The barren land Mayyreb had never seen so much life.
Parched rolling hills were occupied by varying human armies and tribes clamouring with a range of heavy-handed weapons. Volleys of arrows flattened the landscape, and the occasional explosive splintered the rallying troops, provoking a series of garbled complains and curses.
A gigantic winged creature sailed over the battlefield, intently surveying the fighting forces below. It emerged from the clouds and dived towards them, raining sparks of bright flame. From a distance, the creature was magnificent; it possessed three pairs of wings, a slender neck and furious plumage. Its wingtips were armed with gold bracelets, which shone so blindingly a dancing image there was not a doubt as to who has descended.
The creature arched upwards a moment before touching the ground, causing a domino-like ripple in the crowds below. The group of specks toppled over in the midst of clashing with their opponents. They pressed themselves onto the ground and looked up, wide-eyed at the looming divine creature. None dared to raise a crossbow or cannon against it.
The bird of all fire, dread be Garuda, lifted up the weapon in its claws. It was an otherworldly golden specimen, looking like a cannon but much finer.
As the people below recovered, they gripped their blades and faced up. All held no qualms to let aside their grievances against the other.
Beyond the flat hills though, sounds of anger and clashing swords still rang out as if from a far-off dimension.
Together, the people below Garuda bellowed a war cry. Land-bound humans have no way to reach it, Garuda knew. It curled claws over its fine weapon, effortlessly eliminating a chunk of the fighting forces. Flapping its wings repeatedly allowed it to remain out of their destructive reaches and to further belittle their efforts, it let out a piercing shriek.
Many of the iron-clad warriors below and those few wielding magic clasped hands over their ears and surrounded themselves with thick energy barriers. But it was too late.
The earth grumbled beneath their feet; the spindly shrubs and trees trembled; while those of blood and flesh who have heard Garuda's song pitted against their own bodily wills. Any in the vicinity with a life force within them could not resist the firebird's effects. As the last notes of the shriek faded to the winds, all succumbed and burst into multi-coloured bonfires.
From behind the hills, soldiers bearing various flags poured forth. Garuda counted at least three different nations. It ascended into the air, having accomplished its first task.
Cries echoed from below. It watched the specks struggle to put out the fires, much to no avail. The fires spread quickly, razing a beautiful path through the dry, wilted wasteland. Soon its desired adversary will arrive. He was the only one with the power to quench these fires.
The only one who Garuda felt worthy enough to engage directly.
Sure enough, the firebird spotted a twisting form between the higher clouds. Before the clouds had been white and sparse, befitting Mayyreb's dry climate. Now, they were moody, cumulating into the type of clouds preceding a storm. Garuda's adversary was pale coloured and elusive, darting through the formations but surely aiming to reach its position.
The clouds around the firebird were vaporous, allowing it a clear view of all sides. When it sensed his incoming, it flapped all six of its wings and swooped to meet him.
Its adversary emerged from the clouds' underbellies; a pearly-scaled snake with arching horns and lion's mane, qualities of a fearsome beast. His long body coiled repeatedly, making it hard to discern the position of his many legs. The creature let out a guttural roar and struck for Garuda, whom was more than delighted to meet.
Their heads rammed into each other's, unleashing an enormous wave of energy. Yet it was not enough to scar any one of the two. The white snake coiled his body around Garuda, who beat its wings and fanned its fire all around them.
Shouts of astonishment came from the humans as water droplets began drizzling down from the sky. When they looked to the skies, they could only gawk.
This was the first time they had seen the white snake, neither perhaps had their forefathers who passed down the tales. The white snake was known to be the animal of worship for a only small part of the continent, by a hidden tribe called the Mist People. Next to Garuda, Vistra the dragon of bountiful rain was an enigma and was feared for that reason alone. The tales spun that Garuda was fearsome and powerful while Vistra was furtive and unpredictable. And since the dawn of time, that became a truth.
Vistra's body twisted this way and that, until eventually his stocky legs faced Garuda. They latched onto fiery feathers in an attempt to drag their opponent down. The firebird's eyes gleamed as it hoisted up its weapon again.
Much to the bewilderment of their audience below, Vistra, with a puff of frustration, slipped from Garuda's headlock and disappeared in a plume of thick clouds.
Garuda flew about calmly, unperturbed, knowing that its adversary was afraid of something at least. The weapon was not itself's, rather it found it falling from the sky. Whether sent or discarded by the gods, it could not tell. But it stole it away and had long ago promised itself to make good use of the beautiful weapon in the time of this most worthy duel. It pointed the weapon down and let loose a few rounds, magically enhancing the volleys with flames from its feathers. It knew quite well that its adversary was not fond of senseless death, especially those of these land-bound children.
A tremendous roar echoed underneath, sounding pained. Garuda glanced downwards and spotted the slithering dragon, floating a few heads above the humans. There were large holes in its body, revealing flesh that was rushing to heal itself. Vistra stared up defiantly and again with his unmatched swiftness, pulled back his maned head to surge up. At the same time, a large fork of thunder struck behind Garuda, staggering it from its proud pedestal.
