“Good day to you Princess Falca! Good day to you as well Prince Hyde!” One of the arena sentries hailed as he opened a door for myself and my little brother Hyde.

“A good day to you yourself sentry,” I replied before turning back to my little brother.“Now come on Hyde, he doesn’t blame you for what happened. Just explain to him what you are feeling and you’ll see that you’re getting yourself worked up over nothing. You’ll feel better I promise.”

My brother and I were on our way to meet up with Jack and Katy as they enjoyed a late lunch after Jack’s duel with the stranger that Jack had summoned. The duel was a spectacular spectacle to watch and after I found out that Jack was going to sample the arena food to recover his stamina from the fight I figured this would be the perfect time for Hyde to air out his feelings for what we did to Jack. The potion we gave Jack that turned him into his current crimson form was weighing heavily as a huge failure on Hyde’s mind and I knew my little brother would continue to punish himself if he wasn’t assured that Jack wasn’t upset over the whole debacle.

In my point of view, a griffin should air out what they’re feeling if they feel as if they’ve wronged someone they care about. If it served no purpose other than to unproductively punish themselves, then they are just hurting themselves and the ones they care about. A griffin should work up the nerve to speak their own mind to work past their failures. Hyde, however, didn’t seem to share that view, instead he would rather wallow in self-pity so he doesn’t bother people anymore.

“How can you be so sure of that Falca?” Hyde asked. “How can he not hate me? I turned him into a red skinned freak after he had already undergone a horrific transformation just days before. Can’t I just go back to my lab on the Nether Island? I have experiments I want to check up on.”

“You would rather check up on some pitiful experiments that can easily be redone in a day, rather than work on your relationship with one of the largest scientific phenomenon’s this world has ever seen?” I asked with exaggerated surprise.

“Well… look I just-.”

“Stop,” I interrupted as I leaned down to come to his eye level. “Hyde you are doing nothing but disappointing yourself by shutting yourself in. You can’t let things like regret and misery keep you from solving your problems.”

“Do you think I want to feel like this? I want things to be better between me and Jack but I just can’t walk up to people and just say sorry like it’s nothing. I’m… I’m afraid of what he’ll say okay, and I’m sick of hearing people get angry at me.”

Hyde just huffed and looked down at the floor with a sad frown on his beak.

“I’ve been nothing but a disappointment to House Hialla for years and I don’t think that is ever going to change. By the Ancestors, I tore our family apart by just being born! What’s the point of trying to fix past mistakes if I’m just going screw something else up in the future?”

“Hyde…” I said with a sad sigh.

“FALCA!” A loud familiar voice called out behind me. Turning around I found that the voice belonged to my other brother Thistle, who strolled up behind us at a hurried pace along with his pets the Twin Serpents.

“My dear sister, you were just who I was looking for. Excuse me Hyde but I need to borrow our sister for a moment.”

“Thistle I’m busy right now, it’s not a good time,” I said with a little heat as I turned back Hyde.

“Falca it’s important I need your help,” Thistle replied in an oddly serious tone.

“Not. A. Good. Time.” I repeated slowly so my elder brother would get the message.

“It’s father okay! He’s drunk and he’s about to do something stupid.”

Hyde and I looked at each other with wide eyes and we turned around to give Thistle our full attention. I quickly looked around the arena hallway to make sure that nogriffin or anybody heard what Thistle said and brought a single talon up to my beak to warn Thistle to speak quietly.

“What’s going on?” I whispered.

“Father got a little… overexcited, after watching Jack fight that cute little stranger he summoned from beyond the void. You both saw how he was during the Royale last night, his roars practically filled half the arena. Well anyway, he sent one of his guards to retrieve his claymore and his old armor from the castle and he told me to set up a match with any gladiator that would fight him. I believe his exact words were, “Find me the biggest, strongest, ugliest bastard in this entire arena. I want to hit somebody and I want them to hit me till I’m, *ahem*, pissing out blood.” Thistle said with an uncomfortable grimace.

“How much has he had to drink?” I questioned as multiple scenarios spun around inside my head.

“Last night? He had around 6 bottles of Savvy. Today, on the other talon, I lost count after 11.”

