The Gargoyles of Chestervale Church

     The Gargoyle remained stock still, hanging upside-down from the rafters of the stone church, in much the same manner as an Earth bat would have done on the Ancient Terran Home-World.  The creature’s half-open eyes glinted as green as an emerald, while her smooth-skinned body appeared as a darker shade of greenish-brown.  Her wings were folded behind her back, and her arms were crossed at the front, protecting her abdomen and curling around her sides.  Her front claws rested upon her bony shoulders.
     A Human observer might well come to the conclusion that this being was asleep, for she was as motionless as she was soundless.  In her high-pitched sonic language, her name translated into Human linguistic units as “Luck Giver”.
     The Humans who had congregated below her were oblivious to her presence, but she was only too well aware of theirs.  Luck Giver was familiar with Human sounds and thought patterns, as she had been born amongst the nesting sites of Chestervale Church, and she had lived all of her sixteen years in and around this Human-built haven.  She was a member of the Sacred Church Gaggle, a family of Gargoyles who had forged a sacred Mind-Connection with the Priest and Priestess of the Church, Father and Mother O’Hara.  Unlike her cave-sisters, she did not always remain in night-shadow, but had often dared to venture out into the golden light of Day.        
     Luck Giver, like the other members of her Gaggle, had taken on the Ancient Duty of protecting the Spirit-Homes of newcomers to this world.  In today’s Human-settled world, the Gargoyles protected holy structures like this Church, and stood guard over all of those who found sanctuary within its hallowed walls.  At the present moment, however, her mind was not focused on the protection of the Church, but rather on the conversation which was going on below her, amongst the Humans, or “No-Wings” as they were called by her people.  She had grown up hearing and interpreting their language, and so she knew exactly what they were saying.  Unbeknownst to the No-Wings, Luck Giver was listening. 
     “Now, then, ladies and gentlemen!” the Chief Holy Man of the Church, Father Noel O’Hara, was saying to the group in an attempt to soothe them, “I don’t know what you’re talking about! Gargoyles in Chestervale Church? Never!”
     The sound of a sinister reply drifted up to the rafters to assail Luck Giver’s already sore, sharply pointed ears.  No-Wings were extremely loud, and their sounds pierced her sensitive auditory system in a very jarring way.
     “Noel O’Hara,” said the voice, with great irritation, “Stop lying to us! We know you’re hiding Gargoyles here—you’re giving these odious creatures sanctuary, for some absurd reason.  I demand the right to apply pesticides to these vermin, to get rid of them once and for all.  I don’t like the idea of those loathsome animals hanging upside-down in our churches, our homes, our barns, and in all the trees and caves surrounding us.  I dislike them, and I intend to engage in an area-wide extermination of these pests.”
     There was an eerie silence after the sinister voice had finished declaring its deadly intention. 
     “Mr. Malaruff!” Father O’Hara exclaimed, finding his voice at last, “You surely cannot be serious! They may sport a rather fearsome appearance, but truly, they are the most inoffensive of creatures!  They eat only insects, fruit, and seeds.  They harm no one; in fact, our legends speak of Gargoyles back on Earth, defending the Great Cathedrals with their stone-like presence!”
     “Fr. O’Hara,” Malaruff reminded him, “That “stone-like presence” would be because the Gargoyles on Earth were made of stone! They were considered mythological creatures in the old days of Earth’s Ancient Legends.  Today, however, we are not living on the Earth.  We are living on the planet Kalthorne, and we have earned the right to be here through the work of our arms and the sweat of our brows! What have these Gargoyles done to justify their existence? Nothing, other than to disgust us with their hideous appearance.”
     “Malaruff!” Another, more feminine voice declared, “This is madness! It is an extremely bad omen to kill a Gargoyle.  They are our Protectors, and they have a sacred duty to uphold.”
     The sound of a Human fist pounding against a metallic structure reverberated throughout the church. 
     “Watch, Malaruff, do not pound The Holy Table!” Fr. O’Hara cried.
     “Sacred duty—ha! Superstition, Mother O’Hara!” Malaruff screeched, ignoring Father O’Hara’s warning about the Holy Table, “The Gargoyles are mindless animals and nothing more.  Why do you Chestervalian village idiots insist upon worshipping the vermin? They do not bring good luck or protection from wicked spirits or any kind of bounty for the future of Humanity.  They contribute nothing, other than to lodge in our attics and frighten our children!”
     “No child of Chestervale is afraid of the Gargoyles,” Mother O’Hara argued, “And it is a part of the mission of the Church of Kalthorne to protect its Great Gargoyles, in preparation for the day when the Gargoyles will all rise to protect us.”
     “The Kalthornic Church has always uplifted these kinds of ridiculous prophecies,” Malaruff scoffed, “But has never offered to the populace any solid evidence that the Gargoyles are capable of protecting Humans from...what? Ghosts? Gremlins? The Gargoyles are themselves the Gremlins.  How can they protect us from themselves? The only thing that might drive away villains would be their offensive odor.”
     There was a silence, as Father and Mother O’Hara sent up their prayers for the protection of the Gargoyles.  Luck Giver could feel their spirit-wings sending love-requests to the Heavens.  Malaruff, however, was not mollified. 
     “You know, Father and Mother O’Hara,” he said slyly to the Kalthornic Priest and Priestess, “I think I detect a very foul odor coming from the rafters.  What if I took out my pesti-gun, and...”
     Swiftly, Malaruff aimed his weapon up at the church rafters, and fired a pelting blast towards the young Gargoyle who was hanging there.  A burning sensation assaulted Luck Giver, and her throat burned...her nostrils were becoming clogged, causing her breathing to be labored.  She felt faint not long after the “pesti-gun” had shot its horrid dust into the air, and she felt her lower claws losing their grip on the rafters.  A minute after that, she felt herself falling.
     “No!” cried Mother O’Hara, “She’s just an adolescent, Malaruff!”
     A young Human female suddenly rushed forward, holding a basket full of colorful cloths up over her head, just in time to catch the falling Gargoyle.
     Luck Giver felt herself landing amidst the soft cloths, but the fall had nonetheless stunned her.  She felt a stab of fear as she turned to look into the vile blue eyes of the Monster, Malaruff; she then felt herself slipping into the dark abyss of unconsciousness.

The Gargoyles of Chestervale Church

     As the light of awakening entered her mind, Luck Giver stirred.  She felt a soft cloth touching the side of her head, and she opened her eyes slowly to see before her the young Human female who had broken her fall from the rafters of Chestervale Church.  She was startled to see a No-Wing in such close proximity to her, and as she became clearer in her senses, she realized that the Church Attic in which she was resting was filled with other Gargoyles and Human Parishioners from the church.  Although she was very familiar with Human sounds and language, she had not had a great many interpersonal dealings with them.  That particular duty tended to fall upon her mother, LightWing. 
     As if in answer to her thoughts, LightWing nuzzled close to her nestling.  The two Gargoyle damsels touched noses as a gesture of love towards one another. 
     “You will recover, my daughter,” LightWing told her, “Mother O’Hara has been laying her Healing Hands upon you.  The Fire-Dust has hurt your throat and nostrils, but it has failed to destroy you because you are too strong for its vile hatred.”
     “That horrid, hideous Human...he wanted to exterminate all of us, LightWing!” Luck Giver moaned.
     “The No-Wings often act out of their fear, Luck Giver,” LightWing soothed her daughter, “Feel sorrow for them, but do not respond in the same way—it will only increase the fear in the world.”
     Luck Giver did not feel fear; instead, she felt anger at Malaruff for his senseless attack on her.  She bristled at the thought of the No-Wing’s sinister voice.  As she did so, the young Human who had saved her entered into her viewing range.  As Humans went, she was far less hideous than a lot of them.  Even so, she had all the ugly Human features:  the ruff of bushy fur on her head, the hair over her eyes that reminded Luck Giver of a pair of fuzzy caterpillars; the short arms and the stubby, blunt little claws that stood no hope of being used as defense mechanisms.  The one thing that did comfort Luck Giver, however, was the young female’s green eyes.  They were the best thing about her, in the physical sense.  She stared at the strange creature, and the creature stared back at her.  Even though Luck Giver was familiar with the sounds and language of the Humans, she was not as familiar with the sight of them, up close. 
     Nonetheless, when the female looked into her eyes, she felt a mental link beginning to form.  Humans were not especially skilled at telepathy, but many were capable of serving as receptors for the Gargoylic Mind Waves.  Both Father and Mother O’Hara were excellent “receptors”, and had also learned to mind-communicate with certain Gargoyles, and so they were known as Gargoyle Speakers.  They would send to and receive messages from the Gargoyles in Human tones and linguistic units inside their minds, and they would then tell other Humans what the ‘Goyles had said.  During a Human-Gargoyle meeting such as this one, the O’Haras would often use a form of sign language to communicate to the others what the Gargoyles were saying while they were saying it.
     The Gargoyle language itself was based upon a complex form of bio-sonar; and they used high-frequency echolocation sounds to both navigate and communicate.  They also possessed the ability to transmit sonar waves into the minds of others, and could send and receive mental messages as well as learning the sounds and languages of other beings relatively easily.  They had been studying Human communication for some time, and were now able to re-produce their linguistic sound-units inside the minds of the receptive Humans, like the O’Haras.
     Luck Giver wondered if she might be successful speaking to this young green-eyed female in Humanic Mind-Words.
     “I am Luck Giver,” she transmitted to her.  There was no response, but only the small green eyes staring back at her. 
     “This is the Human female known as Kristel Gaiala, or ‘Kristy’”, LightWing informed her daughter, “Mother O’Hara has told me that she saved you when you were falling, Luck Giver.”
     “Yes,” Luck Giver replied, “She held up her basket of soft cloth, and I fell into it.  If I had hit the floor, I might have damaged my whole sonic system.  I am in her debt.”
     “I have transmitted our gratitude to Mother O’Hara, and she will translate it to Kristy.”  
     Kristy was looking at her intently, as if trying to understand something about her. 
     “I will recover,” Luck Giver transmitted to her again.  Kristy stared at her, as if she had comprehended her.  The young Gargoyle did not expect her to transmit anything back; that usually took many years of training for Humans to become adept at thought transmission.
     There was presently a rustling of wings, and she realized that all of the Church Gargoyles were here, crowded into the Attic of Chestervale Church.  The Attic also served as a kind of Healing Bay for Gaggle members when they were sick or injured.
     A large male Gargoyle flew over to her resting-nest.  It was her father, Lord Steeple Chaser, who was the Leader of the Chestervale Church Gaggle.
     “Young one,” he clicked softly to her, “You are full of courage.  I am proud of you.  Together, we will overcome this threat to our Great Family.”
     “Yes, Lord Steeple Chaser,” Luck Giver replied respectfully, “It is that one named Malaruff.  He wishes to spray us all with the Fire-Dust.  He wishes to kill not just us, but all of the Gargoyles, everywhere.  He is dangerous! We should not underestimate him, for I have felt the fire burn in my throat and eyes.”
     Luck Giver felt anger emanating from her father, and she knew that he would be a fearsome adversary to Malruff in a fair fight; but with the vicious weapons that the No-Wing possessed, they all knew the fight would be far from fair.
     “And with that knowledge in our minds, my daughter,” Steeple Chaser called out, both through high-frequency Gargoylic sound waves and through Mind Waves for the benefit of the Humans, “Let us now begin the Meeting in the Attic! You have all heard the intentions of the No-Wing, Malaruff.  How shall we stop him?”
     “Let’s fight him, Steeple Chaser!” called out Vine Creeper, Luck Giver’s elder Nest-Sister, “We can swoop down upon him and show him the wrath of the Gargoyle!”
     “No,” sounded the voice of WiseGuard, the Wizard of Gargoyles, “We cannot fight him through Swoop-Wrath.  We must instead make him understand that Gargoyles are essential to Human survival.  Without us, the Marauders will wake up and re-claim their planet, destroying the Humans who have settled here for the past century.  The time is drawing near when these Terror-Claws will arise from their five centuries’ slumber.  Malaruff and the others like him must be educated in this knowledge.  Can you help us transmit that message, Father and Mother O’Hara?”
     O’Hara looked at his wife and spiritual co-leader, Ariane O’Hara.  They touched foreheads together, sharing a private mind-moment.  O’Hara closed his eyes, as he needed to concentrate all his mental focus upon transmitting the answer to Wizard WiseGuard’s question so that all the Gargoyles would hear it.  O’Hara had studied with the Wizard in order to learn how to do this properly. 
     “O, Great Wizard WiseGuard!” O’Hara began his transmission, “And Lord Steeple Chaser, Mother LightWing, and all others assembled here today! I have tried many times to speak to Malaruff and his followers about the Marauders.  He believes these to be myths and superstitions.  I can call a Church Meeting, but the only ones to show up would be those who already believe in the Awakening of the Terror-Claws.  Fear does strange things to peoples’ minds, and our people are divided over this issue.  There are those, like the Parishioners of Chestervale Church, who believe firmly in the prophecy of the Protector Gargoyles, who will defend us against the Marauders as only the Gargoyles know how.”
     “Then, there are those who believe that the Marauders present a threat to our settlements, but either do not believe that the Gargoyles can help us or believe that the Gargoyles are in league with the Marauders and will betray us to them.” 
    “Finally, there are the people such as Malaruff, who do not believe in the Legend of the Protector Gargoyles or the Awakening of the Marauders.  They believe that these are silly myths by superstitious village idiots, such as the people of Chestervale.  They believe that the Gargoyles are mindless animals, and they wish to slaughter you all as pests.  They do not understand that in doing such a thing, they will also destroy the future of Humanity on the planet Kalthorne.  As one of our Great Spiritual Leaders has said, ‘they know not what they do’.”
     “Then you must make them aware, Father O’Hara!” WiseGuard transmitted back to him, “If they will not come to you, you and Mother O’Hara must go to them.”
     “Yes, Noel!” Ariane O’Hara said to her husband in their own language, “We must go to the city of Roslan, where Malaruff is from.  There are many un-believers there, and they must be told about the Marauders in no uncertain terms.”
     “Yes, my wife,” Noel replied, “But the city people are difficult to convince.  Most of them are new arrivals to our world from the planet Earth.  They do not particularly wish the Gargoyles harm, but they do not believe in the Prophecies, either.  They have not been here for the full century that our rural families have, and they do not have the same connection with the Gargoyle Mind that we do.  They will want solid, physical evidence of a Marauder.”
     “Then let’s give them that evidence!” Kristy, the young savior of Luck Giver, suddenly interjected into the Human conversation, “Let’s go down to the Below-Caverns, through the old Mine Shafts, and find the Marauders—we can then take a picture of them and show it to the city people!”
     “We will need more than a photograph to convince them, my dear,” Noel O’Hara explained, “We would need to bring back the sleeping body of a Marauder—and to do so would risk awakening the beings prematurely.  If they find out that Humans have settled on their world while they were sleeping and they go on the rampage before we are ready, we may not survive their wrath.”
     “That very thing happened to the last group of settlers to come here, a very long time ago,” WiseGuard told them telepathically, as Mother O’Hara translated by sign language his words to the other Humans who were present, “They settled on this planet during the Marauders’ five-hundred year sleep-cycle, and, when the Marauders were awakened prematurely by mining activity, they went on the rampage with terrible wrath and swift execution.” 
    “In order to survive the first Dark Phase of the Marauders, we the Gargoyles must be ready to defend you, at the proper time and place.  If we can all make it through the battle to the second phase known as the Cocoon Phase, then the survivors will have a good chance of survival.  There will, however, be many of us who will be lost during this First Phase.” 
    “During the Second Phase, the Marauders turn on each other, and the surviving creatures go into a deep comatose state inside their self-woven cocoons.  If they are left to complete their transformation, then they will emerge from their Chrysalises after a period of a few months as Beings of Great Beauty and Light.  This is the Third and Final Phase of Light.  The transformed beings will then help the victim survivors of the Marauders’ wrath to re-build their world.  This Third Phase has happened perhaps only once in the entire billion-year history of this planet.” 
    “Historically, whenever new settlers have managed to survive the First Phase of Wrath and Darkness, they almost always have desired revenge upon the comatose Marauders, who are then at the mercy of their victims during the Second Phase.  If you Humans manage to come to this phase, with our help, then you must restrain your anger and leave the Cocooned Marauders alone to complete their transformation.  If the Cocooned Ones on the surface of the planet do not complete this vital phase, the world of Kalthorne will be rendered barren and lifeless within a period of three years, and the settlers will not survive if they do not evacuate immediately.  The surviving Cocoons of the Deep Undergrounders will have survived, however, and they will emerge as the Dark Minions who will ravage the natural bounty of the planet.  During this period, they will reproduce with a vengeance, and when they are all finished their Reign of Destruction, they will again fall into the Five-Hundred-Year-Slumber and the process will begin again.  Within the Five-Hundred-Year Slumber, the world will regenerate its natural flora and fauna, and there have always been off-worlders who have been drawn to it during this phase.  This business has been going on for a very long time, my No-Wing Friends.”
    The Humans in the room stared ahead of themselves blankly.  They were all parishioners of the Church, but they had never heard about the Second and Third Phases of the Awakening of the Marauders.
    “But what about the Gargoyles?” Kristy wanted to know, addressing her question to the Translator, Mother O’Hara, “How have they survived all these destructive phases when the planet has been decimated?”
    The answer to the young Human’s question was transmitted to her by the mate of WiseGuard, a female Gargoyle named Wishwell.
    “We Gargoyles have our own Deep-Underground Caverns, to which we retreat during the Destructive Cycles.  Once there are none for us to protect, we return to our own underground territories, which the Marauders cannot penetrate.  We survive through eating certain types of Deep-Ground insects and mineral deposits.  We, too, have periods of hibernation, but they are only during the darkest days of the planet’s surface.  We emerge once more to the surface caverns when we feel the regeneration happening.  Many of us are thousands of years old and have been through these cycles more than once.”
    There was a period of silence amongst the Humans, during which the Priests and Parishioners who were present in the Church Attic went into a state of collective prayer.  The Gargoyles waited patiently for them to emerge from it with a greater understanding of their shared purpose together.                                                                      

