Chapter Text
Scotland, 994 AD:
A castle was being attacked, soldiers located up top the castle were shooting at the enemy soldiers down below and flames were everywhere as the fighting continued to defend the said castle. The enemy soldiers protected themselves with shields as their leader ordered the catapults to fire the large boulders at the castle walls “Stand fast, we can hold them back!” yelled out a short man with a husky build with a Scottish accent, he was thinning near the top of his head while the rest of his dark hair fell down his shoulders and upper back, he had dark eyes and a long, grey mustache. His outfit consisted of a dark green tunic, light grey tights, a dark blue cape being held by a gold clasp near his chest, and dark brown medieval shoes
“Aye, and catch boulders with our teeth while we're about it!” Replied one of the soldiers with the same thick Scottish accent “It's your choice then me lads, the catapult…Or me?” The man said as he drew out his sword from its sheath with his right hand as his left hand held a mace. The soldiers looked taken back and stumbled back “back to your posts!” they ran off as he continued “in a few more minutes the sun will be down and then we'll see some fun” He grinned mischievously as the soldiers looked at him uncertain of what to make of his words, not paying attention to the boulder that headed straight for them smashing against the wall and throwing them into the air with screams of surprise and agony. The man looked shocked and peered over the wall looking at the oncoming enemy soldiers and their leader
“Taking the castle full of gargoyles near nightfall is crazy and Hakon knows it” One of the enemy soldiers said, leaning next to another soldier next to him while glancing at his leader. Looking at the top tower where several gargoyles were seen, fear and anger rushed through his body. A hand placed itself on the accusing soldier's shoulder “no my friend, that's not crazy” Hakon said, the hand turned into hands and pulled the young soldier to the face of the leader “questioning my sanity when I'm in earshot that's crazy” He said as he pushed the soldier away and walked forward and shouted for all his men to hear “I say those gargoyles are not but chiseled stone and even if they aren't it's worth the risk for the plunder within” Hakon said as he drew out his sword and held it in the air “ATTACK!!!” He shouted
His command sent all his men rushing towards the castles, swords all drawn and shields held out, the catapults were pulled closer, flamed arrows were shot up, and a platform was pushed forward so that the enemy soldiers could climb up and seize the castle from within. Some soldiers threw ropes with hooks at the end up the towers and climbed up that way near the feet of the gargoyles, not paying any attention to the setting sun including the leader. Hakon's hook was embedded next to the gargoyle located all the way at the top and as the leader climbed the sun dipped lower into the horizon, hanging by only one arm he stared at the gargoyle as the last of the sun's rays washed over them and night fell. With a chilling wind cracks started to appear on the gargoyle as the leader watched with horror and anticipation, as the stone skin fell off the gargoyles' lavender skin, his dark black hair flowing down his back, and his eyes temporarily glowed he gave the leader a menacing glare and a deep growl from his chest
He shot out an arm and grabbed Hakon by his hanging arm and lifted him into the air, his wings spread out behind him as he gave a quick look at the leader “You are trespassing” the gargoyle said, his voice was deep and had a growl to it even though he wasn't growling like an Alpha. Below more gargoyles were waking up from their stone sleep and giving growls, their eyes all glowing the same white color as the enemy soldiers stepped back in fear. Hakon unsheathed his sword and swung at the gargoyle that held him but the gargoyle grabbed the sword with his left hand with fast reflexes. Blood trickled down the gargoyle's hand as he growled and his eyes then glowed as well “Fight men, they are not invincible!” Hakon cried out to his soldiers below. They took his words in encouragement and attacked the gargoyles, Hanok then flipped him while in the air and grabbed his rope from his earlier climb, and the gargoyle soared through the air with his large wings unfazed by the leaders' antics. But even though the leader had ensured that the gargoyles could be beaten, they themselves were being out-numbered by the Alpha gargoyles, being pushed over the walls or thrown to the ground
