Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 09:53:21 -0600
From: Rhaven <rhaven2002@hotmail.com>
Subject: Star Child Chapter Six

This is a story of full fiction, no robot or fantasy creature was
harmed in its creation. Please check out the ALL-NEW Rhaven Lore at
www.rhavenlore.com


Coming soon to Rhaven Lore. original artwork for Star Child



STAR CHILD

RETURN TO THRAE



CHAPTER SIX

The ground whizzed past, a blur of green and blue. Asrais tried to
move, tried to jump from this bizarre flying machine and boy, but his
muscles were frozen and wouldn't obey his commands.

The boy that held him maneuvered the glider over and around trees as
if it was a game of chicken. Ash's stomach churned and he was afraid
he would throw-up from all the quick dives and swerves this crazy kid
was doing, how mature would that have been?. The boy guided the glider
over the edge of a canyon, if Ash could have opened his mouth, he
would have screamed. The glider dove straight down, Ash through his
panic, managed to see the other Fly Boys that followed. He wondered
about his friends, had they survived? Were they now on their way to
save him? The Fly Boys skimmed across a crystal clear lake that was
surrounded by the high stone canyon walls. Ahead of them carved out
the stone was an enormous head of a bird, its open beak the entrance
of a cave. It would have impressed Ash, if he didn't feel like a he
was heading towards his doom.

The Fly Boys soared into the giant mouth, with such ease, it was
apparent to Ash they had done this hundreds of time. There was a
single nude boy waiting for them as they landed. He unlike the others
did not have a falcon helmet; Ash was surprised on how normal he
looked, nude but normal. He wore a radiant smile that could have
melted the heart of any scrooge.

"What happened? I always miss the excitement!" the boy stomped his
foot.

"Shut up Wire, if you haven't noticed, we're missing three Fly Boys."
The boy who held Ash said irritably.

"Sorry. who's the boy? Thorn, you haven't taken a prisoner have you?
That isn't right, please don't hurt him."

"SHUT UP WIRE!" The boy called Thorn yelled jabbing his finger into
the smaller boy's chest. "Who do you think you are telling me.a
Falcon, what to do? You don't even have a fraternity yet."

Wire backed away frightfully, looking as if he was about to cry.

"Now take a look at my glider, it's sluggish on turns." Thorn barked.
"And it better be fixed before I have to go out again."

Thorn grabbed Ash violently and headed down an unnaturally smooth
passageway.

The corridor suddenly ended, opening up into a large circular cavern;
there were more nude boys, separated into apparent classes, depending
on the helmets they wore. Ash saw the familiar gold Falcon style, but
there were also bronze owl helmets and helmets of silver resembling a
dove. Then the boys without helmets, they were younger than the others
were and almost seemed anxious of the older boys.  It wasn't the boys
that interested Ash, but the man that sat in the throne centered in
the middle of the cavern. The man seemed to be listening intently to
several boys telling a story. The man's attention quickly focused on
Ash as Thorn dragged him forward.

"What have we here?" He said standing. He was young, barely out of his
teens, if that old. Ash had never met a King before, but this man
definitely looked the part. He glowed with nobility, a graceful
sculptured face; with a small arched tattoo adoring his left cheek
giving him an exotic appeal. With long flowing black hair and an
eccentric black crown, the strange man, seemed avian in his
appearance. He wore deep black armor that only covered his shoulders,
arms and calves. The layered shoulder guards gave Ash the impression
of wings. He did wear a chain mail loincloth, but for what reason Ash
wasn't sure, it didn't conceal anything.

"I captured this intruder as he defiled our sacred lake." Thorn said
proudly. "I under the laws of Aviary claim him as my property."

"That is true Thorn, you do have the right, but perhaps we should
first discover who our guest is first." The man said waving his hand
and Ash felt his body snapping back under his control. "Now that the
spell has been removed. please young guest, what is your name?"

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Ash screamed and 'Hammer' kicked
the boy called Thorn across the room. "You attack me and my friends
without warning! If you had told us it was your lake, we would have
left. BUT NO, you fly in and blast away!" Ash was so angry he couldn't
see straight.  Instantly Ash assumed the 'Sword and Shield' defense
stance, he knew he couldn't defeat all the boys, but he was going to
take down as many as he could. Ash was shaken out of his blind rage,
by laughter. The man was doubled over and laughing, all the boys
turned towards the man and started laughing with him.

"Such energy. I believe Thorn. your property has a will of its own."

"I'm not anyone's property." Ash screamed.

