that he was magnificently build, gallant and heroic. His hair looked strikingly similar to Queen Marianne -a kind of look she would sport if she ever cut her hair short- from the way their bangs parted and the swirl of their hair. There was no color there other than the gleaming bronze of its material, but from the way the face was expertly sculpted, one would think a black-colored hair suited him best.

So there was a monument there, just like Klara thought. But it had been purposefully destroyed and shattered, its pieces scattered to the water to corrode. And it was not hard to guess which forces did it.

The eagle-owl lowered her wings. For once, she looked really sad.

The one she never met.

The eagle-owl let out a sad hoot.

"Yes. We must.... I apologize for being distracted, Lady Klara....."

And there was likely nothing she could do either. The statue, or the remnants of it, was big. Although not as towering as the one near the northeastern border where scant people who still remembered mostly paid their respects. Even if the Twilight Curtain dissipated, the prospect of sending a restoration team to such a remote location would be... impractical.

But Lady Klara was right. For now, they had to move.

As the bird extended her mighty wings and began flapping, there seemed to be a new sense of determination emanating from her as she took to the sky. The Twilight affair had always been a personal one for the Queen of the Realm. But now, it seemed even more so, if such a thing could be believed.

And the surprises did not stop there.

"Look below, Lady Klara," came Marianne's thoughts, a little surprised, "Wild cuccoos?"

From the nearby bushes around the pond, several cuccoos emerged once the two birds had gone high enough. Even this deep in Twilight Curtain, they did not seem to be affected at all. They even proudly kept their white plumage, as if daring Twilight or anything that, yes, none would make a Cuccoo back down. And unlike the lizards before, there did not seem to be people having changed to cuccoos? They clucked and wandered around, picking the ground, doing things cuccoos did.

Marianne observed their behavior for a while before delivering her verdict.

"As unbelievable as it is, they do seem to be real wild cuccoos...." There was a hint of amusement in her thoughts. "They really are invincible, aren't they?"

For even in the darkest depths of shadows, when even physical bodies had to be forced to change, some things would still bravely resist, as if showing that, no, the realm of light would not submit so easily to darkness. The white cuccoos, in stark contrast to the bleakness of the land, seemed to convey that feeling for Marianne.

Or perhaps she was only being too sentimental.

Onwards!

Marianne chuckled in turn. "I've always find them fascinating. They have been domesticated for so long, yet there is always something new we find out about them." Perhaps she would ask Desmond about them some other time. Surely he would have known a thing or two about them, or knew someone who did.

And off they flew towards Daval Peak, the scenery becoming wilder and more disorganized as they went. This area of eastern border of the desert had been largely left untouched with development. Despite the potential for a straight road from Gerudo Villages to Ordon, the landscape was dotted with uneven hills and wetlands which made it impractical for roads. Coupled with the fact that it would cut straight through the heart of Faron woods while wider and more accessible roads were already available to the north, with the added bonus of a short detour to Castle Town, this area really had little reason to travel to. Even The Queen knew only a handful of person who had bothered to scale Daval Peak, and had not went there herself.

Maybe when the Twilight dissipated -or if the Twilight would ever dissipate- she would embark on a tour around this region and Osseria Plains just to see what it really looked like. Right now, under this drab light and with the vegetation being suspended in shadows, the landscape was very bleak indeed.

They came to rest on a tree near an unkempt spring, the second of the mark from the lizards. It looked... just like any other spring, really. Marianne noticed another small flock of cuccoos clucking about. But apart from them, there were no other noticeable animals. As the eagle-owl tidied her feathers with her beak, Klara asked her.

“I do have to ask, Queen Marianne. When we do find the spring, what is it you had planned to do with it in regards to dispelling the curtain?”

"That is a good question Lady Klara. And one which, sadly, I have no real answers for. I am sorry...." There really was not point in pretending she knew something when she actually didn't. And if even the famously knowledgeable Queen did not know.... "We have known about the Light Spirits since ancient times," she explained, "But other than legends and stories, there have never been a concrete evidence -as far as I am aware of. Some of the soldiers serving in General Redwing's campaign during the Great Disturbance mentioned spotting a large and bright snake-like being watching them from a distance -this is the most recent sightings we have had on them. Though we cannot deny that it was perhaps a miracle brought about by the intense desert heat. Tired people on edge tend to hallucinate...."

The eagle-owl's beak moved to her back. "And while the Light Spirits are said to reside in springs, and that their spring glow, we haven't actually found a glowing spring or natural pond anywhere within the past hundred years. Fairy springs -or Great Fairy springs, the few that people said still exist- were sometimes described as "glowing" but I believe they are of different sorts. A certain type of moss growing on the edges of still-water ponds in some caves in Snowpeak Range can also imbue the water with soft glowing light. But again, nothing exceptionally magical has been found in those ponds....

I do have a theory, Lady Klara. Perhaps, the Light Spirits' spring only glow when there is sufficient darkness. And I don't mean night, but a metaphorical "darkness" threatening the "light". Right now Twilight Curtain is both metaphorical and physical darkness it seems, so maybe that is why people are reporting seeing glowing springs. Kind of like luminous stones can only glow at night, I think."