Up on another tower three younger gargoyles looked around in excitement, especially the red one with long white hair and a large beak, the only Omega in the clan “Shall we let our brothers and sisters have all the fun?” He asked, then took off to join in the fighting. The smallest Alpha of the bunch smiled, his olive green skin piercing through the night sky as he turned to his companion "not afraid are you?" he asked with a smirk “Afraid? Me?” The third and largest Alpha of the three asked, sounding offended as he stood up, showing his aquatic blue skin and large wings with a green tint on the inside of them “Ha! why all of nature trembles at my passing" He said, pushing up his stomach before it fell back down. The small gargoyle chuckled “I can see why” he said as he poked the large gargoyle's stomach and then shot off to join the red gargoyle with the large one behind him. His wings were different from the first two, being connected to his arms and his body he glided like a flying squirrel
Another gargoyle Alpha who looked a lot older then the other gargoyles and, unlike the rest of them, wore human clothes and had a sword strapped to his waist. He had long white hair behind his head which had no hair on top and a long white beard that went along with his light brown skin. He was blind in one eye but that didn't seem to stop him from fighting the enemy soldiers as they tried to climb up the stairs. He was so into his fighting he didn't notice the one soldier about to club him from behind if not for the first gargoyle that tackled him to the ground and pushed him over the edge as they both watched him fall over and hit the ground “watch your back old friend” the lavender Alpha said looking at the older gargoyle “humph watch your own” The older Alpha said with a smirk and an even thicker Scottish accent and continued to fight as the soldiers started coming up again and attacking him and the first gargoyle
The husky man from before was also fighting when the first gargoyle came and fought off some of the soldiers then gave a mighty roar “My thanks Goliath” The man said to the Alpha now known as Goliath “I could not do otherwise” Goliath said looking at the man “this band of rogues no doubt follow that band of refugees we gave shelter to last night” A quick glance to several bonfires and a large group of people were seen to the left of the castle walls
The large aqua gargoyle from before glided down near the refugees and right above the food that was cooked where a young boy spotted him and grabbed his mother's arm “look mother” he said as he pointed to the gargoyle with his thick Scottish accent. The large gargoyle proceeded to grab what looked like a turkey leg and started to eat when two soldiers came by fighting and the Alpha knocked out the enemy soldier with the said turkey leg which made the young boy smile and look up to see the other gargoyles in the air. Hakon leaned against a wall as he tried to catch his breath, but his rest was short as growling came from behind him, he jumped back to see a gargoyle-like beast with no wings walk forward, it had no pupils, just white eyes and was very large. It continued to growl then lunged forward at the leader who dodged but not before seeing the deep claw marks the gargoyle beast left embedded into the stone wall
He decided not to stick around to see what else the beast could do as he ran towards the doorway only to see yet another gargoyle blocking his way this time it was female. She had bluish skin, her outfit was white and consisted of a ripped up tank top with only one shoulder sleeve and a white loincloth, her hair was long, red, and looked wild, and unlike her fellow gargoyles her eyes didn't glow white, they glowed an eerie red. Her wings were wrapped around her body, she then undid them and faced the leader “face me human, if you dare” She challenged him with her hard dark voice then gave a shuddering growl like roar which sent him running only to be blocked by the beast. Hakon stepped back, trapped between the beast and the female gargoyle when Goliath appeared next to him on the ledge of the wall
“I see you met our watch dog” the female jumped next to him claws ready to strike as she hissed “and my second in command as well, I grow tired of this” he said in a low voice and grabbed Hakon by the collar of his shirt and cape then lifted him near his face "take what's left of your men, and be gone!” Goliath said as he lifted the Hakon's body into the air with both his arms and hands then threw him over the ledge where the Alpha landed, Hakon yelled in fear as he plummeted near the ground but landed safely into a pile of hay down below and broke the cart that was carrying the hay. Once he got back up he yelled up to Goliath “this isn't over monster I'll be back!” Hakon yelled, and with that he ran off. The red Omega gargoyle from before threw some soldiers into the mud, they got up and retreated with the rest of the other soldiers away from the castle and the gargoyles. The soldiers shot arrows at them as they cheered and shouted in joy for the battle was won
