EagleFlyte 'Clans' contest entry

The sun began to set on the Forest of Fangs, bathing the treetops in beautiful orange and red light. All appeared peaceful, but looks alone were deceiving. Perched on the tallest branch of a dead sycamore tree was a griffin, not just any griffin. He had experienced terrible things in his life which left him scarred emotionally, but did nothing to dampen his will. He had come to the forest searching for the one responsible for the deaths of his parents which he witnessed firsthand. His name was Blaze.
The same shadowy foe had also pinned the two local griffin clans against each other in a brutal and uncompromising war which had been going on for years. She was no ordinary foe, her name was Thirah, and Thirah was a vampire. She was responsible for the war, and all of the mysterious deaths around it. In order to keep the war going, she would lure adults and even young griffins away with her seductive charms and powerful illusions before proceeding to then kill them. Her tactics were savage, her acts were brutal, and her intent was nothing short of murder. Thirah was on to this griffin who was seeking her out, she had known Blaze was following her all along. It was too easy for her, she could hear his short breaths, his pounding heart, all while she killed her next victim.
She never considered him much of a threat should they ever engage in physical combat, but Blaze’s mere existence threatened to blow her whole scheme for annihilating the clans over. Blaze was the son of two differing species, two griffins from the clans at war with one another. The Bronzes and the Greys, as the members of either clan were referred to, had forbidden such bonds from taking place. In Thirah’s unpredictable mind, a male Grey and female Bronze falling in love and having a hybrid child between them was unacceptable. She had Blaze’s parents destroyed, but he survived the ordeal and grew up. For two years, Thirah had been waiting to undo him, now the time had come.

Utilizing her powers of illusion, she blended herself in to the very tree Blaze was sitting on two feet in front of her feet. Thirah knew Blaze was searching for her, but chose to reveal herself at the proper time after he started to give up hope. As the sun went down, she was surprised to see Blaze fold his claws together and pray.
“I didn’t know he was religious. Heh, it won’t matter. Nothing will save him from me now.” she thought with bared teeth.
When Blaze flew off, Thirah knew the time was getting closer for her to act. She did something sinister to occupy herself before retreating to her hiding spot and awaiting Blaze’s return, to quench her thirst for blood. By the time Blaze returned, he was tired from his futile search. The forest was bathed in moonlight since the sun had long since descended below the horizon. It was midnight and he had come up with nothing, just as Thirah knew he would.
“Oh, where could she be?” Blaze muttered to himself.
Thirah decided the time had come for her to reveal herself, she couldn’t resist getting the jump on him.
“You know…” Thirah began rather loudly.
Blaze gasped and wheeled about on the branch, the effect was comedic. Thirah could hear his adult heart race for a few moments before settling down.
“…you don’t have to keep following me, Blaze. If you wanted to fight me, you should’ve just told me. It would’ve saved you and I from making this whole trip.”
Blaze was still shocked to realize she had been there all along.
“Wha-? H-how did you find me? How do you know my name?” he stuttered.
Thirah had disguised herself in her ideal human form, beautiful, perfect for seduction and deception. She chuckled once, she enjoyed taunting her prey and ‘playing’ with her food.
“I don’t think that really matters, eh, Blaze? I know you’ve been watching me, it is rather rude to eavesdrop. Didn’t it ever occur in your dim little brain that I wouldn’t catch your scent? Perhaps hear your racing heart?”
The stupefied look on Blaze’s face said it all. Thirah shrugged, she also enjoyed taking full advantage of moments when they arose.
“Well, I suppose you’ve been lucky thus far. I was never alone when you were spying on me. If we were alone, I’d have sucked your feathery husk dry a long time ago.”
Blaze stood his ground and became defiant, Thirah had seen such actions many times before. But something regarding Blaze was different, his defiance had a reason backing it.
