Kotorigaro- Writings- Beast Riders

Unfinished Story: Beast Riders

Chapter 1

It was the middle of winter and snow was swirling thickly outside in the streets of Bernan. But it was warm and cheery inside the Rose Inn, where most of the town’s citizens had gathered tonight.
Behind the bar stood the pub mistress, a middle-aged woman with long bushy red hair and deep sapphire eyes, named Kate. Normally Kate would never have offered anyone a drink free of charge, but she had just made an exception for the young man who now sat, looking worried and weary, on the opposite side of the bench. He was trembling and his clothes were torn and dirty; normally not one of the people now gazing at him would have paid him the slightest notice. Yet the whole inn was silent, listening carefully as the ragged man told his tale.
“I live out on me old dad’s farm, ‘bout two miles east ferm ‘ere.” He was saying hoarsely, as he grasped his drink like it was the only solid thing in the world. “An’ today we was movin’ the cattle to new pasture, see? An’ so we drive ‘em up to the gate, right, but the cattle won’t go through. So me old dad goes up to check out what’s wrong, see? An’ e goes ‘round to the other side of the gate to see if there’s somethin’ there, right, and then the cattle goes crazy an’ this big black thing, like a ghost, right, comes out from under the old pile o spare fencin’ an’ starts attackin’ ‘em! An’ e yells fer me to run, so I does. An’ I come here fer help, but then I think, of course the ghosty thing would already be gone, right? So there’s nothin’ I can do! An’ the cursed thing probably has eaten me dad…”
Here the man’s voice broke and he was silent for a moment, staring at the drink in his shaking hands.
“So I thinks, maybe I should tell yous anyways, so you know, and you can try an’ protects yerselves. So I have… An’ now you know.”
Total silence followed this extraordinary story, and then there was a burst of noise as everyone started to speak. Kate leaned across the bar and laid a comforting hand on the traumatized man’s arm.
“There there” she said soothingly “you’re safe here. Come, let’s go upstairs and I’ll show you to your room. You can bring your drink with you.”
The man nodded numbly, and silently followed as the pub mistress came out from behind the counter and led him towards a flight of wooden stairs.

Meanwhile, two men sat near the fire, discussing, as the rest of their fellows, the story they had just been told. “What do you think it could’ve been?” The younger inquired, leaning closer to his bearded friend in order to hear his answer over the din.
“Dunno.” The other growled, watching as the young farmer disappeared up the stairs. “But whatever it is, it’s dangerous, and the King should be told about it.”
“Do you think His Majesty will send one of his Riders to check it out?” The younger man asked, his eyes suddenly sparkling with interest. The bearded man glanced at him, and raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you start talking to me about His Majesty’s Riders. They scare me more than some ghost.”
“But they serve the King” the young man insisted “they’re on our side.”
“That doesn’t change a thing. Personally, I wouldn’t trust anything that isn’t human.”
“They are human!”
“That’s not what I’ve heard. Besides, since when have men been able to perform magic and talk to animals?” The elder man asked triumphantly.
“What magic do they perform? Tell me that!” His younger friend said, annoyed.
“Come on, you know what the scriptures say! There’s the White Rider- he draws his earthly magic from a massive diamond. He represents the scholars in the king's court. And then there’s the Red Rider- her stone is the Ruby, fire is her element and her profession is the warrior. The Blue Rider’s stone is the Lapis Lazuli, his element is water, and he is a healer. And then, there’s the Black Rider. He’s the most dangerous, in my opinion. Anyway, his stone is the Onyx, his element air, and his profession; a spy.”
“That’s just a whole lot of symbolism, nothing else!”
“Think what you like, it isn’t going to change the truth.”
“Phfftt! And I suppose you know everything else about them as well?” The young man asked sarcastically.
The older man grinned.
“The truth is, Luke, that nobody really knows anything about His Majesty’s Beast Riders. Except that they are not normal, and that they ride strange magical beasts. Now hurry up and finish your drink, my wife will be wondering where I am.” Reluctantly his friend obliged, and both men rose from their seats and headed towards the door.

