Once underneath the creature, Ayenwatha and Sky Arrow were effectively sheltered from attack by the Trogen archers. Silently uttering a brief prayer of thanks to the One Spirit for the incredibly good fortune, Ayenwatha guided Arax down to the middle of the creature’s body. He brought Arax to match the speed of the large beast over them, as Ayenwatha looked upward to study the harnessing. His eyes followed the course of the great leather straps and cords that cross-crossed the creature’s body, soon identifying the more crucial concentrations and bindings.
“Sky Arrow, use your axe. Hack the ropes! The ones coming together at the center!” Ayenwatha yelled, making a chopping motion as he pointed out the network of strapping above.
He guided his Brega up closer, while withdrawing his short-hafted war axe from where it was tucked in his belt. Keeping his steed level was difficult enough, as the Darrok bobbed in the movements of its own flight, but he knew that there was a chance to get within close enough range to make his attempt.
It was not difficult for Arax to match the speed of the Darrok. The Brega was able to coast in a smooth glide for several moments, before beginning to lose speed and needing to spur itself forward again. As the stretches of gliding provided the most steadiness, Ayenwatha patiently awaited the beginning of one such span in order to attempt his idea. The Brega went through a couple more cycles, passing close to the desired target as Ayenwatha carefully gauged his range and aim.
After one such cycle, Arax flapped its wings strongly, and then evened out its flight into a glide that carried it right along the central underbelly of the Darrok. Ayenwatha saw his opportunity, as he came within striking range and was conveyed right along what he believed to be a critical juncture in the harness system of the Darrok.
Leaning back, he hacked powerfully at the thick cords and intertwined ropes that passed through one large, iron ring. Several more vigorous, steady blows began the arduous and dangerous task.
Sky Arrow, understanding Ayenwatha’s intent, set to work on another concentration of cording set a short distance behind.
The axes quickly cleaved through the taut cords and ropes. The work was disrupted somewhat as the bulk of the Darrok rocked up and down in flight, a few times coming precariously close to smacking into the Bregas and their riders.
Despite several pauses to regain position, and to duck some near impacts with the Darroks themselves, the two warriors were able to keep close and levy a number of solid, successful strikes upon the harness system.
The two warriors took great caution not to strike the Darrok directly, for the beast could easily send Arax and Sky Arrow’s steed spinning out of control with an intentional drop in altitude. Ayenwatha was not certain that the beast was incapable of maneuvering its massive, clawed legs to scrape at its underbelly. He could only hope that the creatures were not trained for sudden drops.
Progress continued, but at an uncomfortably slow pace. Ayenwatha nudged Arax whenever they started to fall back a little, and subtly reined the steed in when they were in danger of flying past his target area. Over time, the effort built into a somewhat steady rhythm.
It was a painstaking process for both Sky Arrow and for Ayenwatha, but they continued forward resolutely, maintaining their full focus. At long last, most of the thick, tight straps around the ring that Ayenwatha worked upon had been severed at their underside crossroads. A few robust strikes later, the last few snapped apart with a jolt, as their great tension was suddenly released.
The Darrok must have felt the effect, for the creature suddenly reached one of its deadly, enormous claws back towards Ayenwatha. The huge appendage moved straight towards Ayenwatha and the Brega, as if it was swatting at a mere insect.
In consistency with the creature’s lumbering movement, the mammoth claw approached slowly enough for Ayenwatha to react. Arax needed little prodding, having noticed the threatening movement as well, and the two of them banked downward in a near freefall.
The danger of the Darrok’s claw swipe was quickly past, but the distance that they had covered in the freefall had brought them within sight of the maddened Trogens on the Darrok’s back. The Trogens had also felt the jolt of the harness straps being cut. They knew their tremendous vulnerability, and fear clearly dwelled amongst them. Ayenwatha could hear it within their frantic shouts to each other, watching them clutch at the side rails as they tried to look over the sides.
When Ayenwatha was on the underside of the Darrok, they were impotent. Now that he was in plain view, they moved with alacrity.
A barrage of arrows was loosed towards Ayenwatha and the Brega, most going awry amid the Trogens’ hurried, frenzied rush to fire. A searing pain erupted suddenly in the back of his shoulder as one arrow lodged itself into muscle and struck bone.
Arax roared and jerked suddenly. Ayenwatha’s heart leaped in that perilous moment, as his life wholly depended on his steed’s ability to maintain flight. He had no way of telling where the arrow had struck his steed, and prayed desperately that it was not a fatal hit. He looked around wildly, before finally espying the arrow shaft sticking out of Arax’s rear haunch.
Though unsteady, the creature was well-trained and had a natural instinct for self-preservation. It regained control, securing a steady pattern of flight despite the fiery pain that undoubtedly raced through it.
The Trogens above were distracted from their attentions on him, as another outcry rose amongst them. Many fell over as another massive jolt occurred along the platform. Ayenwatha saw that Sky Arrow had succeeded at his end, and was just about to dive away from the Darrok.
Sky Arrow did not have the good fortune of Ayenwatha.
Ayenwatha cried out in helpless frustration as the huge claw of the Darrok swiped and batted Sky Arrow and his steed with full impact, casting them far away from the beast. Their shattered bodies tumbled lifelessly downward.
Ayenwatha cried out in anger, as he watched his friend’s body plummet towards the land below. Bitterly, with tears welling in his eyes, he guided Arax towards safety. The Brega was injured and unfit for any more fighting that night, no matter what Ayenwatha might have been willing to do.
He threw a quick glance over his right shoulder, wincing at the biting pain that throbbed within his left. The Darrok was unmistakably altering its course of flight. The Trogens were well aware of their own peril, and likely they were heading away to find some emergency expanse of ground where the Trogens could attend to the repair of the harnessing.
Each moment carried the Trogens within a delicate, precarious position. A little imbalance and the Trogens’ fate would be a long plunge through the sky. It was clear that they were not interested in such a foolhardy risk, and had chosen to fight another day.
Ayenwatha closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and uttering two silent prayers. From the wellspring of his gleaming eyes, a couple of tears streaked down his cheeks. He was not ashamed, as the tears were born of loyalty and friendship.
The first prayer was one of thanksgiving for the plan having worked to disrupt the Darrok’s attack. The other was for Sky Arrow and his spirit, that he would find his way to the realm of He Who Holds the Sky, the great One Spirit, a place of radiant skies and bounteous hunting.
He had led Sky Arrow forth, bringing the young warrior with him in the counterattack on the Darroks. In the thick of the battle, he had selected the Onan warrior for the dangerous strike at the Darrok’s harnessing. Never was there a greater weight of burden than when his leadership had directly resulted in the death of another. Ayenwatha hoped that Sky Arrow was even now being embraced by their ancestors, and that he was being welcomed into bountiful forests whose illumination required no sun.