《Fallen Crow》


 Chapter 1: Crowning a Crow

    ¡° Helrin Staj Crow. As is tradition you will carry this chalice to each of the Raven Alliance clans and fill it with water from there well. By doing so you will be able to become the next patriarch of the Raven Alliance.¡± Sclan Ver Starling, the wizened old bird man said as he placed the ornate chalice into my hands.


    ¡° It is my honor to carry out this sacred task Patriarch,¡± I said with a slight bow. The rehearsed words left my lips as I bowed towards the Raven patriarch.


    ¡° Then fill the chalice in the well and commence your journey,¡± patriarch Starling said.


    -Finally I¡¯ve bin waiting years for this.


    I gazed into the ornate well at my reflection. My boyish features contrasted by my deep brown eyes. The wind delicately blew a few strands of my mid shoulder disk length black hear which matched my wings. A single feather on my left wing was white. That feather marched me as the next patriarch.


    I slowly dipped the ornate chalice into the water. It slowly grew warm and the engraved feathers on its silver surface grew slightly darker.


    ¡° Behold the chalice recognizes the child. I offer you the Raven Ring may it guide your flight,¡± The elder said as he opened a black ring box to reveal a ring that matched the chalice.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    -The Raven Ring it will prove my claim for the throne.


    I held out my hand so the elder could place the ring on my finger.


    With a gentle push it slid into place on my right ring finger.


    ¡° Now fly forth and claim your throne,¡± With those words I took to the sky. It was my time and no one would keep me from taking my throne. I only looked back once. My whole tribe waved as I flew off.


    -One month and twenty-three villages later-


    -I¡¯m finally back.


    I could see the mountain village a short distance away. The familiar buildings soothed my heart. I slowly descended next to the well. The whole village was there. Carefully I dipped the chalice back into the well and pulled it out. The water inside had turned an inky black.


    Patriarch Starling stepped forward from the crowd. ¡° I Sclan Ver Starling offer my blood to name you the new patriarch,¡± Holding his hand above the chalice, pulled out a knife, and cut it.


    Crimson liquid slowly trickled from the wound into the chalice. It seamed to disappear in the dark water.


    ¡° Now drink,¡± With those words I placed the chalice against my lips. With only the slightest of hesitation I drained the contents.


    ¡° I give you your new patriarch. Patriarch Helrin Staj Crow. This old one pays respect to Patriarch Helrin Staj Crow.¡± With those words the former patriarch bowed.


    ¡° We pay respect to Patriarch Helrin Staj Cro*Boom*¡± The mountain begain to shake with the voices; yet before they could finish there was a large explosion.


    Human men in black body armor rushed in firing guns.


    We all fought. We gave it our all. And they died. I used a quarterstaff to fight. I swung it in large arcs trying to help my village, but in the end a bullet in the stomach rendered me unconscious.


    *History*


    The Raven Alliance was established between the different dark bird men(Bird men with black feathers.) tribes of china. It has existed for nearly seven centuries and gone thru twelve patriarchs. . Helrin Staj Crow was to be the fourteenth. Till the end of the alliance six years ago(When the crow village was destroyed) the bid-man tribes remained steeped in tradition. After the Inter Species Exchange Bill was passed they began to interact with other cultures. Evan today they still use very little technology.

 Chapter 2: Caged Crow

    ¡° Wake up!¡± A nasally voice yelled.


    Pain spread out across my face a moment after a large smack noise.


    ¡° Ow,¡± I groaned as I opened my eyes. Everything was blurry and grey.


    ¡° Can you see?¡± The voice asked.


    ¡°W-what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡° Answer the fucking question.¡±


    ¡° No everything¡¯s blurry,¡±


    -What¡¯s going on? My head feels so fuzzy.


    ¡° I see. Sample twenty seven is a failure.¡± The voice said. ¡° Administer the antidote,¡±


    I felt a needle slowly enter my arm which removed the last of my grogginess. I started to move but my arm and legs were tied down.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡° What¡¯s going on?¡± I asked again.