I heaved a heavy sigh after I heard that number. Like anyone else, Father was not himself when he was drunk. Except, unlike anyone else, father was King of House Hialla and was the leader and representative to millions of griffins. If Father embarrassed himself or, Ancestors forbid, got himself hurt it would ensure disastrous consequences for our House. House Hialla and House Ridara are in the middle of a diplomatic crisis and we absolutely do not need the king of House Hialla causing a scene. Our people need their leader to be the personification of unwavering strength amidst this crisis and that can’t happen if their leader is drunkenly picking fights in the Titan Arena out of the blue.

“Falca,” Thistle continued. “You’re the only one that can get through to him when he’s like this. He needs a voice of reason right now.”

“Okay, okay fine I’m on it but-.” I looked down to Hyde and considered our conversation just moments ago.

‘Dealing with Hyde’s issues are important too. I can’t just walk away from him when he’s in this state of mind.’

I brought my gaze back up to Thistle and tried to silently tell him with my eyes that Hyde and I were truly in the middle of something important. Thistle’s beak opened up in a silent ‘ahh’ and he looked between Hyde and me before giving me a wink in understanding. At least I hope he understood.

I bent down low to Hyde and told him to look me in the eyes.

“Hyde I want you to promise that you’ll at least talk to Jack alright.”

Hyde mumbled unsurely and dropped his beak to gaze at the ground instead, but I used a talon to force him to look back up at me.

“Please, little brother?” I asked softly.

“Okay.” He said finally after a few seconds. “I’ll talk to him, but I won’t guarantee anything else.”

“Falca hurry, father isn’t going to stop himself.” Thistle said quickly.

“Alright, where is he?” I asked.

“Ready room 3 in the Pens.”

“Got it, I’m on my way.”

I rushed past Thistle and the Twin Serpents to head towards the Pens, but before I left the hallway I quickly looked back towards my brothers for a moment. Thistle had a wing draped over his smaller brother and he urged him in the direction Hyde and I were going originally. I just barely heard what Thistle said to Hyde.

“Don’t look so sad Hyde. Guess what, I’ve got some good news that’ll lift your spirits! Remember that favor you asked to find…”

The door to ready room 3 was just in front of me and I had to breathe a sigh of relief after hearing father’s voice from behind the door.

“Ahh, it feels good to put this on again.”

‘Good, it means he hasn’t done anything yet.’

Opening the door I found my father in the center of the room getting dressed in glistening chainmail by a nervous arena aide. The aide looked so scared that she would mess something up, that I could tell that she was forcing her talons not to shake as she fitted father into his bronze chestplate. Father’s golden feathers shined brilliantly as it was complemented by the well-made piece of armor and his feathers were further enhanced as he draped himself with the purple scarf that he rarely ever took off.

Off to the side and resting on a weapon rack was father’s massive claymore, otherwise known as Crimson Tide. It was a heavy and powerful instrument of death, with an ornate hilt that had twin rubies embedded onto the sides of its pommel and a golden crossguard shaped like the mouth of a dragon. The blade itself was longer than most griffins at 180 centimeters with thick glimmering steel that was permanently stained in a fierce blood-red color at the blade’s double edges. Crimson Tide was infamous for its size and ludicrous 100-kilogram weight, but Father was the only griffin alive who could wield it and actually use it properly.

Father was an enigma amongst griffons when it came to fighting. For most griffins fighting mostly took place in the air so lighter equipment such as short swords, battle claws, bows, and spears are often the most sensible choice. But father was a goliath compared to most griffins and this allowed him to wear dense plate armor and wield weapons like Crimson Tide almost effortlessly. From the tales I was told by my griffins old enough to remember it, they would say that when he was in the prime of his youth, father used that claymore constantly in every battle he was in and its heavy weight made him a titan of griffin muscle and fortitude. Even at the old age of 62, that impressive muscle and fortitude showed even to this day.

But when father turned to me with a hearty laugh and a drunk hiccup, all that impressive muscle and fortitude appeared rather lackluster.

“Hahaha, Falca! Come to see your old bird of a father before he steps out into the arena? Has Thistle set me up with a match yet?” Father asked as the aide walked behind him to strap bronze plated chausses onto his haunches.

“No father I’m here to-.”

“Oh blast it all, call me papa! I’m in a good mood, and I miss the days when my children were young cubs and cutely called me papa whenever they could.”

‘(*sigh*), I should just follow along. It’ll be easier to convince him to stop what he’s doing if I humor him a little… How long has it been since I called him papa?’

