Black talons tipped with silver shook the tiny device, rattling it furiously. **Stormy! Autumn! Chitterz!** "Dammit! Damn this thing to Hell!" **Lux! Orca!** "Friggin' bloody hell!" **Tagia, Auslander! Xolaris!** "For crying out loud!" **First Wave -- for the love of Solarius! Answer me!**

The teleson went flying across the room, bouncing harmlessly off the sky blue and white walls. The golden gryphoness who threw it paced back and forth, from one side of the room to the other. Tail twitching, she thrust her head out her open window and cast her thoughts to the winds. She zipped over rivers and streams, valleys and plains, searching and searching.

Nothing.

Sinking to the floor, she lay her chin on the lintel, grey eyes misted over. "Oh, my friends . . ."

The Guild was in an uproar. Crystal stood in the back of the common room in her full natural form. The immortal was visibly distraught and no one dared disturb her. Instead, they fought. The clamor rose to such a level, that no one could get a word in edgewise.

Suddenly, a massive column of flame erupted over their heads. Everyone quieted immediately and faced Crystal. The female Phoenix's eyes were glowing white and her nares were smoldering.

"Shut up -- all of you!" Crystal stalked into the middle of the group, golden tail fanned and wings mantled. She pinned one after the other with her murderous gaze, smoke now pouring freely from her nostrils. When she spoke, more smoke rolled from her beak. "Back away from me -- now! I'm stoked and ready to blow; someone's going to be barbecue unless you give me room!" Guilders heeded her warning, tripping over each other in an effort to get out of her path. The Phoenix lady was a fearsome site: cheek and neck feathers puffed to extreme, legs spread and talons poised. "You can argue your fool heads off, but that's not going to get them back. Act like the mature creatures you are instead of idiots!" She spat into a trash can, her snake's tongue flicking in and out. "You see -- that's what I think of you now: spit! I will not stand here and listen to you bullshit! I'm leaving!"

Twisting savagely, Crystal walked furiously out of the room; she yanked the Guild doors open and thrust herself into the sky.

"Let her go," Tser told them, as more than one Guilder set out to stop Crystal. "She had so much invested in the Wave."

"We'll organize another," Raena suggested. "A Second Wave."

Tser cast a long glance at the gryphoness. "I really don't think that that's a good idea, Raena. We've lost eight already. I don't want to lose any more."

"We have to try, Tser. Any one of them would do the same."

The black dragoness sighed. "I know, Raena, I know. But you have to consider the position I'm in. We're not the Army -- we never will be. It's not our job."

"But An'masazi --"

Tser cut her off. "We were foolish -- and lucky. I don't know if you all would come back if we attempted this again."

Raena leaned forward, her blue tailflame flaring. "I'll take them, Tser! I assume full responsibility!"

Sparhawk entered the conversation. "We have to do something Tserisa."

Tser hung her head. She looked at the two of them from under heavy eye-ridges. "Raena, do what you must. No more than six!"

The silver gryphoness spun around and galloped back to the confused Guilders. "I need six volunteers!" she declared. "Who's with me?"

Bodies pressed forward, eager eyes and erect ears.

"I need a scout and an experienced warrior!" She pointed to a pair in the back. "Muse! Aryante!"

The smokey-blue scout gryphon nodded, ears perked. Aryante's acknowledgment was more action-packed: the warrior elf whipped out both of his broadswords and swirled them about in liquid katas. Guilders quickly moved out of his way.

"A nose to help the scout! Jalalith!"

The white, grey-streaked she-wolf grinned, her tongue lolling in lupine fashion.

"Nhaar! Kaletav! Excellent!"

The black dracogryphoness and raven gryphoness sat higher, grins on their faces.

"One more! C'mon!" Raena hit the stone in front of her. "Show me you can do this!" Movement caught the magess' eye. It was Aeris, the grey, green-pinioned mercenary gryph. "Aeris! Very good! Follow me, Second Wave!" Turning, Raena pounded down the hallway to the basement, the new member of the Second Wave close behind.

In the lowest level of the Guild building, Raena and the Second Wave discussed their options.

Nhaar tipped her head. "Is this a rescue mission or a guerrilla affair?"
Kaletav shook her head. "Stealth! Stealth is the key!"

"This is a definite rescue mission," Raena told them. "Our main goal is to get the First Wave home -- that's it." She turned to Aryante, who was sitting against Muse, chin on chest, voluminous hood over his canted eyes.

"You're the most experienced, Aryante," the gryphoness directed at him. "What do you have to say?"

