Chapter 10 of Tales of the Eternals
This was a challenge to write, but I feel it was also rewarding.

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Tales of the Eternals Chapter 10. The Tythonians and the Avralians

The blue and yellow crescent spaceship soars through a cloud of nebula gas, a rainbow colours swirling and dancing around it almost magically like something from a fantasy.
Inside however, the mood is tense. Shern'aath and Kiya are glowering at each other across the room, arms folded across their chests. Right in the centre of the room, Altallo was piloting the ship, looking rather bored and irritated.
“Are you two done yet?” Altallo asks, sounding exasperated “You're going to end up like a pair of ugly statues if you keep this up.”
“Why do we need him?” Kiya snorts, ignoring Altallo's outburst “He's rude and savage. Not sophisticated like me.”
“Me rude? You're the one who started calling me savage for no reason!” Shern'aath snaps back.
“Overgrown lizard!”
“Overgrown ape!”
“Oh stop it you two!” Altallo groans, massaging his temples. “You're not even looking outside. We're passing through a nebula and all you can do is argue?”
“That grew old ages ago.” Shern'aath snorts.
The two continue to bickering, oblivious to what is outside the window; from a bright white comet shooting past, a bright blue star and even an asteroid field. An hour later, Altallo is woken from his annoyed stupor by a bright flash from the pool of turquoise liquid.
“We're almost there, just going into descent.” He announces.
Kiya and Shern'aath stop their bickering and peer out of the windows. The ship was descending through clouds. The clouds part to reveal a dense forest of pine and conifer looking trees. Finding a large clearing, they land.
Stepping out of the ship, Kiya and Shern'aath look around in awe. The dappled trees are enormous, with white trunks as wide as a house and taller than any they had seen before; they had to strain their necks just to see their tops. Tall ferns and grasses are scattered across the clearing and the forest floor. Forest creatures chatter and sing to each other; Kiya notices something fly from one tree onto the ground nearby. She tries to follow it.
“That was a strange looking AGH!”
The creature was not a bird; it had a beak and wings, but its skin is scaly and a line of spines runs down its back. It shrieks in panic and flies off. Something moved in the undergrowth, something big. The thud, thud, thud of heavy footsteps approaches. Kiya grasps Altallo's army in panic, while Shern'aath stands defensively in front of both of them. The vegetation around the trees part, revealing seven huge creatures, silhouetted in the shade of trees.
As they come closer, the trio notice they stand on two legs, with a long tail swaying behind them. As the nearest steps in front of them, Altallo's mouth drops open in surprise, Kiya shrinks behind him and Shern'aath takes a worried step backwards. The creature was enormous, twice the size of a human. He was covered in dark green scales with a few brown stripes. His head was long, much like that of a carnivorous dinosaur, with a horn at end of his snout and two more above his eyes (which are amber coloured). He wears metal armour, covered in whorl patterns, over his chest, stomach, shoulders, and legs. His broad shoulders, arms and legs are muscular, suggesting great strength, yet he seems rather nimble and not ungainly at all. The others join him, forming a ring around the trio, each one different; some are shorter, some less muscled and some brown with green stripes, but all wore armour and armed with massive long-swords. Each one has a series of swirling patters printed on their armour in different colours; the lead creature's is indigo.
Shern'aath growls threateningly at them, spear raised. The lead creature, swats the spear aside and grabs Shern'aath, lifting him bodilessly into the air and to face level. Shern'aath looks utterly terrified.
“Wait!” Altallo cries out, rushing forwards and putting a hand on the creature's shoulder (the highest place he could reach) “We're not here to fight. Please, put him down.”
The creature glances down at Altallo and then puts Shern'aath back on the ground. Unhurt the raptor staggers to his feet, shock etched on his scaly face. Both he and Kiya flinch as another of the warriors approaches, holding Shern'aath's spear. But he merely offers it back to the raptor, who takes it graciously.
“Are you Tythonians?” Altallo asks cautiously, looking up at the leader.
“We are,” the creature replies in a deep, calm voice “You are expected. Follow us.”
Uncertainly, Altallo and Shern'aath follow the leader, with Kiya scuttling behind them and the other Tythonians form up around them.
They are lead through more dark dense forest tracks, full of strange and disturbing sounds. Kiya flinches and quakes at every sound, but the Tythonians look unphased. Soon the forest thins out; with glades and small lakes. Strange animals roamed the glades, grazing, swimming, resting and calling out to each other. Most of them were covered in scales, there were few feathers or fur to be seen. To Shern'aath it reminded him of his home, but Kiya feels utterly alien in this wild world.
Presently they emerge from the forests and find themselves facing a giant cliff face. Clustered at the foot is a collection of buildings, surrounded by fields of crops and ringed by a stone wall. Carved into the cliff face is a series of large caverns. Protruding from each is the bow of a spacecraft, a painted metal figurehead of a snarling dragon like creature. Approaching the city, they could see the buildings more clearly; they were made of white wood and were rather long and wide with oval windows. More Tythonians come into view; all eyeing the newcomers warily. There were more male Tythonians, around the same size as the warriors but lacking armour. Even without their armour, they were still intimidating. There were also slimmer, slightly smaller Tythonians with iridescent coloured scales on their cheeks. Shern'aath guessed that these were the female Tythonians. Tiny juvenile Tythonians peer out from windows or around the legs of their parents, unsure what to make of these new strange beings. These Tythonians also had swirling markings on their clothes.
Shern'aath thought they looked very adorable, but then he up ahead he saw something that made him gulp.
Up ahead were damaged and destroyed houses; holes gaping in their roofs and walls, some still singed, and the bitter tang of burning wood hung heavily on the air. Injured Tythonians are being carried or helped away from the ruins.

