KING OF BEASTS (Hiatus)

Ares had used the ox, mostly as cover since he didn’t want to reveal himself just yet. However, as they disappeared on the horizon and he managed to find some trees, he leapt off the back of the creature. “Head on back!” He exclaimed to it as he then dove towards the ground before shifting into his phoenix form and then clearing up through the top of the tree line. 

His flames were white, the tips of them golden. He soared towards the heavens for a moment, before heading straight. Though the wind against his wings was exhilarating, he did not spend any time on thinking about such things. He focused all his energy on rushing towards the oxenfolk, and more importantly, his friends. 

He continued to soar through the sky, the rhythmic beating of his winds was thunderous as he flew with all his might. ‘Come on, come on! Don’t I have some kind of cheat skill that will allow me to go quicker?’ He thought, trying to spend a little effort things about it. ‘Maybe wind? Can I store wind or something?’ So he sucked in the air nearby and then blasted it out behind him, and though it helped, it didn’t really last for too long. ‘Come on!’ 

His eyes caught the sight of something in the distance. Hundreds, no, thousands of rocks? When the sun glinted off of them, his eyes grew wide. ‘What the fuck is that?’ Yet as he continued to soar, he could see even more off to the distance. This wasn’t just a few thousand, no, this number easily numbered into five digits.

To one side he could see there were a number of riders heading out to another group. Ares recognised the configuration of the people right away. ‘Oh fuck!’ He dove down, piercing the air as he tucked in his wings to his body. 

He then tackled the first human soldier off of the horse, his body flung into the air, the armour shattering to bits as if it were made of glass. Ares circled around and then tackled another as the horses began to panic, causing them to disperse as the soldiers tried to rein them in. 

Ares continued to fly and then circle between the fleeing beastfolk and the soldiers, eventually darting towards the soldiers again, a few of their weapons piercing through his body and then dropped out from behind him. 

Ares grabbed a soldier by their helmet using his talon and then front flipped, a sickening crunch filling the air before he then tossed the soldier against another. Another javelin pierced through his back. He craned his neck and met the terrified eyes of the soldier before reining death upon them using his talons, scratching through their armour as though it was made of paper. He slashed at their front until he was painting the area with red, and then he turned to watch as the soldiers retreated back to the host. 

Ares had half a mind to chase after them, but instead he flew towards the caravan. The Marching Band had their shields and spears at the ready as he approached, but as he did so, he could see in the distance some smoke. He veered off to the side and made his way back to the host, flying alongside them as he shifted the earth to create a wall between them and Rori’s company to the other side, taking the dirt from the human’s side and then piling it up. The wall wasn’t perfect, some parts were weak, other parts weren’t too high, but this was fine in order to create a barrier between both sides, at least that was Ares’ thought.

He continued to fly, but this time began to curve inward towards the humans. He continued to curve towards them, trying to herd them to a single area like sheep. He watched as arrows rained down on him, but they disappeared into the flames of his body. He continued to fly and terraform the earth, then began to sway so that the ground formed waves, wanting to make it a little annoying for them to march on, though he continued to head generally inwards. 

Once he had done so for a long ways, he eventually flew back towards the caravan of beastfolk. He spread his wings to slow his descent as he heard Rori yell out.

“Marching Blades! Salute your King!” They then slapped their chest and stamped their foot.

Ares shifted back into his human form with a frown on his face. “How did you know?” He asked as he crossed his arms. 

“I have heard tales of your kind, and they do not have such abilities. I had thought who can I believe to have such unbelievable abilities.”

“Ah…” Ares chuckled. 

There was a tension in the air as he eyed up the group. “We should get a move on, I annoyed the soldiers but they’re still marching. Let’s speed it up shall we?” He asked as he turned and then led them along. Rori quickly approached, leaving the Marching Blades to escort the caravan, speeding along. 

“What’s with everyone?” Ares asked as he tossed a look back. 

“Your kind has been thought extinct…” Rori replied back simply.

“Oh? Well I’m full of surprises, aren’t I?” Ares chuckled. 

“A phoenix…” Rori remained silent for some time. “I do not know how the tribe will handle such a thing.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Rori looked up at Ares and then began to whisper. “You are not of this world, are you?”

Ares raised his brows in surprise. “What do you mean by that?”

“You are like a newborn. You ask so many questions that anyone in this land would know, even the lands beyond.” Rori replied back. 

Ares remained silent and then looked out to the distance. “Something like that.” Ares couldn’t lie when he had been caught. “What about it?”

“To be a phoenix… you see, the last of your kind had been long hunted down, until the last remained. The Unlucky Phoenix.”

“The Unlucky Phoenix?”

“It is the tale of the last phoenix. A creature of such bad luck, that wherever it went, it was betrayed constantly. As the last of it’s kind, it was as though the entire world was against it. The gem of a phoenix is able to make any that consumes it a divine being.”

Ares stared in surprise. “A divine being? Seriously?”

“To become a divine being is the dream of any living creature. Especially one who was born a mortal, the powers that one would gain by becoming a divine being… It seems as though you have already consumed it.”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“That explains everything.”

“So am I in danger?”

“You may be.”

“Well… I’m always in danger, it doesn’t bother me. Are you going to stab me in the back?”

“I don’t have such lofty goals.”

“You are a Consul anyway.”

“It’s beyond what I wanted.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Is it something I should be thankful for?”

“Perhaps not.” Ares laughed.