The Gargoyles of Chestervale Church

     Luck Giver huddled in her nest of color-cloths from Kristy the Human’s saving basket.  She was still recuperating in the Attic, while LightWing and Wishwell watched over her.
 The O’Haras had also posted Human Guards around the Church in case any of Malaruff’s people tried to spray the Church with their “pesti-guns”.  Father O’Hara had notified the Law Enforcement Officers of Malaruff’s illegal “pesti-gun” spraying inside the Church.  The O’Haras and the entire parish had for at least one day been obliged to conduct services outside in the fields because the pesticides had rendered the lower part of the Church full of irritating chemicals.  The Law Enforcement Officers, or L.E.O.’s, had spoken to Malaruff but had not charged him with anything.  They did, however, warn him to stay away from the Church if he wanted to avoid being arrested the next time.  Thus far, it seemed as if Malaruff had been obeying the officers’ warning. 
     “I am Kristy,” a voice suddenly spoke into Luck Giver’s mind in the Human language.
     Luck Giver sat up straight in surprise.  She sent forth her echolocation sensors, but found nothing in the darkened attic, other than the two Guards LightWing and Wishwell. 
     “Where are you?” Luck Giver attempted to transmit the message.  She was not sure if it would be received by the Human girl, as it had to travel a distance.
     “I am here—in my house,” Kristy’s voice sounded within her mind once more.
     “You can transmit telepathic messages, Kristy?” Luck Giver asked incredulously.
     “I can now,” she answered, “I’ve been practicing...Mother O’Hara has been teaching me.  I always knew that I had the capacity.  The gift began to manifest itself after you spoke into my mind.”
     Luck Giver sensed some interference in the transmission during the last half of Kristy’s message, and the mind-link collapsed.  “Even so,” Luck Giver pondered to herself, “it’s an impressive attempt.  Kristy was able to transmit three thought messages, all at a distance.” 
    The mental link that she had sensed earlier with the Human female had truly realized its potential in Kristy.  Luck Giver doubted if even the O’Haras could have transmitted distance messages when they were first learning mind-speak. 
    Luck Giver felt strong enough to fly, now—she had been in the Healing Bay long enough that her throat and nose burns were beginning to heal.  Suddenly, she wanted to fly out the window of the Attic and seek out Kristy’s home.  She doubted, however, if LightWing and Wishwell would allow it. 
    “Don’t even think it, daughter of mine,” LightWing chirped to her, “You are not to go out into the night alone.  We are all on high alert since Malaruff’s attack.”
    Luck Giver snorted, her heart sinking in disappointment.  Night time was the safest time to travel, for she would be cloaked by the darkness.  Daybreak would be upon them soon, however, and if she went out now she would likely be caught by the rising rays of the sunlight.
    She waited in her color-cloth nest, feeling as though there was someone coming to see her.  Before long, she heard a tapping at the window of the Attic.  LightWing flapped over to the window to investigate. 
    “It is Kristel Gaiala, the Basket-Girl,” she called, “What is she doing out there on the roof of the Church? This is very dangerous for a No-Wing!”
LightWing used her long claws to work the window open, and Kristy hopped inside neatly.
    “I knew she was coming,” Luck Giver said, “She told me through Mind-Speak.”
    “How is it that Kristy knows Mind-Speaking?” Wishwell, the mate of Wizard WiseGuard asked.
    “Are they wondering why I’m here?” Kristy inquired.  Obviously, she had only mastered the one-on-one communication link so far.  Luck Giver had no doubt that she would soon be able to pick up on the other Gargoyles’ thought transmissions to each other, however.  She had been learning at a rather accelerated rate.
     “They wonder how you know Mind-Speak—especially when you didn’t seem to know it a few days ago when we met with Father and Mother O’Hara and the other Humans.”
    Kristy attempted to transmit into the mind of LightWing her sessions with Mother O’Hara.  Luck Giver sensed the thoughts being received, first by LightWing and then by Wishwell.  Both Gargoyle damsels were amazed by Kristy’s quick learning ability.  For the first few minutes that she was there, LightWing and Wishwell offered her a few more lessons in successful transmission.  It was not long before Kristy was conversing more fluidly with the three Gargoyles.
    “I came to tell you,” she transmitted to them, “That my father, The Magistrate of Chestervale and the surrounding district, has decided to go to the city of Roslan with the new information that was shared with us by WiseGuard.  He will bring with him several members of the parish as well as some Councilors from the Chestervale Village Council.  The Councilors want to bring a few Gargoyles with them to explain to the City Council all that was learned about the three phases of the Marauders.  I have asked to go with them, and I thought that I could accompany Luck Giver, since I have begun to master Gargoyle communication.”
    “You have not quite mastered it yet, Young One,” Wishwell cautioned her, “You are only just beginning your journey of Mind-Speaking.  You may be a fast learner, but these skills also require the wisdom which time teaches.  You still transmit in the Human language, which we know; but you have yet to learn the Gargoyle language.”
    “I do not believe that Luck Giver should go,” LightWing told them, “She is still in recovery.”
    “Oh, LightWing!” Luck Giver protested, “I am recovered! I must go, for I need to tell them how Malaruff’s pesticides affected me, and how they will affect others.  They need to understand the irresponsibility of his action.”
    “There is one problem,” Kristy admitted, “Markon Malaruff is one of the City Councilors in Roslan.  I don’t think the Council will let him bring his weapons into the Council Chambers, but the city will be more dangerous for all the Gargoyles who go there.  My father is working on a solution, though.  He has asked the scientific community to fashion special breathing masks for Gargoyles, so that any pesticides sprayed at you will not affect you.  You may have to wear some special skin-protecting suits, as well.  That will make it difficult if not impossible to fly.”
    “I don’t want to wear a suit!” Luck Giver exclaimed, “Wearing clothes is a Human thing!”
    “We may have to, my daughter,” LightWing told her, “We cannot take any chances.  I will consider your participation in this only if Healer Wishwell and Mother O’Hara agree.”
    “I believe that it should be the damsels who go,” Wishwell offered, “and probably my mate WiseGuard as well, since he is the prime authority on the topic of The Marauders.  All the other Drakes are needed to protect the rest of the Gaggle while we are away.  Steeple Chaser will not like it, but he will be obliged to listen; for we do not have the luxury of dissent.  He will likely want to send along a couple of Drones to watch over us, though.”
    The Gargoyle females, known as “damsels”, were generally more numerous than the Mating Males, or “drakes”, and therefore many would mate with the available males.  The primary males, such as Steeple Chaser, would choose one main mate to act as his co-leader amongst the females, and LightWing was Steeple Chaser’s official mate.  The higher-ranking drakes served as Steeple Chaser’s cabinet and they helped him to make  decisions regarding the welfare of the entire Gaggle.  The lower-ranking males were not allowed by the drakes to mate and therefore tended to transform into neutral-gendered “drones” by the time they were twenty years.  The drones served the gaggle as a kind of servant class among them.   
    “Hearthstone should come,” Luck Giver suggested, “If I am going, then surely my nest-brother should accompany me.”
    “We do not yet know if any of us will be attempting this journey,” LightWing cautioned them, “I will need to consult with the Cabinet of Damsels and Drones while Steeple Chaser is consulting with his Cabinet of Drakes.  Kristy, we thank you for bringing this to our attention, but we need to hear from the O’Haras first, before we decide anything.  You need to go back home...downstairs and out the door, please.  We do not want you climbing up to the roof and in the window anymore.  It is dangerous for you, and I will tell Mother O’Hara to notify your parents of what you have done tonight.”
    “Yes, Mother LightWing,” Kristy conceded, “But before I go, I need to ask one question...perhaps Healer Wishwell can answer it for me.  When Wizard WiseGuard was telling us about the Three Phases of The Marauders, he said that the Third Phase of the Awakening, the Phase of Light, has only happened once in the entire billion-year history of this planet.  I have been considering that statement all night; if the Marauders transformed into these Great Beings of Light at one point in their history, why did they revert back to their darkened states as ‘Marauders’ once again?”
    Wishwell paused before answering, in order to center herself.
    “None of us were here when this Great Transformation occurred,” Wishwell transmitted at last, “and so we can never be sure.  Our legends tell us, however, that the Beings of Light reverted back to their original dark form because there were none, other than the Beings themselves, to receive their love-light.  As a result, it was said that after a period of a thousand years or so, they drifted off into their sleep cycle and reverted into their unenlightened form once more.” 
    “When they awoke after five hundred years, however, the first settlers to this world had arrived.  When they discovered their existence, the Dark Beings became enraged and destroyed most of the settlers.  This, according to WiseGuard’s Dream-Vision, is when they first became known as ‘The Marauders’.” 
    “After they went into their vulnerable Coccoon phase, the remaining settlers in turn destroyed most of them.  The surviving Marauders had burrowed deep within the ground, and when they came out of their cocoons, they did so as all-powerful Dark Forces that ravaged the world and the remaining colonists.  They by-passed The Phase of Light and fed on the fears of the colonists, birthing other Dark Ones into the world until the time arrived for their five-hundred year sleep cycle.  At that point, the cycle kept repeating itself, with new settlers approximately every five hundred and fifty years and no Third Phase of Light because all of the colonists would choose to destroy the cocoons when the Marauders became vulnerable to them.  All have chosen revenge as opposed to mercy.  That is, we believe, the way it all began.”   
    “But how do we convince the City Council of this?” Kristy wanted to know, “It will be difficult just to convince them that The Marauders even exist, let alone to try to tell them about something that is only known through Spirit Dreams.”
    “We must start with what they will accept,” Wishwell replied, “and we can tell them the rest whenever they are ready to hear it.  I must warn you, however, that almost everyone, when given a chance to destroy the Cocoons, will do so.  It is not simply a case of revenge...it is a completely natural response, to want to protect one’s people from annihilation.  It would seem reasonable to do as all the others have done;  but if your people wish to survive this, they must make a different choice nonetheless.”
    Kristy’s questions about the beginning of all the cycles on this planet had sparked another question in Luck Giver’s mind.
    “Healer Wishwell!” she asked, “What about the Gargoyles during the Original Phase of the Great Beings of Light?  You said that there were none to receive the Light of the Beings during the First Cycle.  Did the Gargoyles come after that,  from another planet? If so, why weren’t we destroyed by these phases like the others?”
    “It is said that the Gargoyles arrived in very small groups, during the sleep cycles; but unlike the surface colonists, we burrowed underground and made our homes there.  We learned through our Spirit Dreams how to protect ourselves from the Marauders as the centuries passed, but we were not strong enough to come to the surface until around five thousand years ago.  It was at that time that we received a vision of service which told us to aid the surface-dwellers, and we have been quietly attempting to protect them for many years.  As you may surmise, we have ultimately been unsuccessful in every cycle since then.  We have, however, been building our protective skills with every cycle that occurs.”
    “We must be successful this time,” Luck Giver stated firmly.
    “We will be successful this time,” Kristy agreed.
    The two new friends touched noses, just as the first rays of sunlight shone through the window into the Attic Healing Bay.                                            
        

