The Order's Decision
#54 of Out of the Shadows: AnthroLover's Version
The Great Valley was a well know place. Even the ones who had never been there themselves had at least heard talk about it. A place full of food and water, where no sharptooth could go in and there was open to anyone who go in. A real paradise for al leaf eaters. But right now was tainted with death and misery.
Fortress Valley was less know. But some sharpteeth had already heard of it. A place much like the Great Valley, where sharpteeth could go in and traine their way of killing. Where leaf eaters were kept only with the purpose of being food. A paradise for sharpteeth, that was governed by a cruel General who started a war.
But, there was another valley. A valley that was even more secret them Fortress Valley, in which only a selected few even knew about its existent. A place that was as big and as alive as the two valleys mentioned before. A place that was still alive and away of the war for now. A paradise for both leaf eaters and sharpteeth.
Yes, both dinosaur species lived in this place. There were longnecks, flyers, swimmers, domeheads, yellow bellies, horned sharpteeth, sickleclaws, threehorns, all the kinds of dinosaurs. Sharpteeth and leaf eaters lived in peace here, calling one another friend. No one hunted other dinosaurs in this place. The sharpteeth ate bugs or fish. They could eat mammals and even feed only on the meat of dinosaurs who had died, it had become a tradition in there.
This was a place where the dream of peace and harmony had come true. This was the Valley of Leaf and Claw.
But, even in this place. The effects of the war happening now could be felt. There wasn't fight between the residents. But all of them could feel that the thing was going bad. Many of them were wondering why they didn't do anything to stop this. They were powerful enough. Actually just a few of them could be enough to stop this war before it had even started. But they just keep there doing nothing.
Just like last time.
But this was now in discussion. Somewhere in the valley, there was a great flat ground, in the middle of it was a great symbol carved on the rock ground: a treestar with a sharptoth's tooth over it. Around it where thirteen rock platforms around it in a half-moon. This place was well-known for being the place were the council meet to make great decisions. In each platform stand one member of the council, and in the other half stood the ones that were going to talk, and, almost always, curious that wanted to see what would happen.
The first to arrive in the place was a Salen. The jade-green sickleclaw stood in the middle of the meeting place, walking from one side to another. He was very impatient. Slowly started to appear anothers. There were the bunch of sextuplets, then appeared Delan the longneck, the sickleclaws Bayron, Heater, Melissa and Hanna, Zera the twocrested swimmer, along with many others. Many of them, who lived in this place, used in some part of their bodies an object that had the same symbol of the stone ground. Be it a ring, a necklace or a belt. Others weren't wearing any resembling object, they were the mates and parents of the others, so they lived along with then in this valley, along with others that received permission to stay.
Soon arrived the members of the council, all of them using something with the symbol. They were only twelve of the thirteen council members: a domehead, a threehorn, a longneck, a crested flyer (like petrie), a spiketail, a bonecrusher sharptooth, a sickleclaw, a clubtail, a tubehead (parasaurolophus), a bellydragger, a runner and a shieldback (Nod's species). They all took their places in the rocks where the council was supose to stay, leaving the rock of the middle open. Salen sighed "So the council has arrived, can we start now?"
"No." said the domehead "Zeiran has not arrived yet." As soon as he said those words, a shadow passed by then from the sky. Salen looked up "Well, he has arrived now." The great form slowly descended from the sky to the central rock in the meeting place.
It was an impressive sight, this creature. It had a ruby-red body scale, with a golden scales on his underbelly and in the membranes of its wings. It stood powerfully on four legs as it's wings found place in his back. His body denoted a very build musculature. In its head were three golden horns; two goat-like horns in the back of his head and one small horn in the point of his nose. In his neck you could see a necklace with the symbol. It was a very impressive flamebreath. It was no other than Zeiran, the head of the council, leader of their valley.
Zeiran then looked down to meet Salen's eyes, and spoke in a firm tone "So, Salen, do you asked for this council reunion?"
