Harpia Hunt- Deicide

Misty clouds surrounded rider and dragon as they glided through the quiet that pooled between mountains. The stone faces around them towered in great gray spires, stabbing through the moisture. The landscape was a grayscale of shades of rock, snow, and cloudy sky, and no sunlight was expected for the rest of their trip.

Ethercaste’s wingbeats barely stirred Eidolon from her seat. He was a confident mount,  weaving through the air. The black stryx seemed at home in the dusky mountains, nearly blending in amidst the darker swaths of stone.

Some time passed since she last came to the mountains. Rumors stirred of gigantic stryx living in the high altitudes, away from the prying eyes of man, and Eidolon could not resist the urge to explore.Of all her mounts, Ethercaste was the only one who wanted to come with her.

A gust sliced through the thin air. It was a shock to inhale, causing cold to ache in her chest. Despite her thick gloves, she could barely keep feeling in her fingers. Every few minutes she stuck her fingers between Ethercaste’s sleek feathers to warm her hands. Despite his usual moodiness, he let her.

He was growing in trust towards her. It was slow going, but she could see the stark contrast between his attitude as a chick, and now as a young adult. He was still moody and had a nasty tendency of lunging at people he didn’t like, but he was more tolerant towards her. Eidolon no longer had to chase him down if she needed him, or wrestle to get his tack on.  Now she had only to call his name and show him his harness.

Ethercaste was quickly becoming her favorite mount. He had a temper, but he was smart, and quick to react with the most effective course. The dark dragon was sure of himself. It made navigation and hunting much easier for Eidolon, who only had to nudge him with her knee and he was already maneuvering to her specifics.

The rider patted her stryx appreciatively before reaching into the leather pouch on her back to pull a pair of blades. They would help her scale the cliff face when they landed to look for signs of nests. Where there were nests, there were hatchlings. And where there were hatchlings, there were sure to be Harpia.  

Ethercaste stiffened.  

“Ether?”

Eidolon felt the stryx’s shoulders stiffen, and quieted when he swiveled his head back and forth. He swooped towards a rock formation and perched, hunkering against the stone. He continuously scanned the mist, tail-tip wiggling. Eidolon held her breath; Ethercaste was a quiet dragon but he never acted like this. The tension in his shoulders remained.

And then she heard it.

A shrill cry came from the fog, and through the haze appeared an enormous creature, eagle-like with the hallmark tail of a Stryx. Its head started as a dark, earthen color before it slowly faded into cream as its feathers progressed. Its eyes were sharp like the wind it sailed upon, causing fear to coil in Eidolon’s chest. She had no idea it’d be that large.

The rider gaped at the sheer enormity of the dragon before flattening against Ethercaste, who stilled completely, eyes never leaving the newcomer. She lost her grip on one of the knives but could only clutch Ethercaste so she didn’t fall. Eidolon could feel her mount’s heart racketing against his ribcage.

The blade’s hilt caught on the edge of the saddle as the monstrous dragon circled the area. Eidolon wanted to snatch the blade, but she dared not move for fear the giant would hear them. If the knife kept balance for a few more seconds, they would still have the element of surprise…

But no such luck graced them.

With a loud ringing sound, the knife wiggled loose and scraped against a metal fixture before falling into the misty abyss below.

The giant roared.

“Move!” She cried.

Ethercaste pushed off from the cliff and shot for the Harpia’s eyes so that he could temporarily blind the beast.

The larger stryx shrieked in fury at them, humungous feet rising to rip the pair from the sky.

But Ethercaste zipped out of reach and gave an answering warcry. The black stryx’s wings beat in furious time to propel them out of reach of their target. Eidolon steered them above the harpia’s head so she could better gauge their chances of success. She feared she did not bring enough rope for this.

They needed to pull a fast maneuver if they wanted to escape with their hides, as well as their prize. Stroking Ethercaste’s feathers to calm her nerves, she urged the stryx to slow and drop further in altitude. He fought her guidance first, wingbeats faltering as he weighed their options.

“Please Ether, don’t fight me on this!” Eidolon whispered. “Trust me, buddy.”

It seemed he understood. Swiveling his head, he slowed his flapping before he pointed them in a steeper grade towards the ground. Using their momentum, Eidolon urged him into a spiral, picking up speed as they neared the Harpia. The larger dragon tried to follow their movements, but was unused to such a speedy creature strategically flitting at the edge of his vision.

It did what it was supposed to. The giant became enraged, and gave ear-splitting scream before spreading its wings to their full span.

“Now!” She pointed Ether’s head towards a gap between the beast’s wings and the mountains. As they approached, Eidolon threw one end of a weight rope above the creature’s wings, catching it on the other side as they slid through the gap. She then had Ethercaste bank upwards towards the creature’s face so that she could throw a loop around his beak.

“Down, Ether!”

With the command, Ethercaste dutifully plummeted towards the harpia’s feet, effectively pulling its head down with them.

The Harpia flapped its wings haphazardly as they began their descent, desperate to keep itself afloat. They had to wait to loop its feet, else it would crash into the mountains and likely get hurt- or worse, killed. Eidolon knew they had to play this out carefully if they wanted any chance of success.

“Steady, Ether! Keep heading down!”

Ethercaste didn’t waver, even face to face with the ground below.