A/N: This story takes place in the same world as the story Behemoth written by Shadowhound. For a more in depth history read that.

Chapter 1: Prologue to Vriloth

1 AB

The war was never going to end. The Feline Clan had their six Behemoths and the Canine had its one Behemoth. Neither side seemed to gain or loose any ground. The Mezaroths had been created in secret to turn the tide of battle, to counteract the Behemoths. But so far no Mezaroth wielder had succeeded. The Saber Ranks seemed more concerned with opposing both sides at the same time and doing nothing helpful toward actually ending the war.

And so in the days when Changing was still not uncommon, a Dragon subClan decided to take matters into their own hands. But this was not accepted by the Dragonlords. They stood on tradition and alliance. They voted out of fear, for while the Feline were more skilled and had the Behemoths, the Canine had nearly innumerable soldiers at their command. Thus the Drake clan, who wanted to do more towards ending a war not of their making, split from the Dragons. The Hellgates with past alliances, this war would consume them all if not ended soon.

Six months later

The Eyrie was on its way to becoming the safe haven it had intended to be. Few were welcome though. Menx was distrustful of too many newcomers. As of now there were seventeen Phoenix refugees, a man from the White Tiger clan that wanted only peace, several Falcons, Gorilla clansmen and more coming each day. The only one Menx had been against was Lorisa, a woman from the Wolves of the Father. But Cullen, the calm White Tiger that Menx trusted implicitly, for all that he wasn't a Drake, had spoken for her and that had settled the matter.

"We need to get started with our Vriloth, Menx. The Phoenix are willing." Cullen had come with the Elders to discuss what was on everyone in the Eyrie mind. It had been decided that a representative from each clan living in the Eyrie would sit on a Council of Elders that would govern day to day life, as well as perform the Blood Ceremony when the time came.

"I know, but do we have enough Drakes? It is a critical part of the Vriloth plan that all of the Members have Drake blood in them. The wings are to be our gift to them, to provide them with a sense of unity, not to mention a fast and reliable form of transportation." The last part was added with a smirk that did not go unnoticed by the assembled group. The Drake influence was a much contested point. Many people argued that the Drakes would have a hold over them that was considered unfair.

"There are plenty of us to do the job." A Drake name Zelanx said. The wings that were so highly contested, had to come from the Drakes. Feather wings from a bird parent would leave traces after a molting, and wings from a Dragon parent were too big to fly fast enough, or to maneuver at a moments notice. A century before the Drake clan had been formed by Dragons who had taken spouses from the Falcon clan, resulting in longer, slimmer wing that was leather like a Dragon's, but more suited to faster flying.

"I still say we should finish perfecting our Magic first. How can the Vriloth be trained in something we don't fully understand?" Jeralt, the spokesman from the Dolphin clan, brought up. Coincidentally the only other person from the Dolphin clan was his wife. "If we try to teach the Vriloth to control Metal and it backfires… There is only so much that Phoenix fire can resurrect." This was a valid point that was brought up whenever the Vriloth were mentioned. The creation of new Magic had required much effort. Ice was a more advance form of the Water Magic used, and Magma had been the merging of Fire and Earth. But Metal was taking some time to perfect, and possibly the most important. It would allow the Vriloth to unmake the Cursed Weapons.

"As we all know the concept behind Metal is to merge Lighting and Earth. But being opposites, it is proving much harder than we originally thought." Menx, as leader of the Drakes presided of the Council.

"We must wait. We have already made preparations for the Vriloth to have the immortality of the Phoenixes," started Zizalvan, the exiled Badgerlord, who then gestured to the Phoenixes in the room. "We know this war is going to last a long time, we cannot afford to rush something this important."

This statement produced a general murmur of approval. Menx approved highly of Zizalvan, the Badgerlord had been exiled after refusing to support the Canines, something his people desperately wanted. He was not the only one, already he was becoming one of the most respected people in the Eyrie. After arriving with only his young daughter he had settled into a position of leadership and healing.

"We also don't know what other side effects the transfusion will have." Dast was the leader of Blood mages. His clan affiliation was not known. Many suspected that he was Feline, possibly a bastard of the royal blood. "We already know the transfusion will grant immortality through fire, but what else? The spells that we are planning to use will give them accelerated aging after each death until the age of 20. Potentially we could do more, for example, make the more like their Clans animal totem, excluding the Drake side of the family. Depending on the family, that would be a major benefit. Consider Vriloth that was part Shark, who could breathe both air and water. That would give them an advantage over whoever is wielding the Behemoth Spericus. I say we wait."

"Let us put it to a vote then. Zizalvan, will you count the responses? All those in changing the Vriloth at the time of the Blood Ceremony raise your hand in the air." Seventeen of the twenty-two Elders voted affirmative. Menx sighed inwardly, the concept of changing the Vriloth was a proposal he had made to Dast in the first place. "Now, for the vote on waiting…" This time the majority was barely evident, twelve to ten.

"Then it is settled, we will wait until we have finally mastered the magics we want the Vriloth to wield, and when we have decided on whether or not to adjust the nature of the children."

It would be another eight years before a sufficient mastery had been achieved by the Phoenix and Drake spellcasters. But it would be another twenty-five before the first child would be accepted. The council had decided that each child in the Eyrie would undergo the Blood Ceremony upon reaching puberty. In the first year of trying twenty-six children had died. The Ceremony consisted of the child being strapped to a frame and having their wrists slit by Menx and either the child's mother or father. At the point that he/she was the nearly dead the six Blood Mages took over. Of the now thirty Phoenixes living in the Eyrie, all were willing to donate their immortal blood. The mages used this to revive the child. It hadn't worked yet. No Vriloth child had been found. One had died every other week. Only one who had Drake blood in them were acceptable, but no pure blooded Drake. And no child with a Phoenix parent was acceptable, their immortality must be earned. If the child survived they would be trained to the point of obsession to what their mission was, the destruction of the Behemoths and Mezaroths.