The Gargoyles of Chestervale Church

     The hover-bus flew along the flight-way en route to the City of Roslan, the political capital of the planet Kalthorne.  Luck Giver and the other Gargoyles who had come along on this journey were wearing special protective suits which were equipped with Gargoyle-fitted breathing masks in case of an emergency encounter with Markon Malaruff’s “pesti-gun” supporters.
 They were not obliged to wear the masks at the present moment, but even so Luck Giver felt that they all looked ridiculous in their bulky, uncomfortable yellow suits. 
     Kristy’s father, the Magistrate of Chestervale and Area, Graeme Gaiala, had insisted upon the suits as a safety measure.  He had asked the Human Community of Science to come up with some make-shift protective wear, and “make-shift” these blasted suits certainly were.  They had been pared down from Human size and shape to a Gargoyle’s and it had needed to be done relatively quickly.
     “I think I prefer the pesti-gun,” Luck Giver complained to Kristy, as her skin twitched irritably under the suit, which seemed to function as a second skin—although it was a “second skin” that did not fit very well.
     It had been a few weeks since the Parishioners, Villagers, and Gargoyles had decided that they would go to Roslan and speak to the City Hall Councilors.  They had all prepared their speeches, and they were ready at last to convince the city people of the dangerous situation that they were all being faced with in the form of The Marauders.
     The Chestervale Villagers had all grown up hearing tales of the Gargoyles defending them against The Marauders, and many of the Human seers had received visions about them.
     The urban people, on the other hand, were more apt to be of a “rational” mind, and would not believe anything unless actual physical evidence was presented to them.  They had arrived in the recent past, from an overcrowded Earth Empire which they had desperately wanted to escape.  The planet Kalthorne was breathtakingly beautiful, and many could not believe their good fortune in arriving here.  Earth had been through too many wars, and the colonists were determined to make a new life for themselves based upon the principles of peace.  They were war-weary, and the last thing they wanted to hear was that this new planet was preparing for another battle catastrophe.
     “I’m ready to go into battle, Luck Giver!” A masculine voice sounded inside her mind.
     “Firerocker!” Luck Giver chirped out loud. 
 Kristy looked curiously at Luck Giver.  She had sensed that the young Gargoyle was thinking about a male.  Luck Giver pointed a bony claw towards a sack, and she looked at Kristy.  When Kristy opened the sack, the head of a young Gargoyle popped out of it.
     “I’m coming with you,” he chirped merrily.
     “Firerocker, you aren’t supposed to be here,” Luck Giver admonished him.
     “Well, I am here,” he told them, “and I’m going to prove to you that I’m strong enough to become a Drake rather than a Drone.”
     “Whether or not you become a Drake or a Drone in your twentieth year is not what’s important, at this point,” Luck Giver chided him, “This is much more serious than that!”
     “And I’m seriously here,” the seventeen-year-old Gargoyle replied, “whether or not I become a Drake or a Drone may not be important to anyone else—but it’s important to me.  I want to be your mate, Luck Giver, and I can’t do that as a Drone.  I’ve got three years to mate with a female, or I lose my chance to be a mating male and a leader of our gaggle.”
     “So that’s all you want me for, Firerocker?” Luck Giver asked.
     “Not all,” Firerocker replied, “I don’t want any of the other damsels—I want you, Luck Giver.”
     “Because almost all of the others are not the daughters of the Official Leading Pair—LightWing and Steeple Chaser?” She challenged him, “and would not put you in line to become a member of Steeple Chaser’s cabinet?”
     “Yes,” Firerocker answered bluntly, “But I also like you very much.”
     Kristy made a bubbling noise which sounded to Luck Giver suspiciously like a Human “giggle”.  Humans made that noise whenever they thought that something was funny.
     “Why are you laughing?” Luck Giver transmitted to Kristy, somewhat irritably.
     “Do you think he’s cute?” was the teasing reply.
     “What is that supposed to mean?” She demanded to know, “Firerocker is a pain in the tail!”
     At that point in the conversation, they were joined by Luck Giver’s older sister, Vine Creeper, and her Drone-brother, Hearthstone.
     “Tell me, Firerocker,” Hearthstone asked him, “What is so wrong with being a Drone?  It’s a much more peaceful existence than being a Drake! Now that I’m over the age of twenty, I would never change over if you gave me the chance.  A life of service is much more meaningful in the spiritual sense than being a power-chasing Drake all of your life.  Drones live longer, too.”
     “No way,” Firerocker replied, “I’ll be a Drake or nothing.  Service and sterility may be all right for you, Hearthstone, but I am the son of a rogue male.  I want to produce lots of Kits!”
 Gargoyle Kits, or nestlings, were born live, but were housed inside their mothers’ pouches for the first while after their births, until they were ready to venture out into the large nests that the damsels made for them.  From there, they would learn to climb and fly when they were ready. 
     “I’m not ready to build my nest and have Kits yet,” Luck Giver told the adolescent male, “so stop bothering me about it.  Besides, if you mate with me, Steeple Chaser will have you thrown out of the Gaggle like your father, RugRat.”  
     “You might want to start thinking about the mating process, though, Luck Giver,” Vine Creeper advised her, “it doesn’t need to be with Firerocker...he has no status as the son of RugRat the Rogue.  I’ve got a number of Drakes in the cabinet who are clamoring to mate with me, and it might be nice if you could take some of the pressure off me by flirting with a few.”
     “No way!” Luck Giver objected, “I prefer to be direct.  When I’m ready to mate, the male in question will know it in no uncertain terms.”
     “I think you should go for Firerocker, Luck Giver!” Kristy advised her, “He’s more exciting than a stodgy old member of Steeple Chaser’s cabinet.”
     “You mate with him, then!” Luck Giver retorted to her Human friend, increasingly annoyed by this excessive interest in a highly personal matter.
     “Thank you, Human-girl!” Firerocker transmitted to Kristy, “If I can’t have Luck Giver, then maybe winged Human Kits will be in my future.” 
     “Why, you rascal-rogue!” Vine Creeper snapped at Firerocker, “You’re not worthy to mate with the daughter of Lord Steeple Chaser and Mother LightWing, the Supreme Chiefs of the Chestervale Church Gaggle!”
     “...Which is exactly why I want to be here, Vine Creeper, my Third-Choice-as-a-Mate-after-Kristy-the-No-Wing,” Firerocker replied saucily, “I intend to prove myself worthy of Luck Giver through battle with The Marauders.  That way, I can win Luck Giver’s love and keep my Drake-hood.”
     The debate was suddenly terminated by Wizard WiseGuard, who flapped his way over to them awkwardly, his protective suit taking away somewhat from his usual dignified presence.  He was followed by his mate Wishwell and Luck Giver’s mother, LightWing.
     “What is this, Young Ones?” He demanded to know, “Why is Firerocker here? He was not one of those chosen to go to Roslan.”
     “I am here to help, O Wizard WiseGuard!” Firerocker addressed the Spiritual Leader, “I want to help Luck Giver and the rest of you convince the No-Wings about The Marauders...after all, I will be one of those defending them against The Marauders.”
     “You only wish to do battle with The Marauders in order to impress females so that they will mate with you,” WiseGuard told the young Gargoyle, “We need the wiser ones to be warriors.”
     “But you also need me,” Firerocker asserted in the most outrageously arrogant of manners, “I am essential to our victory over the Marauders.”
 WiseGuard was about to chastise Firerocker for his audacity, but he was prevented from doing so by his mate, Healer Wishwell.
     “I believe that he should join us, WiseGuard,” she said, surprising everybody, “We need such youthful energy as we forge our way into the future.  I say that we give this son-of-a-rogue the opportunity to prove himself to us.”  
     “We don’t have an extra suit for this Gargoyle,” Magistrate Gaiala said, making his way over to where the stowaway had been discovered, “This is a safety issue.”
 Father and Mother O’Hara were not far behind the Magistrate.
     "Firerocker!” Father O’Hara scolded the adolescent, “I thought perhaps you were up to something when I saw you skulking around the Hover-bus this morning.  Well, you can’t go with us into Council Chambers without a suit.”
     “I doubt very much if Malaruff will attempt to shoot pesticides into the Council Chamber, Noel,” Mother O’Hara countered, “I think that perhaps the Council Chamber is the safest place for Firerocker—once we get inside, that is.  In the mean time, we need to keep him out of sight.  Back into the sack with you, Firerocker!”
     Firerocker immediately obeyed, delighted that Mother O’Hara had taken up his cause enough to include him.
     Before anyone had time to object, the bus stopped in front of the Roslan City Council building. 
     Noel O’Hara threw his arms up in the air in exasperation, and he picked up the sack, with Firerocker in it.
     “You’d better keep quiet throughout this, you young scamp,” he told the Gargoyle.
     The Parishioners, Village Councilors, and Gargoyles all tumbled out of the bus behind the O’Haras.  There were a number of L.E.O.s there to escort them inside.  As they progressed up the steps into the impressive government building, many curious passers-by paused to gawk at the odd-looking suited Gargoyles. 
     As they entered, Father O’Hara emptied the sack, and Firerocker fell out, safe and sound.  There was a young woman and a group of other Humans who were wearing green tunics upon which were embroidered the Humanic words: Environmental Protectors.
     “Father O’Hara?” The young woman greeted him in an almost shy manner, “We’re here to support you and the Gargoyles.  We believe it would be a travesty if this species were to be exterminated, as Councilor Malaruff seems to want to do.  It would also be very hazardous to the environment to use untested pesticides.  We want to stop Markon Malaruff and his gang of yahoos!”
     “Bless your hearts, my dear!” O’Hara replied, clasping her hand in his warmly, “This is my wife and co-leader, Ariane.  And these wonderful people and beings are...”
     O’Hara went through all the names of the group members, including all the Gargoyles, introducing each one.
     “I’m honored,” the woman responded when O’Hara was finished with the many introductions, "My name is Sharrah Raven, and this is my younger brother, Bran.  We’ll accompany you into the chambers, now.  Please try not to be intimidated by the Big City Politicking.  They can get a little rambunctious.”
     Sharrah and her green-shirted crew led the odd delegation into the Chambers, where the Councilors were pounding their tables and shouting at one another.  When the Chestervale group entered with the yellow-suited Gargoyles, the din settled down until there was silence.                  
     “Good day to you all,” Father O’Hara greeted them.  He proceeded to introduce the people in their village delegation once again, including the Gargoyles.  The Councilors looked as if they were dumbfounded to have a group of Gargoyles attend their meeting, especially since they had just been debating whether or not to have them exterminated, as Markon Malaruff had wished.
     “Gargoyles at a city hall meeting?” cried Councilor Malaruff, “This is a stunt by the Environmental Protectors! These creatures need to be removed from the premises at once...along with Sharrah Raven and her troop of malcontents!”
     An elderly woman who was wearing a red ceremonial robe held up her wooden staff in order to signal that she expected silence immediately.
     “Father O’Hara and his group have been invited here as our guests,” she told them when the din surrounding Malaruff’s words had subsided, “and we will extend them every courtesy, Councilors.  Welcome to Roslan, Father and Mother O’Hara, and people of Chestervale.  I am the Prime Councilor of Roslan, Mariel Kaelstar.  I’m going to open up the floor to you and your people, Father and Mother O’Hara—and I’d better hear no more interruptions from the ‘peanut gallery’—do I make myself clear, Mr. Malaruff?”
     Malaruff glowered at Prime Councilor Kaelstar, but he said nothing.  Kaelstar nodded at the O’Haras, who walked to the centre of the room.  The other Human visitors were given fold-up chairs by the Council Pages, while the Gargoyles simply sat on the floor.  Luck Giver had never seen such a huge meeting room before—the Council Chamber was even bigger than Chestervale Church.  She felt intimidated, not by the size of the room, but by the sheer number of Humans in it, many of them hostile towards her people.
     “Honored Council members,” Ariane O’Hara addressed the Council, “Only a few weeks ago, one of our young Gargoyles was attacked for no reason whatsoever.  Without any provocation, she was sprayed with a pesti-gun inside our Church.  This unwarranted attack upon a young being we consider to be a member of the Chestervale Parish was carried out by Councilor Markon Malaruff, whom we had allowed into our Church on good faith after he had called for a meeting with us.  He brought the hidden pesti-gun weapon with him, and used it on the adolescent Gargoyle Luck Giver, against all of our Church laws...”
     “Honored members of the Council!” Markon Malaruff interrupted Mother O’Hara, jumping out of his seat in a rage, “These people lied to me about harboring Gargoyles in their Church! Why, this woman’s husband, Noel O’Hara, boldly told me that there had never been any Gargoyles in Chestervale Church! I took the action that I did to prove him a liar.”
     “Obviously, they were concerned for the Gargoyles’ welfare!” Sharrah Raven called out, “Malaruff has had more than enough time to air his views, Prime Councilor! Let the O’Haras speak!”
     “Councilor,” Kaelstar chided him, “You will cede the floor to the O’Haras.”
     “Very well, Madam Kaelstar,” Malaruff conceded, “but I demand that Sharrah Raven and her followers be expelled from this meeting—she was out of line! She has no right to speak here!”
     “You are out of line also, Councilor,” Kaelstar chastised him, “Sharrah Raven and her Protectors will stay.  Ms. Raven, I ask that you remain silent for the duration of this meeting.  We gave you an opportunity to speak earlier.  Let the O’Haras speak now.”
     “Actually, Prime Councilor Kaelstar,” Mother O’Hara proposed, “I believe we Humans have been talking long enough.  It is time for the Gargoyles to speak.  Firstly, I would like to call upon Luck Giver, the Gargoyle adolescent who was sprayed by Mr. Malaruff, to tell you how she experienced the attack.  I have a mind-link with the Gargoyles, and will translate what she and the others say—if you will pause in between transmissions, Luck Giver, then I can tell the Honored Members of the Council what you have said.”
     Luck Giver moved forward hesitantly, feeling extremely uncomfortable amongst the huge crowd of Humans.  The embarrassing yellow suit did not help matters much, but she pushed herself forward nonetheless.  She knew that she needed to bear witness to what had happened to her, so that the Council members would realize that the Gargoyles were people, too...and people that the Humans would soon desperately need.  They had to understand that exterminating the Gargoylic people would be a mistake of epic proportions.  The two older damsels, LightWing and Wishwell, accompanied Luck Giver to the middle of the room, so that they sat in the centre between two opposing sides of Humans.  On the left, with Prime Councilor Kaelstar, were a group which felt to Luck Giver as though they were more open to her message.  On the right, sat Malaruff and a group which felt decidedly more hostile towards them.  Luck Giver closed her eyes for a moment and searched for the still point within her that would give her the courage she needed to continue.  At that moment, Kristy walked to the centre of the room to join them.  She put her hand on her friend’s shoulder.  This was the encouragement that Luck Giver needed.  She drew in a breath.
     “Honored members of the Council,” she transmitted, pausing every once in a while to let Mother O’Hara translate her words to the Council, “I was, as Mother O’Hara has said, attacked by Malaruff’s pesti-gun while I was hanging from the rafters of my home, which is the Chestervale Church.  The fire-dust from this terrible weapon gave me burns in my throat and nose, and I had difficulty breathing.  I fell from a great height, and I might have been more severely injured had my friend Kristy Gaiala not broken my fall by catching me in her basket of cloths.   I was, thankfully, cared for by the Healers and Parishioners of the Chestervale Church, and I have recovered; I might not have had it not been for their help.  I am here to warn you about using pesticides against my people.  Not only will it harm Humans as well as the “pests” it hopes to eliminate, but it will also affect the future of Human beings on this planet.  We, the Gargoyles, can help you to survive the coming calamity, but only if you are able to open your spirit-eyes long enough to see our worth.  At the moment, you are judging us on appearances alone.  We have done you no harm, but you are here today debating whether or not you should exterminate us.  If you truly saw us as we were, you would be ashamed for even contemplating such a heinous crime against a sentient species.”
     “Objection, Prime Councilor!” Malaruff shouted, “This is outrageous! I refuse to sit here and be put to shame by a puppet show act! Why, it should be obvious to everyone here that Mother O’Hara is simply speaking out of her own silly imagination! She is not translating anything from this creature, for Gargoyles are animals and cannot think.”
     “That has not been proven, Councilor,” Kaelstar replied, “Based upon the latest studies, scientists believe that the Gargoyles may be far more intelligent than we have thought previously.  There is some evidence to suggest that they have a very complex language and social structure which may even include some form of telepathic communication.  Now, please be quiet and let the young Gargoyle continue.”
     “It is now time for Wizard WiseGuard to address you,” Wishwell announced, speaking through Mother O’Hara, “He will explain to you why it is imperative that you overcome your fear of Gargoyles enough to let us protect you from what is coming.  Luck Giver has already mentioned the approaching calamity which awaits us all, but I will leave it to my mate to explain it to you in more detail.  I know that you believed that this was going to be a simple debate about whether to exterminate what you consider to be an inferior species.  I’m afraid that there is much more to it than that, my friends.”
 Wizard WiseGuard had shuffled to the front painstakingly.  The yellow suit was bothering him tremendously, so he finally took it off.  He gave himself a shake before continuing. 
     “Members of the Council,” he said to them, transmitting his message through Father O’Hara this time, “You have heard from our Gargoyle Damsels about this coming calamity.  Let me, the Gargoyle Drake WiseGuard, explain what we mean by this.  We have for millennia lived on this planet, and we do know what we are talking about.  You are not the first species to colonize this planet—not by a long shot.  There have been many others, and all have been themselves exterminated—not by us, but by a group of beings known as “The Marauders” or the “Terror-Claws”, as we Gargoyles call them.  They are the original inhabitants of this planet, and they do not like to share this world with interlopers.  They are at present in their sleep cycle, but they are due to wake up, some time this year.  That does not give you much time to prepare.  We can show you some secret underground caverns where your vulnerable citizens can hide, but you will need more than a hiding spot.  We are here to protect you through the First Phase, which will involve a mammoth assault upon your settlements, all over this world.  We realize that this may be difficult for you to believe, so we will not overwhelm you with information about the Second and Third Phases until you have come to accept what it is that you must deal with when these beings awaken.”
     When Father O’Hara finished translating the transmission, there was a silence for about a minute or so as the Councilors processed through their minds what they had just heard.  Then the room slowly began to buzz with conversation. 
     A woman stood up on Prime Councilor Kaelstar’s side of the room.
     “It is as the Prophecies have foretold!” She called out, “The Gargoyles have come to warn us about the approaching Nightmare from the Ground!”
    “Ridiculous superstition!” Malaruff scoffed, standing up once more, “Ladies and gentlemen, surely you cannot be taking these charlatans seriously? Father O’Hara has proven himself a liar, and he does not deserve the opportunity to squander any more of our precious time on folklore!  I propose we take a vote on whether or not to exterminate these pests, the Gargoyles!  That is, after all, why we are here, is it not? We did not come here today to listen to Fairy Tales.  The O’Haras have insulted our intelligence with this ridiculous tale of...Marauders.  We have determined that there are no other intelligent species on this planet—only we Humans.  That is the sad truth, to all of you who hoped that you would have an opportunity to establish contact with an alien life form.  Unfortunately for you, these have proven to be very few and far between in our galaxy, I’m afraid.  Let us face reality, my friends! We are alone in the Universe...and quite probably the most intelligent species ever created.  Therefore, we have the right to rid our city of these...ugly Gargoyle creatures which have been congregating here in Roslan for some time now.  They hang from the eaves troughs of every building in town!  They have been allowed to over-populate for far too long and must be removed—before they become a health hazard.  Who knows what disgusting bugs these creatures carry on them?”
    “You will not take any action in that regard, Councilor,” Kaelstar commanded, “Without the City’s permission.  Pesticides sprayed all over Roslan will be far more of a health hazard than Gargoyles...”
The two sides again broke into an argument over the benefits and risks associated with pesticide use.  None of them, Luck Giver noticed in dismay, were giving more than a passing thought to the issue of The Marauders’ Awakening.  They needed something to convince them of the seriousness of the situation...but what?
    Suddenly, an emergency buzzer sounded, indicating that the Prime Councilor’s immediate attention was required.  Kaelstar pressed a button on her wrist, and someone communicated something into her ear through her sound device. 
    “Councilors!” She called out, “I have an emergency transmission from the mining village of Jerristown...it is Commander Carrington of Protective Forces.  I will put the transmission on the monitor so that you can all see and hear it.”
    Kaelstar hit a button, and the craggy face of an elderly Protection Officer appeared.  There was an extreme urgency to his expression, and his voice was deeply distressed.
    “To the City Council of Roslan! I am sending you this urgent message in the hope that you may receive it in time to take shelter in the Underground Caverns, a location which is known by the Gargoyles of Kalthorne.  Jerristown has come under attack by an unknown, fearsome group of entities—they are tall, orange-and-black, have wings, fangs, and claws and are extremely venomous.  They literally drip with poison.  They have been attacking our people savagely—the only reason that we have survived is because of the Gargoyles, who seem to possess immunity to the venom; they have been courageously counter-attacking them.  I am sending you a transmission to prove to you what I am saying...”
    The image of the Commander faded, and was replaced by the very beings that he had been describing.  The video footage that was being played showed several of the orange-black creatures swooping down and chasing a group of miners, who had run into a cave to huddle there in fear.  There were gaggles of Gargoyles from every direction flying at the winged beings in order to keep them away from the miners.  The footage then faded out, and, to everyone’s horror, so did the transmission from Commander Carrington. 
    “It has begun,” Wizard WiseGuard transmitted through Father O’Hara, “The Marauders have awakened.”                             
                
 

The Gargoyles of Chestervale Church

     Prime Councilor Kaelstar had sprung into action as soon as Carrington’s transmission had ended.  She had initiated the evacuation procedure, and had made a city-wide announcement that all citizens were to go to the Underground Bunkers that the City had built in case they were attacked by one of the renegade Earth colonies.
     She had then asked the O’Haras, Magistrate Graeme Gaiala, and the Gargoyles to accompany her to the emergency meeting with the official Chief Head of State of the Earth Empire on Kalthorne.  Malaruff had been left behind to stew over what he considered to be a well-engineered “hoax” perpetrated by superstitious rural villagers, such as the people of Chestervale and Jerristown.  He had begun to campaign against the “hoax”, encouraging the people of the City to stay behind and not go to the Underground Bunkers.  Many people had obeyed the Prime Councilor’s directive and had gone to the Bunkers, while an equal number disobeyed it and remained behind.
     Luck Giver and the rest waited outside in the lobby while the O’Haras, WiseGuard, LightWing, and Wishwell accompanied the Prime Councilor to the meeting.  Luck Giver hoped desperately that the Chief of the Earth Empire believed what had happened and was not in denial, like Malaruff and a number of his followers. 
     The Gargoyles had all taken off their yellow suits, to Luck Giver’s relief.  Now that the Marauders were beginning to awaken, they would need to be ready to fly unencumbered.  Luck Giver went over in her mind all of the flight and battle training lessons that she had been learning ever since she was a young kit.
     While she was preparing herself mentally for the crisis, Kristy was talking to Bran Raven, the younger brother of the Environmental Protector, Sharrah Raven.  She seemed quite taken by him, although this was an odd time for her to be starting the mating process with someone.  It was not at all certain that any of them would survive Phase One of the Marauders’ attacks. 
 LightWing was exiting the room now, although the others were still in there consulting with each other.  Luck Giver wished that they would stop consulting and would start giving orders as to what actions they were to take.  Everyone huddled around LightWing, anxious for an update on the situation.
     “My friends and Gaggle members,” LightWing greeted them, “We have re-established contact with Commander Carrington, and it seems that there has been a lull in the attacks.  The Chief Head of State has countermanded the order for the people of Roslan to remain in the Bunkers, but they are still on “high alert”. There have only been a small number of Marauders awakened, and these are the ones that attacked Jerristown.  The Gargoyles have managed to drive them off, but they still pose a danger to other Human communities.  WiseGuard and Wishwell are advising the Chief not to let down his guard for too long, as there will be more Marauders arriving.  The Awakening seems to be occurring somewhat differently this time.  In the past, the Marauders have awoken all at once and have launched surprise attacks on the population during the night, while they were sleeping and unprepared.  This time, however, they seem to be awakening only a few at a time, and the attacks happened in broad daylight.  The Awakening has not proceeded this way for a long time; in fact, the Gargoyle collective memory cannot remember a time when it proceeded in this fashion.  It could be a good thing in that it gives us a little more time to prepare, but not by much.  If a few are awakening now, a few more could awaken tomorrow, or the next day.  At least the Humans are beginning to believe us now, although some, like Malaruff, are still in denial.  This slow Awakening could be dangerous from the point of view of convincing people like Malaruff that the danger is real.  Many people will not believe something like this until it is upon them, and by that time it will be too late.”
    “But surely Malaruff cannot still be in denial after seeing what happened at Jerristown?” Luck Giver cried, “This is unfathomable.”
     “He believes it to be a hoax,” LightWing transmitted, as Kristy translated for the other Humans who were there, “and apparently, he is still advocating the use of pesticides against the Gargoyles in Roslan.  He and his gang of followers are getting ready to go on the rampage themselves...and they will destroy their protectors if Malaruff has his way.”
     “Malaruff must be arrested!” exclaimed Bran Raven, the brother of Sharrah, “He cannot possibly be allowed to go through with his wicked scheme—not after what we have seen at Jerristown! The Gargoyles are the ones who saved the people there—many would have died without them.”
     “That conclusion would be a little too rational for Malaruff and his ilk,” Sharrah replied to her brother, “Once he begins to accept the reality of the existence of the Marauders, he will no doubt arrive at the conclusion that they are related to Gargoyles because they have wings...even though any fool can see that they are a completely different species from the ‘Goyles.”
     “This is a danger, Sharrah,” agreed LightWing, “and we must find a way to prove our loyalty to the Humans or they will begin to mistrust us.  Malaruff wishes to divide Gargoyle and Human into two separate worlds:  one superior and the other inferior.  What we must do, while WiseGuard and the others prepare for the battle, is to speak and interact with as many Humans as possible.  We must let them know that we are on their side.  If we can do that, the word will spread and people will not tolerate the extermination of Gargoyles as “pests”.” 
     “Well, what are we waiting for?” Sharrah asked them, “I can get my van—I and the Protectors know how to stage public information campaigns and protest peacefully! We’ve had a good deal of experience with it.”
     There were actually several hover-vans which various members owned, and each one had an announcement device on it.  The Gargoyles, Parishioners, and Protectors each piled into the vans as LightWing transmitted their actions to the Gargoyles who were at the meeting with the Chief Head of State.  She was evidently given an affirmative answer from WiseGuard and Wishwell, for she joined her daughter Luck Giver, along with Firerocker, Vine Creeper, Hearthstone, Kristy, Bran, and Sharrah Raven in the head van.
     Sharrah drove the van and clicked on the announcement device.
     “Hear ye, hear ye!” she called into the speaker, “We are hereby letting everyone know that the recent attacks in Jerristown were thwarted by Gargoyles! Whatever you may have heard about Gargoyles being pests is incorrect! The Gargoyles know how to fight the orange-black beings known as The Marauders! Do not tolerate any talk of exterminating the Gargoyles, for we will be committing a heinous error if we do that! Hear ye, hear ye...”
     They drove around the city, with Sharrah announcing the same message over and over and over again:  don’t exterminate the Gargoyles, because they are imperative for Human survival!
     Finally, LightWing requested that they stop somewhere public and begin a dialogue with people rather than speaking at them through an announcement device. 
     “I’m just getting their attention,” Sharrah responded, “But I’ll announce a general public meeting at the steps of the City Hall of Roslan.”
     They drove around the city a few more times calling out the advertisement for the meeting.  By the time they drove back to the Hall, there were huge throngs of people gathered at the front steps of City Hall, and Malaruff was waving his arms attempting to placate them. 
     “No, Malaruff!” people in the crowd were calling out to him, “You’re wrong! It is ridiculous to go on an extermination spree and kill the very creatures that may be able to protect us from these Marauder-things!”
     “I tell you, this thing is a hoax! Why, just listen to those Environmental Protectors—they have to advertise these Marauders, as though they were an entertainment show...”
     “Just a minute, Malaruff!” Sharrah called, bounding up the stairs as the rest of the group followed, “This is not a hoax, and we want everyone to hear the Gargoyles’ side of the story! You’ve had your two cents worth.  Now it’s our turn!”     
     A debate broke out amongst the crowd as Sharrah, Bran, and Kristy tried to tell them more about the Marauders through LightWing.  They did not get very far before the crowd broke out into arguments between those who believed in The Gargoyle-Marauder tale and those who did not.  Malaruff kept interrupting Kristy and telling the crowd how ludicrous their story was. 
     As Luck Giver watched them, she realized that nobody was making any progress in this discussion because they all kept talking over each other.  She suddenly had an idea.  She began to warble out a Gargoyle song—quietly, at first, and at high frequency so that only the Gargoyles could hear it.  Then, she began to sing at lower frequencies so that the Humans could hear it.  It seemed a foolish thing to do in the midst of a crisis, but she persisted nonetheless at trying to reach a range that the Humans could hear and relate to without clasping their ears in horror.  As she began her song, Kristy gave her a knowing glance, and began to translate the words as Luck Giver sang them:

“O, Gargoyles of the Day and Night,
O, Gargoyles of the Land and Air,
We await The Time of Awakening!
We are here wondering...
whilst the Miners of Jerristown
run in terror to the Caves;
Malaruff beckons to The Exterminators,
heedless of The Protectors
who speak their quiet truths.
When, O, when will The Marauders
finally descend upon us?
We wait and ask ourselves,
When?
How Long?
Why?
Finally, the answer arrives...
The Orange-Black beings
are on the Wing
once more.
Arrogant Arguers, Beware!
The Marauders have awakened."