In a corner next to the fire, a figure stirred. He wore a pair of polished black boots, and a long black cloak which he had wrapped about himself. His face was completely hidden in the shadow of his cowl; his only distinguishing feature was a silver badge pinned to his cloak at his throat. It was round, etched with intertwining patterns and, in the middle, a round black onyx glittered in the firelight.
Under the cowl, the figure watched as the two men he had been eavesdropping on exited the inn. He listened to a few other conversations for a while, even though he knew he had already learnt all he could. There was no use staying here another day. Tomorrow, when the rest of the town heard of what had happened and those who were here tonight had thought about it, people would be more careful about where they spoke and they would be more suspicious, and that would do him no good at all. Sure, they would think it odd that he had disappeared the very night that the young farmer had told his story, and some may even begin to suspect him, but he was too used to that sort of thing to care much. Besides, he was already late.
The figure rose to his full height, which was considerable, and glided towards the door. People glanced at him as he passed, before quickly looking away again. He ignored them. It was just another thing he had grown used to over the years.

Kate returned from showing the farmer to his room just as the cloaked figure headed out of the door into the night. Sliding back behind the bar, Kate watched him with narrowed eyes as he closed the door behind him, turned right and glided down the road.
She watched him until he was out of sight, before picking up another glass and starting to clean it. Every now and again she would glance at the front window, as if expecting the strange man to return. But he didn’t.
He was a strange man, Kate mused to herself as she put aside the glass and picked up another. For all the three days that he had stayed in Bernan, he had sat upon his chair in the corner of inn, as still as if he was carved from stone. He had not spoken a word, and he had not lowered his hood once. And he hadn’t ordered even one drink, which Kate found most odd.
But she could forgive him that, she reflected. Even if he had bought nothing himself, folks from the town had dropped in for a drink or two just to get a look at this mysterious dark stranger everyone was talking about.
The pub mistress sighed, and picked up another glass. She wondered if it was like that for him at every town he visited. Poor man.

The man Kate was wondering about had already made his way to the edges of a forest that grew right next to the busy little town of Bernan, and was currently following an obscure trail deep into the trees.
He strolled along at a leisurely pace, and while he was visibly relaxed his back remained as straight as ever, and his hands, swinging at his sides, remained loosely fisted. As he walked he began to hum, and his deep rich voice throbbed through the air. It was not long before he reached a small clearing, and here he stopped. For the first time in three days he reached up and lowered his hood, revealing a youthful, handsome face. His bronze skin was smooth and flawless, apart from one long white scar that ran diagonally over one cheekbone. His long black hair was tied back, although a few strands that had come loose now skimmed lightly over his face, stirred by the chill winter breeze. His eyes were brown, streaked with gold, and they were framed by long eyelashes the same colour as his hair. The young man stretched, and then settled down on a nearby tree stump. He continued to hum, occasionally glancing up at the sky.
After a minute or two he stopped humming, and got up again. The sound of beating wings filled the air, and the next moment a strange beast landed in the midst of the clearing.
Its body and feet were that of a bird; rather owl-like, covered mostly in inky black feathers, but with white patterns spread through its enormous wings. Its eyes were that of an eagle’s- golden brown and penetrating. But its dark head was lion-like, and covered in black fur that merged into feathers along the creature’s neck. And instead of a lion's mane, the creature sported a crest of black and white feathers that ran from the middle of its forehead to the base of its neck.
The creature’s eyes fixed upon the man and a voice, much like the man’s own, echoed inside his head.
*What news?* The beast asked.
“Dai’s suspicions were correct.” The man replied, walking towards it.
*So beings from the Shadow World have found their way past the barrier into our world?*
“Yes. But it doesn’t sound like it was an accident. I think someone in this world opened the way for them. But it would take powerful magic to break through the barrier, and personally I don’t know of anyone other than us who can use magic.” The man mused, stroking the beast’s smooth neck.
*This is more serious, then, than we first believed.*
“I think so. Thank goodness Shadow Creatures don’t last long in the sun.” The man said, hoisting himself up in front of the creature’s massive wings.

A minute later a strange beast rose above the top of the forest, the sound of its wings filling the air. It circled the area a couple of times, before turning and speeding away northwards, its alien cry fading into silence.