The elf lifted his head, face hidden in the depths of his hood. "I agree with Kaletav. While we are on a rescue mission, stealth must not be overlooked." He rose and went over to one of the maps Aeris had of the region. Being in the Army, the mercenary had maps of every conceivable place on the planet. Using one broadsword, he pointed to a spot. "When Crystal first contacted First Wave, there were here --" He tapped the area reflectively. "The last time we heard from them, Orca said that they were going to explore some mountain caves. There are three small ranges that they could get to in the time that they were out: Aldethar Range, Silvertop and Cetne." Tap tap tap went the broadsword.

"They went north when they left," said Aeris. "Perhaps they continued north?"

Ary looked at the map. He traced a line from the Guild straight north; it touched none of the ranges.

"Silvertop and Cetne are the closest to where they were last pinpointed," said Muse, leaning forward.

Ary touched the first spot, then drew a line from there to the named ranges. East.

"So, we got them," whispered Nhaar. "But which range?"

Silvertop and Cetne Mountain Ranges were so close together -- separated by only a few hundred miles -- that divining the range they were in was going to take time. Then it was a matter of searching every cave in the range.

Kaletav sprawled backwards on her hind end. "This is going to be a lot harder than I thought," she said, casting a weary glance at the map.

A sharp rap on the basement door startled them all. Aeris rose and opened it. One of the Guild's most recognizable members sat there, poised on her white haunches, striped and covered in multicolored circles. It was Acyd, the purple-crested gryphoness with rainbow wings.

"No one ever told me that there was a Second Wave." Acyd's pupiless blue eyes narrowed over her grey, blue-cered beak. "I think that I have a right tp ask to be included?"

"Tser only allowed me six, Acyd," Raena told her from where she sat. "I'm sorry."

Acyd shook her head, smiling. "Asked Tser myself. She said that it was all right if I joined ya."

Raena looked at the rest of the Second Wave; they all grinned, giving thumbs-up.

"It's a good thing, then, that I brought these extra collars?"

Heads whipped around; Acyd bolted and ran down the basement ramp. Outlined in the framework was Crystal Phoenix and Sparhawk; the latter carried eight plain Phoenixian war collars.

There was an embarrassed silence -- no one wanted to speak of her sudden outburst. The female gave a lopsided grin as only a Phoenix could. "Don't worry, guys. I'm fine. I needed to cool my head, that's all. I went home and got the Council to give me war collars for every Guilder. Tser has the rest, these are for you."

Sparhawk passed them around and went to sit by the Phoenix lady. Acyd fingered hers. "Uh, hun," she began, "what exactly do these things do?"

The golden Phoenix's crest went up. "I never told you?" Acyd shook her head. "Oh, they protect the wearer from a certain level of attacks. At least these do -- I'm not allowed to give you full war collars."

Acyd nodded and buckled hers on; the rest followed.

Sparhawk cleared his throat. "Raena, you'd best get a move on. Dusk's not that far away."

They all walked back to the common room, admiring each others' war collars. Aryante went into a side closet to fetch one of the special gryphon saddle pads the Guild owned. Although his other shape was that of a giant dragon, the elven warrior preferred his current form as it gave him a greater range of motion.

Once Muse was saddled, Aryante mounted and the Guild doors were opened once again. One after the other, the Second Wave flew out, coasting north. Acyd stayed behind for a few more seconds.

"I didn't say good-bye to Jooshie," she told her friend. "Can you tell him that I love him for me?"

Crystal gave a small inclination of her head, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "We have a saying back home: Am'nelii Berinshah -- 'There shall always be tomorrow.' It's a traditional sendoff; but I don't think that one applies to this. So, Acyd, I say to you: Al'kchoktal Semir Tourn'dae -- 'May the winds of Eternity guide you safely home.' "

The two touched foreheads briefly; Acyd turned, opened her wings and soared. She didn't glance back as she strove to catch up with the rest of the Wave. The tears in Crystal's eyes were too much for her to bear. Forcing the sad Phoenix's image to the back of her mind, Acyd took her position in the wing formation.

"Have you ever been to the Cetnes?" Aeris asked.

Acyd nodded. "Me an' Jooshie would sumtimes go there to see the sunsets." She looked at the dark grey gryphon. "Why'd you volunteer?"

Aeris shrugged, a complicated gesture while on wing. "I'm a mercenary by profession. Quite skilled as far as these missions are concerned."

"Did ya fight the mage?"

A look of chagrin passed over the warrior's face. "Er, no, I didn't." He blinked rapidly. "I've never really fought a mage like you guys did."