“You ordered the werewolf attacks, you started this ungodly and immoral war. You pinned the clans against each other through your lies and set the stage for all of their fights! My parents may not have been able to figure it all out, but I have. I didn’t go before the Bronze council with nothing, I’d already put the pieces together. I’m not as stupid or as blind as you give me credit for!”
Thirah put a fist beneath her chin and nodded, Blaze was surprisingly smart and had evidence backing his claims.
“Well, it seems you’re better at this little game than I originally thought. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say I would have to admire your efforts to stop me. Anyone else who made it this far I took the liberty of sucking dry, I can’t afford any loose ends.”
Blaze cocked his head, he was curious about something.
“But- hang on. If you were commanding the werewolves and knew about my existence for almost all of my life, why didn’t you kill me sooner? Why wait so long?”
Thirah groaned and rolled her eyes. To her, the reason was painfully obvious.
“Don’t you get it? It’s simple. I wanted for you to get my message first- ‘Anyone who jeopardizes my plans must DIE’, plain and simple. I can’t have anyone making me for what I am. And you, Blaze, you’re jeopardizing said plans and threatening to ruin them merely because you EXIST.” she replied and pointed an accusatory finger at him “You were born as the direct result of a mutual understanding, which is obvious. But even worse than that-“
Her blue eyes flared red and her lips curled over the word to momentarily reveal her razor sharp teeth. They was she said it was more of a sneer, in a sadistic tone she reserved only for when she did away with those she had quarreled with.
“LOVE.”
Blaze was taken aback by her sudden change, but he continued to stand his ground. Thirah continued, only back in her illusion form.
“Love between clan mates is no problem, it doesn’t concern me. If anything, it makes more pups to chew on. However, love between two griffins from differing clans is dangerous business. Such a love would undermine all that I’ve worked for. I saw it in your mother when she was still with that Bronze male, before he was ‘grounded’. Your father was still the clan troublemaker, always getting himself into situations with no easy way out. If I’d been able to take away their love, I would’ve been able to continue with this whole masquerade and keep playing my game unhindered and unopposed!”
Thirah sighed and shook her head.
“Well, I suppose those thickheaded werewolves took it easy on you back then. I sent them away because I wanted to have the pleasure of taking you on myself. Only when the time was right, of course. With all that in mind, what did you think I was doing while you were looking for me?”
Blaze was confused.
“What are you talking about?” he asked.
Thirah snickered.
“Please. You know what I am, what I enjoy most. The night is still young, is it not? I’ve tasted fresh blood this night, but not that of a griffin.”
Blaze’s eyes widened and his beak dropped open. Thirah could hear his heart pounding, his breaths become short. She went in for the last taunt.
“Shouldn’t that worry you, Blaze? Shouldn’t it send a cold shiver down your spine?”
“No!” he gasped.
Like a bolt of lightning, Blaze was off. Thirah couldn’t help but laugh, he was so desperate to get back to his blacksmith friend who had taken him in after his parents died. But Thirah knew she had disposed of the old man, she had to have. The old man did drive her away, but she had delivered a ‘death bite’ to his neck, no one had thus far had survived such a thing.
It wasn’t long before Blaze returned. But when he did, his eyes were narrowed into an enraged glare. Thirah simply stood there with a grin and a hand on her hip.
“Well, well! Temper, temper, have we?”
Blaze was silent.
“It was shameful thing to do, that I must admit. Alas, it had to be done. That old man was your closest ally, I couldn’t risk him putting my plans in danger the same way you have. Naturally, he had to go. Not only that, human blood sustains me, it keeps me fit and functional. Griffin blood? Bleh! Nothing nutritional there, but it was all I had to go for the duration of this mission. Humans in the clans are understandably hard to come by.”
Thirah approached Blaze until she was in his face. She put the index and middle fingers of her right hand on Blaze’s chin and held his head closer. The scent of the blacksmith was all over Blaze.
“Ah, it was a sweet temptation, something I could no longer resist. Now look at you. You’re practically dripping with that old man’s scent. I found his blood most delectable.”