“Papa. I’m here because Thistle told me that-.”

“Ack! That’s too tight! What’s going on back there lass? Can’t you put my chausses on right?” Father asked as he turned his head around to glare at the aide.

I looked back to see what the problem was as well and saw the problem immediately. The straps and the armor plates were too small to fit around father’s haunches.

“I-I’m so, so sorry your majesty but your armor won’t… uhh… won’t-.”

“Come on lass, just spit it out.”

He was torturing the poor girl. The girl was too embarrassed and scared to tell her king that he was suffering from a very embarrassing problem. Since the aide was too scared to say it, I guess it will have to be me.

“Your ass is too fat to fit in your old armor papa,” I said simply.

The aide gasped and covered her beak, while father turned back to me with a scowl and a raised eyebrow.

“Did I just hear you correctly? Is that how I raised my children? To disrespect their father and king by suggesting that he has a fat ass?”

I just smiled and continued to speak frankly.

“Facts speak for themselves papa. The straps on your chausses are too small to fit around all that fat. If you think so otherwise, then not only are you fat but you are obviously delusional too.”

The aide hid her underneath her wings and trembled while father walked up to me slowly with a growl. He started down at me with his kingly glare and suddenly you couldn’t tell that he was completely drunk just moments ago. Father could be very intimidating even without trying. His status, his size, his reputation alone could terrify even the proudest of creatures. But I wasn’t scared at all. None knew King Grinnail more than his own children.

“hahahaHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Father let out a booming laugh and shook his head as he walked away from me with loose chainmail trailing behind him. The aide peeked past her wings in confusion and gave me a look that said, ‘what in the world just happened?’

Decades of serving House Hialla as King had made father’s persona one of the most diplomatic and steadfast things you could ever see. But at his very core, father was a very straightforward person and appreciated even the harshest piece of honesty. He especially appreciated it when he was drunk and was often more open with that side of him when he was like this.

“Your name lass, what was it again?” Father asked the aide.

“Gily your majesty.”

“Gily, could you find me some larger chausses in the arena’s armory? You heard my daughter, it appears that your king is too fat for his old armor.” Father said while wheezing another laugh. He walked over to a table next to Crimson Tide that held another bottle of Savvy and poured himself a cup.

“R-Right away your majesty!”

Just before the aide passed me to get to the door, I stopped her with a raised talon and whispered into her ear.

“Ignore my father’s request and just take the day off Miss Gily. Don’t tell anyone what you saw here. But before you go, tell my brother Prince Thistle that I have everything under control.”

“But the king said-,” she argued.

I silenced her with a glare that told her she was to obey me completely and utterly. She gulped and nodded her head frantically before she practically ran out the door in fear. I kind of felt bad for scaring the poor girl so harshly but it had to be done.

I heard more wine being poured into another glass and looked back to father to see him offering me a glass of the red liquid.

“Thank you papa but I shouldn’t, and neither should you at this point.”

“Drink with your papa Falca.”

Arching my shoulders in a shrug I accepted the glass and sipped the hard but sweet wine. Savvy was among my favorite wines as well but I much preferred the Twisted Berry wines I kept in my own personal cellar on the Summer Island. Still, it was father’s favorite and I appreciated that he was willing to share it with me.

“Let me guess,” Father said he sat down on the floor. “You didn’t come down here to see your papa off before he goes out for a fight. You really just came down here to stop me because you think I’ll make a fool out of myself in this state.” He took a large swig from his glass before he looked back at me, expecting an answer.

“Thistle said you’ve had over 11 bottles.”

“Indeed, and this one will be number 15. And yes, my liver and bladder are already angry at me,” father said as he refilled his glass.

I sighed heavily at the number.

“I know you’re drunk but do you really not see the problem here?”

Father took another sip before he replied but hiccupped again before he could speak.

“I see the problem and I do not care. I’ve been in worse fights when my body was in much worse conditions than this. Back when I was a captain in the 2^nd fleet, me and my crew were on a long voyage across the Cerulean Sea which left our clean water rations strained. We were dehydrated on most days and on some days I was more delirious than any drunkard on 6 shots of absinthe. But when we got ambushed by pirates one hot summer day, I remembered how I pushed through my delirium and fought off over two dozen pirates with the marine attachment we had on board. I even remember how I caved in this one pirate’s entire chest with a single punch. Probably shattered every rib he had. Bloody Ancestors I was strong back then!”