Chapter 2

A few miles to the west of Bernan the farmland and forest gave way to scrubland, and the scrubland in turn gave way to wasteland, where it was too dry for anything to grow. The wasteland continued to spread north and west, until it came to the feet of a large mountain range the people called The Feya Mountains.
On the other side of the mountains, in a place almost no one knew existed, the land was lush again. The hills were blanketed in tall green grass, and birds sang in the dense forest there. In the middle of this forest rose a mountain. Although none of the people of King Harren’s kingdom had ever seen this mountain nor even knew where it was, they often talked about it. They called it Beasts Mountain.
Beasts Mountain was not famous for its shape, its colour, or even its height. In fact, Beasts Mountain was one of the most ordinary mountains you could ever hope to see. The reason it was famous was because it was the legendary hideout of King Harren’s Beast Riders and their creatures.
Halfway up Beasts Mountain there was a huge cave, and in front of that cave an enormous shelf of rock jutted out like the bow of a ship. And it was there, one fair summer’s morning, that a creature was asleep on its back with its white belly exposed to the sun’s warming rays.
A mosquito hovered over the creature, its droning whine growing louder and louder until the resting beast woke up, and could stand it no longer. With lightning speed precision, one giant paw swept through the air and crushed the annoying insect into the rock.
Irritated that her rest was disturbed, Ruby gave a small growl and got to her feet. The lioness’s crimson fur glowed in the bright sunlight, and the white on her underside and on her paws gleamed like fresh snow. Carefully she cleaned her paw of any mosquito remains, and then cleaned her other three front paws while she was at it.
As she finished off her inner right paw she thought she heard the sound of her friend Onyx’s wings. At first she thought she had imagined it, but then the sound grew louder, and she knew only one thing had wings that made such a noise. Onyx was back!
*Tarri! Onyx is back!* Ruby called to her Rider at the top of her voice.
At the same time Lapis, and Di and Da arrived.
*Move back!* Ruby growled, trotting towards them. *Give him room to land!*
Lapis moved back into the shade of the cave, his sea green eyes apologetic. Di and Da flared their nostrils at being ordered around, but obliged silently. Ruby came to sit next to them, her eyes trained on the black speck circling high above them.
“You didn’t need to yell so loud.” Tarri grumbled, coming to stand next to her Beast. Lapis’s Rider, Shar, and Di and Da’s Rider, Dai, appeared silently next to Tarri and together they all peered up at the sky. The next second, Onyx slammed down onto the landing platform in one of his usual speedy landings, and his Rider vaulted off his back.
“Rerran! You’ve been gone for ages!” Shar exclaimed, as Becca ran forward and hugged the tired man. The dark haired man smiled, and after Becca had let go of him he hugged the Blue Rider, and then Dai.
“Did you find anything?” Dai asked anxiously. Rerran nodded, and the Riders disappeared inside.

The Beasts were silent for a moment, gazing after their human friends as they walked to the back of the cave and disappeared down a flight of stairs.
Finally Lapis moved slowly and gracefully out from the shade of the cave, the sun dancing over his pale blue coat as he moved. Lapis wasn’t much taller than Ruby, but the combined length of his long snakelike neck, his horse-like body and his tail made him easily the longest of all the Beasts. His face looked like that of a fox with an very long snout, and two prongs-like golden horns grew from his head above his ears. Starting from his forehead and running between his horns, along the top of his neck and along his back was a mane of thick turquoise fur, which ended in a sleek tuft at the end of his long whip like tail. The Blue Beast’s soft green eyes fixed themselves on Onyx.
*What did you find out?* He asked in his cool, smooth voice.
When Onyx had finished telling them all, Di and Da shook their heads unhappily. The two-headed creature looked just like a stag, except that its legs were unusually long, and it was a gleaming white. If Ruby was the strongest Beast (and the bossiest) and Lapis was the longest, Di and Da had to be the fastest. They were also the smartest, but Ruby didn’t think that counted because they had two heads, therefore two brains.