"Then this is gonna be your crash-course!" Acyd gave a bark of laughter.

Aeris shrugged again. "I can adapt; when one's in the Army, you do that kind of things pretty quickly."

They flew on for an hour or so until Aryante pointed. "Cetne!" he shouted back. With a quick twist of pinions, the Second Wave turned and flew towards the mountains.

Jalalith focused her thoughts on the teleson that she had been chosen to carry. **Crystal? We're almost at Cetne.**

**Excellent!** The Phoenix's mental sigh came. **Whatever you do -- don't lose the teleson!**

Jalalith chuckled in her lupine way. **Don't worry yourself into an early burning, CP; we know better now!**

There was a mental hiss from the Phoenix. **CP this, CP that! How can I not worry? If I keep hearing that, I'll be as white as the Tarazayi verital before I'm 3,000!**

"She's sounding more and more like my mother every day!" Kaletav whispered to Nhaar. The black dracogryphoness snorted through her nares, laughing with her.

"She can't hear you, you know," Raena told them, grinning. "It's our thoughts she'll hear, so you can talk as loud as you want."

Kaletav blinked owlishly. "Oh -- sorry. It's just that she sounds so close!"

"Just don't think too loudly while the teleson's on. My Soul Sister's a telepath -- she'll hear you then!"

Nhaar nudged her pal. "Not that you think at all!"

The raven gryphoness gaped. "Why -- you!" She took a swipe at Nhaar's head, which the black female easily dodged.

"Hey, watch it!" Muse called out, snatching his tail out of the way. He turned to Raena. "We're going ahead, okay Raena?"

The weather magess nodded. "Your forte." Tucking his smokey-blue wings in, Muse dove a hundred feet down before leveling off. He and Aryante circled the range from front to back, skimming tree tops and high peaks.

"We'd best have Jalalith check this out." Ary noted as the passed by a particular crag with prominent scratch-marks. Muse hovered over the spot, passing his leonine forepaws over the gouges. He touched the paw to his tongue, tasting to see if it was something he'd recognize.

Jalalith soared over, fanning her purple wings. Her black nose sniffed each mark, her upper lip curling every now and then in a flehmen-like response.

"Someone definitely tried to cover this up," she said. "I can smell Stormy and Autumn. Over here is Orca and Lux. And up here is Aus."

"What about Xolaris, Chitterz and Tagia?" Muse asked.

"Xolaris doesn't have a scent, per se," Jalalith told him pointedly. "He's cybernetic. He doesn't give off a scent unless he's in need of repair and he smokes -- I'd be able to smell that all right!" She flew up a ways. "Chitterz and Tagia must have been riding. None of these are theirs."

Aryante scratched his pointy elven chin. "You said somebody tried to cover up the scents? The ones who took the First Wave?"

"Possibly. If left alone, the First Wave's scents would've been here for weeks. They've been gone for two days!"

"They did say they were checking a cave." Muse looked up; a ledge loomed above them. "Jalalith, call the others. We're going up there." The scout pushed away from the mountain face and powered upwards. Aryante's head rocked backwards from the force.

Muse touched down on the ledge bird hind feet first, then leonine forepaws. He drew his wings together smartly and looked about, red eyes dilating. Aryante dismounted as fluidly as only an elf could. He swept from a crouch to a warrior's stalk, moving quickly and silently along the ledge. The gryphon scout walked to the end of the protrusion, white beak to the stone. He noted more gouges that corresponded to the size of Stormy's giant weregryph claws and saw smaller ones that were far enough apart to be her other set. It was then that Raena and the others landed.

The gryphoness' blue flame tail passed over Stormy's markings, illuminating them in the fading light of day. "You're right, Muse. These are Stormy's."

Jalalith was busy parading about the area, leaving no section untouched. Kaletav and Nhaar examined the inside of the cave, while Aeris and Acyd flew up to the top of the peak. Raena sat heavily on her silver haunches; her ears were droopy and her lids half-closed. Muse came over and sat next to her; the magess leaned into his strong shoulder.

"We know they were here, Muse," she ruminated. "But where are they now?"

Muse drew his wing over her in fraternal gryphonic fashion. "That's what we're trying to find out, Raena." He preened her hanging ear. "We'll get 'em."

"Over here!" Jalalith called, her voice echoing from the back of the cave. There was a hiss of steel as Aryante's broadswords came out of the sheaths across his back. The elf jogged silently to where the she-wolf was sitting.