The eagle-owl shook her head. "The best we can do now is to at least find the location first for the Light Spirits -assuming the stories are true- to return to. What we can do when we actually find such a spring... we have to see for ourselves.... Or even to simply mark the location and then return to discuss our next steps....

I apologize I cannot be of much help here, Lady Klara.... And I am supposed to know the land I have been entrusted with...."

She felt guilty. That much was evident from the tone of her thoughts. She did have a few theories she would like to test, which was part of why she was determined to see the spring for herself. But at this point there really was too much speculation. The queen shook it off and straightened her gaze. They had come this far. There was only one thing they could do.

Yet, even more dangers lie ahead as they flew round the Daval Peak. Shadow Beasts, uncountable numbers of them, roaming around the foot of the mountain. They look like grotesque beings, a mockery of a humanoid figures that they might have been like once. Klara could feel the eagle-owl bristling with anger.

"It is good that we have wings...." she muttered. A land-based survey team would have much difficulty getting around undetected. Yet, they also risked being seen too as they flew on the unobstructed skies. And who knew whether the Shadow Beasts were intelligent enough to spot an unnatural animal?

The eagle-owl's head turned towards the peak. The other option to get to the third spot would be to cross the peak instead of circling around it. But flying that high.... The image of the gigantic flying beast spewing purple flames suddenly flashed in Marianne's mind.....

Where to now?

“I suppose if we knew too much, then this journey would be much shorter and much less educational," said Klara, and Marianne chuckled lightly. "That is a wise way to see it, Lady Klara."

She did not know whether their choice for a way would be wise also, but for both of their sake, she hoped that they picked the right route. Klara moved to circle around the peak, remaining just above the treeline. With the trees becoming scarcer because of the Twilight influence, it was quite a dangerous prospect. What if-

-swish-

A rock whizzed in front of the eagle-owl, narrowly avoiding her beak. She stopped her flight in shock, but while trying to recover, more more rocks were being thrown at them from below -some flying dangerously close!

The Shadow Beasts! They were not so easily fooled after all!

"Run!" Marianne shrieked, making a sharp turn towards the third spot. They were certainly faster than the land-based enemies below, but-

Another barrage of rocks were thrown at them. And Marianne, being the larger, stronger one, positioned herself behind Klara, shielding her from harm. She had little chance to dodge anyway, might as well protect her comrade while she did so-

"Ugh-!"

A well-aimed throw hit the tip of her left wing and she could feel her wing bones breaking. With the loss of one her wings she could not control where she flew, veering dangerously close to a solitary tree just within distance of- Marianne could not believe it! A spring. A real glowing spring, filling the area around it with soft ethereal light.

"Save yourself! We are here!" was her last projected thought before she slammed hard into the tree and fell to the ground. The Shadow Beasts were converging....

Bye bye!

Her eyesight became blank as she slammed into the tree, no doubt she would fall soon. Another whack as her bird body fell to the ground head first confirmed it, and for a few seconds her world was a blur.

Weakly she tried to steady herself, expecting claws and fangs to tore her up any seconds now. 'Magic... magic... perhaps magic can....' she could feel light energy gathering on her healthy right wing, and she did actually manage to shoot a light orb, more than anyone could manage perhaps. But it soon fizzled out into darkness once more. Ugh she could not even see the Beasts closing in due to eagle-owl farsightedness. Hopefully, maybe Lady Klara could finish what they started....


'Ba... kwak?'

Around them, the air filled with angry squawking of the chickens as they surged in a cloud of feathers and talons towards the oncoming creatures. The Shadow Beasts, apparently unaccustomed to this fiery denizens of Light Realm, was left dumbfounded for a second, before being overwhelmed by the relentless fury of the feathered fiends. They tried to claw and bite their ways out to no avail, but equally the cuccoos could not adequately harm them either, although it was enough to keep them at bay and send them some of the Twilit denizens running down the hill. Amidst flying feathers and the cacophony of clucking, the eagle owl noticed something shiny on the beak of the larger cuccoos. Something which glowed the same way as the spring tantalizingly close to them.

And true to their nature, Cuccoos did not separate heroes and villains. Already some of them were turning towards the eagle-owl and the magpie for disturbing their nest. It was now or never!



With all her might, the eagle-owl stood up and clumsily charged at the big cuccoo, more like she was falling forwards than actually running due to eagle-owl being totally unsuited to run. But! She did manage to headbutt the cuccoo! And the glowing thing was dropped from its beak to the ground, which the eagle-owl flicked with her talons towards the magpie even as she fell with the cuccoo!

"Lady Klara! Get that to the spring!"

Why? Marianne did not even know. All she knew that, whether staying there doing nothing or aggravate the cuccoos further, the fowls would still turn towards them both either way. And maybe, maybe, that glowing things had something to do with the spring? Maybe?

Marianne could not think. Angry beaks and talons of the Scourge of Farms were raining down on her, and the eagle-owl did her best to run away.

Bye bye!