"No? That we will see." The man said mysteriously and walked over to
the fallen Thorn. "You were in charge of this scouting party,
 correct?" The man said reaching down and helping Thorn to his feet.

"I. I was. but Rave. they took out Swimmer, Titan and Pumpkin. they
were dangerous. they had an autonoid with them!" Thorn said painfully
as he tried to stand up straight.

"That autonoid was my friend!" Ash barked, finally relaxing his
defense.

"He is mine, so says the law of the Aviary." Thorn moaned as he limped
his way to the middle of the cavern.

"Ask for Rights of Self." Someone whispered in Ash's ear.

Ash turned around and saw the young boy Wire wink at him, before
disappearing behind a group of Owl boys.

"I. I ask for Rights of Self." Ash said awkwardly. The room went
silent, all heads turned to Ash then to Thorn and finally towards
Rave.

"Very interesting." Rave said still smiling. "I would like to know the
name of the person claiming Rights of Self."

"I. I. I am Prince Asrais of the House of Soldaat, First Family of
Salvane." Ash said proudly, the first time he had used his full title,
it strangely felt good.

"Prince Asrais, what an honor to have you in our humble home." Rave
laughed, bowing comically. He stepped up to Ash and pulled him close.
"I wish you the best of luck, Thorn is actually a champion combatant."

"I'm ready." Growled Thorn as he clanked his long gauntlet blades
together. "Get him some Feather blades, so we can get this over with."

Another Falcon boy approached Ash carrying the long blades.

"I don't need them." Ash said as confidently as he could, the boy
gasped and looked toward Rave.

"If he doesn't want them, then he shall fight without them." Rave said
taking his seat on the throne. The group of boys backed away from Ash
and Thorn, creating a large circle. Ash tried not to think about those
long deadly metal blades, Puck had trained him well in 'Storm and
Thunder'. I'm the weapon. I'm a weapon.I'm a weapon, Ash continued to
tell himself. He crouched down back into his 'Sword and Shield' stance
and looked deep into Thorn's eyes. Ash saw the attack coming before
Thorn even moved. The Fly boy lunged forward and spun, his blade
barely missing Ash's face. Ash quickly parried with a swift kick to
Thorn's left leg, sending him off-balanced. As Thorn stumbled to
regain steadiness, Ash hit him with a 'Double-Edged Axe' attack, with
the flat of his hand, he struck Thorn on the right collarbone. Thorn
screamed and fell to his knees, his right arm limp at his side. Thorn
gawkily swung the blade again; Ash leapt high into the air to avoid
the deadly cutting edge and landed behind Thorn. From his squatting
position, Ash threw out a kick into Thorn's back. The Fly Boy flew
forward and skidding across the cavern floor.

"I've seen enough!" Yelled Rave.

"B.but. Rave?" Thorn cried as he tried to sit up.

"No more Thorn, Prince Asrais has succeeded in his Rights of Self.
Congratulations Prince Asrais, welcome to our flock." Rave laughed and
clapped his hands, the other boys cheers loudly and swarmed Ash with
welcoming hugs and handshakes. Ash couldn't help but blush from the
attention, finally he was starting to feel like he belonged here on
Thrae. However, he was more interested in Rave. The man knelt next to
Thorn, pulled him into his arms, and rocked him as if he were a babe.
It was very comforting to see how gentle Rave was to the boys. Ash
wasn't able to see anymore, for he was rushed out of the main chamber
into a much larger one. This cavern had several long tables and Ash
was seated at the head table.

"Prince Asrais."Rave said as he entered the room, with a timid Thorn
under his arm. "I hope you are hungry. We Fly Boys live hard, play
hard and eat hearty." Rave laughed. Ash laughed with him, something
contagious about Rave's laughter, he had never met a man who could
laugh so enthusiastically. It was as if Ash had never heard true
laughter before now. Rave carefully helped Thorn take a seat and then
sat next to Ash.

"Bring on the food!" He said banging his fist on the table. More nude
boys appeared carrying tray after tray of exotic food and drink.
Whatever these 'Fly Boys' were, thought Ash; they really knew how to
party. Ash didn't care what the food was, though most looked like the
ordinary roast or pork or cabbage or potatoes. It all tasted fantastic
and Ash made sure to taste it all. Once the meal was in progress, a
boy from each table would stand and tell a story. Some were truly
interesting, adventurous tales of heroes long ago, while others were
nothing more than 'what I did today', it was all very entertaining.
Ash relaxed back into his seat, drinking something called Ging Wine
and listened, the wine, his first to taste, was soothingly good. As he
sat there, thinking about Otto and Puck, he spotted the boy named
Wire. It was Wire who had really saved him and Ash hadn't even thanked
him. Ash was about to call out to Wire, when another boy, in a Falcon
helmet tripped Wire as he stood up from his table. The boy and his
friends burst into cruel laughter, calling Wire a Fratless boy. Ash
didn't know what a 'Fratless boy' was, but he didn't like it.