Blaze tried to swat her hand away, but she pulled it back before he could. She stood back with a smile and innocent laugh. Blaze spread his wings and made a threat display, it was his shot at intimidation.
“You’ve gone too far this time, Thirah. This ends right here, right now. I’ll restore the peace or die trying!”
Thirah nodded, Blaze was serious about going through with his threats. Clasping her hands together, she began the transformation back to her natural state. Her skin turned pale, he eyes and cloak became blood red, her fingernails became claws and her teeth became fearsome fangs.
“Well, isn’t this nice? The little hybrid finally has the guts to throw his weight around. It’s too bad I’ll have to rip them out of you.”
When her transformation was complete, her voice had also changed. It had become like that of a demon, coarse, deep, and uncompromising.
“I’ll show you what really means to fight, boy! I’ll make certain your own blood is the last thing you see. Make no mistake. You’ll receive no mercy from me!”
Blaze was still defiant, he wasn’t giving in to her intimidation.
“This ends one of two ways. Either you go down or I do. But if I’m going down, I’m taking you with me!”
Thirah roared with laugher.
“I think you’re the only one who’s going down tonight, Blazey boy!”
She snapped her fingers and Blaze looked down to see the tree branch beneath him vanish, it was nothing more than an illusion.
“Wha-? WAAAH!!” he cried as he fell.
Thirah looked down as Blaze fell. He had no time to flap his wings and careened into another branch below and fell all the way to the ground below. She could hear him cough and see him got to his feet, it wasn’t going to be that easy to finish him. Thirah licked her lips, she could already taste the griffin’s blood. She leapt from the top of the tree, twirling once in midair before landing on her feet. She landed so hard, she left an indent in the ground. Blaze drew the sword he was carrying and held it level.
“Nice toy you have there, Blaze! Didn’t that old man teach you not to point sharp things at people? They could get stabbed!”
“You don’t scare me!” Blaze retorted hotly.
“That sounds familiar, but that’s for another time. You wanna bring peace to the clans? The places which exiled your parents and wanted them to destroy each other? I’ve already taken care of that, I’ve given both chieftains a strategy to die for!”
“What do you mean!?” Blaze barked.
“If you must know, tomorrow the clans will battle each other at full force. I told them such a move will end everything! By next evening, they all be put out of their misery. Every last griffin, griffiness and pup! I could bathe in their blood.”
Thirah lightened up momentarily, she smiled although it hinted at her fangs.
“You see, over the years I’ve gained their trust to the point where they think I’m infallible. They think I can do no wrong! Oh, they’re so desperate nowadays to end their clan’s suffering, they’ll cling to almost anything I say! Sometimes they are persistent with their stupid questions, but that in itself is a rarity. I simply let my good looks do the talking, they become nothing more than drooling numbskulls!”
Thirah fluttered her eyes and looked off into space, she put on an affectionate act.
“They all think their ‘pretty’, ‘dashing’, and ‘adorable’ little advisor will get them through anything.”
She turned her eyes to Blaze and scoffed.
“As if. They’re completely unaware, completely oblivious to the fact that I’m the very force behind their undoing!”
She began laughing sickeningly, to her, the lives of everyone in both clans were all a sick game.
“They made it too easy for me! ‘Total annihilation’, I said. ‘Are you sure?’, he said. I played both chieftains Fog and Whiptail like feathery harps! They’re pushovers, the both of them. They were my little puppets, doing everything I asked them to without protest. ‘Trust me’, I said. ‘Everything will be alright’, I said. HA! HA! HA!”
When she stopped laughing and approached Blaze again, he held his sword high.
“Well, even with your intervention, I’ve kept both clans consistently fooled. I’ve fueled their hatred and lust for vengeance, Blaze. I all I needed were a few of my tricks!”
Blaze was certainly having trouble taking everything in and comprehending the enormity of the situation, but he wasn’t occupied with figuring things out for long. Thirah stood there waiting for a clichéd response.
“You will NOT go near the clans again! Go near them again, I’ll kill you!” he growled.