Later they arrive at a vast palace carved into the cliff face, a magnificent building with a wide staircase in front of it. Inside, its surprisingly sparse with little furniture or decorations. Seated on a pair of simple legless stone thrones is a pair of older Tythonians; one male and one female. Kiya guessed this was the king and queen, but unlike the Pharaohs and their queens, these two are dressed plain clothes and are not wearing any jewellery or cosmetics. Beside them was another Tythonian, a younger looking one. In contrast to the others, this one was smaller, slighter and looked rather tired. He wears robes similar to Altallo's, but coloured green and white. All three looked interested at the newcomers.
“And who might these...things, be?” the king Tythonian asks, glowering down at them. He was enormous even next to the Tythonian soldiers, who are now standing guard at the entrance. The Tythonian in robes meanwhile darts forward and begins scrutinizing Shern'aath intently.
“We're responding to the distress call you sent.”
“I actually sent that,” the robed Tythonian, examining Shern'aath's face “Fascinating, a sleek predatory animal, very handsome indeed.”
“Oh well thank you,” Shern'aath grins “I'm always told I'm quite a looker.”
“We don't need help.” the king growls folding his arms with a huff.
“No offence, but from what's going on outside it seems like you do.”
“We do not need, nor do we want help!”
The King's voice had risen to a roar of anger, causing Altallo, Shern'aath and Kiya all to jump. The queen puts a hand on her husband's arm and he looks down at her, directly into her eyes. He sighs and relaxes.
“Sorry about that,” the inquisitive Tythonian tells Kiya (who he is now examining) and Shern'aath “Tythonians aren't used to dealing with other species. Now this is more strange, a bipedal mammal . No claws, no fangs, not very strong looking. What are you even?”
Kiya shrinks away from him and Altallo steps in front of the Tythonian.
“She's a human, they're one of the sentient beings of where I study. They're quite resilient in fact and-”

The Tythonian had been looking Altallo up and down and stares intently at his face. Altallo notices this and frowns.
“Is something wrong?”
“I think I know you for somewhere.”
Altallo now looks more closely at the Tythonian. The others begin to look concerned after a long silence, but then Altallo and the Tythonian give cries of delight and start jumping around and embracing each other.
“I KNEW I HAD SEEN YOU BEFORE!”
“Its been so long!”
The Tythonian queen exchanges an exasperated look with Shern'aath and Kiya, who shrug their shoulders.
“Look how much you've grown!” Altallo tells the Tythonian.
“Look how much you've shrunk, you're tiny!” the Tythonian says to Altallo with glee “What kind of planet were you assigned to?”
But the king coughs and interrupts them.
“Reunions can wait. Now my people have been attacked and I want something done about it!”
“Can you describe these attackers?” Altallo asks.
“They came in a ship shaped like an arrow-head. They started raining fire upon our homes, showing no mercy. They took prisoners; women, children, unarmed men. As soon as me and my soldiers rushed out to meet them, they were already leaving. They were tall beasts wearing metal all over their bodies and standing on two legs. One of them started firing at us with bright flames, it injured one of my guardsmen. They have also systematically raided other settlements too, also taking prisoners.”

