Ewan

The Aquila Clan worked like a monarchy. There were the rulers and their children, destined to inherit the throne. Then there were the dragons who worked for them; gatherers, dancers, knights, servants, and more. All of the workers slept in their own homes outside the Citadel, while the royalty slept inside. The Citadel had many rooms, such as a main hall, where important ceremonies and meetings occurred, individual rooms for the king, queen, and children, and a grand library, filled with books and warmed by a fireplace.

There, by the fireplace, Ewan sat, engrossed in the book he held in his paws. A Phoenix, his mother's, sat on their perch close by Ewan, slumbering. It wasn't long until he, too, was lulled to sleep by the warmth of the flames.

"Psst! Wake up!" a voice hissed.

Ewan wearily opened his eyes. "What is it?" he asked his sister, still drowsy.

"Can't explain! Come quick!" she said, before turning around and running towards the main hall. Ewan followed, confused, the phoenix close by.

In the main hall, a group of dragons sat, impatiently waiting. They all wielded weapons. "Is this all of the royal family?" a scruffy-looking Guardian with a trident questioned. Ewan's mother nodded, eyes narrowed. Ewan was confused. Were they from a neighboring clan?

The Guardian stepped forwards. "I believe I haven't introduced myself. I am Gulch, here to take control of your clan under the orders of our lord, Triton." Upon hearing this, the guards poised themselves to attack, but a quick glance from Ewan's father stopped them. "We do not wish to fight, but we will if you force us to."

"Do you expect us to hand everything over like cowards?" Ewan's mother asked, her voice low.

"We are under the orders of our lord, Triton," Gulch responded calmly. "We will do what we must to gain control. I'd suggest you do hand over your power over this clan."

"No, I will not," his mother said. "I would much rather die than hand everything over."

Gulch gazed at Ewan's mother for a moment, his eyes showing no emotion. Finally, he spoke. "So be it. Gorge, Moraine."

Two dragons, another male Guardian and a female Skydancer, stepped forwards and grabbed onto Ewan's mother. The guards leaped forwards to attack, but were intercepted by the other dragons following Gulch. Ewan's mother didn't struggle as she was brought to Gulch. "Are you going to kill me?" she challenged.

Gorge and Moraine pinned her down and Gulch pointed his trident at her. "I can and will."

Ewan's mother turned her heads at her family, and Ewan was shocked to see her expression. She was scared. "You better not harm my husband or children. You better not harm any of our servants or knights."

"If they cooperate, we won't lay a single claw on them," Gulch answered. "Anything you have to say?"

For a moment, Ewan's mother didn't respond. "You will not have this kingdom for long," she said ominously, her voice low and threatening.

"We'll see," Gulch said. He hesitated, and for a split second, Ewan wondered if Gulch wanted to do this or if he was simply told by whoever Triton was to do so. The bit of sympathy he had for Gulch faded away quickly, though.

(***)

Ewan saw a chance to escape, and he took it.

His family were placed in separate cells in the dungeon, and were checked up on every day to be given food and water. Almost a week had passed and a Bogsneak named Torrent arrived with his meal. She placed it down, but then another dragon called for her and she turned her head away to answer. He had to take this chance! He darted out the doors and bolted upstairs out of the dungeon.

Guards cried out in alarm and started chasing Ewan through the Citadel, though he quickly managed to outrun them due to his swiftness and his knowledge of the halls he was running through. It wasn't long until he was outside.

Ewan ran towards the first home he spotted. A Ridgeback, who he recognized as one of the dancers, spotted him and quickly beckoned for him to come inside.

Once inside, the Ridgeback whispered, "Are you okay, Ewan? How did you escape?"

"No time to answer," Ewan told her. "I don't want to force you to deal with the guards, as I'm sure they're after me, so I'll be on my way. Before I do, however, I have one favor I have to ask of you."

The Ridgeback listened to Ewan, nodded, and immediately handed him what he needed before bidding him farewell.

As Ewan approached the guards by the outskirts, they walked over to intercept him. "Who are you?" they demanded.

"I'm one of the entertainers," he answered innocently, self-consciously tugging at the veil draped over his face to help better conceal it. He hoped the guards wouldn't recognize him while wearing a dancer's clothing.

"What business do you have outside the clan territory?" one guard questioned.

"I'm traveling to another clan," he said.

The guards narrowed their eyes at him, and Ewan worried he had been caught. But one of the guards shrugged. "We will escort you there and back, okay? We will have to keep a close eye on you."

Ewan nodded. "That's fine with me," he replied, panicking on the inside. He would have to figure out how to escape from these two.

They started heading off, Ewan in the lead, when he heard a familiar voice cry, "What are you fools doing? That's Ewan, the escaped prince!" Torrent.

Ewan turned around, seeing the two guards he was with glaring at him. One guard raised his blade to attack. Ewan started backing away in fear. The guard swung, but, at the same time, a flash of orange flew in front of him. Mother's Phoenix.

The sword struck the Phoenix, and it erupted into flames. The blast caused the guards to recoil, and Ewan quickly ran off, not looking back.

When the flames and ashes cleared, Ewan was gone. It was as if he vanished with the Phoenix himself.

---

The males in a clan of Harpies were kept within the harpy territory, forbidden to leave. Yew was well aware of this, being a male Harpy himself.

Half of the time, he was hunched over a table, jotting down important events, such as battles and the appointment of new warriors. The other half was spent reading history books, drawing on scrap pieces of paper they could afford to lose, and gazing wistfully at the sky, or towards the woods surrounding camp, knowing full well he would never see beyond what he already could.

One day, Yew found himself reading through another book when one of the female Harpies entered the room. "Hello," he said absentmindedly.