He took another sip.

“And don’t even get me started on my gladiator days here at the Titan Arena. I could’ve gotten into the Gold division and been Grand Champion if my elder brother hadn’t-,” he paused as anger, sadness, and regret washed over his face all at once. He took a huge swig of his wine before he looked away from me and stared at the floor.

“Hadn’t gotten himself killed,” He finished.

I raised my glass in honor of the Uncle I never knew and took a sip of the wine.

“Do you really see the problem here papa?” I asked as candidly as I could. “First, you are way older than that ship captain fighting off pirates all those years ago. Time has obviously dulled your edge if your haunches are anything to go by. Second, you are old AND drunk. Even if you can still swing Crimson Tide as well as you use to, you don’t have the reflexes to wield it as effectively. Third, and this is the most important one, we can’t afford to be taking potentially embarrassing risks at a time like this when we are in the middle of a diplomatic crisis with House Ridara. Do you think King Stormbeak will take you seriously if you get yourself kicked around by gladiators in front of your own people?”

“Falca I’m telling you I can beat down any youngster in this arena that is brave enough to face me.”

“Reeealllly?” I asked slowly as I placed my glass down.

I reeled back on my hind legs and stood up to quickly give my father a violent shove. His eyes widened and he scrambled to regain his balance but his back landed on the floor with a solid thud. The contents of his wine glass spilled onto the floor and father gave off an annoyed groan at the loss.

“You are twice my size and I just pushed you to the ground without even trying,” I said in a loud lecturing tone. “Any gladiator worth their salt is going to mop the floor with you and all you’ll do is just make a fool out of yourself.”

I expected him to continue arguing, but he just laid there on the floor and stared at his wine glass. He gave off a sad sigh and raised himself back onto his paws before picking up the wine glass to refill it. He tilted the bottle of Savvy into the glass but hardly a drop came out. Father sat back down on the ground and his wings drooped as his beak twisted into a miserable frown.

‘By the Ancestors, I don’t think I’ve seen him this sad in a long time. There is something else going on here.’

“Papa why are you so determined to fight out there?” I asked as I sat next to him.

He looked down at me and took in a deep breath before he let out a loud exhale.

“Watching Jack and Katy fight in the arena rekindled something in me that I haven’t felt in a long time. I wanted to recapture some of the feelings I felt when me and my brothers were young warriors fighting side by side against all the foes the world could throw at us. That family comradery, the adrenaline coursing through me in the heat of a battle, that feeling I got when an enemy tried to take my life and I showed them I was stronger when I cleaved them in two with Crimson Tide.” Father shook his head as he continued to explain. “Most of all I think I just miss the family comradery. Jack and Katy are really lucky to experience that feeling together. There is nothing like that pride you feel when you know that you have family at your side when you face your enemies.”

I smiled and stretched a wing out to comfort him.

“Uncle Nereus use to tell me stories of your fighting days together when he was teaching me politics on the Summer Island,” I said causing father to chuckle. “He told me how amazing you were when you used that ‘stupidly big sword’ against griffins in the air who should’ve been way faster than you. He said one griffin pissed himself in the air when he saw you coming at him like an arrow with Crimson Tide in your talons.”

Father’s frown was gone as he gave off a roaring laugh.

“I remember that! Bloody Ancestors I remember that poor bastard flew away so fast it looked like Cerberus himself was on his tail. Aaaahhh, good times.” Father said with a sigh “But I realize those good times are far in the past. You’re right, I shouldn’t be trying to relive the glory days at a time like this. Especially with this much alcohol in my system.”

Father groaned to himself and then after a while, he started to look into my eyes as if he was searching for something. It was eerie having to keep myself in eye contact with him and after a few moments, I was about to ask what he was doing until he spoke again.

“You are so much like your mother.”

I was stunned. He hasn’t talked about mother for years. Most of my memories of her were far too few as she had died giving birth to Hyde when I was 4 years old. Most of the memories I had of her were just warm feelings like the hugs she gave me when she was proud or the joy I felt when she flew me on her back. Some things have been forgotten because of time, but the one thing I remembered clearly was her voice. I remembered how she would sing to me and my siblings before we fell asleep in our beds and how her voice was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard.