    ¡° That¡¯s right you''re the new specimen. Let¡¯s see. All you need to know is it¡¯s your job to help in our expariments. Resist and I sedate you. Fight back or harm one of us and I¡¯¡¯ rip off your wings. Any questions?¡± Mr. Nasally said the last sentence and a happy sounding voice that very much offset the menacing tone of the first part. ¡° No, good. Any way we have seven serums to test today. You will tell us what you experience.¡±


    -This has to be a nightmare.


    Then I remembered the attack. I saw the fires. My friends fell left and right. My mom. Dear god. She¡­she¡­


    I threw up.


    ¡° Mark down nausea as a side effect. Wait thirty minutes and administer test serum thirty eight,¡± Mr. Nasally started yelling orders which was accompanied by feet running around the room.


    ¡° What happened?¡± I tried to ask tears slowly glided down my face.


    ¡° Let¡¯s see. Your village. Umm¡­ Oh I remember. The shock troops hit and wiped it out in about thi-no forty minutes. One village survivor three troop casualties¡± He said nostalgia leaking into his voice. ¡° Any more questions.¡±


    ¡° W-why,¡± I asked more to myself then to him.


    ¡° I needed a new specimen and you disgusting creatures work perfectly since your bodies react similar to human bodies when it comes to medicine.¡± He said matter of factly.¡±


    After fifteen minutes my vision came back. Mr. Nasally was a thin man in a lab coat. He had white hair that was long on the right side a shaved on the left. He wore small wire frame glasses. Honestly good looking but where are hi¡­?!


    He doesn''t have wings. A human. I. There not suppose to even know about us.


    The medicines made me in order go deaf, have seizures, bleed from the orifices of my face, lose my sense of smell, nothing, sweet profusely and tremble, and what they said was a small heart attack. I wanted to die.


    ¡° That¡¯s it for today. We will continue in three days,¡± He said.


    I couldn¡¯t speak. My entire body heart. I wasn¡¯t sure of I was even breathing at the time as I looked at the man. He was smiling. That bastered was enjoying this.


    Some of the other men came up and unstrapped me. They then dragged out of the room.

 Chapter 3: Those Behind Bars

    I was brought to a room with three cages. In one cage was a young girl no older then thirteen with cat like features. A grey tale with black rings and two cat ears, one of which had the top half torn off. The second was a man in his early twenties with stiches covering his body. He was missing several fingers and his eyes were on the verge of popping out.


    Both characters were naked and covered in scars. I might of blushed if I had the energy. The two men stripped me and shoved me into a corner with a drain where I was hosed down. They then shoved me into the only remaining cage before leaving.


    ¡° Welcome to hell. I¡¯m Zing and that pretty girl is Catherin.¡± The zombie said with a very obvious forced humor.


    I placed my trembling hand on my chest. ¡° Helrin Staj Crow. Future patriarch of the raven alliance.¡± Then I remembered my family. Tears started to build up in my eyes.


    ¡° A big wig I see. Well won¡¯t get you much. Maybe an extra grain of rice or more spit in your food. Wait why are you crying?¡± He asked..


    ¡° My clan. We where attacked. They said I was the only survivor.¡± The tears To flow freely down my face. I pulled my wet wings around me.


    ¡° Join the club. I¡¯m the only one they didn¡¯t capture. The others that have bin here were all captured like that. The stitched me together when they were bored and know the prod me whenever they want. My advice is to sleep all you can. Time paces faster that way and maybe you¡¯ll have a nice dream.¡±Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    ¡° Ya. I¡¯ve bin here for a year now. You get used to it. The sooner the better. Dam humans.¡± The cat girl said resentment clearly harboring no small amount of resentment.


    ¡° Ya. There all trash.¡± Zing said.


    ¡° You¡¯re probably right.¡± I said not paying much attention.


    The next day Catherin was taken. She came back several hours latter eyes glazed over and missing her left foot. She didn¡¯t speak again. Zing left the next day and came back with a few different body parts and one less arm. Then It was my tern. I honestly don¡¯t remember what happened to me then. My time in that room is just a blur of pain. I do remember one day specifically.