"Wire!" Ash called out across the room. Wire managed to stand and
looked around him to see if Ash was really talking to him.

"Wire, would you sit next to me, please?" Ash asked as sweetly as he
could. Wire visibly blushed and almost skipped to Ash's table. Wire
flopped down in the seat next to Ash, and suddenly gasped. "You. you
did mean for me to sit right?"

"Of course." Ash laughed. "I want to thank you."Ash leaned closer to
the boy and whispered. "I want to thank you for helping me today."

"That's all right." Wire blushed again and started rocking in his
chair from embarrassment.

"Good choice." Rave said whispering in Ash's ear. "Wire is a beauty,
but we've had a problem placing him in a Fraternity."

"A Fraternity?" Ash asked as he took another sip of the delicious Ging
wine, not really hearing what Rave had said.

"One must be part of a family unit. Whether it be Falcon or Owl or
even Dove. Your family is chosen by the skills you demonstrate. sadly
Wire has been difficult to place."

"What about a new Fraternity for Wire." Ash suggested. "Make him a ."
Ash turned to Wire and looked at him. "What about an Eagle or maybe a
Hawk?"

"Very interesting suggestion." Rave said frowning. "But I don't
believe an Eagle or Hawk fits Wire correctly."

"What about a swan?" Wire said quickly.

Rave burst into laughter and slapped Ash on the shoulder. "Your little
man is wise. Yes, yes, a Swan it shall be. Wire you are the first
brother of the Fraternity of the Swan!"

"Really?" Wire beamed with excitement. "I'm in a Fraternity?"

Rave stood and raised his hands to silence the room. "I announce the
creation of a new Fraternity. I want everyone to congratulate Wire in
his promotion into the Fraternity of the Swan."

The room exploded in applause. Rave held up his hand again. "It has
been a long day. I suggest we all retire to our rooms, if it's not
sleep you seek."

"then just beat your meat." The boys finished for Rave, all laughing.
Ash arched an eyebrow at the comment. Laughing and watching the room
thin out, Ash realized how comfortable he was, these Fly Boys and Rave
were nice people; it almost pained him to like them as much as he did.
Poor Otto, destroyed because of a stupid sacred lake.  And poor Puck
and Dango, he had to believe they survived the attack and were at this
moment searching desperately for him. How could he just sit here
eating and drinking, laughing and enjoying himself, when his friends
could be in danger? Ash gulped down the rest of his Ging wine and
poured more from the large pitcher.

"Wire please escort our new brother to his room." Rave said with his
constant smile. Wire's grin disappeared instantly and a look of panic
painted his face.

Rave chuckled and pointed to a passageway. "He'll be staying in the
guest room Wire."

"Oh." Wire said grinning foolishly and grabbed Ash's hand. "Follow
 me."



Puck and Dango ran. They ran through forest and over creek, they ran
with only one purpose, to save Ash. It had been over an hour since
they lost sight of the flying boys, but they couldn't give up.

"Where are we going?" Dango asked as he ducked under a low hanging
branch. The trees were so thick, it was difficult to see the sky, and
he wasn't even sure what direction they were going. "PUCK STOP!" Dango
finally yelled. "Where are we going? We have no idea where Ash was
taken, running blindly through the woods, isn't helping anyone."

"What do you want me to do. just give up? We have got to save Ash."
Puck spat.

"Sweetheart. I don't want to give up; I just think we need to have a
plan here." Dango said trying to look calm.

Puck clinched his teeth, he wanted to continue running, but he knew
that Dango was right. Blindly chasing someone without knowing where
they were was extremely stupid.

"Okay, so what do we do now?" Puck finally asked.

"Well."Dango thought for a moment. "Otto called them Fly Boys. so
maybe we need to look for places flies can be found?"

"Don't be stupid." Puck growled. "Not that kind of Fly Boy, but you
are sort of right. We need to look for something high in the air. like
a huge tree or maybe a mountain."

"Well then we need to get out of this forest, somewhere where we can
see the landscape better." Dango looked around and spotted the perfect
tree. He grabbed the first branch and heaved himself up. Puck waited
impatiently as Dango climbed higher. Finally, Dango could climb no
higher, but at least he was above the treetops.

