[Fireheart]: 318.Full Length Stories.Hauk Tare

This one is an ongoing story about a race that I invented. I am also writing another story about the earlier history of the race before they had to retreat below ground. The Hauk Tare (pronounced Hawk Tah-ree) are a race of bird/giant people. They have the blood of giants somewhere down their lines, so they are generally extremely tall (reaching between 6' 5" and 8' tall when they are mature.) They resemble angels with pointed ears and bright, jewel colored eyes. They have the wings of different birds, mainly birds of prey, but also crows, ravens, seagulls, albatross, sparrows, and the occasional rare Pheonix. They worship a great Hawk God, which they built temples to worship when they lived on the surface. They had built amazing cities that were much like the cities built by the Greeks in ancient times. Then the demons arrived, and took over their planet, slaughtering their race, severing the wings of many, and forcing the rest to retreat below ground, where they have dwelled for years. The demons are slowly but surely borrowing down to rat them out (I know that it sounds a lot like the Matrix at this point. Bear with me.) And they are forming a rebellion to meet the demons head on and reclaim their Kingdom. That's this story. The first one that I was writing was about Hawk and Falcon, a brother and sister living in what was probably the second generation of Hauk Tare. The demons and Hauk Tare share a planet; but they aren't too happy about it. The two races were never meant to coexist. Tension is building. Finally one day, Hawk comes home with the blood of Malachai's father on his hands; Malachai is prince of the demons, his father was King. Falcon is shocked at this, even though five years before, Malachai's father brutally murdered their parents. Malachai gathers an army to battle the Hauk Tare and obliterate them in vengeance for his father's death. One small battle soon results in a full-scale war. Hawk seems to have become a bloody killer, compassionless and cold, as he leads his entire race to war. Falcon is confused and hurt by this change, but she still has faith in him, as her brother. Finally, a regiment of Malachai's army discovers Hawk lying wounded, perhaps mortally, on the battlefield and take him away deep into demon territory, to Malachai. Falcon is determined to save her brother, because the lack of a leader in battle is costing the Hauk Tare everything. As she sets off, she gathers a group of companions who wish to help her on her quest, a handful of assorted immortals consisting of Alemichius, Malachai's half-brother who will do anything to see his sibling to an untimely death, Echo, a dragon who is hunted endlessly by the demons, Terrien the faerie, who hates the way the demons are destroying the forests and mountains she inhabits, and a mysterious young elf known as Silverfox. Together they all go to save Hawk before it's too late. Although, as you can see from the outcome of the war, the ending to that story is not a happy one. But that is another story. read this one first.


Tess woke from a deep sleep to a terrible grinding noise from up above. She sat bolt upright, gasping, her eyes
growing wide in the darkness. If they had been discovered…. The grinding stopped. Tess held her breath for long seconds that
stretched into minutes.
There was a scraping noise that receded gradually. Tess relaxed. They weren’t found out yet. She was overcome by a flood of relief. She felt her mate Kel stir, and leaned her head against his chest, settling back into his arms the way she
had fallen asleep. His slow, steady heartbeat offered her reassurance. He would protect her if the Earthraiders came.
Tess’s and Kel’s people, the Hauk Tare, or hawk people descended from the Gods, had ruled the skies of Rinwar for all of recorded history. They had started great technology, built cities, created empires, and spread peace. Until the invasion
of the daemons. The daemons had come to conquer, and that was what they did; destroying the cities, empires, and peace of the Hauk Tare, and felling the great race of hawk-people from the skies. They broke the wings of many and made them slaves. The remaining clans tried to form rebellions, but most were crushed. The few surviving Hauk Tare fell to their last resort: They burrowed deep beneath the surface of their planet, where the daemons were afraid to venture, and there they made their safe haven, their fortress; however, they were forever cut off from the blue skies that had been their home.
On the surface, the daemons were forming their own empire, a place spun of darkness and nightmares, and expanding technology beyond what the Hauk Tare had advanced to. They were building machines that would take them down under the surface, to rat out the remaining Hauk Tare.
Tess had been born beneath the surface. She had never seen the blue sky. No one had seen it for 36 years and lived to tell about it. No one except Kel. Kel was the one surviving rebel from Before. Both of his great golden eagle’s wings were
intact, and though he hadn’t used them for many years they were still a badge of his pride and position.
Tess’s wings were useless for flying. They had never been used to fly before, though she excercised them regularly,
as all Hauk Tare did. They never lost hope that someday they would rule the skies again, and kept their wings as healthy as
possible in the close quarters below ground.
It had been known that the daemons were coming for several months. These months had been spent becoming prepared. Kel was leading a rebellion against the daemons. He had gathered a few other strong-minded youngsters behind him and he would stand against the daemons to his last breath to protect his people, his family, and above all, his Tess.
She looked lovingly at his peaceful face as he slept. His eyes were a beautiful, breathtaking green-gray-blue, framed
by long lashes, and his wavy golden-blonde hair settled in a boyish way around his face. His wings were a golden-brown that
shone with gold highlights.
Tess gently stroked the feathers that grew at the base of his neck, and then lay back against his chest, impatiently
brushing her own long, red-brown tresses out of her face and closing her curious hazel-gold eyes. Her red tail wings rustled
as she pulled them up against her body and snuggled close to Kel. She knew it would be best to try and get some sleep. She closed her eyes and drifted into a dream world where she was free of the troubles of her reality.