Altallo looks thoughtful at this, pacing.
“We don't know enough yet. I suggest you ready a force and keep them in reserve until we find out more. Do you think you could do that?”
The Tythonian king stands proudly, towering over the Eternal and smashes his fist against his chest.
“We are warriors at heart!”
And he bounds from his throne, crashing to the ground and rushes away. The queen groans worriedly.
“You had best show our visitors to the docking bay and make them comfortable Hesperos.”
“Yes your royal highness.” Hesperos says, bowing.

Later he guides the others down a tunnel made of stone and wood carved with swirling water like patterns. Hesperon and Altallo are chatting animatedly, while behind them Shern'aath glowers at Hespers' back and Kiya follows meekly.
“And then three thousand years ago, after centuries of tribal fighting, one Tythonian chief call Soschokeris, united all Tythonian clans. Soschokeris allowed every member of his kingdom to wear their clan colours; those spirals on their clothes. It prevented any rebellion or resentment to his reign, a very smart move.”
“So are you two friends?” Shern'aath asks in a prickly voice.
“Friends? Me and Altallo here are practically brothers.”
“He's right, Shern'aath,” Altallo adds “Hesperos and me are both Eternals. While I travelled to your planet, he arrived here.”
They emerge from the tunnel into one of the lower hanger bays. A huge spaceship dominates the scene, constructed from metal, but covered in elaborate patterns and murals and the bow decorated the face of a fearsome creature. The whole hanger was buzzing with activity as Tythonian soldiers load the ship with fuel and other supplies, while others fix weapons. Hesperos leads Altallo over to an alcove where a Tythonian lies on a bed, covered in bandages he seems to be sleeping restlessly. Altallo and Hesperos examine the warrior's injuries, while Kiya and Shern'aath wait nearby.
“Is something wrong?” Kiya asks, after a pause. She and Shern'aath approach the bed.
Hesperos looks up.
“This warrior has burn marks across his abdomen.”
Kiya convulses at the sight of the Tythonian's injuries and felt a twinge of pity for the giant.
“What could have caused this?” Shern'aath asks in a constricted voice “A magic spear?”
“Not a spear, no. The wounds aren't cause by something sharp. Must have been something pretty advanced-”
Hesperos is interrupted by a young Tythonian messenger.
“Sire, the king is ready to depart, he requests that you and the others join him at once.”
“Wow, they don't waste any time!” Altallo remarks.
“When it comes to war, sadly, the Tythonians are always eager to just jump in,” Hesperos sighs and rubs his temples “Still in awe of their history and ancient leaders. The queen is afraid her husband run his people head long into disaster. The Tythonians have grown rather soft you see; with no wars they didn't need to advance their weapons. But you can't get rid of a fighter's instincts that easily.”
From outside comes a huge uproar of cheers and yells. Looking out of the hanger, they can see a crowd of warriors encircling a raised dais in the centre of the town, upon which stood the Tythonian king and queen. The king was making a rousing speech about destroying their enemies and leading the Tythonians to greatness. It meant very little to the Eternals, Hesperos even rolled his eyes and mimicked the king; gesticulating and mouthing 'Blah blah blah.' The Tythonian warriors on the other hand seem invigorated by the speech, cheering and roaring. Then they started filing into the hangers. Only the King, his queen and a few others remained behind. The king and queen embrace each other, tears leaking from the queen's eyes.
“Fight well my dear.” She whispers to him.
“Its the only way I know how to.”
The king kisses the queen on her forehead and then signals to his bodyguard. The queen watches him go and sighs.