Thirah knew what was coming and effortlessly dodged Blaze’s sword as its blade flew past. She looked back at him and grinned before taunting him.
“Oh, ho! So you ARE intent on seeing this through. What a surprise. You honestly think you can beat me at my own game, Blazey boy? Alright then, game on!”
For the next half hour, Thirah either dodged Blaze’s sword or swatted its blade aside. She could sense the fire within his heart, he was not going to give up until he was either dead or victorious. The latter Thirah was confident wouldn’t happen. Trading blows or dodging the sword became boring, she opted to supplement with taunts to keep the fight going.
Right after she blocked yet another blow, Thirah came up with one.
“So weak, so pathetic. It’s pitiful, really. I’ll just have to put you out of your misery, like dear mummy and dad.”
Blaze gasped, Thirah knew exactly what she was talking about.
“Yes, you know what I’m speaking of. I personally went to inspect the werewolves’ handiwork, and I was impressed at how effective they were despite their failure to get you. Believe it or not, your parents were still alive when I got there! I told them everything. They were so surprised, they were busy saying ‘We should’ve known!’. It didn’t matter that I told them everything; because dead griffins, like dead men, tell no tales. I had my way with your father first, he had certainly rectified his old troublemaking ways. Ethad, ‘dear Ethad’, like your mother called him. He took his end pretty well, he didn’t resort to any clichés, he simply stared me in the eye and let me do it. He wasn’t afraid at all. His blood was alright, but I’ve had better.”
Blaze swung his sword as hard as he could at Thirah, but she simply ducked at it sailed over her. The blade impacted a tree and became embedded in it. Blaze grunted and struggled to get it out of the bark.
“I could finish him now… No, no. Let’s have a bit more fun, he should know about his mother.” Thirah thought.
Thirah clasped her hands together and held them to her cheek, pretending to sound romantic.
“So that was daddy, next was mummy. Filigree, ‘sweet, precious Filigree’, like your father called her. She also took her end well, but she had a surprisingly foul mouth for her level of beauty, that’s what I remember most. Your mother had fire in her, she fought against me to the bitter end. Such fire is what lives in you, Blaze. It’s also why you can’t take a hint. Her blood was spectacular, the best I’ve had thus far. Her beauty rivaled mine, even in death. It’s no surprise why Ethad wanted her.”
Blaze pulled the sword out of the tree and yelled fearsomely. Again, Thirah dodged his sword. She grinned at him again.
“I can take hints, I can tell you actually meant to hit me with that.”
Blaze glared back angrily and his face wrinkled into a sneer.
“That’s right, let that lust for revenge drive you on. Swing that sword at me like you mean it!”
After a few more blocked blows, Thirah was in Blaze’s face. Her face was blank, since she was bored.
“Come on, Blaze. You’re boring me with this fight, prove you can show me a good time. Just like Ethad repeatedly did for Filirgree, if you catch my drift.”
“Leave my parents out of this. This is between you and me.” spat Blaze.
Thirah leapt into the air and did a backflip before landing on her feet a short distance away. She could hear Blaze panting, but it wasn’t because of the fight. His anger had transformed into rage, she knew he wanted her dead. Thirah knew she could use Blaze’s lust for revenge against him.
“What’s the matter? Tired, Blaze? Believe me, I’m just getting warmed up, Blazey boy!”
“I won’t give up. Not now, not ever! When my parents are avenged, when you’re dead, that is when I’ll find peace.” Blaze replied.
Thirah nodded and her tone lightened up before she flexed her fingers, cracking the joints.
“Alright, Blaze. You wish to seek vengeance for mummy and dad? Here I am. You want me, come and get me!”

Thirah and Blaze continued fighting, she could tell from his increase in ferocity and speed that he was being fueled by rage. A rage-fueled fight in Thirah’s eyes was grade ‘A’ entertainment, especially since she was a part of it. She kept his anger fueled by occasional mocking laughs and seductive grins. If anything, Blaze fought harder as the fight went on. And it indeed went on, for hours until Blaze’s anger began to subside and his lack of strength really began to show.