“Victory for the gargoyles!” Yelled one soldier “they'll think twice before coming back” said another soldier, the gargoyles watched from above the retreating enemy soldiers, the young three looked satisfied but still trying to be all tough and the female bandaged Goliath's hand from the wound he received earlier when the attack started “Goliath, we owe you our lives” started the husky man “as we owe you ours everyday” the Alpha said smiling and examining his bandaged hand. The man smiled as the gargoyles celebrated among themselves and congratulated each other. Inside the castle, the soldiers were celebrating with food and music as a woman dressed in a beautiful dress sat on the throne as a man with long white hair and fancy robes picks up a goblet and looks over it
“I don’t mind telling you, I thought we were all under the sword there for a while” a soldier said to another “aye, a fine soldier is our captain of the guard” the second soldier said with a chuckle “captain of the gargoyles” the first soldier said as they shared a chuckle as the captain of the guard walks behind them, overhearing the conversation “he fit right well on the cornices with them it’s a fact” the second soldier said with a chuckle as the captain walks over to the end of the table, close to the princess “our thanks for a battle well fought good captain” the princess said with a gentle smile “the credit is not mine to take your highness, without Goliath and his gargoyles, our defense would have proven useless” the captain said as the princess closed her eyes “please, don’t mentioned that monsters name in my presence” the princess said. Just then, the doors burst open, causing the music and chatter to come to a stop as everyone looked to the door to see Goliath and his female second in command walking in towards the princess
“Beg you pardon your highness, I took the liberty of asking them to appear and be recognized for their bravery” the captain said, the princess shook her head and stands up “captain, we are most seriously displeased, to allow beasts in the dining hall” the princess said as the man with white hair stands up “you speak wisely princess, these are unnatural creatures, no good can come from associating with them” the man said as the two Alphas walked closer to the princesses table, Goliath opened his wings a bit, startling the princess until the Alpha folded his wings over his shoulders with a respectful bow “Goliath, we named you well it seems, you are as good as a soldier as the philistine giant who fought David” the captain said placing his hand on the lavender gargoyles shoulder
“You would do well to remember, Captain, that the biblical Goliath was also a bully and a savage!” the princess said with a glare, the Captain gave her a stern look as the female gargoyle hisses at the princess, her eyes glowing red as the princess gasped, but then Goliath place a hand on the female Alphas shoulder “if you will excuse us your highness” Goliath said turning around with the female gargoyle and walked out of the dining hall “in the future captain, you will make your reports to my advisor the Magus, not directly to me!” The princess said standing up from her seat, the Magus looked at the captain smugly before the captain stormed off. In the hallway, the captain was walking with the two gargoyles “my apologies for this Goliath” the captain said
“No apologies needed, we are what we are, her opinion will not change that” Goliath said looking at the captain “have you no pride, no sense of justice, we saved their lives and they repay us with contempt!” The female gargoyle said angrily “she is right Goliath, you deserve better than this” the captain said agreeing with the female gargoyle “these cliffs were our home ages before they built their stone fortress, they should bow to us!” The female gargoyle said, her inner Alpha snarling with rage “it is the nature of humankind to fear what they do not understand, their ways are not our ways” Goliath said gently taking his loves hands, calming the second in command “there are times when your patience astounds me my love” the female gargoyle said, her anger simmering down. Meanwhile the Magus was in his studies, looking through a book called the Grimorum Arcanorum
By morning, all the gargoyles were at their post in stone sleep, but then a cloaked figure rode on a horse out of the castle, away from the castle and to the rocky mountains where the soldiers and Hanok that attacked the castle last night were. At the cave was Hakon eating a piece of meat and where the cloaked figure was “you seek the fall the Castle Wyvern” the cloaked figure said looking at the leader “what of it” Hakon said looking up at the cloaked figure “perhaps a bargain can be made” the cloaked figure said, Hakon tosses the piece of meat away “I’m listening” the man said interested
