Feathers of Bravery

Unknown POV

400 years. That's how long we have waited. How long I have waited. 400 years since my ancestor was ruling over the chaos. It was beautiful. Not this ugly and heinous thing they called peace and order. If it wasn't because of Rideir and Aras, those stupid birds. Ugh, if it wasn't for them, and their bloody instincts then the spell would not have been broken. The war would still be raging on and not just for owls and crows. But of every bird in every kingdom. The spell was designed to cause not just confusion and chaos but to bring out the tiniest bit of hatred within.

No matter how small the hate, it could be even something as simple as disliking the neighbor for his awful singing in the morning. The spell would dig into that dislike and multiply tenfold until you were calling out for their blood. So the next time you saw them, you had no other desire other than to end their life.

The spell was simple enough, not too many ingredients and the words were easy to pronounce. The trick was our delivery system. How could we cast the spell large enough to infect as many birds as possible. Well we didn't have to think or wait long. As the gathering of the Moon Dance was being prepared. I'll admit, that tradition did seem nice. I might end up keeping it after I've conquered the world, as I fancy dancing.

That years' gathering was in the field of the Undying Roses, and our two unwilling species were the owls and crows.

My ancestor's mage conducted the spell on the six birds that were sitting by the creek enjoying their refreshments. It only took a few seconds for it to take into effect. They looked like drunken fools but once they caught sight of one another, they clashed with beak and talons.

The fight caught the attention of some onlookers. Remarkably the spell was so potent that it only needed to be passed along to another bird with a look in the eye. When the others looked into the eyes of their friends, they too joined the fight. Soon every bird at the gathering was clawing and biting at one another.

It was the first battle and the start of the war. What was once known as the field of the Undying Roses became the Grave of Forsaken Souls. According to many birds, there were so many lives lost that eventually they couldn't name them all. I wouldn't have gone with that name but I also don't really care much.

All that mattered was that war was at an all time high. Owls and crows were about to go extinct. But then Rideir and Aras happened. In the heat of battle, when one of their cannons went off, don't know whose in particular. When blast knocked them from the air and both crash landed on the ground. With so much blood on the ground, it turned the dirt into mud. From their it all went downhill.

They both were calling back their armies. At first we thought it was just to regroup but when they came out onto the field again they didn't draw their weapons or snap their beaks. They laid down their arms and made flipping peace. At break of dawn, a truce was made and stipulations set so that both their kingdoms will avoid each other from then on.

I don't know what happened. Everything was going beautifully and then it wasn't. Right now myself and our mage, also a descendant of my ancestor's mage, are going through the history books to find the exact spell from before. Not only do we want to recreate it but we want to make it deadlier. No antidote or return policy. And we won't settle with just two species. We're going for all of them.

First things first, I need to put them all on edge. A sort of spark to ignite the flame. That spark will be the crows. They've always been so volatile. Especially the Queen. An attack at their borders should do the trick.