Conleth's Journal: Day 0

A single, bright orb peered through the darkness, sending eerie light across the vegetation of the forest.  The light of the moon was obscured by clouds, stifling the crisp of the night.  The air, as cold as it was, was damp, humid.  Unbearably so.

I ground my teeth, braced for attack.  Every movement, every noise, put me on edge.  Something was wrong.  Were the humans -the very ones who had told me I was to be the ruler, the leader, of the forest planes left- going to take me away?  How sorry they’d be, for teaching me their ways, for ‘training’ me to become as close to one of them as I could become.  Every trick, every ploy they could play was in my mind.

Then a voice sounded.  Chilling, like the sound of chimes on a windless night.  Wrong.  “Conleth,” it called to me, the sound of… of… I snarled.

“Kadesh,” my voice was filled with rage, “You’re dead.”

The voice suppressed a chuckle.  It was coming from the single glowing orb in front of me, the one I had taken no real notice of until now.  “Perhaps, or perhaps not.  A true leader never dies, and you know that.  They live on in the minds of others -like Greatwings’ story carries on in our hearts.”

“This isn’t right, you’re not really here!”  Lunging at the orb, I held it in my teeth, or thought I did.  Instead, my teeth were nothing against the orb, and I heard one crack.  I cried out in pain, trying quickly to recover.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” the voice said, this time a different voice, one much deeper.  Male.  Lockjaw.  “Trying to take over the pack like how you are.  You ought to be ashamed of yourself.  Either way, you’re going to be sorry for having touched the orb.”  At those words, I glanced to my wingtips, which were glowing an emerald green -the same green as that of the orb.  Numbness spread slowly through my body, followed by a searing burn.  I’ll admit, I let out a scream -but the scream never was heard by the forest.  I was the last one there...