Later, Hesperos leads them to an anteroom of the palace, a comfortable chamber with an ornate balcony overlooking a small hanger bay. The living quarters is tastefully decorated with varnished chairs, tables with small exhibit tanks and a bed in one of the far corners. Inside the hanger is a ship in a familiar crescent moon shape, but coloured in varying shades of green.
“Why is your ship all green?” Shern’aath asks, “Why isn’t it yellow and blue?”
“These are my colours, I picked them myself.” Hesperos replies, pointing to his clothing.
“You see Shern’aath,” says Altallo “Before we left our home, we decided to pick colours and patterns to identify each other if we ever crossed paths.”
“Oh you mean just like my clan markings?” Shern’aath points to his red and blue tattoo on his snout.
“Exactly.”
Kiya meanwhile is examining one of the tanks when she becomes aware of something tugging at her robes and looks down to see Hesperos examining her leggings.
“Fascinating designs. Did you make these yourself? What was your inspiration?”
Kiya yanks her robes from his grasp and slaps him across the face! Altallo and Shern'aath are shocked, but Hesperos doesn't seem phased.
“Interesting, is that your species' main defence mechanism? Its pretty effective, ouch!” His cheek was blazing red, “It does sting!”
Kiya looks fit to burst, but before she can reply, the king enters.
“What is wrong your highness? Why haven't you boarded your cruiser?”
“We will travel in your ship Hesperos, its smaller and will draw less attention, it doesn't look very important after all.”
“Gee thanks.” Hesperos mutters out of the corner of his mouth, before following they all file into the ship. Its near identical to Altallo's ship, but the flight deck is coloured green rather than blue. Kiya, Shern'aath, Altallo and the king squeeze around the chamber, while Hesperos powers up the ship. The column lights up and the walls glow.
The walls become transparent, giving them an amazing view. Around them Tythonian ships soar past them, up into the sky.
“Right, first things first, we need allies. The other people who were attacked were close by.” Altallo says to Hesperos.
“I know, I got emergency messages. One was from Avralis and the other from Kroumloik. Why don't we give them a visit and-”
“No!” The Tythonian king snarls “You can never trust them.” He huffs and crosses his arms like a huge reptilian child.
“Why do you hate your neighbours?” Altallo asks the king.
“Because they’re cowards, they won’t fight alongside us. Let them cower in their homes.”
“Why don’t you stop shouting at everyone and at least try and be friendly for once?” Altallo snaps back. Hesperos looks appalled. The king clenches his fists, gritting his teeth. Altallo promptly pokes him on the nose.
“Enough of that. Huffing and getting angry will solve nothing.”
The king gives Altallo an almost appraising look, before turning back to the window.
“That was quite a risk you took.” Shern’aath whispers as Altallo joins him, Hesperos and Kiya at the column.
“It was a brave move. I think you’ve got him on your side,” Hesperos says “Tythonians love a show of bravery, no matter how small.”
“He’s...rather scary isn’t he?” Kiya whispers.
“Who the king? Ah he’s a big softy really. Just scared for his people, understandable really. Before you came along he was in a right state.”
Hesperos turns back to the column and then raises his voice.
“Your highness, we’ll be landing at Avralis in ten minutes.”

The ship speeds towards a green and blue world. Descending through the atmosphere, they are greeted with an impressive view of glistening rivers, dense forests and large meadows. Gliding over a valley bordered by snow capped mountains, a huge fortress made of white marble, with raised landing platforms linked by walkways. The sun was just beginning to rise in the distance, its warm glow spreading like a golden sea.
“Oh its beautiful!” Kiya exclaims, nose pressed against the window and staring at the palace in awe. “It looks like the home of the gods.”
“Don’t get too excited, you’ll squash your nose.” Shern’aath sneers, rolling his eyes. Kiya shoots him a look of pure venom.
“No more arguing please” Altallo cuts across them. “Try to make a good impression. Wait a minute...what is that?”
He points out to an area behind a mountain range. Unlike the lush forests and meadows, it looked barren and burnt, with blackened earth.
“I wonder what caused that.”
“Looks like there’s been a forest fire.” Shern’aath replies, shaking slightly. “I once saw one as a hatchling...it was terrible. A pair of our hunters went in there and then there was a spark and the whole forest went up in flames. We never saw either of them again.”
Altallo puts an arm comfortingly around the raptor, while Kiya eyes him with a mixed expression of sorrow and guilt.