"What do you see?" Puck yelled up to Dango, though he could no longer
see his lover through the multitudes of leaves and branches.

"To our east I can see a . um. a canyon. Looks huge!" Dango yelled
down and then started scanning the rest of the horizon. "In the south.
I see a mountain range."

"Anything else?" Puck yelled.

"I think I found him!" Dango started carefully climbing down the tree.
"I saw smoke at the mountain. I'd bet my fortune that is where Ash was
taken." Dango jumped from the tree once he was only a few feet from
the ground.

"You don't have a fortune." Puck said frowning. "How far to the
mountain?"

"Probably a few miles. trust me Puck, we'll find Ash."

Puck lowered his head and sniffed. He didn't want to cry, but he felt
as though he had screwed everything up. From how he raised Asrais to
bringing him here to Thrae, it had all been bad.

"Puck, don't do that." Dango said kneeling in front of the small
Eller.

"Don't do what?"

"I know that look; you're punishing yourself for what has happened. It
's not your fault; there was nothing you could do to prevent it."
Dango whispered. "Now let's go get Ash from those Fly Boys."

"What about Otto? We didn't even try to see if he had survived." Puck
sniffed again.

"That bucket of bolts can take care of himself. If he did survive, he'
ll be able to track us easily. Stop torturing yourself dammit!" Dango
gave Puck a quick kiss. "You are the smartest, bravest person I know."
Dango gave Puck a quick kiss. "When you doubt yourself like this. it.
it just kills me." Dango gave Puck another kiss, this one hard and
seductive.

"You are such a fool." Puck said with a smile. "I love you so much.

"How could you not love me?." Laughed Dango. "Let's go find Ash."

They headed south, ready for whatever challenges they would face.



"Damn. Damn. Damn." The Fly Boy called Pumpkin cursed, sitting on the
ground and holding his swollen ankle. He wasn't sure how that stupid
man had disabled his glider, but now he was stuck at the Sacred Lake
without any way of getting back home. His head was bleeding and his
ankle was probably broken, Pumpkin had never felt so helpless in his
life. He found Swimmer a few yards away, but he hadn't survived the
crash. Titan was alive, but no matter what Pumpkin did, he couldn't
wake the boy, whatever that Eller did to him it looked serious.

"Stupid Thorn." Pumpkin spat. "Always so gung-ho in starting a fight.
STUPID THORN!" he yelled to the sky. Suddenly his attention was drawn
to the lake; something large was emerging from it. Slowly a huge naked
man pulled himself out of the water.

"Holy bird poop." Pumpkin whispered, the only other man Pumpkin had
ever seen was Rave; this man looked nothing like Rave.

"Where is Ash?" Otto demanded slamming his fist into the ground.

"I. I. I." Pumpkin stuttered, looking around for someway to escape
this monster.

Otto rushed forward and grabbed up the boy, lifting him high in the
air. "I asked a question Fly Boy, where the hell is Ash?"

"I don't know anyone named Ash? Please. Please don't kill me." Pumpkin
whispered, so frightened that he couldn't barely make a sound.

"Oh damn. I'm not going to kill you." Otto sat the boy back down and
took a step away from him. "What happened to the people I was with.
the people you attacked." Otto looked around to detect any signs that
would tell him what had occurred. There were several clues he spotted,
but he wasn't going to go rushing off into the forest until he got
more information from the boy. The sun was setting; he had been
trapped at the bottom of the lake for hours, Otto silently cursed
himself for allowing his guard down and going for a swim. When the Fly
Boys had attacked him, the blast had shot him 30 meters down to the
muddy lakebed. He was buried in mud up to his waist and without any
leverage; it was a difficult struggle to free himself. Otto looked
down at the frightened boy and sighed.

"My name is Otto, my friends and I were on a very important quest. It
is very vital that I find them. can you help me?"

Pumpkin looked over at the still motionless Titan and shook his head.
"Thorn took the gray headed kid, but as for the others in your party.
I honestly didn't see. They were gone when I woke up."

"Where did this Thorn take my friend?" Otto knelt down and began to
examine Pumpkin's ankle.

"He would have taken him home I guess." Pumpkin said through gritted
teeth as Otto moved his foot.

"Your ankle is broken, if you show me the way, I can take you back to
your people."

Pumpkin looked again to Titan and then Swimmer's lifeless body.

"I will show you, but you must take Titan too. and we should put
Swimmer in the Sacred Lake. He didn't survive the battle."