     As Luck Giver finished her song, silence fell upon the throng.
     “Propaganda!” Malaruff screamed, breaking the silence, “Don’t believe these insane people! They are only doing this for attention.  The Gargoyles are their pets, and they have trained them to do tricks, like singing ridiculous songs for us.  I should tell you, my friends, that I have stationed people all around the City, and they are using their pesticides against the vermin...oh, just about now.  I gave the order while your pet was singing, my dear daughter of Magistrate Gaiala.”
     Malaruff smirked at Kristy and Luck Giver, as Kristy gaped at him in horror.
     “No, you fool!” She cried, “What you are doing is wrong!”
     The Environmental Protectors wasted no time chastising Malaruff but instead
leapt into action, bringing the yellow suits and breathing masks to the Gargoyles.  This time, Firerocker was able to use one of the suits that had been discarded by WiseGuard and Wishwell, who were still at the meeting with the Chief Head of State.  Luck Giver joined the others in donning the hated suits once again.  Now, they were grounded and could not fly, she realized ruefully.  At least they would be protected from the pesticides, but that would not help the thousands of Gargoyles in Roslan. 
     Sharrah hurriedly directed everyone to the vans, and they took off at once.
     “We’re going to go to the City Park!” she called to them, “There are a lot of Gargoyles in the trees there.”
     When they all arrived at the Park, a horrendous sight greeted them.  There were dozens of Gargoyles lying on the ground, gasping for breath.  Others were motionless.  Kristy and Sharrah ran over to them, as did the other Parishioners and villagers.  The Humans had asked them to stay in the van, but they could not sit there while their own people were dying.  They hobbled out of the van, and went to the nearest Gargoyles to link minds with them.  Luck Giver transmitted to one of the sick Gargoyles that she was going to put her own mask over the other’s mouth to give her some air.  There was with the mask an oxygen carrier, and Luck Giver used this in the way that the Humans had trained her to use it before they left on their trip.  She gave her a few puffs of air, and then returned it to her own mouth and nose in order to breathe.  As she did so, the Gargoyle transmitted thoughts back to her.
     “I am Treeleaf,” she said, “We were in our trees napping—we did nothing to bring on this terrible attack...”
     “Calm, my Treeleaf,” Luck Giver transmitted, “We will overcome this horrendous terror.”       
     Luck Giver continued to help Treeleaf while the others did the same to the Gargoyles who were still living.  LightWing had transmitted to WiseGuard and Wishwell their plight, and before long the Prime Councilor and Chief Head of State had sent out a hologram announcement telling the people of Roslan that anyone caught poisoning Gargoyles would be incarcerated immediately.  Luck Giver could feel the Humans’ Flitter-Crafts overhead, searching for those who had committed the crimes. 
     “Those ungrateful scoundrels,” Bran Raven was telling Kristy as he brought sick Gargoyles to the vans to be transported to the nearest hospital, “It’s almost as if Malaruff and his gang are working for the Marauders.  It’s enough to make me want to resign from the Human race.”
     “Just keep going, Bran!” Kristy shouted to him, running to bring more Gargoyles to a landing Flitter-Craft, “We need to get these beings emergency medical care now!”
     Luck Giver knew that she could not move as quickly or as strongly as the Humans could while she was wearing her idiotic protective suit, and so she concentrated her efforts on Treeleaf alone.  Before long, she was relieved to discover, many citizens of Roslan had come to their aid and had begun transporting Gargoyles.  Sharrah began to dispatch various people to other areas of the city, where Gargoyles had been sprayed with pesti-guns. 
     “I’m putting in a call for some emergency veterinarians!” She called out to them, “They’ll be more in tune with Gargoyle physiology than the Human doctors.”
 Mother and Father O’Hara jumped out of one of the landed Flitters and began to lay their hands on the Gargoyles.  Their healing abilities would help, but the surviving Gargoyles would still require emergency care.  They all worked feverishly into the night, until at last all the Gargoyles had been brought to an underground community centre where they were receiving medical care from doctors and veterinarians.  Some of the vets had come in from the countryside when they heard about what had befallen the Gargoyles. 
     Luck Giver, Firerocker, Hearthstone, Vine Creeper, Kristy, and Bran all stayed with the patients in the community centre while the adults attended an emergency meeting. 
     “You young people are to act as nurses to the Gargoyles,” LightWing ordered them, “Do not leave the community centre.  You should be safe here from any attacks, as you are all quite a ways underground, and Prime Councilor Kaelstar has posted guards to protect you.  Follow the orders of the Healers!” 
     Sharrah left the view-screen on, so that they could all see what was happening on the Roslan City News.  They were kept fairly busy for the first part of the night, monitoring oxygen masks, bringing water, fruit and seeds to those well enough to eat and drink, and assisting the sicker patients to use the specially fashioned Gargoyle-commodes.
     To Luck Giver’s relief, Treeleaf seemed to be making a recovery.  She had not been in the direct line of fire from the pesti-guns, and so her throat-burns were not as severe as some.  She could not vocalize, but the two shared their thoughts when they could. 
     “How will we defend the Humans now, like this?” Treeleaf had asked Luck Giver in desperation, “I have trained for many years to fight the Marauders; but never have I ever been trained to fight the Humans with their pesti-guns.”
     “None of us have,” Luck Giver transmitted to her ruefully, “but fortunately the ones that wish us harm are in the minority.  Look—that box on the wall contains pictures of what is happening above-ground!”
     The Gargoyles and Humans alike had all paused in their activities to look at the veiw-screen.  Bran Raven picked up a small device and pointed it at the box in order to cause it to blare its news louder.
     “Shhh—not quite so loud, Bran!” Kristy admonished her new friend, “That is way too loud for Gargoyles’ hearing! They’re very sensitive to loud noises.”
     Bran apologized and turned the volume down somewhat.  It was still screechingly loud to Luck Giver’s ears, but it was important for everyone in the room to hear what was happening.
     “This just in,” the female Human on the screen was announcing, “We have five reports of the orange-black beings called “Marauders” attacking the rural villages.  Our reporters have been dispatched to Lona Mountain, Ariel Village, and Portside-by-the-Sea.  These towns have been reporting a number of beings flying through the air at night.  We are using special lenses to capture these beings as they flap about in the darkness.  Over to our reporter, Aislyn Rubacher...what’s happening, Aislyn?”
     “Hello, Kyra, this is Aislyn Rubacher reporting.  As you can see from some of these shots of the alien creatures, they are quite numerous in the Lona Mountain area.  So far, they have not attacked anyone as the ones in Jerristown did, but military Commanders are not taking any chances.  All civilians have been evacuated to the nearby underground caves, as there are no bunkers out here in the rural areas.  The caves are being blocked off, and the Commanders are being given strict orders to work with the Gargoyles.  Many of those courageous creatures have been fending off the Marauders, and we’re learning that the Gargoyles are much more intelligent than many people gave them credit for.  The Researchers, it seems, are right—the Gargoyles do have their own language and culture.  We have managed to secure the first-ever exclusive interview with a Gargoyle.  Through a Human Translator, we are going to speak with a Gargoyle Commander named Lord Steeple Chaser, from the village of Chestervale...”
     The screen, which had been showing shadowy figures flying through the night sky, suddenly switched to reveal the face of Luck Giver’s father, Lord Steeple Chaser.  Seated beside him was Father O’Hara.
     “Live from Roslan, I’m talking to Father O’Hara of the Chestervale Church, who is translating for Steeple Chaser.  Father O’Hara, how are you tonight?”
     “I could be better, Ms. Rubacher,” O’Hara answered, “This is a very dark night tonight.  A criminal by the name of Markon Malaruff has poisoned many of the Roslan Gargoyles, and Steeple Chaser has come from our village of Chestervale to meet with the surviving senior members of the Roslan ‘Goyle-Gaggles.”
     “That’s right,” Rubacher reported, “Gargoyle communities are known as “Gaggles” for those who are not familiar with the ‘Goyles.  Now then—Lord Steeple Chaser, you must be very angry with the Humans who have poisoned the Gargoyles in Roslan—are you demanding their punishment?”
     “There is no time for anger,” Steeple Chaser answered through O’Hara, “I came as soon as I could to transmit the message to the people of Kalthorne:  We are not pests, but are your friends.  We will protect you from the Marauders, but only if you do not kill us first.”
     “What are you going to do to protect us?” Rubacher asked, “After all, the Humans of Kalthorne are in possession of a fully functional army, navy, and Air Defense Force.  What can you do that we cannot?”
     “I have been speaking to your Commanders to tell them,” Steeple Chaser said, “You must not use any of these Forces against the Marauders.  You will only succeed in making them more powerful.  You must let us stage the attacks.  We know how to fly at the Marauders in such a way that we can cripple them without killing them.”
     “But Lord Steeple Chaser,” Rubacher queried, surprised, “Don’t you want to kill these dangerous enemies?”
     “If we do that,” Steeple Chaser replied through Father O’Hara, “The Marauders will not make it to the Second Phase.  If that vital phase does not happen, the Third and Final Transformation cannot occur, and this planet will be consumed by the Dark Forces once again, as it has for millennia.”
     Rubacher continued to question Steeple Chaser as he told her about the Three Phases of the Marauders’ Cycle.  Luck Giver was astonished to see her own father on the box-screen, telling the Humans all about the Marauders.  She had always felt proud to be his daughter, but she was even more proud of him now, as she watched him field the difficult questions.  She noticed her mother, LightWing, in the background, and she attempted to transmit to her a message of hope; however, it seemed as though the message was not transmitting through the box to her.  There was no return transmission.
     “Don’t worry, Luck Giver,” Firerocker chirped to her, “I will be protecting you as you protect the Humans.”
     “You just watch your own tail, Firerocker!” Luck Giver told him, “You’re a wild one with no discipline.  My father says it takes discipline and will to fight a Marauder!”
     “Wild is not bad,” Firerocker replied saucily, “Wild may be just what you need, Luck Giver!”
     “Wild is not what she needs!” Elder Sister Vine Creeper hissed at Firerocker, “Is it, Hearthstone, my Drone-Brother?”
     “Who knows?” Hearthstone answered in a non-committal fashion as he served the patients fruits and seeds, “Maybe you should let the young Gargoyles decide what they need for themselves, Vine Creeper!”
     “I am the Elder sister here,” Vine Creeper informed them, “Mother LightWing left me in charge of you lot.  You will listen to my commands—especially now that the Marauders are starting to show up!”
     “Quiet, guys!” Kristy interrupted their discussion, “It looks as if Malaruff is going to be arrested!”
     On the Screen-Box, the news narrative seemed to have been returned to the female known as Kyra Jones.  Her voice was speaking to her audience just as a picture was being transmitted of Malaruff in handcuffs, being led towards a large structure.
     “...And now, we have just heard that Councilor Markon Malaruff has been apprehended and arrested for illegally arranging for the mass extermination of a sentient species!”
     The picture showed Malaruff surrounded by two husky guards, who were fending off fruits and eggs which were being pelted at the unfortunate Malaruff.  A crowd surrounded them, and they were shouting at the prisoner.
     “Shame on you, Malaruff!” one of the protesters yelled, “You have been killing our Protectors! You have also lied to us—the Marauders are real, for we have seen them on The Roslan City News!”
     “You have all been duped by those idiot reporters!” Malaruff shouted back in his own defense, “The Gargoyles are pests and need to be eliminated! These...Marauders, if they are real, can be dealt with by the Army! We need no ugly Gargoyle to protect us!”
     Malaruff was then led into the City Courthouse, where, Kyra Jones told them, he would be judged.  If he was found guilty, he would be sentenced to prison for an unspecified amount of time.
     “Serves him right!” Bran Raven snarled, tossing his long, jet-black hair behind his shoulder, “Now that he’s out of the picture, things should improve for the Gargoyles!” 
     “How much can things improve for any of us?” Kristy asked him sardonically, “The Marauders are upon us!”
     “Stick with me, Kristy,” Bran told her, “I’ll protect you.”
     “No, you stick with me!” Kristy snorted, “I’ll protect you.”
     There was suddenly a haunting, screeching wail which sounded throughout the community centre and beyond. 
     “What is that awful noise?” Luck Giver asked.
     “Oh, Great Universe!” cried Bran Raven, “That is the City Defense system! It’s a warning siren for people to go to the underground bunkers.”
     They all stared, frozen in terror, as the box-screen on the wall showed a huge flock of orange-black Marauders, flying by the thousands into the City of Roslan; then, suddenly, the screen went dark.             
   
         
                 

