The Favored Destroyer
Sophiena, the angel of mammals, was giving a lesson on logic and wisdom to a group of young and eager animals of Ecovia’s Egg. Mammals, fishes, and birds from far and near had gathered under a large tree on the outskirts of the Grizzle Forest, where they could learn from nature as well as her words.
“As you go through life, remember that your grades are not as important as how you use your knowledge to survive in the wild,” Sophiena summarized as she wrapped up her class.
Dino Weiser, a bookish and bright aquiline fledgling, was always curious about everything. He had more intelligence than his peers, but he also had more pride. He looked down on the other animals and acted rudely and arrogantly toward them.
While the rest of the animals left for their respective physical training classes with other angels, Dino stayed behind. Sophiena noticed him and advised, “You should attend Angel Aviana’s class and learn to fly like your cousins. Some of my mammals go there too. You are a bird, after all. I appreciate your passion and curiosity for learning, but physical training is equally essential.”
“Bah! I hate flying,” Dino bluntly expressed. “I don’t need to flap my wings around if I am smart. I want to be the most intelligent creature and prove that the best way to survive is by using the brain, not brawn.”
Sophiena could not argue with his logic, so she let him be.
Later that evening, as Dino was heading home to his nest, he caught sight of Ferro, the lupine cub with cream-white fur. He was all by himself, running around in the clearing of the Grizzle Forest. Ferro was agile and athletic, capable of wrestling animals twice his size. Though younger than Dino, he had the potential to rival him in intelligence.
Dino was jealous of his all-rounded abilities. He snapped a branch from a tree and tied an elastic band to make a slingshot. Collecting a claw full of stones in his pockets, he used the weapon to shoot them at Ferro.
“Ow,” Ferro cried out as a stone hit the back of his head. “What is your problem!”
“What are you doing, you stupid cub?” Dino sneered.
“Go away. I am training to become the fastest animal,” Ferro naively answered.
“Tsk, Tsk,” Dino shot another stone at Ferro’s head without mercy. “You do not value your intelligence and waste your time on athletics.”
“Stop it! You’re hurting me,” Ferro snarled and barked, backing away. But as Dino kept slinging stones, he warned, “If you don’t stop, I will rip your head off, coward!”
“Using the weapon I engineered with my cleverness does not make me a coward; it makes me smart,” Dino smugly argued. “See how you’re running away from someone who’s not athletic at all? That is why I will be on the top of the food chain when I grow up.”
Ferro had had enough. He charged toward Dino, his sharp claws bared, ready to pounce. But Dino slung a bunch of stones all at once, knocking him down. As he lay on the snowy ground, whimpering in pain, Dino pulled back his slingshot as far as he could and aimed at his left hind leg to break it.
“Too bad you won’t be able to achieve your dream of being the fastest animal,” Dino wickedly taunted before leaving him in agony.
Ferro was shivering, all bloodied and bruised, unable to get to his feet. He saw Marcelia, the angel of lands, coming toward him.
“Here, little cub, drink some water,” Marcelia said, resting his head on her lap. She gently tilted her gem-studded chalice so that he could sip from it. Her orange hair pulsed with anger at what had happened. “I saw what Dino did to you, using my stones as weapons. He was cruel and horrible.”
“I want Dino to pay!” Ferro groaned.
Marcelia agreed with his desire. “Go to your angel, Sophiena, and demand justice. She is my good friend, and she won’t let her mammal be abused.”
Ferro followed Marcelia’s advice and hobbled on his crutches to Sophiena.
Sophiena felt sorry for Ferro and wanted to punish Dino. But she did not want to upset her sister, Aviana, the angel of birds. So she traveled the purple rocky soil of the Roxa Mountains to visit Aviana, who lived in a lavish aerie on the oldest tree. She told her about Dino’s terrible actions and adjured her to discipline him.
“Do not tell me what to do,” Aviana refused, annoyed by her request. “Are you jealous that my bird is smarter than your mammals?”
“This is not about me,” Sophiena insisted. “Ferro deserves justice and an apology.”
“We birds are proud and majestic creatures, and Dino is no exception. You just want me to crush the self-esteem of my brightest fledgling by punishing him,” Aviana rudely accused.
“You need to discipline Dino, or he might never learn right from wrong,” Sophiena advised.
“Being my sister does not give you the right to tell me how to raise my birds,” Aviana firmly dismissed. “I’m sorry for your mammal, but I will not punish Dino. Now please leave.”