It might have seemed odd to some people that a creature as smart as Di and Da had such, well, silly names. But Di was not Di’s real name, and nether was Da Da’s. Both actually had very long and noble sounding names, much more befitting of an animal of their intelligence. But as their fellows did not wish to bother with such long names, over time the two had come to be known as simply Di and Da.
*This is not good at all!* Di groaned.
*If it is true that someone let those Shadow Creatures into this world, then it means that someone in this world has been doing magic all this time without our knowing* Da continued, his grey eyes troubled.
*Which means that they must be pretty good with magic, which means that we have a big problem.* Di finished.
Onyx nodded his head solemnly, his golden brown eyes thoughtful. Onyx was the craftiest Beast, and although he was a sensible creature most of the time, he did have mischievous tendencies. Now, however, was not the time for pranks.
Ruby wondered out loud.
*Stop them, of course!* Di scoffed.
*Yes, but how?* Lapis interjected calmly. *We have never had to deal with another magic user before.*
*It’s four to one, come on!* Da snorted, rolling his eyes.
*How do we know it’s only one?* Onyx asked, his eyes narrowed. *How do we know that it isn’t twenty?*
The Beasts looked at each other, but no one had an answer to that.

Meanwhile, the Riders were discussing the same problem in a vast cavern in the heart of the mountain.
The cavern itself was shaped like a dome, with doors carved into the northern, eastern, western and southern sides, leading to landings and stairways leading up and down the different levels of the Riders’ mountain home. The floor was perfectly flat and smooth, patterned with mosaic tiles, and the walls and ceiling were of white stone. In the middle of the ceiling hovered a strange, large orb, which filled the room with warm mellow light. Bright tapestries depicting strange and magical beasts hung on the walls, and in the centre of the cavern was a raised platform, with steps leading down to the floor. In the middle of the platform stood a large round table, and around this table the Riders had gathered.
Dai paced up and down one side of the platform, every now and again throwing disgruntled looks at the map spread out on the table. The Rider’s hair was as white as Di and Da’s coat, and his eyes were the same shade of grey.
“There could be more than one.” He muttered for the thousandth time as he paused and stared at the map. “How are we going to find them? And we have no clues…”
“Hey, that isn’t my fault.” Rerran shrugged. The Black Rider lounged in his favourite chair (a thickly padded leather one with a high back) with a glass of apple juice in one hand. “I’ve told you all I could find out.”
“We do know that the barrier must have opened somewhere nearby Bernan though” Shar mused from where he was sitting cross legged on a large pile of blue pillows. The Blue Rider brushed his golden fringe out of his sea green eyes, and picked at the hem of his blue robes thoughtfully. “Shadow Creatures don’t live long in the sun, and the one that attacked that farmer had enough energy to kill him, so it can’t have been in the sun long. “Sure, but that isn’t going to help us find the mastermind behind this scheme.” Terri growled, shifting impatiently on top of her padded stool.
“Oh, help us, she’s talking about masterminds already!” Dai cried, covering his eyes with one hand.
“Chill, Dai.” Rerran grinned, glancing at Terri’s huffy expression. “No matter how hard the challenge, warrior princess here will take care of it.”
His jest earned him a sharp slap over the head with a pillow. “Hey, easy! I nearly dropped my juice!” Rerran yelped, cradling his glass.
“Oooo, did ickle Rerrikins nearly drop his drinkie?!?”
“Come on guys, we need to concentrate here.” Shar reminded them, smiling.
“He started it!!!”
“Ah, its so nice to have the whole family back together again.” Dai remarked sarcastically.
“Thanks Dai! I knew you loved me!” Rerran laughed.
“Oh, shut up.”

Chapter 3

It was decided that all the Riders could do for now was try to find out more about their enemy, and to try and keep the Shadow Creatures from causing any further damage. The people wouldn’t be warned just yet, since the Riders didn’t want their foe to realise that they knew about him or her. Or them.
Onyx and Rerran left early the next morning- they would travel around the towns again, and keep up with the gossip, while Di, Da and Dai would warn King Harren about the danger. Terri and Ruby, and Shar and Lapis would search through the land, and try to find anything, anything at all, that might be of help. The arrangement wasn’t nearly as well planned as the Riders would have liked, but they all agreed that it was the best they could do with so little information.

