Chapter Five

If you don’t have the stones to stomach a maw of razor sharp teeth that stinks of rotting flesh and is looking to make you lunch. Put this down and stay in the city.

-Foreword to Magical Monstrosities and How To Kill Them. Written by The Silver Fox

Laughter met Garret’s roar as the broken, mangled body of Wakin suddenly shot up, flying high into the sky to stare down at trio on the mountain, rather than blood, a sickening scarlet light leaked from his wounds, the glow growing brighter with each passing moment.

“I think I chose the best possible moment for it actually.” Wakin countered, his voice a hoarse squawk. Above him the sea of clouds parted; the sound of thunder snuffed out as lightning stopped raining down. The sickening energy instead was drawn from the dark grey sky, collecting above Wakin, forming a pulsing red orb. “Your wife is unable to help you tonight and that damn mutt is still injured, leaving the one thing I didn't plan for, you.” he said, a note of genuine surprise in his voice. “I truly didn’t think you would let the curse ravage your mind for so long. I wonder how much you have lost?” he asked, a pleased smirk on his head despite his twisted neck

It had cost him considerably, but just over a hundred years ago he had ambushed Garret and cast a vicious spell on his enemy. The magical affliction slowly consumed the afflicted person’s memories, eventually turning them into a simpleton. It could be resisted, halting the process almost completely, to do so however would have rendered Garret useless. For him to be in his peak condition he must have let it run free nearly the entire time.

What kind of terrifying experience would that be? Memories chopped to pieces, bits of them vanishing forever. People and events, important or mundane gone, just thinking about it sent shivers down Wakin’s spine, something which turned to a twisted satisfaction at the knowledge that it had happened to his foe.

Not able to follow the conversation Taran ignored it, his hands clamped over Elizabeth’s ears, sparring her from what was going on. For himself that was impossible and he kept his attention focused almost completely on the sky. The orb had rapidly transformed into a massive egg and though he couldn’t be completely sure, he thought it was at least a three hundred meters across.

Despite being made completely of lightning, it behaved almost like a living liquid, its surface pulsing and quivering, stray tendrils of lightning extending from the mass before being pulled back inside.

Glancing to the sky as the last bolt of red lightning was drawn from the sky and absorbed into the egg, Wakin smiled “Ahh, my beautiful body is finally here, do you know how uncomfortable this skin is?” he asked, cocking his head and looking towards Garret who had yet to say a word in response. “I will admit it's a lot of fun to use this.” he continued, mockery in his voice as grabbed his penis and gave it a shake.

Laughing like a maniac at his own antics he shot up, flying right into the oddity in the sky. For a moment there was nothing. Then, shaking once, the egg began to collapse in on itself until it was only a tenth of the size.

A sound like a heartbeat filled the air. Wakin’s body, as he called it, swelled and contracted in time with each slow beat. With each contraction the egg’s diameter shrunk by a meter, the crimson glow emitted growing stronger and increasingly frightening at the same time.

At ten meters in diameter the shrinking stopped and the egg exploded, a blinding light released. Sweeping over Taran it tore a scream from the boy, his retinas overloaded by crimson.

When his vision returned the sky had changed. Only a few scattered storm clouds remained floating around a massive bird that hovered in the sky where the egg had been.

Swallowing hard Taran observed Wakin. The monster’s real body was that of a massive bird, similar to an eagle in form, but not quite the same. Possessing an terrifying wingspan of thirty meters he was coated with feathers that were the same crimson as the lightning that had filled the sky. Stray bolts still arced across his body from time to time. What drew the eye right away were his disproportionately large and razor sharp talons; the grey-black horrors constantly crackling with electricity.

Recognition filled his eyes a name unconsciously slipping out “Wakin Yan.” it was a monster from one of Auntie’s stories. One he'd assumed was simply to scare him and the other children. While he knew fantastic beasts and magic were real, he had never actually been exposed to much of it and so it existed mostly in the realm of legends for him.

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“Ha ha, looks like the boy knows me!” Wakin chortled his voice shaking the sky as he focused on Taran for a moment the soft whisper reaching his ears despite the distance.

“Keep your sister close, I'm going to take her as soon as I kill this old bastard.” he roared a dozen bolts of lightning as thick as a barrel firing from his body at Garret, who so far had done nothing but quietly stand there as he was insulted and berated.

Watching the lightning rapidly near him, the corners of Garret’s mouth lifted, the smile lost in his bushy beard as he flipped his wizened hand.