The ship comes to rest on one of the platforms. Nearby are a pair of guards in ornately decorated armour, holding spears. They are bird like creatures, reminiscent of eagles or falcons but seemed to have arms and wings combined; with talon like hands and feathers from beneath their arms. They both have yellow clawed feet and beaks One of them is a tawny brown, the other a dusky grey and black.
As the ship’s passenger disembark, a tiny long legged bird person in fancy clothing and hat rushes up holding a piece of parchment. He clears his throat and begins to read.
“Welcome travellers to the peaceful world of Avralis. The first minister extends her welcomes and we hope that you will enjoy your s-s-stay h-h-here.”
The little bird stutters and gulps at the sight of the Tythonian king, who glares down at him, unimpressed. The guards also give a nervous glance at each other.
“Um...well, erm, will you please follow us to the palace. Thank you.”
The bird turns on his heels and scurries back the way he came, with the guards trailing behind. The walkway is bordered by gardens, with running streams, ponds, groves of trees and plants of all types; some slightly familiar looking and a few completely alien. Here and there were graceful statues of more avian people and mysterious creatures. The sounds of running water and birdsong resonated throughout the gardens. As they approach the palace the king tenses and looks monumentally afraid. The pleasant atmosphere was punctuated by the sight of smoke in the distance and the smell of burning wafting on the breeze, just like on Tythonia.
The sun was just rising over the mountains as the party arrives at the palace, which also had burn marks and large holes in its ceiling. The huge doors swing open. Inside is a cavernous room with a sloping roof and large openings letting in the morning light. Around the room are cluttered glass display cases and stands full of strange fossils, ancient statues and pottery and large, very realistic looking paintings. Nearby, a pair of avians were deep in discussion. One was tall, lanky and covered in pink feathers, almost like a flamingo while the other was more owl like; short, round with large orange eyes complete with monocle and ear like feathers above his eyes. They break off as they notice the visitors.
“Oh hoo!” The owl like person exclaims, wiping his monocle and peering at Shern’aath and Kiya with interest “Visitors! Welcome to the great palace of Avralis. Even in these dark days, you delight us with your visit. We hope you’ll be c-c-comfortable.”
The owl has just noticed the Tythonian king and his beak drops open in surprise. The flamingo squawks and backs away almost colliding with a display case. The king looks downright insulted by their reactions.
Having recovered from their shock the avians continue.
“W-well, why not make yourselves comfortable? Please look around.”

While the king stands impotently where he is, the others start exploring the displays, the flamingo and owl Avralians guiding them. The messenger rushes off somewhere, while the guards leave to resume their guard. Shern’aath’s attention is caught by a much larger case near the back of the room. Inside it is a chilling thing; it looks like a bird skeleton, but inside of white bones it has dull grey metal and its skull is made from glass, supported by a metal frame and with a solid metal beak. It had arms with a sheet of iron feathers forming wings, but also hands like the Avralians. However the claws of these hands were long and scythe like.
“Ah, the fire bird robot,” The owl comments, bustling up next to Shern’aath “A memory of a dark time in our history.”
“A what?” asks Shern’aath confused.
“A robot, a machine that can walk and sometimes think. Fire birds like this one had no minds, they were mere weapons. Long ago there was a man named Jeshrin who wanted us to conquer and expand. He created these machines and tested them. You noticed that land behind the mountains?”
“The burnt bit? Yes we saw it. What happened? A forest fire?”
“No, I’m afraid its much darker than that. Jeshrin sent his fire birds there and decimated the place, as a warning to his enemies. And then...then the fighting began. The first lady led forces against him. It was utter carnage. Only after three long years was Jeshrin defeated and exiled, his machines destroyed.”
Before Shern’aath can ask something else, the long legged messenger returns;
“The First Lady, ruler of Avralis will now address you. Please make your way to the palace centre.”

