CHAPTER 1045: AGREE

Krono had shown them power beyond their comprehension. Time itself bent at his will as easily as if he were flicking his hands.

The Arakocra had faced many enemies. They had battled Elves, humans, and monsters. But they had never seen something like this.

The air around them felt suffocating and heavy with the power that was not simply strong Magic but inevitability.

So they froze.

None of them dared to twitch a feather or even shift their talons against the dirt.

Silence fell thick among them.

The leader was still locked in place by Krono’s time-bound grip, his beak frozen in a clench. For a moment his eyes burned with defiance. But beneath it, the sheen of fear had taken root.

Krono had not frozen him totally, he just froze his momentum in time but his mind was still working as usual.

Krono leaned closer, his golden eyes sharp.

"Your fight is already lost. You have two choices. Lead me to your oracle or die here bringing all your friends with you," Krono said.

His words were not shouted but it didn’t need to be.

Slowly, Krono released his grip on the leader. The frozen aura of white light flickered and then unraveled back into nothing like smoke blown away by the wind.

The leader staggered, his wings twitching as life rushed back into his limbs.

He stood still with chest heaving and staring into Krono. His talons clenched tighter around his sword and for a second again his fury rose hot and violent in his blood.

"No outsider commands us. No sorcerer can bend the will of the Arakocra!"

But the moment he tensed to strike the world locked again.

His sword stopped inches before he able to rising it. His body locked as if shackled by the chains of time again.

His warriors flinched at the sight and their resolve crumbling immediately seeing this man able to do that without much effort. As if playing with their leader.

Krono’s voice cut through once more. "Try again, and you will not get a third chance."

The leader’s breath shuddered in his chest as the hold released again.

This time his wings slowly lowered and the jagged sword in his hand dipped, no longer pointed at his enemies.

His eyes burned with pride and humiliation, but he forced the words out. If he didnt do it, his army will also died here.

"Fine. We will take you to the oracle."

Behind him, the others stirred uneasily. None of them looked happy about that. Their faces filled with distrust and anger but they did not protest their leader’s surrender.

None of them wanted to test this powerful Mage again.

Eccar sighed in relief, one corner of his mouth twitching into a crooked grin. That’s good if they didn’t need to kill.

Lyrel and Caelthar exchanged a glance. Their hearts both felt filled with anxious feelings thinking that they will need to also move to the Aracokra’s kingdom.

The leader turned his head slightly, his sharp eyes still locked on Krono with a mix of hate and caution. "Do not mistake this for submission. The oracle will decide your fate. If she commands your death, then your death will come."

Krono merely nodded, unshaken. "Alrigt. Whatever. Take us to her."

The flock shifted, their formation tightening around their leader as they prepared to move.

Krono’s gaze lingered on the Arakocra leader for a long moment before he turned back to the Elves.

"You don’t need to come with us. Wait here with the giant. It’s safer if you don’t step foot in their territory," Krono said.

Relief swept across Lyrel’s face, her tense shoulders loosening as if a heavy weight had just been pulled away.

She gave a short nod, her bow lowering a little.

Caelthar also sighed and he smiled with something close to gratitude. "That is good. I don’t have much desire to walk into their home."

Krono raised a hand slightly, and with a faint shimmer in the air the five Arakocra warriors who had been frozen above them suddenly jolted.

Their wings caught the air again as life returned to them.

Confusion and fear flashed across their eyes as they quickly dropped back down to formation, avoiding Krono’s gaze like prey that had just been spared. They too, had only been frozen in their body and their mind was still working.

Aesa stepped to the red giant. "Guard the Elves."

The giant let out a deep rumbling sound from his chest. He gave a solemn nod.

The Arakocra leader barked a command to his flock and with sharp rustles of feathers they spread their wings as one. Twenty warriors rose into the air, circling briefly before streaming forward in formation.

Eccar stretched his shoulders and his brown wings burst forth from his back. He leapt into the sky with a flare of sparks.

Krono followed in silence, his golden wings unfurling wide. He ascended smoothly.

Aesa’s wings of shimmering frost spread open and glittering in cold hues as she took to the air behind them.

The three Dragonborn rose to match the flock, flying behind and above the Arakocra formation.

The air rushed past them, filled with the scent of pine and wind.

The three Dragonborns saw fields and forest stretched far below, the riverlines glinting like silver threads in the morning sun. Soon the mountains gave way to cliffs and steep ridges where the wind grew stronger and whistling through jagged stone.

And then they saw it.

The Arakocra’s kingdom revealed itself in the distance. It is carved into the cliffs of a vast canyon.

Towers of stone spiraled upward. Their tips shaped like talons gripping the air.

Nests of woven branches and bone jutted out from ledges high above. Some of them look pretty large. Rope bridges and hanging platforms swayed in the wind, connecting one roost to another.

The sky around it was alive with wings. Dozens more Arakocra flew in patterns, some armed and armored and the others simply gliding in the updrafts.

Their screeches carried faintly on the wind and echoing against the canyon walls.

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