Ruby, Di, Da, Lapis and their Riders watched from the base of Beast Mountain as Rerran and Onyx grew smaller and smaller as they flew away, until they were little more than a dark speck on the horizon. Sighing, Shar lifted himself onto Lapis’s back, and looked at his remaining friends.
“Well, good luck.” He said solemnly, unable to hide the worry in his green eyes. “We’ll see you in a few days.” They nodded silently. Lapis turned and walked across the square in front of the mountain’s ground entrance, his Clydesdale like feet clip clopping over the smooth paving stones. On the far side of the square was an enormous waterfall, which plummeted down past the rock to hit the river below it many meters below. A few feet away from the square edge Lapis gathered himself, and then launched himself over the edge. As the Rider and Beast fell the air around them shimmered with blue light, and Lapis’s horse like legs melted away, so that when they hit the water they barely made a splash, and merely slid effortlessly under the surface.
“Show off.” Terri muttered. Dai smiled grimly, and turned back to the mountain entrance. He raised his hands, and they seemed to glow white. Slowly, with a loud grinding noise the mountain’s entrance closed in upon itself, until the opening was completely closed and it seemed just like a solid rock wall. “We’ll see you later Terri.” Dai said, turning and hoisting himself on Di and Da’s back. “Good luck.” “You too.” Terri replied glumly as the white Beast lunged forward, and with a clatter of hooves a white blur shot across the square and disappeared into the forest. The Red Rider stood still for a moment gazing into the trees, before turning and climbing onto Ruby’s back. “Come on girl. Let’s go find some clues so we can find out who this person is, and then go kick their butt.” She muttered to her Beast.
*Sounds good to me!* Ruby replied, raising her head to smell the air. *Let’s go.*
The Red Beast padded across the square and slipped into the trees, moving with the silence only a feline could achieve. Soon they were clear of the forest and Ruby picked up speed, moving from a careful walk to a rolling lope, until they reached the base of the Feya Mountains. From there they followed a path they had used many times before, which led them between two of the mountain peaks to the other side of the range of mountains, and to the beginning of the wasteland. The Red Rider and her Beast weren’t bothered by the aridness nor the heat of the wastelands, however, and so they began to cross the parched land without bothering to rest.
By the time they had reached the other side, night had just fallen. Finally they stopped, and made a small camp in the midst of a small wood bordering the farmlands surrounding Bernan. “We made good progress today.” Terri told her Beast as she wrapped a blanket around herself and prepared to go to sleep. “We’ll reach Bernan by midday tomorrow, if all goes well.” Ruby yawned, and curled herself up next to her Rider. *And then we’ll talk to the pub lady Rerran mentioned.* “The pretty one.” Terri snorted. “He’s got some cheek, that man.” Ruby snickered, and then the two fell silent. Nearby, in a cluster of trees, something stirred. Two pinpricks of red light fixed themselves upon the two sleeping figures, and from within the plants came a low hiss. For a minute the thing stared, and then, just as softly as it had come, it slid back into the shadows.

Meanwhile, that same day, Dai and his Beast reached King Harren’s palace in the north of the kingdom.
The sun was high in the sky, and its warm rays splashed the golden tops of the palace’s many spires and towers with radiance. Below the paved road leading into the castle grounds glowed the colour of fresh snow, and the vibrant colours and rich green from the palace gardens seemed all the more intense in the summer light.
The guards at the gilded doors to the entrance hall stood tall and still, the sun glimmering on their smooth breastplates and on the hilts of their swords. Suddenly they became aware of the sound of hooves, before a strange snow white creature skidded to a stop below them at the foot of the stairs.
Gazing at the animal from within their elaborate helms, their eyes grew wider as it stared back at them, each head’s steel grey eyes boring into the guard’s own.
A tall man swung gracefully down from the animal’s back, his pastel hair gleaming whiter than the stones on which he stood. The man murmured something to the beast, before making his way up the steps. As he approached them the guards saw the worry in his youthful face.
“I wish a private audience with His Majesty.” He stated simply, coming to a halt in front of them. “Tell him that Dai has urgent news.”
The guards nodded, and one slipped past the doors to deliver the message. Normally they would have questioned any unfamiliar being further, but no one questioned anyone when a Rider came bearing tidings.

...?