The dragon's teeth immediately sunk into the firebird's neck and dragged the stunned body through the clouds before making a sharp dive. The white and red bodies streaked through the boundless skies, appearing in a zigzag manner for eyes that were too slow to follow.
When Vistra felt Garuda's flesh rippling, signalling the return of the firebird's awareness, the dragon clamped down his snout tightly, making sure a line of bones of its slender spine snap. He aimed for a spot in the desert and spiralled down at breakneck speed, intending to also severely incapacitate the fiery creature. But midair, Garuda's claws moved of their own accord and with a rare desperateness, flipped their positions so that the dragon's back was now facing the ground.
They fell with an earth-shattering heaviness. Sand and dust sprayed outwards and above, falling down as a shimmery yellow curtain.
Garuda rose up quickly and aimed down its weapon again, delivering a hail of flaming bullets at its struggling opponent. The crater they made was quickly filled with sand again, and the dragon laid there unmoving. Yet the firebird need not have a clear shot of its body or head. One of the bullets severed the dragon's horn, sending the curved appendage flying a short distance away.
A horn from Vistra would serve a great trophy, thought Garuda. It was jade in colour with deep grooves running around the curve to the top end, where it tapers off in a slant. The grooves drew angular shapes, looking as though an ancient language telling a most sacred secret.
When Garuda was certain the dragon was no longer twitching, it landed eagerly to claim the horn. It examined the object between its claws, feeling the naturally carved grooves all around it, sensing the flow and ebb of power even as it had been separated from its owner. Truly, its adversary was worth the fight.
It turned to look one last time at his fallen form, to ingrain the image of that white form half buried within Mayyreb. The body of Vistra in this dull desert was sure to be a historical site within a few centuries.
Garuda did not expect a pair of legs to pull him down. While it hurt to have its feathers gripped so brutally, it made no attempts to struggle, knowing this was futile as it sensed Vistra's waning strength.
Just as it thought this, it heard the unmistakable sounds of humans unsheathing their weapons. To its awe and horror, the combined armies of the previously warring nations emerged from the plumes, bearing swords, crossbows, barrels of rainwater and lagging at the back, cannons and catapults.
An otherworldly quietness befell the battlefield. Then, an elderly male human raised his arm. He shouted incoherently in one of the incomplete languages of the continent. At his command, the soldiers levelled their weapons and charged forward.
Clanking their armour against each other, they rushed towards Garuda. Their footfalls were uneven as they kept sinking into the sands.
Under the heavy secure of its defeated adversary, it let out another chilling shriek. But that song fell on deaf ears. It looked around wildly and noticed the elderly male from before, pointing at his ears and showing off the yellow wax clotting them.
The firebird struggled to lift itself and, in its distraction, did not see itself die.
Rather, it felt its extermination viscerally. A thousand blades pierced messily through its fires and a thousand more add into the spaces between, cutting out any chances for healing. The firebird fanned its many wings, using its gold bracelets to deflect the cannonballs aimed to lop off its head.
By the time Vistra's hold loosened, the firebird had lost too much strength to propel itself upwards. Its fires dimmed, revealing charcoal-like skin underneath. It heard distantly a human shout and felt movement above its body. Defeat to these mortal monsters, it hissed spitefully just as a large blade swung high over the part where its neck met head.
The human brought it down, disconnecting Garuda from the physical appendages which it had relied on for so long.
Thence, its beaded eyes that were dashed of its furious light, watched solemnly as the humans claimed their trophy: its gold bracelets, given by the gods for bygone achievements.
How the legendary has fallen, its story will go. But no matter, it had killed the dragon of its own free will. That was enough.
As Vistra lay sprawled within the sands, he watched the human warriors decapitate Garuda. A wave of nostalgia and sadness washed over him. The deed left him colder than the creeping feeling of impending dissolution, wondering for both their fates after death and what the humans would do with their physical bodies.
The elderly warrior commanding the armies came before him and spoke in their most formal human tongue: "My name is Yulas Ho'oran. Is there a way for us to repay you, Divine Dragon Vistra?"
In their own language, the dragon replied, "When I am no longer, you may take my scales, the strands from my fur and teeth within my mouth."
Ho'oran gasped, looking as if stricken at the instructions he was given.
"My scales will give you language, my fur can be made into clothes of protection, and healing waters can be harvested from my teeth." Vistra explained. His eyelids drooped, and his words came in a raspy growl.
"Divine Dragon Vistra, thank you for your gifts. But how may we return in kind?" Ho'oran asked desperately.
The clouds drawn before by the dragon were parting and the wind came to caress the tresses of his mane. "There is one thing you must do: bury this horn where I have rested, and the broken one, return to my People of the Mists. They will know what to do." He closed his eyes, sighing with the breeze. "Live with peace and prosperity, Yulas Ho'oran. That is all."
Gathered on their knees around the magnificent being who had rivalled Garuda, they said a prayer of burial and blessing for his departing spirit, knowing that Vistra would return to the gods in Heaven. The people remained for three days and nights, before climbing to their knees, rising up with new visions in mind.
Listening to Borders by M.I.A as I once again edit through this old and very much beloved exposition. I feel rusty in writing.
I made a drawing of Garuda last year which can be found in my DeviantArt.