"Ary -- can you feel this? No, higher up, by my ears -- yes, that's it!"

The elf's smooth hands, only slightly callused after centuries of battle, ran over the wall. He felt the cracks, traced them from floor to gryphon-height in a door-like pattern. He sheathed both swords and pushed on one side then the other, trying to find a hinge.

The others came in, Raena's tailflame lighting the way. Together, they pushed . . .

. . . The hidden door grinded open, swinging on carefully-concealed pivots. Raena brought her tail around and willed the flame to brighten. The Second Wave peered down a wide spiral ramp that descended into darkness. Aryante reached around the wall of gryphons and Jalalith and plucked a torch from a sconce on the smooth wall.

"Can you light this?" he asked Raena. The magess nodded, passing one foretalon over the tinder of the torch, muttering a spell under her breath. Flame leaped to life, bright red in contrast to her blue. The elf brought around another torch. "Are any of you deft at walking on your hind legs?"

Nhaar raised her hand. "If I balance myself on the wall, I should be able to manage." Ary touched the first torch to the second; it lit immediately. He passed the torch to Nhaar, who rose onto her draconic hind legs. Flapping her midnight black wings for balance, one talon on the cavern wall, she stood.

"All right, Second Wave, down we go." Raena stepped down onto the ramp, tail held high. "Acyd, I want you and Jalalith behind me. Ary's next, then Muse, Aeris, Kaletav, and Nhaar -- you bring up the rear. Everyone okay with that?"

Affirmation met her command. In a straight line they descended into the depths.

The ramp went down for about thirty minutes, deep into the earth, then straightened for another thirty. When the Second Wave hit the up ramp, they decided to rest. Muse and Aryante took the first watch.

The two sat side by side, watching the light of the torches play off the cavern walls. Muse unslung his canteen from the harness he wore and took a long drought of water. He passed it to Aryante, who also drank from it before passing it back.

"This is it," the warrior commented, taking out one of his swords and polishing it. His black hood no longer covered his face as it had during the journey, and Muse could see that his shoulder- length blond hair was done up in complex elven war-braids. The gryphon nodded. Nothing really fazed him now, no after An'masazi and the Doomhounds.

"This is it," he agreed.

Their watch passed and they woke Nhaar and Kaletav for theirs. The black females tended to the small, smokeless fire Aryante has set up, quietly conversing.

"Do you think that this'll be like An'masazi?" Nhaar asked.

The raven gryphoness shrugged and rearranged the firewood. "Can't tell yet." She reached up and scratched the skin under her war collar. "Let's hope these things work as Crystal said they would."

Nhaar shuffled her black tailfeathers. "Whatever she gives us has to be good -- I mean, have you heard about her race? They're, like, the ultimate warriors!"

Her friend nodded. "I'm not doubting her -- it's just that there's been so much happening lately."

"Understandable."

Third watch came and Acyd and Aeris were woken up. The mercenary sat stiffly, hardly moving except for the rise and fall of his chest, and the occasional eye blink.

"This ain't the Army, ya know," the purple-crested gryphoness told him. "You dun hafta sit like that. Some bat's gonna think your a statue and take a dump on your head!"

"This is the way I was trained and this is how I stand watch," he said alittle testily, adjusting his green-tipped pinions.

"Fine, then. If ya get a cramp, dun expect me to rub it out for ya!"

The third watch faded into morning and the two began to wake everyone up. After eating breakfast, they continued their journey upwards.

Ary broke through first, sliding around another concealed door. "Raena," he whispered. "You need to see this."

The magess made her way over to the elf. Putting her head over his shoulder, she looked down. Her gasp reached all the way to Aeris, who was standing in the back.

"Dear gods!" She stepped back and let the others look.

**Crystal . . .?** Jalalith Sent via the teleson. **Crystal!**

**Wah? Yes, Father, all is ready . . .** There was a mental "meep" from the Phoenix when she realized who was Calling her. **Jalalith? What's up, girl?**

**I got some news for you, CP,** the she-wolf said, gazing over the edge. Down below was Lux, stretched out by all four limbs; her head was hung to her chest, hide unhealthy grey. Over a ways was Orca, Chitterz, Aus and Autumn, all on their sides, huddled together for comfort.

**We have the First Wave.**

Back to Index | Chapter One | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Final Chapter

© 2001 Crystal Shekeira. All Guilders are copyright themselves; the Gryphon's Guild is trademarked to Tserisa Supalla. Kalaki Moroko is © TH. All other names, places and events are copyright to MH. Do not copy, alter or distribute.