Sophiena went back to the Grizzle Forest, disappointed that Aviana was condoning Dino’s violence. She found Ferro waiting for her, hoping to hear about Dino’s punishment. “I’m sorry,” she lowered her head, unable to look at him.
Ferro didn’t say anything and walked away. He had lost faith in his angel and howled at the unfairness of the world.
“Wait,” Sophiena stopped. Feeling guilty, she handed him a vial, “This elixir will heal your wounds faster, no matter what injury you sustain. It is the least I can do since I failed to get you the justice you deserve.”
Thanks to Sophiena’s elixir, Ferro recovered quickly and was healthyand active again. However, he did not return to training, for he had lost his ambition to achieve his dream.
Ferro felt even more bitter with the news of Dino graduating as the smartest animal on Ecovia’s Egg. He was doing well and achieved success, becoming the leader of his Weiser clan of birds. He used his intelligence to bring progress and build a society that functioned together.
Ferro was swimming in the pool of hate, unable to eat, drink, or sleep, as his mind was drowning in thoughts of revenge.
“Calm down, little cub,” Ferro heard Marcelia’s soothing voice as she hugged him.
“Angel Sophiena couldn’t get me justice,” Ferro apprised.
“I know,” Marcelia said, petting his fur to comfort him. “I was furious to learn of her failure and came here as soon as I could.” Looking into his extinctionistic eyes full of despair, she offered, “Let me help you get revenge. Unlike Sophiena, I am not afraid to antagonize Aviana.”
“Are you sure it is okay for you to help me, Angel Marcelia?” Ferro asked, thinking of the consequences she might face.
“Don’t worry,” Marcelia eased. “Even Chasitia, the angel of skies, supports your revenge. She was distraught by the injustice and wants to gift you the power of her lightning.”
Ferro livened with hope and accepted her offer in a heartbeat.
Years later, on the fateful night of winter solstice, the skies over Planet Ecovia were lit with the green, red, and blue flames of an aurora. Ferro razed the nests of the helpless, flightless birds of Dino’s Weiser clan. With his power of lightning, he engulfed the colony in a blazing inferno. He destroyed the fabric of society Dino had created and purged the land in revenge. Not even the icy winds could contain the destruction.
Dino had no chance against Ferro. His weapons and traps to hold off Ferro were futile as he was smart enough to anticipate them. The chaos around him as his clan scattered in panic, abandoning him to save themselves, compounded his helplessness. He fell to his knees in despair, surrendering to the fate he had brought on himself.
“Punish the mammal, Chasitia!” Aviana cried, joining the angels in her realm of clouds. “He is using your lightning for evil.”
“Ferro’s actions are vile and cruel, but he is not a sinner,” Chasitia adjudicated, watching with indifference, allowing the destruction. “He is seeking retribution—”
“Balderdash!” Aviana snubbed. “He knowingly and with malicious intent hurt my bird! He is jealous of Dino’s intelligence.”
“There is nothing you can do, Aviana,” Chasitia rumbled. “You reap what you sow.”
Restless by her refusal, Aviana confronted Marcelia. “In your rashness, you gave him the strength of your mountains with your elixir. You should take responsibility and stop Ferro.”
“I didn’t give him strength recklessly,” Marcelia objected. “He is my pet, my mount. I support his revenge, and I trained him myself.”
Seeing no point in talking to her, Aviana turned to Sophiena and appealed, “As my elder sister, I hope you will understand. You must restrain your mammal, or he might destroy all life on Ecovia’s Egg in his madness.”
“How can you shamelessly expect me to understand when you ignored my pleas to discipline Dino,” Sophiena scolded.
Aviana held her head with confusion. “How did it come to this? How did the angels come to favor a destroyer?”
“Dino, in his envy, sinned by physically and emotionally hurting the innocent Ferro,” Chasitia explained Aviana’s conundrum. “When Ferro didn’t get justice, he held a grudge and chose to get revenge, becoming a destroyer. So we angels are on his side —a sin cannot go unpunished after all.”
“But-but—” Aviana could only sputter in protest.
Chasitia didn’t relent and continued to chastise, “You are equally responsible for Dino’s situation because you chose not to discipline him,”
“But why should the other members of the clan suffer for his mistake?” Aviana complained.
“Usually, the entire family pays for the wrongdoings of one,” Marcelia reminded. “It is the way of the world.”
“If he wasn’t so arrogant about his intelligence and had taken your flying classes, he could’ve at least escaped to save himself,” Sophiena taunted with a sigh.
THE END