    I was sedated the second they brought me in. I was strapped to the table upside down so they could look at my wings. It started with prodding. Then X-rays fallowed by cutting. Only on my left wing. The they did something I will never forget. The gave mister Nasally who I found out was called Z. The cut of my left wing. I saw it fall to the ground. I felt warmth cover my body. I knew I was bleeding but I didn¡¯t care. All I could see was the white feather on my wing. Z walked over slowly and pulled the feather out of my wing. That feather. I was born with it. It was mine. It gave me my destiny. At that one moment my very purpose for living was taken. Plucked away. I was no longer the future patriarch of the Raven Alliance. I was now just a bird who couldn¡¯t even fly. Curses left my mouth one after the other. The feather was my comfort this whole thing. I would look at it and the ring on mu left hand and I would know who I was. Without that feather. The line of patriarchs would end. No it has ended. I was smacked for cursing at them but didn¡¯t stop struggling till the sedated me.


    The next day they took Catherin and she never returned. Zing stopped coming back a month latter. New people showed up and I told them what Zing and Catherin told me. I didn¡¯t die even after these people stopped coming back. I suffered at the hands of those humans. Z had a grin on his face every time he saw me. And I growled at him every time I saw him. The days turned to months and the months to years. I grew thinner and meaner.


    Damn humans. There all trash, they should just die.

 Chapter 4: Broken Cage

    *Boom* everything shook.


    My eyes slowly opened. I stared at the bars of my cage. There steely grey color seemed to mock me.


    ¡° Attention all personnel. We have bin discovered. Commence contingency plan number four.¡± The speakers thru out the building all echoed the same thing.


    *Boom *


    The building shook a second time.


    ¡® Discovered huh. Maybe I can escape. No not without that basterds head on a pike¡¯.


    The building shook a third time and a large portion of the ceiling collapsed. One piece hit my cage and smashed open part of it.


    ¡° Well that was easy,¡± I said more to myself than to the other two in the cages. Both were new subjects Z had managed to acquire. A tenuki and a harpy. They weren¡¯t my problem. I picked up a broken bar with my right hand. The four foot long mostly strait bar would be perfect to beat Z with, and any other human that got in my way.


    ¡°Let us out!¡± the tenuki yelled.


    ¡° No key,¡± I simply said as I walked out the room.


    ¡® I need the key to let them out. Have to find it after Z.¡¯


    As I left the room I heard footsteps. To my left were two of Z¡¯s assistance. They were the one¡¯s in charge of the specimens.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡° The bird¡¯s out,¡± Assistant one said.


    ¡° I can see that retard,¡± Assistant two.


    ¡° W-what do we do?¡±


    ¡° He¡¯s bin he for a long time. He can probably barely stand.¡±


    ¡® Wrong.¡¯ I didn¡¯t let my muscles atrophy. I did push ups and stretches every day after I lost my wing. I wanted to be prepared.


    ¡® step off with you¡¯re left foot. Keep your center of gravity low,¡¯ my father¡¯s words went thru my head as I sprinted the fifteen meter¡¯s between us.


    With a crack the bar hit assistant two in the face. His face caved in under the blow. I fallowed it with a swipe at assistant ones legs. He fell to the floor crying in pain as a masteries liquid started to seep from between his legs.


    ¡° Where¡¯s Z?¡±


    ¡° D-d-d-d-d,¡± he stuttered thru his sobs.


    Crack. The bar broke his left arm.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Z?¡±I asked again.


    ¡° D-down th-th-the hall on the third l-l-l-left.¡± A certain bar smashed into his face.


    ¡° Stupid human trash. They should all just die.¡±


    I walked down the hall. Covered in blood. A stained lab coat found itself on my person. After a strategic hole was ripped in it.


    I opened the door to Z pointing a gun at a red headed girl covered in stiches who had two guns herself. My mind barely registered the girl as my vision turned crimson. Z was all I saw. His name echoed thru my mind louder and louder.


    ¡° Z. Z. Z! Z!! Z!!!¡± The echoes in my mind found themselves on my lips as a ran at him the bar in my hand. ¡°DIE!!!¡±


    They both turned there guns towards me. ¡° That¡¯s what I love about you. You just won¡¯t break. Not since I took this feather.¡± He said in a deep voice that contrasted his normal one as he pointed to a white feather that hung from a string around his neck.


    There was a loud bang that came from Z¡¯s direction and then everything went dark.