A Land of Legends

The Royal Beast

Kingdom of @HighFantasy

***

The night air is still, but it seems different.

The beautiful, twisted magic inhabiting Aelfdene's untouched valleys and mountains feels strange as it rises into the air around me. It was once warm and light, a thing of safety and security. Now, it's cold and dense with dread and terror. The news has travelled the land that the elf Queen is missing, but it's more than that.

Something else is coming. Something worse.

As if in answer to my thoughts, a mighty roar echoes across the sky, setting the hairs on the back of my neck on end.

I have met many monsters all over Quorin, and never have I heard that roar.

Alarmed, my gryphon Noyara bucks in mid-air.

"Steady, girl." I stroke her feathered neck.

She calms at my touch. We continue flying eastwards, but my eyes scan the mountains to the north for the source of the roar. Plumes of smoke sprout from them, blotting out the stars.

Like the other knights, I am supposed to be heading east in search of Aelfdene's missing queen, but what kind of knight would I be if I chose my mission over those in need?

The only villages in the mountains were elven. If a beast is nearby, my people are under threat.

The roar sounds again, this time accompanied by terrified screams, and the decision is taken out of my hands. Queen Anaeve wouldn't want me to search for her if her people were in danger. She would want me to help them.

"Noyara, to the mountains!"

Not wasting time, my gryphon swerves to the north, soaring towards the burning village.

The horrible odour of charred trees and burnt grass rises to greet us as we land at the edge of the mountain, just within a circle of flames.

At the village centre, an enormous monster snarls at the elves gathered around it.

I nod at Noyara. She lingers at the edge of the trees, awaiting my next call. Though not a fighter, she's a useful ally in battle.

I grab my bow and run into the chaos.

Striped orange and black fur covers the monster's muscular body. It has a monkey's head and a hooded snake for a tail. A cow's head protrudes halfway along its back, facing the elves behind it.

It's a chimaera, but I have never seen such a ludicrous combination of creatures. A stream of fire flows from the beast's maw. An elf falls back, shielding his face from the flames.

His fellow villagers tremble as they hold up their spears and swords. They aren't warriors, just men protecting their families from a monster.

I look around the village. The women and children are gone, and the men have surrounded the beast with their weapons trained on it. If nobody is using their magic, that can only mean that this monster is immune to it.