The Gargoyles of Chestervale Church

     All was silent and dark.  The lights had been flickering on and off for an hour now.  The Screen-Box’s pictures had not come back on, and so they had continued to care for the needs of the patients in the dark.  This was not a problem for the Gargoyles, as they had excellent night vision.  For the Humans, however, it meant that they could not help out much without a lot of groping about.  They had debated sending someone out to see what was going on, but had decided against it.  If the Marauders were out there, it would not be wise to advertise to them that the sick Gargoyles were down here.
     It made sense to Luck Giver, as it had to the others, that the Marauders had attacked Roslan.  If they had realized that the Gargoyle population of Roslan had been decimated by a pesti-gun attack by the Humans, then it was the perfect opportunity for them to strike.  Both the Humans and Gargoyles were very vulnerable right now, and obviously the Marauders were here to take full advantage of it.
     As Luck Giver helped one of the patients to sit up and drink a dish of water, they felt a sudden booming sound, and the building shook violently.  She could feel Kristy groping her way towards her, and she used their mutual mind-link to direct her steps.  Finally, Kristy was near enough to Luck Giver to clasp her shoulder tightly.  She could feel Kristy’s fear and pain.
     “Luck Giver,” she said through mind-speak, “I’m afraid for our family members.  My Dad is still out there, and so are your parents.  We’ve got to do something!”
     “What we can do,” Luck Giver reassured her, “is what we are doing right now.  LightWing ordered us not to leave the community centre, and we will not.  We must care for the patients right now.  I asked you to stay nearby to Treeleaf and comfort her.  How is she now? I have not had time to stop by and ask her because I have been busy with the other patients now that it is dark, and you Humans cannot see.”
     “Treeleaf is doing fine,” Kristy reported, “She’s thinking like me.  She wants to get out and do something to defend our people!”
     “Tell her that we cannot do that right now.  We must stay here and attend to the patients.  If we go out, we will likely be killed by Marauders.”
     “Will they...kill us, Luck Giver?” Kristy asked, startled.
     “Yes—if they can,” she answered, “We can only hope that there are enough healthy Gargoyles left over from the pesti-gun attack to save the people of Roslan who did not make it down to the bunkers in time.”
     “We are saying prayers for them all—the Humans, the Gargoyles—everyone.  Even for Malaruff.”
     “That is the best thing that you can do right now,” Luck Giver told her, “And your prayers for our enemy, Malaruff—that is the attitude that you need to practice, so that if we do survive until the Second Phase, you will be capable of showing the necessary mercy towards an even greater enemy.”
     Kristy indicated her understanding of what Luck Giver was saying, and of her desire to tell other Humans about it.  Their mind-sharing was suddenly shattered by a tremendous bang!  Two Gargoyles flew in from the portal and landed next to Luck Giver and Kristy. 
     “LightWing and Wishwell!” Luck Giver exclaimed, happy to see them both safe, “What is going on?”
     Everyone rushed over to the pair.  A couple of the Humans from Chestervale Village had managed to fix the power malfunction, and the lights had been turned on once again.  LightWing touched noses with her daughter while Wishwell waited for everyone to fly, walk, or hobble over to where they were all congregating.  The sicker Gargoyles remained in their nests, but perked up their ears so that they could hear what Wishwell was going to say.
     “My friends and fellow Gargoyles,” Wishwell intoned after a silent pause, “I’m afraid that I must report that the battle has begun...and it is going very badly.  The Marauders hit us at a time when many of our Gargoyle forces are low.  Because there were so few of us to defend Roslan, the Humans went against WiseGuard’s sage advice and they launched an attack using their armed forces.  As a result, the number of Marauders has increased tenfold.  I have never seen such a thing in my life—whenever they were hit with bullets or bomb blasts, the Marauders would split into three or four or five separate entities and keep fighting.  It was as if new Marauders were being birthed by the War Machine itself! The Army Commanders have finally realized their mistake, but it is too late by now.  The sky is again filled with thousands upon thousands of Marauders—there are too many for us to fight now, and I fear it will not be long before they have consumed us all.”
     “No!” Luck Giver interrupted, “I refuse to believe that we must give up so easily.  There must be a way to thwart their aims!”
     “Their aim is to ravish the planet,” LightWing said, “There is no way to stop them—other than our time-honored manner of swooping at them using our sonaric mind-waves to tumble-blunder them.”
     “Tumble-blunder?” Bran Raven asked.  He, like the other Humans, had been listening intently to Kristy translating LightWing’s words, but he was unsure of what some of the words meant.
     “They use their minds to make them tumble through the air to the ground,” explained Kristy, “It takes the wind out of their sails, but it doesn’t kill them; and that’s key to surviving this whole thing.  In the Second Phase, if we get to it, the Marauders will go into their cocoons and eventually transform into a Chrysalis.  When they emerge, they will be Beings of Light, but only if we’re smart enough to leave the Cocoons alone when the Marauders are in their vulnerable stage.  If we aren’t, then the deep-ground survivors will emerge as Beings of Darkness and destroy our world completely.”
     “There’s no way Humans are smart enough for that,” Bran countered, “If by some miracle we did survive this, do you think that the Army Commanders and people like Malaruff are really going to leave the Cocoons alone? They’ll kill them first chance they get.  Even the people like us, who are trying to defend the Gargoyles, will be angry at what the Marauders have done to our world, and they won’t want to defend them.  This feels like a test with no answer, or a maze with no way out.”
     Bran’s elder sister Sharrah came over to him and embraced him tightly.  There were tears running down her dark skin.
     “We just pray for a miracle, Bran, honey,” she whispered to him softly.
     “Sharrah is right,” Wishwell concurred, “Prayer and meditation will help to cultivate the kind of peace-spirit that we need to confront this challenge.  We don’t need everyone to reach the level of peace-spirit necessary to stop the Marauders—we just need a certain number of people to help the Gargoyles tip the balance in favor of a peaceful solution.  Of course, the more people we have, the greater our chances of success.”
     “So in other words,” Kristy said, “We have to deal with this thing from the inside out.”
     “Yes,” Wishwell agreed, “That is as good a way of putting it as any other.”
     “Well,” Sharrah called to the other Humans, “What are we waiting for? Let’s pray—or meditate, whichever you prefer.  I guess it’s all the same thing anyways.”
 Sharrah Raven led the Humans in a clapping-song, and their voices sounded surprisingly beautiful to Luck Giver.  Perhaps she was becoming more accustomed to the sound of Human voices, she thought.  When the song was finished, Sharrah began a prayer, and invited everyone present to speak or silently say their own prayer or meditation for deliverance from the Marauder threat. 
     “May the Universe strengthen our spirits,” Sharrah prayed as she swayed back and forth like a flower in the breeze, “and help us to find that point of peace that will help us to birth the Marauders from the darkness into light.”
     The other Humans prayed along with her, some silently and some murmuring their own verses.  Luck Giver was touched by it all; she had not realized that the Humans were capable of this kind of understanding.  They seemed to understand intuitively that it was mercy and forgiveness towards one’s enemies that would save them from this mess, and not the great armies of the world.  Luck Giver knew, however, that mercy and forgiveness were more easily sung about than practiced.  She doubted even her own ability to forgive The Enemy, knowing that they were outside ravaging the city and the surviving Gargoyles that were fighting them.  She tried not to think about her father, Steeple Chaser, or about WiseGuard and the others, as she knew that her worry would drive her mad. 
     “Luck Giver,” her mother said gently to her, “I’m afraid that I must ask you and all the other Gargoyles well enough to fight to come and join us in the battle.  You know I would never ask this of you young people if we were not desperate.  The Humans must stay here and practice their prayer-meditations.  Father and Mother O’Hara are now safe; they have returned to Chestervale and are leading the villagers in a prayer vigil in the catacombs underneath the Church.  The Gargoyles of Chestervale Church are all out disabling Marauders in the rural areas, and when they are certain that all the Human settlers are safely underground, they will join us in Roslan if possible.  We must go now!”
     Luck Giver turned to Kristy, startled.  Kristy instinctively looked her way, and understanding dawned on her face.  Tears welled up in her green eyes, and she ran over to hug her Gargoyle friend.  They spoke no words between them, as there was nothing more that they could say.  They touched noses before Luck Giver turned to follow Wishwell to the exit portal.  The other Gargoyles followed silently, leaving the Humans in their state of prayer.  The Humans would now be in charge of looking after all those Gargoyles too sick to fight. 
     As Luck Giver flew through the exit portal, she noticed Treeleaf flying right behind her.  She, like many of the others, had recovered sufficiently that she felt ready to fight Marauders.  Luck Giver did not try to dissuade her, as she knew it was important to all of them to do what they had been trained since birth to do.  This was the greater purpose that the Gargoyles all served, and now the time had come. 
     They waited silently as LightWing pulled the second exit portal open. 
     “We will go intermittently, one at a time so that we do not draw attention to the portal,” she explained.  Wishwell went out first, and was followed soon after by Vine Creeper, who was followed by Hearthstone.  Firerocker went out next, sending a mental message to Luck Giver as he went, “Stay by me! I will watch your right wing.”  
     Luck Giver’s right wing had been partially weakened by the fall into Kristy’s basket as a result of the pesticides, and so she was glad of Firerocker’s willingness to aid her weak side.  Treeleaf followed after Firerocker, and then it was Luck Giver’s turn.
     “I will be with you in mind and spirit, Luck Giver,” her mother LightWing transmitted to her, “And so will your father Steeple Chaser.  Keep to your peace-centre and you will know what to do.”                                         
     Luck Giver transmitted her love to LightWing before flapping out the door into the night.  As she looked towards the horizon, she realized that day was about to dawn.  There were still, however, huge numbers of Marauders in the sky.  She saw flocks of orange-black creatures on one side of her and on the other were green-yellow Marauders.  She thought, rather strangely, that they looked beautiful in their brilliant colors.  She did not, however, have much time to admire them before one of the Green-Yellows dove at her.  She immediately mind-swiped him, causing him to tumble-blunder down to the ground.  One down, she thought, only thousands and thousands more to go.  A flock of them descended upon her, and she weaved throughout them expertly, as if she had possessed this ability since birth.  As one came up on her right side, she felt Firerocker swipe it to the ground.  A new gaggle of Gargoyles was coming in from the east, just as the sun was beginning to rise.  They met the flock of Marauders with a fierce intensity, and the two species of beings swirled around each other in a frenzy, attempting to knock the other from the sky.  Luck Giver felt herself becoming one with the Collective Gargoyle Mind, and she darted in and out of the myriad of Marauders, spitting in their faces and neutralizing the poison that they were attempting to shoot out of their fanged mouths at the Gargoyles.  Many of them seemed not to realize that they were wasting their venom on the Gargoyles, for they were immune to its effects.  Luck Giver knew that particular advantage would not last for long, however.  The Marauders had been sleeping for a long time, and they were like newborns who were acting primarily on instinct.  As time progressed, however, they would get smarter.  Luck Giver remembered Steeple Chaser teaching her about this when he showed her the “dart-and-spit” move.  Because the Marauders learned and adapted so quickly, she and the others would need to learn and adapt even more quickly.
     The fight continued into the morning, until finally the Marauders began to tire.  There were more Marauders than Gargoyles, but the Gargoyles had greater endurance, especially once the sun was up.  The Marauders were clearly becoming groggy and somnolent in the light, and so they began to flap away to their own secret ground-holes.
     By the time noon had arrived, the Marauders had all left the skies in order to day-nap.  The Gargoyles did not, however, have much time to celebrate their temporary victory.  The city of Roslan was in ruins, and smoke arose from many of the buildings when the bomb blasts that were hurled at the Marauders had back-fired and fallen upon the City instead.  Much of the damage was self-inflicted by the Humans, because they had not believed the Gargoyles who had warned them not to use fire-power against the Marauders.
     They flew over the city, attempting to find any surviving Humans that had not made it to the bunkers on time.  Thankfully, most of the City Dwellers had been well trained in evacuation procedures, and so a great many of them had escaped to the Bunkers, where there was a huge stash of supplies, food and water.  They would be safe for now, Luck Giver realized with gratitude.  She felt Firerocker on her right wing and Treeleaf on her left, and she felt strengthened by their presence.  A part of her was terrified, but another part was calm and determined to do what she had been born to do. 
     As they flew over the governmental section of town, Luck Giver suddenly spied a male Human, rummaging through a truck which had been side-swiped by a flock of Marauders and overturned.  As she descended towards the No-Wing, she gave a cry of recognition.  It was Magistrate Graeme Gaiala, Kristy’s father!
     Graeme did not mind-speak, and so Luck Giver needed to stop a few feet from him in order to give him a chance to recognize her as Kristy’s friend.  She did not want to frighten the man after what must have been a horrific night for him.
     “Luck Giver!” He finally cried after peering at her uncertainly for a minute, “Where is Kristy? Is she still at the underground community centre?”
     Luck Giver tried to send an affirmative thought into Graeme’s mind, but he was too anxious to receive it.  Finally, she gave him her best attempt at a Human nod, making a sign that the Humans understood as “safe”.  Graeme indicated his understanding, and then collapsed, breaking down into convulsive sobs.
     “I should have done more to prevent this, Luck Giver!” He cried, “Kristy and the rest are in danger because I did not do enough to convince these Roslan idiots that the Marauders were a real threat!”
     Luck Giver could only pat his shoulder, in a clumsy attempt to comfort him.  She knew that a Gargoyle was not the most cuddly-looking creature to a Human, but she knew that she needed to try to show him some compassion in his moment of self-reproach.  She wanted to tell him that he had done what he could, and that he was only one man; but she could not communicate that to him very easily.  They tried to communicate with signs, but Graeme did not know the Human sign language much better than Luck Giver did, and so they were limited in their expression. 
     LightWing landed nearby them, and motioned to Graeme to follow her. 
     “We must bring Graeme Gaiala to his daughter, Kristy,” she ordered her own daughter, “Before the Marauders wake up for their evening prowl.”
     It was a slow process, but they managed to lead Graeme to the underground passage-way that led to Kristy’s community centre safe-haven.  Graeme had brought a pack full of clothes from the overturned truck, and he indicated that he would need to lead a party out to bring more supplies back.
     LightWing motioned to him to stay underground.  She managed to play-act the idea of the Gargoyles flying in the supplies to him, so that the Humans would not have to expose themselves to the evening Marauders.  Graeme nodded gratefully, and went back into the tunnel in search of Kristy and the community centre.
     Luck Giver and her friends were then obliged to lug the supplies over by air, bit by bit.  It was a strain on their wings, and it was very tiresome.  They had a few more hours of sunlight, however, and they knew that they needed to bring as many supplies to the Underground refugees as possible.  After a while, LightWing stopped them.
     “That is enough for now, young ones.  We older ones have been strengthening our mind-power so that we can now move the supplies with our minds alone.  Go back into the tunnels and rest for a few hours.  You will need to save your own strength for the Marauders.  They will be back soon.” 
     Luck Giver, Firerocker, and Treeleaf went down into the tunnel to doze for a while, and LightWing brought the others to another hiding spot, so that they would not all be in one spot when the Marauders woke up.  They all knew that the Marauders would start to become wiser as they interacted with the Gargoyles.  The wiser the Gargoyles were, the wiser the Marauders became. 
     “I wonder what would happen if we all started to act stupid around the Marauders?” Firerocker mused as they hung upside down in the tunnel, trying to get some rest, “Do you think they would start to act stupider and stupider?”
     “No,” Luck Giver replied, “I think they’d kill us if we acted stupid...so don’t try it, Firerocker!”
     “Go to sleep, you two!” Treeleaf advised them. 
     Before long, they were all sleeping soundly.  It seemed to Luck Giver that they had only been slumbering for a very short time before they awoke to the sound of the alarm whistle.  LightWing was calling them awake!    
     Luck Giver flew down from her tunnel perch, startled.  There was a noise from the ceiling portal of the tunnel.  The three of them hesitated, unsure of what was there.  They heard a flapping, and the high-pitched squeak of several Gargoyles.  They heard a rush of wings, and the sound of much larger wings.  There was a stamping on the portal, and the sound of an angry, otherworldly screech.  Luck Giver had never heard that screech before, but she knew, somehow, that it was a Marauder.  Soon after, the portal was opened very quickly.
     “Young ones, come out, now!” cried the voice of LightWing, “We must close this portal permanently.”
     The three younger Gargoyles flew out as swiftly as they could, while LightWing and the others used their mind power to transport a fallen tree over to the portal.  They let it drop soundly on top of the ground-door, and as they did so, Luck Giver saw that there was an unconscious Marauder near the portal, covered by Gargoyle saliva.  A portion of the tree had fallen on its wing.  Luck Giver knew that LightWing and Wishwell had the capacity to lift things with their minds, but she had never known that they were as powerful as this. 
     “While you were sleeping, we levitated the rest of the supplies into the tunnel,” LightWing explained, “but one of the Marauder scouts must have seen us.  It flew over to the top of the tunnel, and was learning how to open the portal.  We mind-swiped it, of course, and subdued it with our saliva.”
     Luck Giver glanced over at the green-and-yellow Marauder, which appeared to be sleeping.  It was covered with the whitish saliva, which seemed to have not only neutralized its venom, but knocked it out completely.  She went over to look at the Marauder, up close without having to worry about attacking it.  It had a triangular face, very sharp, pointed ears like Gargoyles, and huge black wings which were as big as its body.  The Marauders were tall, with long lanky legs, and their bare skin shone as if there was oil all over them—which, in a way there was.  The venom that they secreted out of their skins, as well as that which they shot out of their mouths, had an oily substance in it.  It appeared harmless enough, but it was potent enough to kill a Human on contact.  Gargoyles could be disabled by the venom if it was injected into them directly, but usually it was not powerful enough to kill a healthy Gargoyle.  The Gargoyles were fortunate to have the advantage of their saliva, which contained a natural neutralizing agent to the Marauder venom. 
     Luck Giver thought suddenly about what Firerocker had said about “acting stupid” around the Marauders in order to lead them into greater stupidity.  It seemed to her that the Marauders were very adept at imitating and giving back to their attackers what their attackers gave to them.  What if they were to transmit peace and love to the Marauders? Luck Giver had no way of knowing how they would react.  She decided to give it a try with this one, who was disabled.  She closed her eyes and concentrated very hard on the love between her family members, in order to bring the feeling up.  She took a moment to still her mind until she came to the centre of peace. Then, she began to transmit that peace to the sleeping Marauder.  There was no response, of which Luck Giver was glad.  The last thing she wanted to do was to awaken a sleeping Marauder.  Perhaps, though, the creature would take in the peace-love on an unconscious level. 
     LightWing noticed what she was doing, and let her be for a few moments.  She then flew over to her, and said, “We have tried that, Luck Giver.  It doesn’t work with Marauders.  Don’t waste too much of your energy on it.”
     “It doesn’t work well if only one or two Gargoyles are transmitting the love,” Luck Giver said, “But what if all of our troops did so, all at once?  We transmit love to them all at once, and then they hopefully will respond by receiving and then giving love back to us.”
     “We can not fight and transmit love at the same time, Luck Giver,” LightWing warned her, “If we did as you suggest, we would have to make ourselves vulnerable to the creatures.”
     “Has it ever been tried before?” Luck Giver asked her mother, “By anyone?”
     “On a large scale, no,” LightWing replied, “As I have said, they would probably kill us before we had the chance to transmit anything to them.  The only way to stop them is to mind-swipe, and dart-and-spit.  It does not kill, but it does temporarily disable them.  They cannot give us return mind-swipes because their minds are not as powerful as ours, even when they work very hard to imitate it.  As long as they remain destructive and hateful, they will be at our mercy—and we at theirs, should they manage to catch us with their Terror-Claws.  The best that we can do, my Luck Giver, is to keep them engaged with us long enough to see them into the Second Phase of the Cocoon.  That is the only chance for the Humans.”
     Luck Giver felt a chill run down her as she peered at the Terror-Claws of the Marauder before her.  They were long and sharp, and she knew that they held within them a paralyzing substance which could disable Gargoyles.  It was a feature which seemed to have evolved within the recent past, within a few sleep/wake cycles of the Marauders.  They were very adaptable, on many levels, physically, mentally, and spiritually.  The very fact that they held within them the capacity to transform into brilliant Beings of Light spoke to this fact; but how to reach this potential within them?  Luck Giver wondered.  She knew that if they were going to save the Humans, they would need to fight these creatures differently than they had before. 
     She looked up into the sky and saw that dusk was falling.  It was again time to fight the Marauders. 
     “Luck Giver!” LightWing flew at a Marauder which had its claws out ready to snatch the young Gargoyle.  Her mother gave it a fierce mind-swipe, and called to the others to leap into the skies.  They were more vulnerable when they were on the ground than they were in the air.  Before long, the Gargoyles were again weaving in and out amongst the Marauders, mind-swiping them or darting in and out of their midst, spitting saliva at them. 
     They had been fighting for what seemed to be an eternity, and Luck Giver had been devastated to see the Marauders successfully claw a couple of the weaker Gargoyles.  The Gargoyles who had been sprayed with pesticides were not as quick as the healthy ones, and many of them had fallen.  Luck Giver felt as though she wanted to go and mind-swipe Markon Malaruff for what he had done to them, but she forced the thought out of her mind.  Now that there were less of them, they would need to fight especially hard.  She was careful to watch out for Treeleaf, who was still with them, but who was beginning to tire.  Luck Giver wished that there was some way that she could escort Treeleaf to a hiding spot to rest, but she knew that they could not afford to leave the battle at this critical stage.  At this point, she knew, they were going into survival mode, and had no hope of winning the battle.  She transmitted a prayer of help out into the Universe.
     Almost as if in response to her desperate prayer, Luck Giver heard the screech of a Gargoylic battle-cry; and her heart recognized the source of it immediately.  She felt a surge of relief and joy as Steeple Chaser soared in to help them, bringing with him a large troop of Gargoyles from the surrounding country-side.  Now they had a far greater chance!  The Gargoyles from the caves, buildings, and trees of the country had not been sprayed by pesticides and were full of strength and vigor.  Obviously, the battles that were being waged outside of the city of Roslan were progressing well for the Gargoyles.  Otherwise, Steeple Chaser would not have led such a large troop away from rural areas.
     Suddenly, Luck Giver felt the tip of a claw gash her leg.  She flew away from the Marauder swiftly, and then darted at it, spitting her saliva with great force.  The Marauder fell from the sky, but Luck Giver realized that she was close to following it.  She could feel her head ringing, and her wings becoming weak.  The claw-poison was beginning to work its way into her system.  She began to circle downwards.  Fortunately, the countryside troops were keeping most of the Marauders busy, and she felt that she might be able to get to the ground and find a hiding spot, if she were not first apprehended by the Marauders. 
     On her right side, she felt the comforting presence of Firerocker, and she felt Treeleaf on her left.  They guided her down to a thicket which had grown up by the side of the city road.  They all hid within it, and kept very still. 
     “I transmitted to Steeple Chaser what we were doing,” Firerocker transmitted to her through mind-speak, “He has been distracting the Marauders from us with his troops from the surrounding land.  We may yet have a chance of winning this battle!”
     “Not quite so fast, Firerocker,” Treeleaf transmitted to him, “Look!”
     They felt the presence of a Marauder, and turned to see a green-yellow one, flapping about helplessly in the thicket.  It had saliva on its body, and it had obviously been stunned by its fall.  It was not in any condition to attack them, and it seemed to Luck Giver that this was the same one that had managed to gash her leg.  They had unwittingly landed nearby it!
     Luck Giver knew that she would need to stay here until the effects of the paralyzing poison wore off.  That might take some time, and so it seemed like an ideal time to try out her idea. 
 “    Firerocker, Treeleaf!” she said to them, “What if we transmit peace and love to this injured Marauder? You know how well they adapt and imitate.  If we do it with three of us transmitting, we might have more of a chance than if I was doing it alone.  My wings are paralyzed, and I cannot go back to fight.  You, too, require a rest, Treeleaf.  And Firerocker—are you willing to stay here to protect us?”
     “Of course, my beautiful Luck Giver!” he replied “Why do you think I rescued you?”
     “That might be a very good idea, Luck Giver!” Treeleaf exclaimed, “I don’t believe anyone has ever tried that strategy.  Let’s do it—you too, Firerocker.  Let’s blast the thing with all the peace and love that we can muster.”
     The three Gargoyles found the peace-centre within themselves as well as they could before transmitting love to the Marauder.  Within minutes, the Marauder had stopped thrashing around and became quiet.  Unlike the first Marauder that Luck Giver had attempted this with, however, this creature was still conscious.  She could see and feel its grey eyes staring at her, almost as if it was penetrating her with its gaze.  In spite of their weakened condition, the Gargoyles continued to transmit the peace and love until the first rays of the early morning sunlight.  The Green-Yellow Marauder was unable to fly back to its underground base, and Luck Giver somehow realized that it would die if it lay for too long in the direct sunlight. 
     She was beginning to feel the strength in her wings returning, and she knew that the poison was beginning to wear off.  Her legs, however, remained quite shaky.  She considered what to do. 
     “We need to cover it with branches,” Treeleaf suddenly spoke into her mind, “That will protect it from the sun’s rays.”
 Treeleaf recruited Firerocker and the two of them broke off branches and proceeded to cover the Marauder with them, as well as using twigs, leaves, dirt, and anything else they could think of to protect the Marauder’s sensitive skin from the sun. 
     “This is ridiculous,” Firerocker grumbled, “Here we are trying to save the life of a beast that would kill us in an instant.”
     “Keep going, Firerocker,” Luck Giver ordered him, “and keep your mind and heart full of love towards this being.  Don’t think of it as a ‘Marauder’, but only as a creature which needs our help.”
 Luck Giver wished that she could help, but her leg was still not strong enough to use.  She continued to send peace and love to the Marauder, however, until finally she heard a voice within her mind.
     “Rrrss,” it said.
     “What?” Luck Giver asked, startled.
     “Rrss,” the voice returned. 
     Luck Giver stared at the Marauder, and suddenly it dawned on her that the voice was coming from this creature! She was astonished.  Marauders had never been known to be able to mind-speak! She felt that the sound that was being spoken into her mind was the creature’s name.  She had never realized that Marauders had names—she simply had always assumed that they were mindlessly wicked, unable to think in an intelligent kind of way.
     “I am Luck Giver,” she attempted to transmit into its mind.
     “Laaak-grrrr,” the creature responded, attempting to imitate the sound of her name. 
     She attempted to transmit the names of her companions, and she again received variations of their names in response.  Had they inadvertently given the Marauder their telepathic abilities? She knew that they were adaptable, but she had never realized that they were this adaptable.
     “Its name is Riss,” Luck Giver called to her friends.
     “Yes, I heard the name inside my mind as well,” Treeleaf replied.
     “What are we going to do with this...Riss?” Firerocker wanted to know, “If it is beginning to develop telepathic abilities, it may transmit those back to its whole flock.  You know how quickly they can adapt.”
     “Yes, but...I am feeling something different about this one,” Luck Giver told them, “I feel as though it...no, it’s a ‘she’...is telling us that she feels different, and that if she went back to the collective flock, they would kill her.”
     “They say that telepathic abilities can only occur in those minds which are ready for it,” Treeleaf said, “Do you think perhaps that our ‘love-transmission’ has had an effect?”
     “I think perhaps it has,” Luck Giver replied, “But if Riss is different, then we need to hide her from more than just the rays of direct sunlight.  We need to hide her from the Marauders themselves.  We must keep her safe!”
     “She is safe here for now,” Firerocker declared, “It’s not as if we can levitate her somewhere.”
     “But perhaps we could, if we had the help of LightWing and Wishwell,” Luck Giver stated, “Firerocker, would you go find them? I have begun transmissions in that direction.” 
     Firerocker took off at once, but it was not long before he was back again.
     “Luck Giver! Treeleaf!” he cried, “There is another Marauder walking towards us...”
     “Walking towards us?” Treeleaf exclaimed, “Surely not! Marauders don’t walk anywhere—they always fly!”
     “This one is walking,” Firerocker insisted, “I think perhaps its wing was injured when it hit the ground.  Anyways, Kristy and Bran, your two young Human friends, are walking with it!”
     “What?!” cried Luck Giver in shock, “Kristy and Bran must go underground, now! They cannot be walking about freely in the sunshine!  There could be some leftover Marauders lurking about—they have shown that they can attack during daylight hours when they went after the miners in Jerristown!”
     “There are no Marauders about right now other than these two,” Firerocker reported, “I think we have tired out the collective, and they have gone underground for a nap.  As long as they do not penetrate the Human tunnels and bunkers, things should be okay.”
     “Go and lead them here, Firerocker!” Luck Giver yelled, “This is the closest hiding spot to them.”
     “There are two Gargoyles with them,” he replied, “It looks like your Drone-brother, Hearthstone, and...yes, it’s Wizard WiseGuard! And he looks as though his wing is injured, too.”
     “I am Kristy,” Luck Giver heard the transmission in her mind.
     “Yes, I know who you are!” Luck Giver shot back angrily, “And just what are you doing outside? This is very dangerous, Kristy!”
     There was a pause, during which the transmission was hazy.  Luck Giver waited until they had arrived at the thicket before preparing herself to verbally blast Kristy for disobeying orders and venturing outside.  Before she could do that, however, her Drone-brother, Hearthstone, spoke up.
     “No, don’t berate her, sister,” he said, “She had no choice.  The Marauders have penetrated the Humans’ underground tunnels.  The Humans have barricaded the community centre, and Kristy and Bran have been inadvertently locked out.”     
       