By nightfall, Goliath unwraps the cloth around his palm, revealing his hand fully healed “those vikings may return at daybreak Goliath, I say take all yer gargoyles and make sure they’re gone” the captain said as the female gargoyle nods in agreement “I agree, let us go out in force and put an end to these pigs once and for all” she said looking at the lavender gargoyle “too dangerous, I don’t want to leave the castle unprotected” Goliath said looking back at the captain “their leader swore he’d be back, it’s best to harry them far away now, and not take that chance” the captain said looking at the alpha gargoyle. Goliath let out a long sigh, looking back out at the castle walls “very well, but I shall do it, I can scare those codds away without any help” Goliath said
“That’s too dangerous for you, let me come along at least” the female gargoyle said stepping towards her love “you and the others will stay with the castle, you are my best warrior, I leave you in command” Goliath said placing his hands on his loves shoulders “no I cannot let you” she said, shaking her head “I won’t go alone, remember, you and I are one, now and forever” the lavender Alpha said, releasing a calming scent to his love before turning and walking away as his love and the captain watches. On the other side of the castle’s courtyard, the big aqua gargoyle sat by a big bonfire eating food “catch!” the olive alpha gargoyle said, tossing a piece of meat up in the air as the gar dog leaps up in the air to catch it “no, back this way, back this way over here!” The red Omega gargoyle said catching the meat and tossed it back to the olive gargoyle as the gar dog runs to the olive gargoyle to catch it, the olive gargoyle runs around to avoid the gar dog playfully as the second in command watches from above
The three completely not paying attention to the group of human refugees staring at the three in fear and hate. One young human boy from the fight before, ran up to them as they played and the gar dog finally caught the meat they were teasing him with, they looked at him, Goliath's mate glared at him as if waiting for him to do something he might regret but instead he spoke to them “I'm Tom, what's your name?” Tom asked, looking at them, the two gargoyles looked at each other, "except for Goliath we don't have names” the green alpha said looking at the boy “how do you tell each other apart?” Tom asked looking at the three “we look different” the olive gargoyle said as the red gargoyle nodded his head “but what do you call each other?” Tom asked, tilting his head “friend” replied the red Omega which caused Tom to smile when his mother ran up to him “Tom, get away from those monsters!” she said with fear and hate carrying a stick, pulling her son close “but mother…” Tom said, the red Omega got down from his sitting spot “we wouldn't hurt the lad ma'am” the red gargoyle said
She scoffed “get away from him you beast!” the woman said and then she threw the stick at him hitting the Omega on the shoulder, the young female gasp and her second in command spread her wings open then jumped down in anger as she put herself in between the woman and the red gargoyle and growled menacingly, before turning around her face softening as she looks over at the Omega “are you all right?” the female Alpha asked, releasing a comforting scent to the Omega, he nodded looking up at the female second in command Alpha, she stood up and turned back around her eyes glowing red and wings spread out again, which caused the woman to pull her son close to her, as she pointed accusingly at the woman “you're the beast who-” but she was cut off when the big Alpha gargoyle steps in front of her “no if they think of us as beasts and monsters” the aqua gargoyle said as the olive gargoyle walks up as well “then perhaps we better live up to the name” the olive gargoyle finished making their eyes glow white and growling all while smiling at the same time, enjoying the fact that they were acting all scary. The second in command thought otherwise and smiled proudly at them as the humans screamed, ran, and huddled together in fear that the gargoyles would attack them
Then Goliath and the old gargoyle appeared, he turned to the three young ones as he approached the offending two, Goliath was very displeased with them and they knew they were in trouble “you two down to the rookery until I return, I'll deal with you then” Goliath said They all looked disappointed and really knew they were in deep trouble “and take him with you” the lavender gargoyle said pointing at the gargoyle beast who whined. They walked over to the door where the olive Alpha opened the door “they meant no harm Goliath” the red gargoyle said looking at the lavender Alpha, Goliath’s stern look soften as he looks at the red Omega “I understand, but they must learn from their actions, they are young, like you” Goliath said gently cupping the young rookery’s face, the red Omega leans into the warm hand “you’re exhausted, I can sense it, go to your nest and rest” Goliath said looking at the red gargoyle, the Omega wanted to object but was too tired to do so and nodded his head, looking back at his rookery brothers one last time before the door closed and walked to where his nest was “are you blind, they were not at fault the humans were” the female gargoyle said in anger