"Hello, Yew. Just checking to see if you are safe," she told him.

Yew looked up from his book. "Yes, I am doing fine," he responded. "Actually, I've been meaning to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"The books I've read speak of some sort of unknown darkness," Yew said. "I want to know-"

"No one knows what it really is," the Harpy interrupted. "It's a nameless thing that dragons brought into Sornieth that now terrorizes the land. Some BeastClans claim that dragons call it "The Shade" and that they don't particularly like it either, though."

Yew thanked the Harpy and she left, but he couldn't help but wonder...

'If both we and the dragons fear the Shade, or whatever its called, then why are we enemies rather than allies?'

A day later, Yew formulated a plan.

When another Harpy came to see him, he told her he wanted to try whittling in his free time. She handed him wood and a knife, instructing him to try and create something easy. Yew made a simple perching bird. The Harpy told him things he could've done better, before asking if he was still interested in learning. Yew said yes.

Soon, whittling took up most of his free time. The female Harpy served as his instructor, teaching him everything she could. One day, she told him that, as a sort of final exam, he should try and make another bird, like the one he carved first, except using all the knowledge he now had. She turned around to leave and grab supplies, but Yew quickly stood up. "I could get the wood," he offered.

The Harpy stared at him for a moment. "Do you know where the wood is?" she asked.

"Yes, I do," Yew answered. "Besides, I already know what kind of wood I want and how much I'll need. It'd be better than having to carry everything I don't use back, right?"

"I suppose," the Harpy said. "Stay safe!"

Yew nodded and left. As he made his way to the storage area, a Harpy stopped him. "Where are you going, Yew?" she asked.

"The storage place," he replied, walking past her. "Don't worry, I have permission!"

When Yew reached the storage space, he grabbed the wood he needed, as well as some extra things that he quickly hid in his clothing before making his way back. At his room, Yew purposely took his time on the bird, adding as much detail as possible. When night arrived, his Harpy mentor walked up to him. "We can continue tomorrow," she said.

"Why don't I stay up late and finish it?" Yew asked.

"You need rest," the Harpy responded.

"I know," Yew said. "But I'm no idiot. I won't stay up too late at night. Besides, I'm almost done!"

The Harpy glanced at his bird. All that was really left was the tail and quite a few details on the wings and back. "Alright, but make sure to get some sleep."

And so Yew spent a bit finishing his bird, before spending most of the night, whittling one last thing, which he hid underneath his pillow. Despite this, he slept quickly, tired from staying up so long.

When the Harpy came in the next day, he presented her with the bird. She was astonished by the details. "It looks like a real bird," she praised. After a bit, she turned around to leave. Yew watched, feeling bad. After all, this would most likely be the last time he sees her, at least for a long time.

"Wait!" he called out suddenly. The Harpy looked at him. "I... I want you to have this," he said, holding up the bird he had carved.

The Harpy stared at him, surprised. "I-I couldn't," she said. "You made it, Yew."

"Well, I wanted to... I wanted to thank you for teaching me how to whittle."

After another shocked silence, she accepted the gift. "Thank you," she said, her voice hushed, before leaving.

That night, Yew draped a bunch of cloth onto himself, slung a leather satchel over his shoulder, and grabbed the thing from under his pillow, before sneaking outside.

He looked around his childhood home one last time. Then he took off.

"Hey!" a Harpy guard called. Yew turned his head to look at the guard. Upon seeing his face, the guard nodded and stepped back, a bit embarrassed for mistaking who she thought was a courier for something else.

After all, only the female Harpies wore bone masks.

---

Ewan collapsed underneath a tree, tired from fleeing. He tried wrapping his head around what had happened just a few hours ago. His mother's Phoenix had sacrificed itself to save him and help him escape. The rest was just a blur of trees and mushrooms as he ran away.

He saw a shape walk up to him. He panicked and stood up, ready to flee again. The figure gasped and backed up. Ewan then realized the figure wasn't draconian.

"What brings a Harpy here?" he asked.

The figure kept backing up.

"I won't harm you, and, even if I wanted to, I'm in no state to do so," Ewan told the figure. "I just want to know why you're here."

The Harpy relaxed. "I was looking for dragons," he said. Ewan was surprised to hear that the Harpy was a male.

"May I ask why?" Ewan questioned.

"You fear the darkness, too, right?" the Harpy asked.

"The darkness?" Ewan asked, confused.

"The darkness," the Harpy repeated. "The unknown shadows that plagues our world."

Ewan chuckled. "The darkness? I assume you mean the Shade," he said. "Yes, many dragons fear it."

"I ran away from home to see for myself whether it's true you dragons are terrified of the darkness, like Harpies."

"Well, you got your answer," Ewan told him. "Do you plan on heading back home to tell your people?"

The Harpy shook his head. "No, I don't plan on returning."

"Why?"

He paused for a moment. "I... ran away.”

“Ran away?” Ewan asked, intrigued. “How come?”

“...I have my reasons," he answered defensively.

"No matter," Ewan said. "I fled away from home, too, but for different reasons."

"Really?"

"Yes, I have," he told him. "Perhaps I should introduce myself. I am Pri-" Ewan stopped himself quickly. "I am Ewan."

"I am Yew," the Harpy replied.

---

Where else is Ewan mentioned?

Supernova (Also a sorta-sequel to this one!)

---

“This map should lead us to... The Sornieth Museum of History.”

“You realize what this means, Yew. We're gonna have to break in.”

“...And here are your free Wavecrest Saturnalia passes, and your balloons, blue and pink!”

“We’re in.”

---

Art by @Strigiforma #165966