She regained her footing and prepared to fire again. The thunderbird was busy snapping at something. She realised it was one of her men that the alpha thunderbird must have snatched as it swept over the wall.

A few more chomps and it swallowed, leaving a dismembered leg to fall limp to the ground. Meera conjured another bow and began firing arrow-lances like crazy. With amazing agility it dodged them all and returned for another bite.it was clear the alpha was faster and stronger than normal thunderbirds, but Meera kept firing. As it swept over the wall again it snatched up another soldier with its tremendous jaws and took another one in its talons. The soldier trapped in its talons was still alive and was struggling to get free. The alpha thunderbird simply squeezed and there was a crunching noise. The soldier stopped struggling. The talons released him and he fell limp all the way to the hard ground.

The alpha thunderbird made another hundred and eighty degree turn back to Yani city. This time it was headed straight for Meera who was still firing arrow after arrow. In a moment it had reached her. Its razor sharp talons sprang forward in an effort to grab her but she ducked and rolled at the last moment. Unfortunately she was a step too slow as one of its talons still managed cut her arm from elbow to shoulder.

Meera screamed in pain as blood immediately gushed out of the wound, flowing down her arm in a stream of crimson red. She stumbled to her feet, feeling a little disoriented. Before she could gain her bearings however a set of talons appeared before her and before she could react she was in the creatures' talons.

She struggled, but its hold on her was too tight. She could feel it squeezing and getting tighter. Fortunately she was a teacher and wouldn't be dispatched so easily. It squeezed harder. Meera groaned in unbearable pain as her bones felt on the verge of breaking. Her arm was still bleeding and the thunderbird made so many twists and turns it was too hard for her to get her bearings.

With a determined scream she covered her entire body in a veil of fire qi. It immediately cauterised her wound and it stopped bleeding. The thunderbird had thick scales that would protect it from most but as Meera covered herself in more and more fire qi it had no choice but to let go. The moment it did Meera quickly turned and faced upwards. Pushing her skill to the limits she conjured another bow and arrow-lance, this time covered in blue fire qi so hot it was burning through her uniform which had been enchanted by high mages to be resistant against such effects. In a second she lined up the shot perfectly, and let the arrow loose. With a deafening boom the force pushed her back, causing her to fall faster. The arrow flew so fast and the distance between them had been so little that the alpha thunderbird could not possibly react.

The flaming arrow pierced its eye, ripping through its skull and coming out the other side. Its head was obliterated and a headless corps fell limp from the sky. The attacking thunderbirds all ceased their assault and observed their alpha falling as a result of its demise. They all began to cry out, not sure what to do next and lost without their alpha. The great thunderbirds banked hard, turning away from the city. But now they flocked to the west. They had come from the North, and that's where they were going where they were going. In fact they planned to go as far away from the south as they could, they knew what was there and they had no intention of facing it's wrath.

Meera kept falling. Her entire body was covered in flames as red as her hair but they were starting to fade. She was exhausted and her qi was depleted. The flames subsided and eventually diminished as the last flicks of orange were snuffed out.

Her vision darkened and she found it hard to breath. "Kitrid…" she whispered just before she lost consciousness.

On the battlefield below Kit was making quick work of the behemoths. He was still seated quite comfortably on Valo. She was still covered in his wood qi which served as sufficient protection from the large rhinos, not to mention she was too agile for the slow, lumbering giants. He leaned to his right, casually impaling them with his spear, or shattering their skulls with a single blow. He had lost more men than he expected but for the time being they were winning.

"Kitrid…" Meeras' whisper managed to find him. Immediately he looked to the direction it had come from, only to see his sister falling with the alpha thunderbird headless and just beside her. He turned Valo around and leaned forward. She bolted with great speed in Meera's direction. Meera was falling too fast and was already too close to the ground for Valo to catch her. Kit rose and perched on his saddle. Just a little closer…

Before she could hit the ground Kit leapt forward with explosive speed. So much it knocked valo back and sent her tumbling. If she hadn't been covered in his wood qi the force would have killed her instantly.

Kit caught Meera in his arms and gently broke her fall. She was semi-conscious now. He made a clicking noise, calling Valo to him. "The alpha..." she kept saying. She approached, looking somewhat scorned. Kit gently placed her on Valo's back.

"Kit…" she whispered, "If you kill the alpha, they'll stop coming." He immediately understood what had to be done.

"To the city." He said to Valo, and she set off towards Yani city.

Kit turned to look at the battle ensuing around him.

"Where is the Alpha Behemoth?"