Otto looked over at the dead boy and grimaced. "If only you had spoken
to us first, there was no need for the attack. We will take care of
Swimmer and your other friend."

Otto recovered his possessions, and got dressed. He picked up his axe
and walked over to the unresponsive boy. Otto rolled Titan over on his
back and quickly looked for injuries.

"I believe your friend has a concussion." Otto picked the boy up and
placed him next to Pumpkin. "It's too dark to start out now; we will
remain here until morning." Otto said looking up at the night sky.
"Please tell me that Ash will be all right with your friend Thorn."

"Oh Thorn is an idiot, but he won't hurt your companion. We're not
savages you know." Pumpkin said as he brushed the hair out of Titan's
eyes. "Will he. will Titan live?"

Otto knelt down at Pumpkin's feet and wrapped the inflamed ankle with
Ash's shirt, hoping that when he found the young prince he wouldn't
mind. "Titan will be fine. keep him company while I take care of . of
your deceased friend."

Pumpkin nodded and watched at the large man gently picked up Swimmer
and carried him to the edge of the lake.

"Is there something I should say or do before putting him in the
 lake?" Otto asked, looking back at Pumpkin. Otto didn't mention the
fact that while he was stuck on the bottom of the lake, he had seen a
strange structure, a building of metal and glass. Of what purpose the
building held, Otto wasn't sure, but he guessed it was the reason
Pumpkin continually called it the Sacred Lake. Pumpkin informed him
that no special ceremony was needed, so Otto gently let the boy slip
from his hands into the dark depths of the lake.

Otto returned to the boys and sat down. He and Pumpkin stared out
across the lake in quiet remorse.

"You're not human are you?" Pumpkin asked cautiously daring to break
the silence.

"No I am an autonoid, but don't let that scare you. I am really a nice
person." Otto said with a smile.

"Yeah, I think you are. I think Rave will really like you." Pumpkin
said finally smiling.

"Who is Rave?"

Pumpkin was shocked by the fact that someone didn't know who Rave was.
"He's our King, our protector; Rave created the Fly Boys and gave us
the laws of the Aviary."

"Sounds like a very special person." Otto said quietly. "I hope that
Ash will be treated well by Rave."

"This Ash. you care for him a lot huh?" Pumpkin said and moaned as he
accidentally moved his injured foot. Otto reached down and started to
massage Pumpkin's calf.

"Ash is unlike anyone I have ever met before. I haven't known him very
long, but somehow I feel as if we've been together forever. I'm not
sure you can understand that, but that's how I feel."

Pumpkin sighed and shivered slightly from the night's cool breeze.
"There's someone back at the Aviary I like, he's a Dove, but I don't
care. Singer is so beautiful, sometimes I hurt all over, wanting
nothing more than to be close to him."

"So you do know how I feel." Otto lifted Pumpkin and placed him in his
lap. "I can regulate my temperature to keep you warm."

"Um. thanks." Pumpkin said and looked over to Titan. "What about him?"

Otto shook his head and scooted next to Titan, pulling the boy close
to him.

"He will be warm now. Lean back and get some rest." Otto said softly.
Pumpkin smiles and rested his head on the autonoid's chest.

"Are. are you going to sit up all night?" Pumpkin whispered. Otto
nodded, remembering when Ash had asked him a similar question. He
wrapped his arms around the boy and sighed. Otto started singing. The
villagers sang this song to their children at night. He imagined them
singing to him and a song he would one day share with Ash.

"In my arms, you do rest

With night's blanket of stars,

Beautiful dreamer in my embrace

To slumber land

Snuggled to my chest





Dream my Sweetheart with,

Castles in the sky and song

Rest in your moonlit trance,

In reverie, all night long

In my arms, nap in comfort

For here we belong



At ease, in perfect pose

My arms around you

I hold you close

A prince of nighttime

Delicate as a rose





Sleep my Sweetheart with,

Castles in the sky and song

Rest in your moonlit trance,

In reverie, all night long

In my arms, nap in comfort

For here we belong"

Otto finished his song and was pleased to see that Pumpkin had fallen
asleep. It was sung for Ash; Otto looked up at the night sky and hoped
his young friend was all right. He had so wanted to have Ash here with
him, in his lap, sleeping to his song.

"There will be time for that." Otto told himself, forced himself to
believe, he would rescue Ash, find Puck and Dango and finish this
journey. Then there would be plenty of time to sing to Ash. Otto liked
that thought, he would sing to Ash everyday, what a wonderful life
that would be.