Salen normally would bow down to him, but in this situation he was far to concerned to care about formalities "Yes sir, I did." Zeiran eyed him curiously "And why would be that?" Salen then spoke "For we to stop the war that is going on between sharpteeth and leaf eaters."
After Salen said those words the mumbling started, among the council and among the crowd. Zeiran was the only one in silence. He then roared loud to make silence he looked back at Salen and spoke calmly "Salen, this has already be discussed. We already decided not to put ourselves in the middle of it. The spirits don't want this way."
Salen stared back at him. "But... All that we know now. That Chomper has been fooled in acting this way. That he was being controled by magic and manipulated." he said desperately "And now that we know that the darkarians had been behind this the whole time, and that they plan to take over the whole world. We will not ignore this, right?" He looked desperately at the council "Right?"
The council members looked at each other, then back at Zeiran "Salen, I understand your concern. I could say that I share of it. But we just can't act right now." A spark of despair spreaded in Salen's chest. Many on the crowd had the same reaction. Vanny, the fast runner, clenched his fists; smoke started to came out of Bruce's nostrils while his eyes blazed, and Layla seemed about to start crying again.
"So is that so?" Salen asked "We will simplelet it happen like in the time with Slasher?"
Zeiran dug his claws in the ground, then spoke softly with the sickleclaw "Salen, you must understand, the spirits..." But when he was talking suddenly Salen snapped "The hell with the spirits!"
Everyone with the exception of Zeiran gasped as one. They all knew that what Salen had just said was a terrible curse. Zeiran snarled angry at him "What your mouth, little one!" He roared "You have no right of blaspheme like this!"
"So it's a blasphemy to say what you think?" Salen asked "Is blasphemy to say what everyone thinks now? That the spirits are not doing the work they were suppose?" Zeiran looked at him "Salen listen..."
"NO!" Salen snapped at him again "I have listened in silence for far to long, now YOU will listen." Everyone was looking at him like he had gone insane, but Salen didn't care. He didn't even was thinking of what to say, but was like he had planned to say it for a really long time.
The sickleclaw pointed at himself "The reason why I..." He said "The reason why everyone here wanted to join the order was for its goal: to protect everyone and keep balance. And for, someday, make the whole world be like this place." Zeiran was looking at him wide-eyed, no one had ever talked to him like that. "We were teached that all goes around the will of the spirits. Well, this order was created by order of the spirits. A command of them to make a group that would protect the world into the right way, and make it be the perfect world for everyone."
He took a deep breath before continuing "We all vowed by the seven brothers to made a better world for everyone and defeat all the evil. But when the evil arrives then we don't do nothing?" He looked at Zeiran straight into the eyes "This doesn't seem right to me. If the spirits wanted a perfect world so why they don't want us to take part? If we keep here without doing what we were suppose to do, then why do the order even exist? Remember Lydia? She acted without the spirits command and the result you know very well how good it was. We were suppose to take care of everything. Not only search for the stones of cold fire that the spirits send and put then on the Great Stone of Cold Fire. To protect the others, that was what we were suppose to do. With or without the spirits approval."
Everyone mumbled in this, some saying that Salen said what was needed to be said. Some said that he was surely going to be kicked of the order. Some where even expecting Zeiran to attack him. But the great flamebreath stood there, looking at the small sharptooth. "Salen, you..." He started "You..." He then lowered his head and finished "You're right."
Everyone gasped, but Salen said "I don't care what you think, I..." But them he stopped talking when he got what the old smoke bag had said "You... you said I'm right?" Zeiran sighed and said "Yes Salen. You are absolutely right." He looked straight in the eyes of the surprised sickleclaw "This IS the reason why the order exist. It is our goal and our duty. And we must take it no matter the circumstances nor the consequences."
He then looked back at the others of the council. "Everybody agree?" The council was awkward by start, but slowly every one of then said "Aye" agreeing with the matter. The last one was the threehorn, who spoke to Zeiran "But sir, the spirits..." Zeiran quickly intermitted "If the spirits don't like this, then they will surely send us a signal. But now, is time for the Order of Leaf and Claw to act." Then, to everyone's surprise, a happy, ethereal voice talked "So, you finally understand."
