A large 8 feet tall full bird person sat on a metal pole. Its ends were extended to either side of the large wood cave. This was their hideout. The tree was as wide as a stadium and as tall as a skyscraper. The Golden Wing Bandits made their hideout in one of the giant redwood trees of the South Fallen Forest. Their leader was the only one to sit on the metal pole. He calmly plucked grime from his golden feathers. His actions made him seem calm. He was anything but that. There was a fury hidden in his golden eye. The other eye had a golden patch over it. It was long gone from this world. The same was true for his left wing. It was detached from the base, making him flightless. He wore an expensive white vest, and a few golden chains hung from his neck as he looked over the birds on the floor of the wood encampment. None of them dared to speak. Their leader, simply known as Big Bird, would never tolerate such actions. He extended his only remaining wing as the hundreds gathered remained silent. It was his time to speak.
"It has been a long time my brethren…" His voice was deep but loud, as it echoed over the entire place. "These past seven years our name has been silent. The Fallen Kingdom doesn't remember our existence. They grow comfortable in their domes. They think they are safe…"
"Ever since that raid took over half of our members… Ever since that damnable Nychuro plucked this very wing…" He looked over to his missing wing. It was his reminder. Never again would he make the same mistake. "But back then our band was small. We barely had over 50 members…"
To the disbelief of the many birds there (except those closest to him) Big Bird actually shed tears as his voice became shaky. The birds gathered bowed their heads. Especially those that were at the raid. They would never forget that day. "The h-honorable birds that survived the raid have been named The Golden Chariot. Does anyone have a problem with that!?"
""NO SIR!!!!"" A chorus of birds echoed their sentiment. Big Bird grinned as his golden eye became even fiercer. "Good! Excellent! We have long since clung to the shadows as I'm sure you've all become restless. But we will wait no longer!"
"HAAAH!" The restless flock yelled in delight from the words of their leader. Once again Big Bird raised his wing silencing the masses. "I have heard your sentiment! Now Goro, leader of The Golden Chariot, come forth!"
Goro flapped his black wings taking to the air. Like his leader, he was a full bird. Of all the Golden Wing Bandits he was the wisest. Still, he was quite large, but as he landed next to his leader, anyone could see how Big Bird dwarfed him by almost 2 feet. He had scars of battle across his black beak. Hey may have been the intelligence of their band, but when it came time, he would join them on the front lines. Around his head he had a golden helmet that covered all except for his beak. At the ends of the helmet were pointed wings. Across the rest of his body was golden chain mail armor, the symbol of The Golden Chariot. Big Bird, for his part, grinned at his brother in arms.
"Now then… Tell the masses what you told me." Goro's expression didn't change as he looked over the crowd. His eyes remained as cold as they always were. Only a few had ever seen him smile. Those were usually the ones that had their life snuffed out. Either way Goro answered the summons of their leader, and looked over at the meeting of 311 members before speaking.
"It is just as our venerable leader has said. I have news to share with all that are gathered today…" His voice came out as raspy, and it was barely loud enough to reach the ears of the birds at the edges. Only one member, a new recruit, actually had the gall to cut him off. "SPEAK UP! I CAN BARELY HEAR CRI…"
No sooner than the words were spoken did a golden beam of light pierce the parrot's head. The caster was none other than Big Bird himself. The birds next to the poor recruit trembled. They were wiser than the now dead recruit. None of them let a single squeak out. As they looked at Big Bird with fear in their eyes, they were in disbelief. Not because Big Bird could do that, but because he was actually crying. "I-it didn't have to be th-this way…"
He put his head down in sorrow. He was actually mourning for the lost soul. The room was so quiet not even a squawk could be heard. Big Bird breathed deeply as he reeled himself in, becoming composed. "Please, take our comrade out of here someone. We will give him a proper burial."
"Aye, Sir!" Another member of The Golden Chariot grabbed the lifeless body, before he flew out of the meeting. "Members of The Golden Chariot, please brief Juran later…"
""Yes, Sir!""
"Please continue…" Goro could tell his boss was struggling to keep it together, so he opted to get them all up to speed quickly. "As I said… My flock has gathered some pleasant information. A large prey has entered our cage… This one is a princess."
Gasps could be heard from the birds who weren't still trembling from Big Bird's wrath. "SILENCE!"
Wisps of golden mana surrounded Big Bird as he raised his wing yet again. No one dared to make another peep. "Go on Goro…"
"Yes, Sir. The princess has entered our cage, and it plans to leave soon. There is no way we will let such a big fish escape. We must capture it before it reaches Kalameet's domain. There will be no killing the target. The ransom from this will be worth more Fallen Gold Coins than all of our coffers combined. The target is… Enora Twilight! I am saddened to say that not everyone will be able to go on the hunt. Those that will go, your flock leaders will give out the details. Those that don't will receive different missions… I trust that everyone will fulfill their role"
""YES, SIR!""
Big Bird took the reins of the meeting back from his brother. "One last thing. There is a human girl with her, but she isn't vital to our cause. If you see her, take her as a hostage. I am sure the vampire will be easier then… If that proves to be impossible, kill the girl. This meeting is adjourned. We all have a funeral to attend…"