                                                                     

The Gargoyles of Chestervale Church

    The two would-be Marauders huddled together underneath their protective shelter, as though afraid of the other beings in front of them.  The Gargoyles and Humans had worked very hard to assemble a barrage of branches, twigs, bark and whatever other protective material they could find.  They then had piled the material on top of the two “no-longer-quite-Marauders” in order to cover them not only from the harmful rays of the sun, but also from the danger that the other Marauders now presented to the two beings.  Somehow, the two had changed irrevocably, and Luck Giver now felt a tremendous sense of responsibility for them.  After all, she had been the one to initiate the “love transmissions”.  She had been unprepared, however, for how powerfully transforming these transmissions were, once the Marauders began receiving them.  She felt that there must be something in their internal make-up which just naturally responded to love.
     Kristy, also, had been acting upon similar ideas.
     “I received a mind-message from this Marauder that we met coming up from the tunnels—after the other creatures had departed at the break of day,” Kristy explained, “We had been hiding in a large crevice in the rocks near the entrance to the community centre tunnel.  Suddenly a voice came into my mind and told me that its name was Mrr—or something like that...I pronounce it as ‘Myrr’.  I believe he’s male, and I believe he was responding to my peace-prayers, which I was directing towards the Marauders.  I’ve decided that if we are to be capable of showing compassion towards the Marauders when they are in their Chrysalis form, we need to start practicing right now.”
     “That’s why Kristy and I were in the tunnel when the community centre was barricaded,” Bran Raven added, “We were testing out Kristy’s hypothesis that the Marauders will give you back what you give to them.  When we heard the Marauders had entered the tunnel, the alarm went off and the community centre door was automatically sealed.  We hid in the best hiding spot we could find, until the creatures left.  When we ventured our way out of the tunnel, we found Myrr lying on the ground next to the portal, covered in Gargoyle saliva.  There were no other Marauders around, and we didn’t feel we could stay in the tunnel; so, we tried communing with the beast at closer range...and amazingly, it seems to have worked! Kristy is a fantastic Mind-Speaker and Receiver.”
     “But Luck Giver is even better, and she had been working on the Marauder Myrr before we ever got there,” Kristy reminded Bran.
     “I think we’ve all been contributing to the Marauders’ change, and we still are,” Wizard WiseGuard informed them, “They are transforming as we speak.  They are listening and learning from everything we say or do.  Therefore, let our actions be honorable at all times so that we can be good examples to them.”   
     “But imagine if we were all engaged in sending love to the Marauders,” Luck Giver said to the Wizard, “Do you think it would have an effect, WiseGuard?”
     “It might, but only when the Marauders were engaged in sleeping.  And then, only at close range.  We might have to infiltrate their underground chambers in order to do that, and it would be exceedingly dangerous.  We would not be able to rely on our wings in such a situation, and chances are that it would not work quickly enough if the beings should suddenly awaken.”
     When Kristy finished translating Luck Giver and WiseGuard’s words, Bran Raven looked at WiseGuard with great interest.
     “Maybe Humans should give it a try,” Bran Raven suggested, “We don’t have wings, after all; and they say that we’re going to lose this world anyways, so what have we got to lose? Many of the City Humans, we’ve just discovered, have been evacuating to the spaceships and are abandoning Kalthorne.  They and their families haven’t been here long enough to feel a sense of loyalty to this world, and I can’t say I blame them for leaving.  But there are many people here who wish to fight for their right to exist on Kalthorne, and these are the people who have been here for generations.  A lot of them reside in rural areas, and their great-grandparents were pioneers on this world.  They want to do something more than just wait underground and let the Gargoyles do all the fighting.  We could form teams and go into the Marauders’ chambers to attempt the Light Transmissions.”
     “No,” interjected Hearthstone, through Kristy’s translation, “It’s too risky.  Humans haven’t got enough mind-power to have an effect on the Marauders, for one thing.  And for another, we can’t risk awakening the Marauders during their rest periods.  Those are the only times that we have to rest in between fighting them! I believe we need to fight the Marauders in the traditional manner—our ancestors knew best, and there was probably a reason why they never “love-blasted” the Marauders.”
     “Yes,” Luck Giver retorted to her Drone-Brother, “The reason, Hearthstone, was that it seemed too idealistic, and so no one ever tried.  And as for the Humans not having enough mind-power, I think Kristy has been proving you wrong in that assumption.  Besides, it is not mind-power alone that will transform the Marauders—it is Heart-Power.  And the Humans do have that, particularly the rural people, such as our friends back in Chestervale.”
     “I am not trying to insult the Humans, Luck Giver,” Hearthstone replied softly, “But I am trying to give you a more realistic appraisal of the situation.  Gargoyles have been fighting Marauders for centuries upon centuries.  Humans have only recently arrived here as settlers, and I think they are still too inexperienced in their collective mind to do what you and Kristy are suggesting they do.”
 Luck Giver peered at her brother, and decided to change the subject, for now.
     “Someone needs to stay here when the Marauders do awaken from their nap, and tend to Riss and Myrr,” she said, “And I guess Treeleaf and I are the best candidates for that, since we’re both injured and out of action for awhile.”
     “As am I,” Wizard WiseGuard added, “although I have sent for my mate and hope to hear from her, soon.”
     No sooner had WiseGuard spoken the words than his mate, Wishwell, swooshed in. 
     “What is this?” she cried, “Marauders?!”
     “They are Riss and Myrr,” Luck Giver explained, “and they are friendly.  We have been transmitting love to them, and they have been transforming.  They are now no longer the original Marauders that they were.”
     “We need to be cautious about that,” Wishwell warned, “No Marauder can be fully trusted until it is firmly snuggled into its cocoon.  Then, at that stage, we can begin love-transmissions in earnest.  Our job then will be to protect the cocoons until the beings in them can transform into their Chrysalis states and be re-birthed as beings of light.”
     “That’s just it, Wishwell,” Luck Giver explained, “That process is beginning now in Riss and Myrr, before they enter their cocoons.  They have been receiving and sending thought transmissions! They told us their names through Mind-Speak.”
     Wishwell stared at Luck Giver in shock and disbelief.  No Marauder had ever managed to attain the level of being a Mind-Speaker.  She moved closer to the pair of beings, and began to listen with her mind and heart.  When she was finished the private mind-reception, she took a few moments to close her eyes and centre herself.
     “You are correct, Luck Giver,” she admitted in astonishment, “I have been in conversation with the one named Riss.  They have changed in a way that no Marauder has ever done, and as a result, they are losing their venom.  The poison on their skins has dried up and evaporated, and their claws and fangs are no longer producing venom.  They have less in the way of physical defenses, but if it’s true what Riss says—that they can no longer be a part of the Marauder flock without being killed by their people, then we need to teach them how to mind-swipe.  They wish to join us in the fight, and I suggest that we use their new capabilities to our advantage.”
     “That will be a problem, my mate,” Wizard WiseGuard interjected, “My wing has been broken and Luck Giver and Treeleaf are not yet fully recovered enough to take to the skies and teach them.  That leaves only you, Hearthstone and Firerocker, to teach the Marauders how to do something that they may or may not be capable of.  And you only have the remaining sunlight hours to do it.  Could LightWing possibly join you to determine whether or not it can be done? We don’t want to waste our time on something that may hinder us more than it helps us.”
     “LightWing is aiding the Humans to re-locate,” Wishwell explained, “The people who were in the community centre are being moved to rural locations, which are safer.  The fallen trees which we placed over the ground-portals to prevent entry have all been pushed aside, which means that the Marauders are becoming more clever and are working together as a team.  That means that they have become more dangerous.  Now that the underground tunnels have been infiltrated, we cannot take the chance that the Marauders may break into the safe-havens.  Many of the urban Humans are being transported to Kalthorne’s Moon Base among the Stars.  The authorities are organizing the transfer at this very moment.  They still have a sizeable space fleet, but there are not enough ships for all of them to go.  The others must evacuate the City of Roslan, for it has become a dangerous battle-zone.  I’m afraid, Kristy and Bran, that you two must also leave Roslan and go to either the countryside caves or the Chestervale Church underground catacombs.  I promised your guardians, Graeme and Sharrah, that I would find you and bring you to a safe-haven at or near Chestervale.  Firerocker, I will need you and Hearthstone to escort Kristy and Bran to the safe-haven there.  I think that Luck Giver and Treeleaf must go with you, as they cannot remain here in this thicket when the fighting continues tonight.”
     “But what about Riss and Myrr?” Luck Giver objected, “They need someone to tend to them.”
     “I will use my healing powers to restore them to health, and then I will begin teaching them what they must know to join us in the battle tonight,” Wishwell told them, “I will need WiseGuard here for that, even though he cannot fly.  He may need to hide in the thicket tonight, but that cannot be helped.  You must go now, young ones! You have been given your orders and I will tolerate no disobedience.  Luck Giver and Treeleaf, are you well enough to fly? Let me give you both a healing session before you attempt to take to the skies.  I want you to go ahead and tell Graeme and Sharrah that the two children are on their way.  They are at the Chestervale safe-haven.”
     Luck Giver knew better than to argue with Wishwell.  She and Treeleaf received their healings and flapped their wings in order to test their strength.  She felt that the venom had worn off enough that the flight to Chestervale would be possible.  Treeleaf had been given an opportunity to rest so that she was strong enough to fly again, although perhaps not to fight. 
    Before the two Gargoyles left, Luck Giver took the time to touch noses with Kristy and to give her the luck that she knew that they would need in order to make it to Chestervale.  Kristy knew that she needed to obey Wishwell’s dictates, as she could not allow her father and Bran’s sister to be left to torment themselves over the children’s disappearance.  Luck Giver sensed, however, that Kristy had not given up on the idea of finding the Marauders’ underground sleeping chambers and sending them love-transmissions. 
    “Be careful, Kristy,” Luck Giver transmitted to her mind, “Don’t go alone, or just with Bran.  We need the numbers or it won’t work.”
    “Don’t worry, Luck Giver!” she transmitted back, “I’m not as dumb a ‘dumb Human’ as you think I am.”
    “I don’t think you’re dumb,” Luck Giver retorted, “But I do think you’re overly daring at times.”
    “So are you, L.G.!” Kristy replied in a saucy fashion before following Firerocker and Hearthstone.
    “There is an abandoned ground-car further up the road,” Wishwell transmitted, “It still has its ignition-card in it.  Kristy or Bran, one of you will need to drive in order to get to Chestervale, and the two escorts will fly above you watching out for any Marauders.  You need to get to your destination as quickly as possible.”
    “I’ll drive!” Bran offered enthusiastically.
    “Please look after Myrr and Riss,” Kristy pleaded with Wishwell.
    Wishwell sent her a reassuring yet wordless love-transmission in response.  Kristy nodded, and turned to leave hurriedly with Bran and the two male Gargoyles.  Luck Giver signaled Treeleaf that it was time to launch, and together they took off into the skies.
    Luck Giver hoped furiously that Kristy and Bran would be able to make it safely to Chestervale as quickly as possible.  She knew that Firerocker and Hearthstone would do their utmost to protect the young Humans, but they were still vulnerable until they entered the Chestervale safe-haven. 
    They flew as quickly as they could back to Chestervale Church, and paused to look around them to make sure there were no Marauders watching them.  They entered in through a hole in the ground which was too small for either Marauders or Humans to enter, but through which Gargoyles could manage to squeeze themselves.  They made their way through a Gargoyle-size tunnel that led through a maze of pathways, finally leading to the catacombs underneath the Church.  There, they were met by the congregation and villagers, each of whom Luck Giver knew by name.
    “Do not worry, Treeleaf,” she reassured her friend, sensing that she was somewhat wary about being in these strange surroundings amongst so many Humans, “I grew up with these people around me.  They are not like Malaruff, but will help us.”
    “I know that,” Treeleaf replied, “I had the opportunity to get to know some of them while we were nursing our brothers and sisters back at the community centre in Roslan.  Even so, I feel anxious about the sick Gargoyles that we left in the care of the Humans.  Did they abandon them when the Marauders broke through the tunnel and they evacuated the centre?”
    “No, Treeleaf,” Mother O’Hara answered on Luck Giver’s behalf, “They did not.  Sharrah Raven, Graeme Gaiala and the others made sure that they were safely transported here.  Some of them are in the seaside caves in North Chestervale, and a number of the more severely injured ones are right here in the Church Catacombs.”
    Ariane O’Hara led the way to the centre of the catacombs where, amongst the many stone markers indicating that a dead Human had been placed there, the sick and injured Gargoyles were laying on mats.
    “Some of the Gargoyles are ones that were sprayed with pesticides by Malaruff and his gang,” Ariane explained, “and some are Gargoyles who had been very badly injured in the fight with the Marauders, and had been lying on the ground near death.  We rescued them and brought them here.  Many have begun to make a recovery.”
Treeleaf let out a cry of recognition when she saw one of the injured Gargoyles.  She flapped over to the place where she lay.
    “It is my sister, Mind Tone,” she told them, “She had been fighting the Marauders near the Roslan woods area.”
    “I’m sorry, Treeleaf,” Ariane murmured gently, “Mind Tone is one of the most severely injured Gargoyles.  We do not expect that she will survive the night.”
Treeleaf did not answer, but instead closed her eyes and began sending love transmissions to her sister.  Luck Giver wanted to go over and comfort her friend, but she knew that Treeleaf needed private time with her family member.
    Ariane gestured to Luck Giver to come with her, and she led her to another one of the chambers.  As soon as she entered the chamber, Luck Giver remembered her original mission.  Kristy’s father, Graeme Gaiala, and Bran’s sister, Sharrah Raven, ran up to her when they saw her.
    “Luck Giver!” Graeme exclaimed, “Do you have any news of Kristy and Bran?  Sharrah and I just returned from searching for them, and we had found nothing.  A Gargoyle named Sky Messenger came and told us that they are now on their way over here—the messenger had been contacted through Wishwell’s mind transmissions.  Can you confirm this?”
    “Yes, I can,” Luck Giver told Graeme and Sharrah through Mother O’Hara’s translations, “They are on their way over here in a ground-car.  Hearthstone and Firerocker are escorting them, and they should be here soon.”
    Sharrah broke into tears of relief, and embraced Graeme tightly. 
    “I knew our prayers would be answered!” Sharrah cried, “Thank the Divine Universe!”
    Father O’Hara came over to the couple and embraced them, as did Ariane.  Luck Giver stayed with her Human friends—the people she used to refer to as ‘No-Wings’.  She realized that, since the Marauder crisis, she had not used that term for a while.  The O’Haras and the others did not mind the nickname—in fact, when translating it to other Humans, they would laugh while explaining what the Gargoyles called them.  Still, after everything that they had all been through together, she found that she was now ashamed of having used the rather insulting and disrespectful slur.
She discovered from Ariane that her mother LightWing had been here helping to re-locate the Humans, but at present she was out with Steeple Chaser investigating reports of Day Marauders.  This worried Luck Giver tremendously, and she wished that she was within a close enough mind-range to contact LightWing to tell her more about the latest developments with Riss and Myrr, the “reformed” Marauders.   
    For now, however, Luck Giver knew that she needed to nourish herself after what she had endured during the last day or so.  Ariane brought some fruit and nuts for her to eat, and she gobbled them up hungrily.  There was also a water-trough for the Gargoyles, out of which Luck Giver drank gratefully.  With everything that had been happening, she had eaten only infrequently throughout the crisis, and she needed the strength that a good meal offered her.  After she was finished eating and drinking her fill, she noticed that Ariane was peering at her with concern for her welfare.
    “I am all right, Mother O’Hara,” she reassured her, “I will survive this.  And we hope that, if we handle this correctly, that all the Humans will too.  That is why we are fighting.”
    “Yes, Luck Giver, I know,” Ariane responded, “I cannot express how grateful I am for the courage that you and your people have shown in defending us.  I feel at times that we do not deserve your loyalty.”