I even remembered how hard it was trying to sleep without hearing her songs anymore.

“You have her ability to command people’s attention. You can make people listen to common sense even when they try not to. You even have that drive that was infectious to people like me when I was young. Qualities like those made her a great leader, a great queen. If it wasn’t for her I would have been a poor excuse for a king.”

I didn’t know what to say. In the past every time I tried to question father about mother he would always give me short answers or would avoid the subject entirely. It always pained him to talk about her so I stopped, but now he was talking about her freely. Maybe if I stayed silent then maybe he would continue to talk about her.

Father rubbed his purple scarf between his talons for a while and his beak stretched into a smile. However, it was soon gone as if he had remembered something.

“Do you really want to be queen Falca?” He asked.

‘Dammit, I should have asked him questions while I had the chance. And what does he mean by that question? Of course I want to be queen!’

“Papa, being queen has been my dream since I was 10. However, I don’t think it matters anymore since I’ve lost most of my votes after my loss to the Aper Major.”

“Don’t be so sure about that, I still haven’t voted on who should be my successor. If I gave you my vote then that can still turn a lot of votes in your favor. You or any of your siblings still have a significant chance at ruling our House no matter the circumstances. Take me for instance, I never wanted to be king. Not once. But then I displayed years of exemplary military leadership and slew an immortal pirate queen. Suddenly, everyone was pointing their talons at me and said I should be king.”

He paused, and before he could continue, his beak twisted back into a frown. “What I’m trying to say is that you shouldn’t be too eager to have my job. Becoming the monarch of House Hialla is the largest responsibility our House can bestow and nearly nothing else in your life will matter anymore. You’ll barely have time for yourself as the needs of the House and its people always outweigh your own. You are 24 and are still very young Falca, you still have time to do things you’ll never be able to do as queen.”

“Like enrolling in Titan Arena matches when I’m drunk and slowly going senile?” I asked with a creeping smile.

“Exactly!”

I laughed uncontrollably at that. It felt like I was going to tip over from all the excessive joy but father thankfully reached an arm around my shoulders to hug me. I hugged him back tightly and I began to realize how much I missed moments like this. When I was younger, moments like this use to happen more frequently but then everything got so serious when I got older. I was always busy trying beat Takada to the throne to impress father and the House, and in consequence, I ended up distancing myself from him.

After I finally got control over myself, father spoke up again.

“Now I guess I must return to the Heartland Isle and get back to work. But first I should take a cold shower or two.”

Father slowly broke away from the hug and started to walk towards the door, but I snickered when I saw that he hadn’t realized that he was still half-dressed in his armor.

“Papa?”

“What?”

“Your armor.”

He looked down at himself and he laughed at the realization.

“Oops. Haha, wouldn’t this be a sight for the people.” He said as he got up to stand on his hind legs to display his armor. “Come! Come good people of the Shattered Isles. Come see your king in armor too small to fit his fat ass!”

I couldn’t help but laugh again.

“What do you think about the sports casino Katy? It’s got good games both for entertainment and gambling. There’s even a discount for food and tickets to sports games if you’re a Titan Arena gladiator!” Jack asked from across the table as he ate his ice cream.

“That’s a good one, but let’s put a pin in it for now,” I replied

Jack and I were eating ice cream in a little arena dinner while we read through brochures that listed off the hundreds of attractions the island offered. Some attractions caught my interest more than others. Like a griffin airshow that regularly had demonstrations daily and an amusement park that had over twenty different roller coasters. Then there were attractions that were more… peculiar than others.

More specifically the House of Selene that was practically a brothel-like temple. From the images and descriptions I read in the brochure, it described itself as a hotel with a diverse host of employees that could cater to a guest’s every sexual desire. It was like a temple because it paid homage to a griffin Ancestor called Selene who was like a goddess of hospitality, hearth, healing, and erotic instruction. It especially put an emphasis on erotic instruction, as every picture in the brochure had at least one hotel employee in rather lewd poses. I wasn’t surprised that Prince Thistle owned the establishment.

I, of course, didn’t want to go there with my brother along but I bookmarked it in my mind in case I was alone and felt curious. With the only humans I could reach being fellow Displaced far off in other universes, chances of ‘companionship’ with my own species were low and I would either have to experiment or go celibate for the rest of my life.