Thirah held onto a tree branch upside-down and only continued to taunt and torment him.
“What’s the matter now, Blaze? Too weak to kill me?”
“You wish!” he retorted defiantly.
Thirah nodded and began to walk along the tree trunk sideways.
“Wish? I don’t need to wish. I KNOW.”
She sighed, maintaining her grin. She hadn’t tired at all.
“Weak, troublesome hybrid. You can’t defeat me, surely you must’ve figure that out by now.”
Blaze was panting, but he still lunged at Thirah and once again failed to land a blow.
“I won’t give up. I’ll never give in!” he replied.
Thirah stood back, he was serious. In response, more torment was necessary. She wasn’t trying to kill Blaze immediately, she was merely trying to distract him for as long as possible. Unfortunately, Blaze caught on to that fact. Thirah opted for more belittling, hoping it would incite more anger within Blaze that could be used against him.
“Hmm. No, I’m starting to think you won’t back down. But doesn’t it trouble you? Doesn’t it trouble you to know that you’re destined to fail, no matter what you say or do? To know you’ve failed your father, your mother, who suspected me from the start but never got the chance to face me? Your loving parents, who died because of your own foolish and reckless actions? YOU killed your parents, YOU sentenced them both to a slow, painful death. And what of that blacksmith friend of yours? Uthane, if I’m correct. He took you in after you led your parents to their deaths, you’re very fond of him. He was the very man who you were too distracted by me to save. His very life sustaining blood is being used against you. He struggled, but it was futile in the end.”
“SHUT UP, YOU DITRY LIAR!!” hollered Blaze.
Thirah seized her moment.
“These shenanigans have gone on for long enough. It’s time to end it.” Thirah thought.
Moving quickly to catch him off guard, Thirah used her claws to rake across the claw Blaze held his sword in. The sword went flying off to the side and before Blaze knew what was happening, Thirah had pinned him to a tree. She placed her left hand over his throat and the right over the side of his neck. Grabbing the feathers in her right hand, she yanked them all out to reveal his skin. She gave him one final sinister smile, with her tongue curling over her sharp teeth. It was a smile she had reserved just for this moment; her time of triumph and the moment of her opponent’s untimely demise. Thirah felt Blaze tense up, he knew what was coming. Adding to her enjoyment, she could hear his heart racing and terror build.
“I’ve waited two years for this.” Thirah thought.
Thirah took a deep breath.
“DIE, HALF BREED!!!!” she roared and plunged her fangs into Blaze’s throat.
Instantly, her vision began engulfed by a sea of hot red. Blood gushed from the wound and out of Blaze’s beak, Thirha had delivered her death bite. Blaze twitched a few times before Thirah felt his heart stop and he went limp. Thirah knew in her mind that she was the victor.
“Finally. It took me long enough. His blood, it’s even better than his mother’s.” she thought.
But immediately afterward, she felt something touching her shoulders and stomach. Before she could react, Blaze hurled her off him and Thirah went flying backwards. Her shoes skidded across the dirt and brought her to a controlled stop, she looked up to see Blaze on his feet staring back at her angrily.
“WHAT!?! This is impossible, you can’t be alive! Your heart stopped!” she hissed.
Blaze only turned his head sideways and loudly spit out the excess blood in his mouth. Even after delivering a death bite, Blaze wouldn’t stay down.
“This isn’t right, that bite should’ve killed you! How are you alive!?”
Blaze staggered once and before he found his footing again. He was badly injured, but still breathing. Even more surprising was that Blaze was not only walking, he was will talking.
“You know what, Thirah?” he asked “I’ve learned something in this battle that you could never understand. Blood may be my life…”
He leapt forward toward Thirah.
“…but Cape’n is my strength!!”
He grabbed Thirah’s arms in his claws and struggled with her.