At the very centre of the palace is a small grove with a fountain in the middle. It was just as lush and full of plant life as outside and small fish swim lazily in the fountain’s waters. Sitting by the fountains edge is a stunningly beautiful female Avralian, with a long trailing tail, long slender neck, glistening black eyes and small beak. Her feathers shine and flash bright reds, yellows and oranges in the sunlight. All around her other Avralians with bright feathers and robes are bustling around with documents and bits of paper, chatting with each other agitatedly. The Avralian sitting at the fountain looks surprisingly calm, observing a small bird picking at seeds from her hand. She looks up suddenly at the sound of footsteps, as her visitors arrive.
“Announcing the arrival of the Eternals Hesperos and Altallo, the king of the Tythonians and they’re guests.”

The other Avralians shriek and scream at the sight of the Tythonian and retreat fearfully. The First Lady however sweeps off her fountain and glides towards them. The Tythonian king shifts as she approaches, but she pays him no heed and instead looks haughtily at Altallo and Hesperos, who look nervously at each other. But then, her haughty look becomes a warm smile.
“Its wonderful to see both of you again,” he says in a kindly voice. “How long has it been?”
“It feels like it was only yesterday! I barely recognised you!” Hesperos laughs.
“You’ve changed a lot too.” Altallo adds grinning in relief.
“And so have you. What a curious form. And who are your friends?”
“Oh, this is Shern’aath and Kiya. Shern’aath, Kiya, meet Letia. She’s an Eternal just like us.”
Letia bows deeply.
“I welcome you to my home. And I also welcome you king of Tythonia.” She adds bowing to the king, who is taken aback by this. He mumbles a thanks.
“What is this barbarian doing here?” One of the Avralians asks in a shrill voice, stepping away from her hiding. “He should be restrained!”
The king gives a roar of anger and the Avralian retreats back to the cower with the others. Altallo and Shern’aath grab the king’s arms.
“Don’t loose your temper your highness!” Hesperos shouts.
The king breathes deeply, shaking off Altallo and Shern’aath. Kiya notices Letia striding over to the rebellious Avralian, eyes blazing with rage.
“How dare you insult our guest!”
“I’m sorry my lady.” the Avralian squeaks.
“How we’re ever supposed to live in peace when we can’t go three seconds without someone throwing an insult!” Letia sighs “Ready any ships we have. We’re mobilising.”
“My lady Letia we do need to consult every minister from every district and town and vote for mobilisation.” the owl Avralian says, adjusting his monocle and riffling through some papers, but Letia snatches the papers away.
“If Avralis were in danger and only you could save it, would you ask everyone to vote before acting?” Letia asks, giving the owl a piercing stare.
“N-no I suppose I wouldn’t.”
“Neither would I. This isn’t something we can’t solve by discussion,” Letia says in a calmer voice “Our survival depends on action. In any case, I want you to stay here and manage things while I am away.”
“Of course my lady, but there is another problem. We only have one ship left, most were destroyed or damaged when our harbour was raided.”
“What type?”
“A cruiser used for pleasure excursions to our moons.”
“You have got to be kidding me!” The Tythonian king groans, slapping his forehead in frustration.
However, to the king’s surprise, the Avralians had quickly organised a task force and they were soon ready to depart.

Back inside Hesperos’ ship, Letia along with the flamingo Avralian have joined the crew.
“Our forces will wait until we return. What was your next move?” Letia asks Altallo.
“We should try and contact the Kroumloikians, they were attacked also.”
“They won’t help,” the Tythonian king growls “They’ll hide away from any battle.”
“I have to agree with the Tythonian,” the flamingo Avralian pipes up “They’re only concern is with their profits and trading.”
“Surely it can’t hurt to try?” Hesperos says “After all these people are in just as much danger as the Avralians and Tythonians. After all your highness, you did say the Avralians wouldn’t help us.”
The Avralian frowns at the king.
“So you think we’re unhelpful?” he asks tersely.
“I think you’re cowards.” the king replies with a huff.

On the other side of the flight deck, Shern’aath, Altallo and Kiya are huddled together.
“Not more arguing,” Shern’aath groans “Its no wonder they can never get along with each other.”
“Seems like they get angry at any little thing,” says Kiya and then adds under her voice “A bit like us.”
Altallo glances back to the arguing pair. Hesperos and Letia were trying to break up the feud with little success. He sighs.
“This is going to be long flight.”