“No matter who was at fault I cannot condone fighting between their people and ours, I will make it up to them later, now I have business to attend to” Goliath said, and with that he walked away, his mate seemed like she had more to say but decided against it. Later Goliath and the older gargoyle glided across the night sky, scanning the ground for any vikings when Goliath spotted something “there!” He said gliding down to the ground with the older gargoyle following behind, they landed next to a forest, kneeling down to the ground where horse shoe prints were “it’s them, right enough, but the tracks are very light for horses carrying armored men” the older gargoyle said touching the tracks before looking back at his leader “they’re not far ahead, come!” Goliath said as they ran on all fours into the forest
Back at the castle, the red gargoyle walks down a small candle lit hallway and stops at an old tapestry, he pulls the tapestry back, revealing a secret entrance that only he, his rookery brothers, Goliath, and the older gargoyle knows and walked inside and towards a big nest of blankets and pillows, the air was filled with his scent and warmth as he stepped into his nest, cuddling into the soft pillows and blankets as he folded his wings around his shoulders and pulled a warm quilt over him as he slowly drifts off to sleep ‘I hope Goliath doesn't punish them too much’ he thought before falling asleep. Back at the forest Goliath and the older gargoyle scans the forest floor “it's not long until sunrise, perhaps we should return” the older gargoyle said until the lavender gargoyle pointed “there they are!” Goliath said spotting the vikings and horses, a soldier looks up to see the two gargoyles charging towards them with a roar and they scattered, releasing the horses as they ran into the woods, Goliath and the older gargoyle lands on the ground to look at the soldiers, seeing that they’re weren’t that many as they ran along with the horses “they were leading the horses to decoy us from the castle!” Goliath said in realization as they ran to a cliff edge of the forest, but it was too late as the sun peaked out from the horizon “we’re too late!” the older gargoyle said as they were turned to stone by the morning sun
Back at the castle, Hakon looked at the castle again this time during the day and drew his sword “ATTACK!!” Hakon yelled and his army charged towards the castle, the soldiers protecting the castle were all ready to shoot their arrows when their bow strings broke, the doors were lifted and the Vikings ran inside the castle walls. Inside the princess ran down the stairs “Captain, Captain!” the princess called out as the captain appeared walking up the stairs “the vikings captain, we are attacked!” The princess said as the captain walked up to her and grabbed her arm “it is worse than that your highness” the captain said, shocking the princess. After which they brought down the castle and had everyone brought out, the princess and mage were the only ones chained up. Up above the leader and the captain watches “not that I’m ungrateful for your help but, why…why betray your own kind?” Hakon asked, looking at the captain
“They’re not my kind” the captain said as Hakon walked up to a gargoyle holding a mace “well to work, there’s little enough time for it” Hakon said raising his mace but the captain grabbed it “this is unnecessary!” the captain said looking at Hakon “are you mad, in a moment they’ll be flesh again and my men will be their prey!” Hakon said glaring at the captain “once your band is out of sight they won’t follow, it’s not their nature” the captain said looking at the leader “Ah well in that case” Hakon said then slammed himself into the husky man, making him hit the wall and then held him against the wall with the mace in the air ready to strike the man down “care to discuss the matter further?” Hakon asked in a low threatening voice with a smug smile on his face, the man looked defeated “no” the captain said in a low ashamed voice. Hakon stepped back “I haven't lived this long by taking foolish chances” Hakon said as he lifted the mace in the air once again and destroyed the gargoyle right in front of the man's eyes who watched in horror of the destruction
When nightfall finally came, Goliath and the older gargoyle quickly glided back to the castle, but they were shocked at the destruction “no” Goliath said gliding closer to the castle to see weapons scattered across the ground, fires still burning, and piles of stone rubble where the other gargoyles were as the lavender Alpha lands on one perch, staring at the pile of stone, reaching down to grab a handful “my...Angel of the Night” Goliath said, his voice filled with sorrow, he stood up and let out a roar so filled with anger and sorrow, that it could be heard all around the ruined castle