Oza

(Self Hatch)

The Orphan



Carried from afar by a wispy breeze, the smell of blood drifts across the ground, filling your nostrils with the pungent scent of metallic death... You look up to see a mangled figure on the horizon, and something cold slides around your heart, freezing you to the spot for a few silent moments. You start to sweat and feel an increasing sense of unease as the abomination slowly limps closer. You should leave. Now.



He reeked of blood...

He felt the fever burn within him, chiseling its path into his veins with the malicious contagion. He lifted his head and gaped, but no sound escaped from his scalded throat, and his cry was only that of agonized silence. His widened eyes stared into the emptiness around him, unable to focus on any of the distorted shapes drifting across his vision.

"His condition is bizarre," a voice murmured with a grave tone. "I have never seen such an extreme sickness as this..."

"This hatchling will not survive, then?" replied another, but this voice held a callous coldness, where the first had only been logical in its statements.

"No." There was some discomfort now.

"Very well."

And just like that, the fragmented thoughts and meaningful words vanished, leaving him in the darkness. A warm, painless darkness. He exhaled, and his own heart beat steadily, singing him a thudding lullaby since there was no mother to comfort him.



A soft breeze drifted through the dry air, playing against his mane and making his fur ripple gently with its passing. He raised his head and surveyed the cliffs before him, searching its crags with careful attention.

"Do you see him?" Orlaith asked by his side, a mark of irritation entering her voice. She narrowed her eyes slightly and grimaced.

"No. Sprites are often difficult to see, even the more flamboyant kinds," Oza replied with a quiet patience. He continued to gaze at the ridge before them and tilted his head in contemplation. "It will be difficult to find him now."

"Oh, profanity," Orlaith muttered. She backed away and checked her gear.

"He is here though. I can sense him."