Back to the matter at hand, I continued to look for more attraction sites as I took a spoonful of my ice cream. After a while, I found something that was absolutely perfect.

“Jack, Jack lookie here!” I said as I turned my brochure over for him to see.

“The Jade Park?” He asked confused.

“Yep, its terrain and vegetation range from flat grassy swards and shady glens to steep, rocky ravines. Great for hiking. There is also a zoo, an ice-skating rink, three small lakes, an open-air theatre, a band shell, many athletic playing fields and children’s playgrounds.”

“Okay that sounds fun, but are you sure that is where you want to go out of all of our options?”

“Think about it Jack.” I said while pressing my index finger to my temple. “You remember the Griffonstone episode when they showed what Gilda looked like as a little cub. She was so adorable! Now imagine dozens of little griffins cubs like Gilda playing tag or hide-and-seek in the park’s playgrounds.”

Jack’s eyes widened.

“Oh my God. That is potentially the most adorable thing we could ever see.” He said as he closed his brochure.

“I know right?!”

Confident on where we wanted to go, Jack and I got out of our seats to leave the diner. However, just as we were about to leave Prince Thistle and another griffin, a small little fella, met us at the door. The new griffin had the same feathers as Falca and with the way he avoided eye contact with us I wondered if he was shy or was just weirded out that I only had one eye.

“Jack, Katy! Just the aliens we were looking for. This is my little brother Prince Hyde, but Jack already knows him. Introduce yourself to Katy little brother.” Thistle implored.

“Ummm, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Hyde, but uhhh… Thistle already told you that. Your-,” He paused as he strangely kept looking over at Jack then back to me. “Your fight in the Royale near the end was amazing to watch.”

“Aww shucks. Thanks little dude,” I said with a hand on my hip.

He nodded his head and tried to continue the conversation, but it looked like he was having trouble finding the words. After a few awkward moments of near silent mumblings, Thistle thankfully came to his brother’s rescue.

“Hyde here wanted to talk to Jack about something.”

“I-I did yes,” Hyde replied quickly.

‘Goodness, he’s shaking like a leaf, what could possibly be the problem?”

“Jack I need to tell you that-,” Hyde had to stop to inhale. “I need to tell you that I am sorry for what I did to you. I’m sorry that I made you go through the horrible process of another transformation, and I’m sorry that I made you red. I’m sorry for being such an idiot. I’m sorry that I couldn’t give you back your original face. I’m sorry that I-”

“Whoa there Hyde stop its okay,” Jack said as he bent down to stop Hyde before he could continue his flood of apologies.

I felt like I needed some context here, but I’m sure Jack will fill me in later.

“It was an accident Hyde. There was no way we could’ve predicted that this could happen.” Jack continued as he pointed to his body.

“Maybe I could have predicted it, I don’t know. Maybe if I had done some tests on you before we used the potion, maybe you wouldn’t look like that.” Hyde argued as he looked away from Jack.

“Hyde look at me. It’s ookaay. I’m fine with what’s happened to me, I’ve moved on.”

Hyde looked back at Jack, slowly, and it looked like he was trying to find something in Jack’s eyes. Dishonesty maybe? Did he want Jack to me angry at him? He started to shake less and spoke again with a little more confidence in his voice.

“Y-You sure you’re not angry with me?”

“Positive,” Jack replied.

“I uhhh… okay,” Hyde said with a hesitant chuckle

“Okay,” Jack said chuckling along with him.

“See Hyde, Falca was right, you had nothing to worry about. Now you have peace of mind AND a lead on your little treasure hunt. Today is a good day for my little brother!” Thistle said gleefully while slinging a forearm across Hyde’s shoulders.

“Treasure hunt?” I asked confused as Jack stood up straight.

“Hyde here asked me months ago to help him search for an ancient ship that he believes lies sunken underneath the sea. I had some old contacts in Griffonstone who dug up some old ship records at the library there, and in them, I found what may be the last course of the ship that belonged to Sagacious Solon before it was lost at sea to a storm.” Thistle explained before Hyde stepped in to clarify further.