“Cape’n has been with me all along! He’s been with me through all the trials you’ve thrown at me, even before I existed. My parent’s exile, the werewolves who killed my parents, your attack on Uthane, and now this death bite to my neck. I haven’t failed, you have!”
Thirah growled and tried to swat Blaze with her claws, but he leapt away and picked up his fallen sword.
“Even after all of your attempts to have me killed, you’ve failed! By the will and love of Cape’n, I’M STILL HERE!!”
Thirah’s face contorted into a hideous sneer. She unlike Blaze hadn’t noticed the sun was coming up. Sunlight was the one thing that could completely and utterly destroy her. Thirah was getting angrier by the second, Blaze was an opponent who just wouldn’t die.
“Oh, you’re really getting on my nerves now, hybrid. That bite was only an appetizer, I like your taste. Next time, I’m draining your husk dry!”
“If I didn’t know you better, I’d say you were all taunts and no fight. You want the clans? You’ll have to kill me first.” Blaze replied.
Thirah hissed like a snake about to strike.
“It would be my pleasure!”
Thirah lunged at blaze, but this time he was the one who dodged. Blaze had switched from offensive to defensive, where he had the advantage of using his sword to block blows and drive his foe back. This made Thirah angrier and angrier. Now it was Blaze who was fighting for time.
He gave it his all, but Thirah still managed to pin him against another tree. For the second time, she intended to finish him. She decided it would be best to lose to animalistic primal tone and adopt a more subtle one. It would be fitting for the final conversation she’d have with him.
“Well, Blaze, I think our little dance with death is just about finished. I wasn’t expecting for you to live after the first bite. I doubt you’ll survive a second. Any last words, half breed?”
Blaze growled loudly.
“You MONTSER!!” he bellowed.
Thirah rolled her eyes and groaned loudly in disgust.
“Ugh- Yes, that’s what everyone I’ve killed so far has called me. Except for your parents, ironically. Truthfully, it’s unoriginal. Frankly, it’s such a damn cliché! Not only that, it’s a pathetic excuse my victims conjure up to make them look valiant, but all I see is bravado in their eyes before they die. But then their bravado turns to hopelessness, because they realize their deaths are imminent and I can’t be beaten!”
She glared Blaze in the eye.
“And you, my half breed friend, WILL BE NO DIFFERENT!”
Her right hand was over his throat and she squeezed tightly over it. Blaze gasped for air, the sounds of him struggling to survive only drove Thirah further into madness. She felt fueled by his misery. But she stopped squeezing his throat, she still didn’t want to kill him just yet. She wanted for him to know the whole truth behind her actions just to rub it in when Blaze met his demise, to let him know just how much he failed.
“By next evening, after I’ve finished drinking your delectable blood and disposed of your shriveled husk, the clans will have completely obliterated themselves! All I’ll have to do is mop up the dying stragglers.”
In the distance, Thirah heard swords clanging and screeches. Blaze also heard it and understood what was happening. Both clans were starting to massacre the other.
“No…” he gasped.
Thirah looked off toward the fighting, smiling mockingly.
“Oh yes, Blazey boy. We both know what that is. Those foolish Bronzes and Greys, they’re fighting it out right now, as we speak! Ah, music. Sweet music to my ears! Not to mention the blood, the beautiful blood that must be spraying!”
“You’re sick.” Blaze groaned.
Thirah turned back to face him.
“You’d better believe it, my hybrid friend. Once all of my chew-toys are spent, the real fun begins. Sucking the life out of those human allies those griffins so loved. Yvasu himself promised me the entire human population of this valley to slake my thousand year thirst; In exchange for taking down both clans by any means I deemed fit and or necessary. Once this valley is occupied, Yvasu will use it as a base to conquer all of Cyrin!”
Thirah stared into Blaze's eyes, she couldn’t see her reflection in them. He was silent for a few moments.