“Tess. Tess, wake up, love.”
Tess stirred and opened her eyes slowly. She squinted in the bright fluorescent light of the tunnel which leaked into their
home, looking around at the all-too-familiar rock of the cave walls, rough and unforgiving.
“The lights came on about ten minutes ago.” Kel continued, stroking her hair lovingly. “You were sleeping like the
dead. Rhys will be by soon, no doubt, with breakfast. You should get cleaned up.”
Tess looked up into Kel’s beautiful eyes and smiled. “Good morning, hon.” She said, giving him a kiss. She sat up and stretched, then stood. He followed suit.
Tess looked around their cave, at the nooks and crannies where the candles were, the small spring where they washed, the flat rock that served as a table, the stone chests where they kept their clothes and belongings, and the shallow
bowl-shaped indent full of blankets that served as their nest. She had lived in this place for most of her life, and to her
it was home.
Kel said, “You can wash up first. I’ll light up the place this morning.” He proceeded to strike a match and wander
around the walls of the cave lighting the fifty or so candles, which provided a warm glow that was a sharp contrast to the
fluorescent tunnel lights that shone in the doorway.
Tess pulled the curtain on the door that led to the tunnel and pulled off her night shift, then took a wash cloth and a hard
lump of soap and began to scrub down. The cold water was a refreshing shock and helped her dredge herself up from the
clinging grip of sleep. “How’d you sleep?” She asked Kel, submerging the top of her head under the water and scrubbing her
hair.
“Very well, thanks.” He said. “And yourself?”
She paused, then sighed. “I heard the Earthraiders last night. Those dread machines are getting closer and closer to
us, Kel. It scares me.
“It isn’t just us, Tess. They’re getting closer to everyone down here.”
“But once they do reach this level, all of us will be running for our lives! And they’ll rat us out one by one, and
slaughter all of us!” She sat down on a rock and willed herself not to cry, to be strong, but her wings were ruffled,
and she knew it was obvious that she wasn’t okay. She took a few deep, shuddering breaths, then gave up and began to cry.
Kel stopped lighting candles and came over, wordlessly gathering her into his arms. He held her for several minutes
until her sobs receded. “We need to be strong, for our people. We will fight back. You know I believe strongly that we will
be free someday, to fly the skies again. We can’t let that hope die.” He hugged her fiercely to his chest.
Tess nodded, letting her last tears pass. After a minute she said, “Kel, tell me about the sky again. Tell me about
the world you left behind.”
Kel was silent for a moment, stroking Tess’s hair lovingly. Finally, he said, “Alright. The sky is the most beautiful
thing you can imagine. It is the largest, clearest, and most amazing part of the world. It is an incredible shade of blue…
blue like the fungi that grow in the Deep Tunnel, only more beautiful. At night, it is a deep blue, like Azharn’s cloak,
dotted with glowing specks, billions upon billions of them, called stars. There are also clouds: great, varying masses of
vapor that range from pure white to deep gray. Sometimes they carry drops of water that fall to the ground. This is the rains.
“Then there is the Sun… a giant bright orb, like a candle flame… or a fluorescent light… only thousands of times
brighter. It lights up the entire world for the day… and the moon lights it at night. The moon is a glowing silver-blue orb,
that shines among the stars… the legend of our people, if you recall, is that the moon is the mother, the sun is the father,
and the stars are their children."
Tess smiled, remembering how younger Hauk Tare reacted to this story, often wondering aloud how two people could have so many children. She listened as Kel went on to describe the surface of their world.
"The air on the surface is so fresh- clean and clear... I miss breathing fresh air." Kel sighed wistfully. "The earth is rich and dark, and the plants are very green... they get Sun on the surface, unlike the ones in our greenhouses, so they are a deeper, less washed out color. The largest plants of our world are called trees. There are some small trees in Kiara's greenhouse, the ones with the brown stems. On the surface, trees can be gigantic, very tall and wide. They are as alive as you and I. I remember how my mother used to sit with me in the great expanse of trees and plants called the forest and tell me to listen to the trees speak. And I could hear them.
I also remember climbing a mountain once, when I had a broken wing... you've seen a mountain, Phineas in the Hermes Cavern. 


I know it's a terrible place to stop, but I'll get back to it at some point, I promise.