    “You do deserve it,” Luck Giver challenged the spiritual leader, “We have trained all our lives for this event.  Our ancestors have trained for it.  We are here to serve you, as you have served us.  You and the parish have let us share your church home, and we are as grateful to you as you are to us.  But I would like to mention something that Kristy and I have been working on, regarding the Marauders.  We have been attempting to send transmissions of love to individual Marauders—we managed to come into contact with a couple of fallen Marauders who were not strong enough to fight.  Both she and I had the idea around the same time, even though we had not been in contact for some time.  The Marauders, as you now know from the experience of your Military, only become stronger when deadly force is used upon them.  The only way to fight them is through us—we do not swipe to kill, but rather to disable.  We keep them busy until they tire and it is time for them to enter into their cocoons.  But with these two injured Marauders, we tried sending love transmissions.  We knew that Marauders learn what they are given; if they are attacked, they learn to be better attackers, and...we hope, that if they are sent love, they will learn from that as well.  Mother O’Hara, our love-transmissions have worked better than anyone could have imagined.  The two Marauders who received our love-transmissions have begun to respond.  We are hiding them in the bushes back in Roslan, because they told us that if they went back to the other Marauders, they would be killed...”
    “They told you?” Ariane interrupted, dismayed.
    “Yes,” Luck Giver confirmed, “They told us through mind-speak.  Marauders aren’t supposed to be able to mind-speak, but these did, both with Kristy and I.  Their names are Riss and Myrr, and they are now being trained to mind-swipe by Wishwell and WiseGuard.”
    Ariane ran her hand over Luck Giver’s head lovingly. 
    “I will tell the others about this,” Ariane promised, “and we will form prayer parties to send love and prayers to the Marauders from our location here.  We have already been sending prayers out for you Gargoyles, but up until you mentioned it, we had never thought to send them to the Marauders themselves.”
     The conversation about the Marauders was interrupted by Kristy’s father, Graeme Gaiala, who was decidedly anxious.
    “Excuse me, Mother O’Hara,” he said gently, “I am sorry to interrupt, but we are becoming worried about the children.  Kristy and Bran were driving from Roslan; they should be here by now.”
    Luck Giver tuned in to her mind-connection with Kristy, alarmed.  They should indeed be here by now, she thought.  As she listened in for any mental messages, she suddenly received an image of a red-and-white Marauder, flying during daylight hours.  She stared at Graeme in shock, just as Sharrah joined them.
    “What is it, Luck Giver?” Sharrah asked, “Are you picking up a transmission from Kristy?”
    “I...I think so,” Luck Giver faltered, “or at least it is from either Kristy, Firerocker, or Hearthstone.  I have seen a...a Day Marauder.”
    “Day Marauder?” Graeme asked through Mother O’Hara, “What on Kalthorne is that? I thought Marauders preferred to attack at night.”
    “Not always,” Ariane O’Hara translated for Luck Giver, “The Jerristown Marauders attacked in broad daylight.  The one that I saw, though, was a different colour combination from the other two.  It was red-and-white, and it was clearly traveling during the day.  Since the first flash of seeing it, I have seen others—and I am just now seeing a whole flock of them.”
    “We have to go and rescue Kristy and Bran!” Graeme exclaimed in a panic, “We don’t have any time to waste!”
    “No, Magistrate Gaiala!” Mother O’Hara and Luck Giver warned him in unison, as if speaking from one mind, “You will only get yourself killed! It must be Gargoyles who go to search for them, for they are the only ones who can properly withstand large numbers of these venomous creatures.”
    Father Noel O’Hara had come over to join the group.  He took Mother O’Hara aside and had a serious discussion with her.  Graeme and Sharrah began to prepare themselves to leave.  Obviously, they were extremely anxious to procure the children’s safety, and they were not going to listen to reason.  Father O’Hara rushed to stand between them and the spiral staircase, which was the Human entrance that led up to the Church sanctuary. 
    “Wait!” he cried, “If you must have a Human go, then I will go.  I am responsible for the safety of this parish, and you are a member of that parish, Graeme, as is your daughter.  Sharrah, I please ask that you stay here, where you will be safe.  Luck Giver and I will travel to find them.  There is no point in two more Humans getting into trouble—that will mean that there are more to rescue.  Do you not see, the children need you to be here for them when they return.  If you go, you may not escape, and that will be devastating for Kristy and Bran.”
    The four Humans argued bitterly for a moment, until finally they agreed that Graeme had a responsibility as Magistrate to stay and help the people of Chestervale that were congregated in this safe-haven.  Sharrah would accompany Father O’Hara.
    “I know we cannot let Luck Giver go alone,” Ariane said to her husband, “And Treeleaf needs to stay with her sister Mind Tone.  What about Sky Messenger?  Is he still here with us?”
    “Yes,” Noel replied, “He is just outside...I have already contacted him through our mind connection.  I suggest that Sharrah be connected to Luck Giver, even if she does not have Mind-Speaking abilities.  Luck Giver can still send her information if we all become separated.”
    Graeme and Sharrah exchanged some words privately, before embracing each other tightly.  It appeared as though the crisis had caused them to become mates, Luck Giver noted.
Father O’Hara was also saying good-bye to Ariane, who would stay behind as Spiritual Leader in his absence.  Father O’Hara had his hand on Ariane’s belly, which, it seemed to Luck Giver, had become bigger than it was before. 
    “Be safe, Noel,” Ariane pleaded with her husband, “Please come back to us.  I don’t want to raise this baby alone.”
    “You will never be alone, my dear,” he said, “You know the parish would look after both of you.  But I fully intend to return and fulfill my sacred duty as a physical father as well as a spiritual one.”
    The two gave each other that odd Human gesture of putting each of their lips together in a “kiss”.  They then parted as quickly as possible, as if to get it over with.  The Humans went up the staircase into the sanctuary, while Luck Giver went out the Gargoyle entrance to the side of the church.  The Gargoyle Sky Messenger was waiting for her.  
    “You are Luck Giver,” the Gargoyle drake said, “the daughter of Lord Steeple Chaser and LightWing.  I am Sky Messenger, of the Jadic Sea-Caves.  I am honored to fly with you today.”
    Luck Giver had never met this Gargoyle before, but she knew his name.  Her father had spoken of him many times, with great respect.  He had served for many years as a messenger between the various rural villages, and now he was delivering vital messages between the safe-havens of the countryside.  She felt a curious passion rising within her, one that was even stronger than that which she felt towards Firerocker. 
    “Sky Messenger,” she repeated his name, looking at him agog.  Her admiration of the Gargoyle drake was interrupted by Sharrah and Father O’Hara, who came to meet them at the side of the church.  Luck giver realized that they could afford no time, and so she and Sky Messenger prepared themselves for flight.
    “We will take a ground-car,” Father O’Hara said to them, “and we need you to try to tune into Kristy to inform us of her whereabouts, Luck Giver.  If you can fly overhead and protect us as well as keeping your mind open for transmissions, we will have a better chance.  I know we are asking a lot of one so young...”
    “Father O’Hara, my mind is always open to transmissions from Kristy.  She is my friend, and I will do my utmost to ensure her safety.”
    O’Hara nodded, and Sharrah gave both she and Sky Messenger a “kiss” on the side of their heads.  As she did this, Luck Giver established a clear mind-link with her by sending her the thought-message “We will find Bran...fret not.”
    Sharrah then ran to join O’Hara, who was starting the car.  Luck Giver and Sky Messenger took wing, traveling only a slight margin ahead of O’Hara’s ground car.  They would need to watch very carefully for Marauders. 
    “We will follow the path to Roslan which we took in coming here,” Luck Giver transmitted to O’Hara and Sharrah, “I believe when we get close enough, I may receive more messages from Kristy.”
    They scanned the countryside and the sky for signs of either their friends or the Marauders.  They had not traveled very far when they caught sight of Marauders in the distance.  Luck Giver sent a warning to O’Hara and Sharrah. 
    “Stop at the next underground water tunnel,” Sky Messenger transmitted, “We must get you hidden immediately, No-Wings!”
    O’Hara pulled over at the nearest water-tunnel entrance and climbed in.  The Humans had built the tunnels to move water from one place to the other.  Normally, the tunnels were very full of water, but the authorities had brought the water in the tunnels down significantly so that people could use the tunnels as hiding spots from the Marauders if they were caught outside and had nowhere else to hide themselves.  There were many vagabonds who had been using the tunnels to escape the Marauders, and Luck Giver knew that it was still a very wet, dark, and unpleasant place in which to hide.      They had no other choice, however, for the Marauders were coming closer. 
    As they drew near, she could see that they were the same red-and-white colour as the one in her vision.  She prepared herself mentally for the fight that she knew was coming.  The Marauders were almost upon them when Luck Giver suddenly saw her mother LightWing, accompanied by her father, Steeple Chaser.
    “Don’t swipe, Luck Giver!” LightWing transmitted, “We have been in contact with Wishwell and WiseGuard, and we have been trying out your idea.  These red-and-whites are the result.  Marauders evolve quickly, and when there is a change, their colours change—at least some of them do.  I think we may be confusing them a bit, though.”
    Luck Giver realized, with some shock, that two of the “red-and-whites” were mentally familiar to her.  They were Riss and Myrr!
    “Wishwell and WiseGuard have been doing some fast magic,” Steeple Chaser transmitted, “and once they explained about the love-transmissions, we decided to spend the day doing what you girls were doing.”
    Luck Giver looked at Steeple Chaser in amazement, and she attempted another mind transmission with Riss.  She deposited the image of Kristy and Bran, Firerocker, and Hearthstone into Riss’s mind.
    Riss returned the transmission with an image of the four friends going underground, towards the area where the sleeping Marauders lay.
    “Oh, no!” Luck Giver exclaimed aloud to LightWing, “Kristy and the others have gone to send love transmissions to the sleeping Marauders?”
    “Yes, I’m afraid they saw and followed another of “our” Marauders—whom we have now been referring to as Transforms.  Since Riss and Myrr have begun their training, they have been extremely effective at giving “love blasts”.  Other Day Scouts that have come out have felt these blasts and have come to investigate.  Within minutes, they have been transforming, along with their colors.  The more “Transforms” that there are, the less we will need to mind-swipe.  It is quite astounding.  You were right, Luck Giver! But the night will soon be upon us and we do not have long to find Kristy, Bran, and the others.  They must not be found in the Marauders’ Underground Tunnels when they start to awaken! At that time, all Gargoyles and “Transforms” as we now call them, will be needed to mind-swipe.  We can’t “transform” them while they are fighting us en masse—only when they are alone or when they are asleep.”
    The four red-and-white Transforms had landed on the ground while Luck Giver and her mother LightWing were transmitting.  The four Gargoyles joined the once-feared creatures.
    “We must leave Father O’Hara and Sharrah in the water tunnels, I’m afraid,” Sky Messenger told them, “I’ve already transmitted those instructions to Father O’Hara.  There’s no sense in having more Humans to rescue!”
    “We will go,” Riss transmitted to all of them, “We can protect.  Gar-gos stay here.”
    “Not on your life!” Luck Giver cried, using one of Kristy’s phrases, “I’m going, too.  Do you know where, Riss?”
    She was surprised that Riss was already speaking their language (in thought-form, at least), but she did not have much time to ponder the wonder of it. 
    “Right here—under ground,” Riss told her, “But we go.  Lak-Grrr stay up.”
    Although Riss’s language skills had vastly improved, she still spoke Luck Giver’s name in the same fashion as she did when she had first encountered her during Mind-speak. 
    “No, Riss,” Luck Giver replied firmly, “Lak-Grrr is coming with you.  Kristy, Firerocker, Hearthstone, and Bran are my friends and family.  We will find them together.”
    “Will make rescue harder,” Myrr added, “You must stay up-ground, Lak-Grrr.”
    There was a furious debate for a minute or two, before Steeple Chaser screeched the debate to a halt.
    “We will all go,” he commanded, “This will be an opportunity to transform these Marauders while they are sleeping.  If we can do that, we might have a chance.  We need as many ‘love transmitters’ as we can get right now.”
    Riss and Myrr stopped arguing immediately at Steeple Chaser’s command and led the way to a large tree surrounded by some bushes.  They flattened themselves as much as they could in order to fit into a large rock-hole crevice beside and underneath the huge tree.  The four Transforms were followed by the four Gargoyles, Luck Giver, Sky Messenger, Steeple Chaser, and LightWing.  They crept through the darkness down the cold, rocky pathway.  Fortunately, the Gargoyles had good night vision and could negotiate their way down the steep path without having to grope.  The Transforms were having a bit more trouble adjusting to the darkness again, but by the time they reached the bottom of the downward-sloping path, their night vision had been restored.
    The group traveled along a surprisingly clear corridor, one which allowed freedom of movement up and down it.  Riss was leading the way, followed by Myrr and the other two “Transforms” who had been introduced to them through Riss’s transmissions as “Mig” and “Sig”.  Neither Mig nor Sig seemed able to transmit thoughts, just yet, so they remained silent.  Luck Giver could sense something very positive about them, however, and was content to trust Riss and Myrr to communicate everything that needed communicating to Mig and Sig.
    As they crept through the tunnel, LightWing reminded them all to continue to send love transmissions to the sleeping Marauders.
    “Every little bit will help,” she transmitted, “I am receiving signals from other Gargoyles, who have entered the Marauders’ lairs and who have been sending them transmissions the whole time that they have been sleeping.  It is as if your idea has entered into the collective consciousness and is gaining momentum, Luck Giver.  Once we reach critical mass, the Marauders will spontaneously go into their cocoon phase.”
    “I do wonder, though,” Steeple Chaser muttered, “If all this transformation is happening just a little too fast for all of us to adjust to it adequately.”
    “It will happen in its own time, fast or slow,” LightWing transmitted back to her mate, “I feel that we are riding on the pinnacle of thousands of years of prior evolution with regard to the Marauders’ development.  If we can only use that to bring the development to its full fruition, we could be looking at a very bright and peaceful future for all of our children...provided we are willing to share our world with the Transformed Beings that emerge from their chrysalises.”
    As her parents discussed the issue, Luck Giver continued to send love transmissions.  As she was doing so, she began to receive waves of energy.  They arrived softly at first, and then began to increase in intensity.  She went forward cautiously.  There suddenly came a huge jolt of energy which exploded into her mind and sent her sprawling backwards.
    “Luck Giver!” cried Sky Messenger, “What is it?”
    Luck Giver sat up, dismayed.  She did not answer Sky Messenger directly, but instead led them along a side corridor.  The corridor grew very dark, and the eight beings had to crawl for what seemed like a long time.
    Finally, Luck Giver’s intuition told her to take another side-corridor which had recently emerged as they rounded a corner.  As they continued along the passageway, they began to sense and finally to see the glow of a golden light emanating from further along the corridor.  They crawled warily towards it, all of them focusing on their love transmissions.  Riss, Myrr, Mig, and Sig began to tremble with excitement and anxiety.  The stony passageway had finally ended, and had led into a large rocky chamber filled with the gold light. 
    To their utter amazement, the chamber was filled with white cocoons, each of them emanating a white glow with specks of gold flashing about.  As Luck Giver examined the cocoons, she saw that there were now hundreds and hundreds of them.
    “By the Great Gargoyles of the Ancient Times!” Steeple Chaser exclaimed, “The Marauders have entered their cocoon phase already!”
    The cocoons had attached themselves firmly to the rock walls, Luck Giver noticed.  The entire chamber was filled with the big white shells.  She felt, however, that she was being led further.
She edged her way along the wall and paused every few metres to let herself feel the pulse of light which was becoming stronger and stronger within her heart.  She stopped at a large hole in the rock.  It was huge and gaping, and it was large enough for Humans or Marauders to walk into it.  Luck Giver stopped, somewhat apprehensive.  Her mind and heart were now throbbing with light-energy, and an echo was beginning to sound in her mind. 
    “Luck Giver,” said the voice of Kristy. 
    Luck Giver stopped again.  She stared, straight ahead of her.  There, in the centre of the rock-hole, were four smaller cocoons, two of them Human-sized and two of them Gargoyle-sized.  The others had followed her into the rock-hole carefully, but had now halted in dismay at the sight of the four cocoons.
    “By the Stars,” breathed LightWing.
    None of them knew whether to be horrified or overjoyed.  Luck Giver knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the identities of those who were housed within these white, glowing cocoons.  She stared at each of them—Firerocker, Hearthstone, Bran and her dear friend Kristy—and she felt as if her heart was going to break.                
                                  