“Thirah, I don’t know if you’re even able to grasp this, but I have to say it anyway. I forgive you for all that you’ve done to me. Even now when you’re this close to killing me, I feel sorry for you. I take pity on you because you’ll never understand what it means to love and be loved. And sadly, that will be your ultimate downfall.”
Thirah didn’t know what to think. Instead of begging for mercy or to be spared, Blaze was resorting to forgiveness, reason, and above all, sanity. Her brain sputtered for a moment and for a brief period she was at a loss.
“Downfall? He thinks just because I don’t know love that he can beat me? He’s full of it!” she thought.
Her malevolent sneer returned.
“Stop speaking dragon dung, hybrid! Love is arbitrary, love has no reason and only clouds better judgment. You only survived because of your thirst for vengeance. You’d be nothing without it.”
Blaze blinked.
“Vengeance isn’t the way. I know that now.”
Thirah scoffed.
“You still don’t get it, do you? It’s over, don’t you understand? I’ve already won, it’s over for you!”
Blaze raised an eyebrow.
“But have you really won already? I’m still alive, aren’t I? Like you said, everything hinges upon me living or dying. I’m not fighting this battle for myself like I thought I would, not anymore. For the sake of the clans and everyone in this world, this needs to be finished here and now.”
Thirah was laughing as Blaze talked, in her mind he had a lot of nerve to say such things.
“And just what are you going to do, Blaze? I’ve got you pinned.”
“Be that as it may, I have you right where I want you!”
Grabbing her arms in his claws, Blaze was moving her hands away from himself. Thirah was bewildered, she didn’t know what he was doing.
“Wait, what do you think you’re doing?”
Then a ray of sunlight shining through the thick trees overhead hit her exposed left palm. When she saw it happen, it was too late. A single ray of sunlight was more than enough to kill her, and she knew it.
“No, you did NOT!!” she gasped.
She leapt away from Blaze as her body was consumed by heat, letting out a howling roar as she did so. Her veins expanded and began to glow yellow, the color of sunlight. Thirah knew it was the beginning of the end, and Blaze was the one who vanquished her. To her it was ironic, since she never considered him a threat in a physical fight.
“BLAAAGH!!!! You mangy brat!! Look what you’ve done to me! I’M BURNING!!”
She held her hands before her face to see them shrivel.
“AAAH!! I’m burning! BURNING!!!” DAMN YOU, BLAZE! DAMN YOU!!!!”
She looked up one final time as the power from the sunlight burned out her seductive red eyes. Thirah could see standing above her were all of the griffins and humans she had killed. Standing out from the rest were Ethad and Filigree standing side by side, they like the others were glaring down upon her with steely eyes. Her victims who she belittled and mocked for so long were intent on taking the opportunity to drag her dark soul away.
“NOOO!!! Yvasu, forgive me!”
As Thirah’s body burned from the inside out and shriveled up, Blaze stood off to the side. The sound of burning flesh filled the air as did the stench of burning skin. He watched in silent terror at what was happening, up until Thirah’s eyes exploded in bursts of yellow flam. Closing his eyes and covering them with his wing, he moaned in disgust. Thirah may have killed his parents, started the clan war, and attempted to murder his best friend, but he didn’t want to see her eyes burst or see her husk shrivel up like a raisin. When Thirah was silent, it was over. Her empty husk collapsed to the ground with a soft, papery sound.
When Blaze opened his eyes, Thirah was dead. All that remained of her was a steaming carcass with shriveled skin and burned out eyes. He was left behind with a profound sense of amazement and disbelief, he was the victor. Despite having done everything in her power to end him, he lived through the strength of his own will and with the assistance of some divine intervention. In the distance, swords were clanging and screeches could be heard, he knew what he had to do. He covered his wounds to the best of his ability and slung Thirah’s body over his back to present it to the clan chieftains as evidence. When he took flight, he set out to end the war once and for all with his evidence in hand. With Thirah’s identity exposed along with everything Blaze knew from spying on her, he would bring the fighting to a swift end. All he could do was pray her stalling hadn’t made him too late to stop the fighting.