The mountain rumbled and a blueish grey, semi-transparent barrier appeared covering the outcropping and protecting it from the lightning, the crimson bolts not even making a mark. Waving his hand towards Elizabeth a small beam of light struck her on the brow, putting her to sleep.

Opening his mouth Garret started to chant his voice deep, powerful and ancient. In that moment he no longer seemed to be an old man, to Taran the idiot who lived in the village was now one and the same with the mountain, the two inseparable and interchangeable. Each syllable echoed among the peaks, the rock coming to life under the call. Roughly bipedal figures of stone pulled themselves from the mountain walls like it was mud, their primeval roars filling the sky all of them chanting the same nameless verse.

Under Garret’s command the tens of meters tall giants of stone began to hurl massive boulders towards Wakin in a seemingly endless barrage of stone.

Unfortunately that didn't see to do a thing to the massive bird, an equally endless stream of lightning was discharged from his body, reducing the stone to dust, he wasn't even forced to move.

“You can do better than that! Come and fight me yourself!” Wakin screeched diving towards the mountain, his body a blur.

Striking the ground with his staff the gemstone on top lit up, giving off a light identical in color to the barrier he'd cast. Beneath his bare feet the stone bubbled up, rapidly coating his body until Garret vanished under thousands of kilograms of rock.

In only a moment there was another stone man. Around ten meters tall this one was smaller than the others, but Garret was clearly more than them as well... he was complete. His features were clear and detailed right down to the hairs of his stony beard, and the dents and scratches in the stone armor he now wore. No longer weak and aging, Garret’s new body was filled with vigor, remarkably real muscles bulging beneath his stone skin, only the messy beard and dark green eyes remained similar to before.

Wielding a massive stone pillar instead of a staff he swung it towards the red blur, pure physical strength sending Wakin flying backwards, his mad laughter quieted for a moment. With a roar Garret jumped off the cliff, treading on the air as he rushed towards his foe.

“Finally!” the crazy bird cried, righting himself with a flap of his wings. Rushing forward his talons met the pillar in a blow that resounded like thunder, pushing both of them back a half dozen meters.

While both of them were skilled with magic, that was mostly the result of a massive mana pool nurtured over centuries of life. The two of them actually excelled in head on clashes, as they displayed dealing dizzying flurry of blows that suck the sky as they dueled back and forth.

Attention riveted to the fight Taran was unable to tear his gaze away, he'd never seen combat on this level, it was a battle between giants, and something he completely unqualified to participate in. He couldn't even follow the exchange, it was simple two blurs in the sky accompanied by lightning and a shower of rocks. In fact, the gusts of wind generated from each thunderous clash would have swept him off the ledge, if not for the barrier.

Blinking only when he absolutely had to Taran watched the two forces of nature battle, his heart beating wildly in his chest. It was awe inspiring and also terrifying. Garret was losing. The young boy may not have been able to see the individual moves, but he could see the grey blur that represented Garret being pushed back meter by bloody meter.

Not giving in Garret succeed in dragging the fight out for over an hour going to his very limit before he crashed through the barrier and slammed into the mountain next to Taran and his sister. He was broken, not a single part of his body was without frightening cracks, silver mercurial blood flowed from the wounds, each drop dripping to the ground with a soft “ping”. All around the stone men stopped thier barrage, their rudimentary faces full of fear.

“By The Mother’s sagging dried out tits, you found another girl didn’t you?” Garret swore, his voice like grating stones as he struggled to sit up, his eyes switching between madness and clarity as he looked at Wakin.

“Ha! Even with all your brothers you still lost, you old lump of stone.” Wakin mocked, not bothering to answer the question, the old bastard knew the answer.

“You know he damned your sister.” the bird said suddenly, his eyes focusing on Taran. “If he had attacked at any point while I was forming my body he could have driven me away.” he revealed nearing the cliffs, Taran’s cloak of furs whipping about with each flap of his wings. Wakin’s body only had light injuries that were already healing. “He could have saved you sister.” he said, relishing the look of helpless anger on Taran’s face as he landed on the edge of the cliff, his body shriking by two thirds to fit.

“Why?” Taran demanded outrage and accusation on his face as he turned to Garret

“It would have been pointless, he would have never let her go. He’d hound her until he had her.” Garret countered each word a painful struggle as he fought through the pain and the curse.

“Isn’t that why we set this trap up?” Garret continued, the small smile from before reappearing as he started to laugh.

“Exactly.”