Casualties of War (Part 1)

[sidhe_faerie]

Title: Casualties of War (Part 1)
Fandom: Ogham-Duir (Original)
Characters: Princess Endora, Lady Starr, Grim Ranger
Author: sidhe_faerie
Rating: PG
Length: 767
Content notes: 38. None graphic depictions of dead bodies and war
Summary: Star embarks on a journey to find her husband Pyros the Phoenix

Casualties of War (Part 1)
The Phoenix and Thunderbird war was raging in the north lands. It had touched Ogham-Duir more than once.  It wasn’t just the young males that went off to war leaving families alone and worried, there had even been a battle on Dragon’s Peak near the roosting site for the females and the hatchlings.

Lady Starr’s husband, Pyros, left for war and hadn’t been heard from in months. She had gone to look for him on her own without success. This time she brought help. She brought the two people she trusted the most: Grim Ranger and Princess Endora.  

At Eagle Cliffs…..
The early morning mist evaporated as the sun moved higher in the sky. It revealed the long silent blood soaked battlefield that it had once hidden.

Enemy and victor alike lay rotting side by side in death. The battle had been over weeks ago but the dead still remained. Both sides were more interested in fighting another battle than burying their dead.

Endora pushed the hood from her head and looked around. “Starr! Grim! Where are you?”

Starr stepped over a body. “I’m here. Grim went back to the tent to check the roll sheet again. We’ve search the lower battlefield. Pyros isn’t there. No one has seen him for months.”

“Are you sure he was here?” Endora turned away from the bodies. “He may not have been at this battle. He may have gone out scouting.”

“No. The commander said he had been here.” Starr looked around again. “If his body isn’t here, he could be a prisoner. The commander said the thunderbirds have taken prisoners before.”

“How many of those prisoners have ever come back alive?” Endora had to ask the question. Even though the answer was something they both dreaded.

Starr looked down at the bloodstained mud on her boots. “None. Not one phoenix ever comes back alive. They are tortured to the brink of death then burned to rise again only to be tortured more. When the thunderbirds are done, they cut their throats and let them die with no hope of resurrecting.”

Endora took a step forward to hug her friend but Starr waved her off.

“I don’t need your sympathy. I need your skills.” Starr took out a ring from her pocket. “This is his wedding ring. He didn’t take it with him. Can you use it to find him?”

Endora nodded and took the ring. “I will see what I can do.”

“Thank you.” Starr bit her lip and looked around with tears in her eyes. “Why didn’t they at least bury them before moving on to the next battle? It seems cruel.”

Endora pulled the lacing from her tunic and put the ring on it. She whispered a spell that Aura had taught her and held the ring out. Nothing happened.

“What’s wrong?” Starr asked.

“It’s not picking up his energy.” Endora looked at the ring.

“What does that mean?” Starr threw up her hands. “Did you say the spell correctly?”

“Yes. I know the spell. I’ve used it before.” Endora sighed. “Either, he wasn’t here or it’s been to long for the spell to be of any use.”

Starr held out her hand for the ring. “This was the only place I knew he had been. I guess it has been too long for the spell to work.”

Endora took the ring off the lacing and handed it to her. “I’m sorry, Starr.”

Grim came rushing up. “I found the list of survivors. Pyros was on it. They went to the next battle at Red Bluffs. We may be able to pick up his trail there.”

“Then we go to Red Bluffs.” Starr sighed. “There will be more dead to search through and he may not even be there either.”

“Starr, we will find him.” Endora tried to be supportive but she knew that she was giving Starr a reason to hope when there was none. 

“I took a map. We can make Red Bluffs by morning if we get started now and walk all night. They are that way.” Grim pointed west then looked at the two women in front of him. “I assume you want to hurry.”

Endora pulled her hood back up. “Let’s go. We can try the spell again when we get there.”

Starr looked at them both and started walking west.

Grim and Endora exchanged glances. They knew that with all the time that had passed the likelihood of finding Pyros alive now was next to none. They knew it but they were not going to say it in front of Starr.