“I’m a specialist in the study of ancient arcane knowledge and artifacts. I know a thing or two about other fields of magic but ancient magic is where I really shine. Sagacious Solon was a savant when it came to harnessing magic and was the griffin equivalent of Starswil the Bearded in ancient times. He discovered and revolutionized methods that gave any species the tools they needed to manipulate magic just as easily as any unicorn’s horn. He created the first magic wand in existence, studied alchemy from wisemares in the zebra lands, learned ancient runes from Starswil himself, and gathered any magical knowledge available at the time from pretty much everywhere his ship could take him.”

“And you believe you can find his old ship with the records Thistle found?” Jack asked.

“I think I can but it’ll probably take me months to set up a proper expedition. Even if we have records of the ship’s route it will still take a while to find it with repetitive sonar spells. Not to mention that it’ll take half a year to extract the ship from beneath the sea. Magic and technology may have come a long way but this is going to be an expensive venture if I can convince the archeology department to give my expedition the go ahead.”

I started to drone Hyde out as he and Jack discussed more on the topic of the sunken ship. While they were talking I began to realize that Jack and I could have the skills needed to help Hyde out immensely. I was a walking fish who could breathe underwater and Jack had Force powers that allowed him to sense things from miles away.

The more I thought about it, the more I was attracted to the idea of helping this little guy find his ancient ship. He’s obviously a friend of Jack’s and any friend of my brother is a friend of mine. Also, this sounded like a REAL adventure. Like something you would see in an mlp Daring Doo episode. After tasting adventure in the Titan Arena, I was more than hungry for more. With my aquatic attributes and superhuman strength along with Jack’s Force powers, we could easily retrieve Hyde’s ship for him and be back in time to enjoy the rest of my pardon here on the island before I have to go back to Equestria. This actually could be pretty fun.

“We could find that ship for you easily,” I said interrupting Jack and Hyde’s conversation.

“I-uh, what do you mean you could help?” Hyde asked, his interest clearly peaked.

“Jack’s powers could find that ship of yours easily,” I said while patting my little bro on the back. “A Force-user’s senses allow them to sense practically anything if they are well trained enough. Finding an old ship at the bottom of the sea is nothing to people who can sense other people lightyears away across an entire galaxy.”

The princes were baffled after I explained what Jack could do.

“Is that true? Could you actually find the ship if you wanted?” Hyde asked excitedly.

“In theory yes,” Jack answered after a moment of thought. “Anything touched by the Force can be sensed by a Jedi or Sith and since the Force flows through everything I could definitely sense an old ship at the bottom of the sea.”

Jack closed his eyes to focus. “Just to show how potent my senses are, I can tell that a griffin from across the arena is currently having her 4^th mug of beer. I can even sense a gladiator floors beneath us in the Pit whose sword is cutting through the air as he practices before his fight. Also in the Pit, there is… oh, there is a cragadile down in the beast cages, cage A:20, who has a loose stone scale irritating his backside.”

“I should probably have the beastmaster take care of that. Thanks for the catch darling.” Thistle said.

“That is incredible!” Hyde exclaimed.

“And with my super strength and ability to breathe underwater, I could lift that ship back to the Isles with a little help from Jack’s telekinesis.” I proudly said while jabbing a thumb at my chest.

“Wait are you sure you want to do this now Katy? I thought you wanted to go to the Jade Park today. Remember, cute little griffin cubs?” Jack reminded.

‘Oh right I forgot! Cute adorable griffin cubs with wittle wings, wittle paws, and big eyes that you just want to melt into. Ahhh, what do I do? Adventure or cuteness? Adventure or cuteness? Adventure orrrrrrrr…?”

“I can’t decide Jack what do you think we should do?”

Jack took a moment to think about it.

“Why don’t we flip a coin?” He asked with a shrug.

“That sounds okay. Let’s leave the decision to chance.”

Jack took a bit from a pocket in his lower robes and showed me the coin.

“Heads, we go help Hyde retrieve his ship from beneath the sea. Tails, we go to the Jade Park and get the sunken ship later.”

With a flick of his thumb, the bit flew through the air and landed back on the palm of his hand. He extended his arm to show everyone the result.

Heads

“Well looks like we are going on an adventure Jack!” I said both excited and disappointed at the same time.

“Oh thank you! Thank you both so much!” Hyde said as he hopped up to give me and Jack a big hug.

“Well if you two are going are going to help my brother with this, then you’ll need a vessel for the seas. Lucky for you, I own 5 different yachts and my little sister Falca happens to be quite an accomplished sailor.” Thistle said while caressing his grinning beak.