Untitled Phoenix Story

WIP, this is for Yellow!

I was there when the Tree died.

The sky was all lit up with a beautiful, luminous shade of blue that trailed off into an infinite set of stars.  At that time, I was sitting on one of the upper branches of the Tree, looking up and wondering if I could touch one of the stars; they seemed so close.  *My old wings would give out before I could get there,* I thought miserably, plucking one of my colossal, ragged feathers and sending it spiraling to the ground.  The glow from the Tree illuminated the feather as it disappeared out of sight, trapped forever in a freefall to the ground.

“Elder, look!”  A voice interrupted my thoughts and shattered the peace of the night.  “What is the Tree doing?” It was my assistant and second-in-command, Kham, who was perched next to me.

I looked down from our perch and gasped.  The Tree was...pulsing.  The cascades of quicksilver that were running down the sides of the colossal trunk had stopped and were glowing shades of eerie ivory.  From my high point of view, it almost seemed like the trunk was...rippling. “That’s weird. Let me get a better look.” My heart beating in my feathered chest, I took flight and soared through the air.  The wind rustled my fiery wings and I could hear it beat at the flames behind me, leaving a smoky trail.

I turned around and dove towards the Tree.  My feathers ignited as I approached the center of the trunk, which was covered in a coat of quicksilver.  The fire burned away the quicksilver to smoky ashes as I flew through the secret entrance and inside the Tree.

*Why is the Tree malfunctioning like this?* I thought to myself as I zigzagged through endless corridors of smoking, shifting mercury.  *There hasn’t been anything like this since the Great Falcon Disaster of 1825.*  I remembered that day well.

*The sky had been empty save for the occasional messenger swooping down to give me the news from other kingdoms.  I was sitting on my throne next to the Tree, my crown gleaming in the sunlight and my feather alight with fiery shades of crimson, auburn, and gold.  My two assistants, Kham and his brother Rix, were sitting beside me, watching over the day’s proceedings and talking to each other in hushed tones.*

*I was just about to turn in for the day and leave the watch to Kham and Rix when there was a screech from above me.  I looked up and saw a fiery ball of feathers plummeting down towards the ground. Before I could even open my beak to cry out, one of my security hawks swooped down from his perch and snatched the falling bird out of the sky.  I spread my gargantuan wings and followed them to one of the wooden platforms that was built around the Tree.*

*The security hawk dropped the phoenix off at the platform and stood by as I examined the newcomer.  He had the appearance of a supersized woodpecker with his feathers shining a dull shade of brown and red.  His eyes were crusted over with pink crystals and his plumage was ragged and a sight to look at.* What a plebeian, *I thought to myself, poking at him with one polished talon.*

*“Great Elder,” the phoenix puffed when he’d gotten his bearings.  “The falcons are coming for the Tree! They j-just ransacked the Atrium.  I barely got out with my feathers.”*

*“What do the falcons want with the Tree?” I exclaimed, alarmed.  But no one answered me; the phoenix was already being escorted away by the security hawks amidst the sound of alarms.  “Send out the troops! The Tree must be protected at all costs!!”*

*But before my request could be answered, the falcons attacked.  They came swooping down from the trees where they’d been lying in wait, diving towards the Tree and screeching battle cries.  “Protect the Elder!” someone cried and five guards surrounded me immediately, lighting themselves up and shrieking warnings to the attackers from above.*

*“Send out all battalions!” I ordered as I was escorted away by the guards.  There was a giant fireball as phoenixes rose to the air in a circular formation, blocking the path to the Tree.  Civilians screamed as they fled the battle scene, clutching loved ones close to them and trying to escape the madness.  Everything was chaos. Phoenixes collided with their attackers and fell to the ground in plumes of smoke. Falcons hit the quicksilver shield that protected the Tree and disintegrated into charred feathers.  I watched, helpless, from behind a wall of guards, as my kingdom was filled with screams and bodies falling from the air.*  How did this happen? *I wondered as I was sheparded into the emergency bunker.* How did I let this attack commence right under my beak?

*I won’t let anything like that happen again,* I thought to myself, shaking my head and continuing to fly through the Tree’s tunnels.  *I won’t let my people down.*

I burst into the center of the Tree where the sound of beating wings overwhelmed me.  A giant phoenix hovered in front of me, easily twice my size with wings lit up with golden flames.