Everyone was startled by this voice. Mostly because it was a voice that no one recognized. "Who is there?" asked Zeiran, ready to any problem "Show yourself!" The right between Salen, who turned around, started to form a strange mist, that slowly took the form of a ghostly longneck. She was brown and seemed to be on top of her physical form. Everyone went wide-eyed. They all bowed to the spirit in front of them.
Salen quickly looked at her guilty "M-madam, about what I'd just said. Well I-I was just... I didn't..." But the spirit only chuckled and smiled at him "It's okay young one. You said what was needed to be said." Salen looked at her confuse, then she spoke again "This order was created with a command of the spirits. But we did not wanted for you to wait for another of our commands to do what you're incumbent."
Everyone looked at her "A child must learn things from what the parents say. But, if this child do not learn to make its own decisions, and act on its own will, or it will never be ready to face the world, like an adult must." Everyone keep silence "It's truth that most, if not all the spirits want respect. But we are in no way owners of you, like a parent isn't the owner of its child. If you all want to face the world you must be ready to act on your own accord. You have to learn to walk to take your road."
Everyone think about it. Salen and Zeiran shared a look, and smiled at one another, so Zeiran spoke to her "Thank you. Any other advice?" The spirit longneck smiled and said "I think that Balcan know what to do now." She gestured to the old rainbow face, who was standing among the crowd "Tomorrow sharpteeth and leaf eaters will go for a last battle in the morning. If they do so disgrace and death will fall over all of them." She looked at Salen again "Good luck, we will be watching over all of you." And with that, she finally disappeared.
Everyone stood there for a few seconds, then Balcan walked until Salen and put a hand on his shoulder "You were yourself young one, and followed your heart." Salen then shared a look and a smile with Zeiran, before the great wyrm said "Okay now everyone, finally years of preparation and train will be put in action. Be ready to leave tomorrow before the great circle rises." And with that the crowd quickly went away, more of them members of the Order of Leaf and Claw that were going to get ready for finally act. Zeiran turned to Balcan "Any last requests?"
Balcan smiled at the flamebreath and said "There is only one more thing we will need."
In another place of the valley it was a great thing. A great stone with the aspect of a great ball of silver material, around this blue flames that were as cold as ice. This stone was composed of numerous smaller stones that had fallen before in ancient time. The gift of the spirits for the order. One of its duties was to search for that rocks and let then fuse to the great rock. The reason why this was so important was because of the material of the rock came the material that formed the amulets, the objects that every member of the order used, and that gave then the spirits blessing.
Zeiran, Salen and Balcan walked to the great rock with the respect that was needed. When they were right in front of it, Zeiran gently put a hand in it and started whispering something that seemed a pray. Then a part of the ball started to do apart from it and form another ball, this one with around 12 foot diameter, and with the symbol of the order in it. It finally separated from the ball ending in Zeiran's hand.
The flamebreath looked at the stone and then at Balcan "Anything more?" Balcan smiled "Yes, it could be a good idea that our members out of our valley to know about our plan" Zeiran nodded and placed the ball on the ground and then put his hand on his amulet. Then it started to shine slightly and make a soft ethereal sound.
In the place of the sharpteeth, most of them were now sleeping. With the exception of a great purple bonecrusher sharptooth with red eyes. He was still up, looking at the starry sky. Then suddenly one small glow appeared, revealing a necklace on his neck with the symbol. He placed his hand in it and a look of comprehension spreaded over his face as he said "Finally."
Gris was walking around the caves, most of the alimons were sleeping troubled because of the anxious for the next day. Then Gris noticed that his son was not there. He found him in another cave. "Garick."
The ruby-red alimon turned around by hearing his name and meeting his father "Yes, father?" Gris smiled at him "Too anxious to sleep?" The red alimon nodded Gris put a paw on his shoulder "Be ready son. Tomorrow will be just great." Garick looked back at his father "Yes father. Tomorrow will surely be a great day."