                                                        

The Gargoyles of Chestervale Church

     Father O’Hara and Sharrah were scrambling to get down into the Marauders’ Cocoon Chamber before the sun set.  After both having been informed through mind-link that Kristy and Bran had been found in an altered state, they had departed from the “water tunnel” and had followed Sky Messenger to the Cocoon Nest, as it was now called.
     “We have now claimed this cocoon nest as our stronghold,” Steeple Chaser declared to Father O’Hara, “The Transforms known as Mig and Sig are to guard its passages from the Marauders while Riss and Myrr help us with the fight.  This chamber must be protected at all cost, Father O’Hara, and you and Sharrah must now be the guardians of the Human children’s cocoons as well as those of the two young Gargoyles.  This is unprecedented in our history—we have no way of knowing what will emerge from the Chrysalis of a Human or of a Gargoyle, for that matter.” 
     “We will guard them with our prayers and our spirits, Steeple Chaser,” Father O’Hara replied, “If you can send for us the message of what has occurred here to Ariane.  She will need to inform Graeme Gaiala...he needs to know what has happened to his daughter.”
     “Sky Messenger has gone to do that, since we are out of range in terms of contacting Mother O’Hara,” Steeple Chaser returned.
     “Steeple Chaser!” LightWing called, “The Marauders are beginning to awaken.  Quick, come up here at once, and bring Luck Giver.”
     Steeple Chaser and Luck Giver touched noses with Father O’Hara and Sharrah.
     “It will be all right, Sharrah,” Luck Giver transmitted to the distraught sister, “Bran will emerge.”
     She then scurried up the path to the entrance-hole, which was hastily covered up with branches once Luck Giver was out.  They immediately took to the skies and were joined by Luck Giver’s older sister, Vine Creeper, who had been summoned through Mind-Link by LightWing.
     Within minutes, Marauders were filling the skies.  Luck Giver had to move fast in order to evade their poisonous talons, for they had now learned to fight primarily with their claws and did not waste venom by simply shooting it out of their fangs.  Before, the Gargoyles could spit their neutralizing saliva at them whenever they shot poison, but now the Marauders were careful to conserve the poison in their fangs for a direct bite.  They had changed their tactics and were attempting to bite the Gargoyles or claw them. 
     The Gargoyles, however, had also adjusted their tactics in order to deal with the new changes.  Instead of spitting saliva, Steeple Chaser commanded them to pool it up in their jowls for future use.  If anyone received a bite from a Marauder, they would need to dive for cover fast and cover the wound with saliva.  So far, though, the Gargoyles were holding their own.  Luck Giver was fighting as she had never fought before, and each time she mind-swiped a Marauder, she remembered to mentally give it an apology and bless it. 
     The Gargoyles began coming out in droves to meet the battle-ready Marauders.  It seemed to Luck Giver that every time there was something new that was learned by the Marauders, a certain number of them would change their colours.  The old orange-and-black Marauders had now increasingly turned into sleeker, more effective red-and-black “Battlers” as they were now being named amongst the Gargoyles.
     Luck Giver and the others continued to adjust their “mind-swipes” to counter-balance the new moves that the Marauders had learned.  Riss and Myrr were learning as they went along, surprising the Marauders by “mind-swiping” them just as Gargoyles would do. 
     They all fought courageously and worked together as a team better than they ever had before.  The Marauders were obviously not the only ones who were changing; but because Marauders learned and changed so quickly, their opponents needed to be careful that they were not transmitting hatred of any kind.  The other Gargoyles had been instructed in this by Steeple Chaser, and so there were many messages of hope, apology and blessings that were being transmitted to the Marauders as they fought. 
     By the time dawn was getting ready to break, the Marauders were beginning to dwindle down to a few only.  One thing that did not change was the Marauders’ need for rest.  Luck Giver was about to retire and go back to the Cocoon Nest to see how Kristy and the others were faring.  Without warning, a black-and-red enemy Marauder sailed in and bit Riss on the leg.  Luck Giver rushed to mind-swipe it, but it was too late.  Riss fell from the sky like a stone. 
     Luck Giver transmitted to Vine Creeper and LightWing to keep the remaining Marauders busy.  She dove down fast after Riss, who had landed with a thud on the hard ground.
     "Riss!” Luck Giver cried, unsure as to how to help her.  She spat her neutralizing saliva on the venom-wound, and it surrounded the wound immediately.  An image was being transmitted to Luck Giver to bring Sig and Mig out to transport Riss back to the Cocoon Nest, but they both knew that they needed to wait until the sky was clear of Marauders.  Luck Giver remained vigilant and stood on guard for Riss.  A small black-and-red Marauder attempted to land near Riss in order to come down and give her another bite, but Luck Giver chased it off.  While she was engaged in doing that, however, another “Battler” came down and clawed Riss’s flesh, its poison sinking into her body.  Vine Creeper was sent down by LightWing to help Luck Giver guard Riss, and she dove right into the attacking Battler, knocking it down with a powerful mind-swipe.  Other Gargoyles flew to the ground to encircle Riss, including Healer Wishwell.
     As the others guarded Riss, Wishwell sent her healing light towards Riss’s claw-wounds before spitting her own saliva into the wound to keep it clean.  By the time the sun was up and the remaining Marauders had retreated to their underground holes, Luck Giver began to fear that it was too late for Riss.  Wishwell, however, was far from giving up.  They signaled Mig and Sig that it was time for them to come out of the Nest, and they were there within seconds.  They did not need to be told what to do, but rather they swept into action immediately.  To Luck Giver’s astonishment, they levitated Riss with their minds, with Wishwell and LightWing aiding them in the endeavor.  Wishwell must have taught them this skill, Luck Giver realized. 
     Riss was transported over to the hole and stuffed down it rather unceremoniously.  Myrr followed along behind, obviously distraught by his companion’s condition.  They continued to drag Riss down the hole and through the rocky passageway until they arrived at the “Cocoon Room” as they had taken to calling it.  They laid Riss on a slab of stone in the centre of the room.  As they did so, her body began producing a kind of soft, silken substance which continued to grow until it had surrounded her.  She was initiating the cocooning process, Luck Giver realized.  Myrr transmitted to her a confirmation of this thought. 
     “Cocoon time,” Myrr said, “Will be soon...for all of us.”
     Luck Giver looked at Myrr, exhausted from their all-night struggle, which had ended so tragically for Riss.  Still, if she was going into her cocoon, there might yet be hope for her. 
     “There is one other,” a voice called out, “who has gone into cocoon.”
     Luck Giver whirled about to see Sky Messenger, who had a number of bite-wounds on him, covered by neutralizing saliva.  Luck Giver was hit with a thunderbolt of shock.  She rushed into the chamber where Kristy and the others were held, and to her sorrow she saw another cocoon—one which obviously contained an adult Human.  She sensed the presence of the man, and she knew immediately that it was Graeme Gaiala, Kristy’s father.  Sharrah was there beside the cocoon, tears streaming down her eyes.
     “Oh, Sharrah,” she transmitted, “I am so sorry...”
     Luck Giver did not want to send false hope to Sharrah by saying that Graeme and Bran would return to her exactly as they had been before, for she did not know that such would be the case.
     “My brother, Kristy, and now Graeme,” she said, “I will be going into the cocoon state next.”
     Father O’Hara sat beside the distraught Sharrah, holding her hand.
     “Sharrah,” he told her, “I know that the temptation to cocoon must be very great for you at this moment.  I must ask you to refrain from doing so, however...to the extent that you can.  Bran and Graeme and the others will need some of us to remain as we are in order to protect them.”
     Sharrah broke down in convulsive sobs at this point, resting her head on Father O’Hara’s shoulder as he held her supportively.  Luck Giver wanted to go over and give her support, too, but she sensed that Sharrah wanted comfort only from Father O’Hara at that moment.  She ambled out of the Human cocoon chamber slowly, feeling powerless and dejected.  She walked over to Sky Messenger’s side, and he held one wing over her protectively.  She felt her heart breaking not only for the Humans, but for her friend Firerocker and brother Hearthstone as well.  Vine Creeper, her sister, had joined them in the underground chamber, and she too was extremely upset.  She had gone into the chamber to sense the presence of her brother, but was unable to receive anything back.
     “I wonder,” Vine Creeper said, “If they have died in those cocoons.  Gargoyles and Humans are not supposed to go into Cocoon-states.”
     “No!” Luck Giver called out firmly, “They have not.  We cannot transmit or feel anything from them because they are in a deep state of transformation.  When they emerge, they will most likely be different from what they were before.  But they will emerge, I am certain of it.”
     “There is another concern,” Steeple Chaser interjected, “And that is, will we all begin to cocoon—especially if we stay in here?  I am not certain as to how much choice the cocooned ones were given.  If so, we must go elsewhere so that we can be available for protection of the above-ground world.”
     “Some of us need to stay here to guard the cocoons,” Wishwell said, “I have arranged for WiseGuard to be transported here.  His injury is more serious than we had previously thought, and he has been attacked by the Marauders on several occasions in spite of my having posted guards to protect him.”
     As if in answer to her summons, a group of Gargoyle Guards entered into the chamber.  They were being escorted in by Sig and Mig.  WiseGuard was levitated into the cocoon chamber, covered with neutralizing saliva, to rest beside the others.
     “Healer Wishwell,” Sig transmitted to the mate of WiseGuard, “Cocoon.”
     Wishwell followed her mate into the chamber, and began a song of sorrow.  As Luck Giver listened to it, she knew that old WiseGuard was going into the cocoon-state, too.  She moved closer to her father, who was visibly upset by what was happening to his oldest and dearest friend.  Both Luck Giver and LightWing enveloped him in their wings. 
     “We must stay here,” LightWing said finally, “I feel that it is important that we remain here.  There must be people to guard these cocoons, and to send them love-transmissions.  The cocooned ones need that just as much as those who are not cocooned.”
     Wishwell entered the room, having sung her song to her mate.
     “WiseGuard has entered the cocoon state,” she announced, “And I believe that the rest of the Marauders will cocoon tonight.  There are too many who have gone into this state for it to be an isolated incident of premature cocooning.  Our simple love-transmissions and the transformation of some of the Marauders must have initiated the collective process as well.”
     As they watched Myrr, lying beside his companion Riss, they realized that he was now going into the state of cocoon. 
     “Riss...pregnant,” was the last thing he transmitted to them before he succumbed to the silk-weaving process of his body.
     They stared at him in shock.  They had not known that Marauders could mate and produce children in the same way that Gargoyles and Humans did.  They had always been told that the creatures simply hatched eggs, and the emerging Marauders were nameless minions that grew quickly and served the collective mindlessly. 
     It seemed that there were a great many things about the Marauders that they did not know, or which kept changing to the point where no assumptions could be made.
     “How do we determine whether all the Marauders are undergoing the cocoon process?" asked Luck Giver, “Because if they are all doing so, our objective is going to change, isn’t it?”
     “Yes,” Wishwell answered, “If the Marauders have all cocooned, that means that we must turn our attention to the surviving Humans in Roslan.  The rural Humans know enough not to try to disturb the cocoons, but the urbanites and recent arrivals may be tempted to employ violence as soon as they hear that the Marauders have become vulnerable.  We must all, Gargoyle and Human alike, prevent them from doing that, at least until the cocoons have reached the chrysalis stage.” 
     “If our objective involves switching our focus to the Humans, then we will need some Humans to speak to the survivors in Roslan,” Steeple Chaser noted, “And Sharrah is the only one of our Humans left that was an inhabitant of Roslan.  We will need her.”
     Father O’Hara came out of the Human-Gargoyle Cocoon Chamber, having been summoned by Steeple Chaser.
     “We cannot expect Sharrah to go under these circumstances,” O’Hara said, “I will go to Roslan with you; but at the moment the Roslan Humans do not know that the cocooning process has begun.  Perhaps, for now, it is best that we keep it that way.  If the Humans know that they are safe to come out, there will no doubt be hunts by people like Markon Malaruff to take revenge upon the Marauders.”
     Sharrah followed O’Hara out of the Chamber.  Luck Giver had been transmitting what was being said by Steeple Chaser.
     “No, Noel,” she told the priest, “You are needed to be a spiritual presence for the young people.  I know the people of Roslan...I will go, and perhaps some of the Chestervale people can come with me.”
     “No one is going anywhere,” LightWing chided them, “Until we know for sure that it is safe.  We need to find out if the Marauders are indeed cocooning.  Sig and Mig have not yet entered the cocoon phase.  There may yet be others about.  We need to use extreme caution before risking the lives of the Humans.  Father O’Hara is right—the Roslan Humans should remain in hiding for as long as possible until we can determine what is happening.”
     Sig and Mig transmitted to LightWing that they would be willing to go and find out if the other Marauders were cocooning.  The two Transforms set out straight away, as the morning sun rose into the sky.
     Luck Giver and the others used the time to get some sleep.  Sharrah came into the main chamber to rest, fearful that she too might “cocoon” if she stayed in the chamber where all the Humans and Gargoyles lay.  She and Father O’Hara took turns checking each other for any signs of “weaving wool” as they had taken to calling the cocoon material.  After the cocoons had been sitting for a while, though, their outer shells felt more like eggs than soft “wool”.  
     Luck Giver settled into an uneasy sleep.  During her dream travels, she experienced a vision of Kristy, Bran, and the others being shepherded into the “Cocoon Chambers” by an injured Marauder-Transform, whom they had come across while attempting to evade a Day-Marauder.  They had sent love-transmissions to the injured one, and to their surprise he had already been “transformed” through the love-transmissions of a group of nearby Humans hiding in the stone caves.
     They had not had enough time to go to the caves, so the Transform, whose wing was broken, led them to the hidden hole by the tree.   Kristy and Bran were led down it while Hearthstone and Firerocker had fought off the intruding Day-Marauder.  When the Marauder had retreated, having been exhausted by Firerocker and Hearthstone, the two Gargoyles had gone into the hole after the Humans.  To their surprise, they had found the Marauders in the hole to be in a sluggish state.  Kristy, Bran, and the Marauder-Transform, named Ilik, were busy sending love-transmissions to the other Marauders.  It was not long before the sluggish Marauders fell into a deep sleep, and the cocooning process began.
     Kristy, Bran, Firerocker, and Hearthstone decided that they would sleep in the nearby chamber, as the Marauders were no longer a threat within their cocoons.  It was then, in their sleep, that Kristy and the others began to cocoon as well.
     Luck Giver awoke with a start from her dream.  She looked about her, at her family, and friends.  None of them had “cocooned”, to her relief.  Perhaps now that most of the Marauders in this particular chamber had fully completed their cocooning process, the danger of the remaining Humans and Gargoyles doing so was reduced.
     Sky Messenger had returned from his foraging above ground with a leaf-basket full of berries, roots, and tree-nuts.  Luck Giver ate from the basket gratefully, taking care to eat only her share, and leaving enough for the others.
     “Thank you, Sky Messenger,” she said, “Not only for the food but for keeping Graeme Gaiala safe while he was rushing over here.”
     “I wish I could have dissuaded him,” Sky Messenger replied ruefully, “He might have been spared from the cocooning process.”
     “I think he wanted to join his daughter,” Luck Giver said to him, “Don’t blame yourself, Sky Messenger.”
     In that instant, Luck Giver felt a stirring of passion for the Drake-Gargoyle before her.  Sky Messenger, too, appeared as though he were feeling the same way.  Before they knew it, they were engaged in tumble-play, as if they needed to experience some joy after so much heart-ache.  They scuffled about for some time, before Father O’Hara awoke.
     “Now then, you two,” he scolded them in a good-natured and humorous fashion, “There’ll be none of that!”
     “We are sorry, Father O’Hara,” Luck Giver apologized, somewhat embarrassed, “We were just...”
     “Oh, go on, it’s all right!” O’Hara replied with a chortle, “I was only joking with you.  You young Gargoyles need some fun after what you’ve all been doing to protect us.”
     “Luck Giver was thankful for O’Hara’s sense of humor, for it lessened the tension that they had all been under considerably. 
     “Luck Giver,” Sky Messenger said to her, touching noses, “No matter what happens to us—let us from this moment forward be mates.”
     “Yes,” Luck Giver agreed excitedly, “Although poor Firerocker will no doubt be sulking inside his cocoon.”
     “Matters of love are so simple amongst you Gargoyles,” O’Hara noted, “That’s what I like about you...none of this complicated ‘relationship’ business that we Humans engage in.”
     Their moment of humor and fun was interrupted by the return of Sig and Mig.
     “The Marauders now—all cocoons,” they transmitted, “Everywhere we go, we feel it.  We went in—Marauders cocoon as they sleep.”
     Sig and Mig transmitted images into their minds of the collectively cocooning Marauders.
     “Have they all cocooned?” Luck Giver asked, “What about you two, Sig and Mig?”
     “We will begin when we sleep.  We are...sleepy, now.”
     Before long, Sig and Mig had slumped to the ground and the cocooning process began. 
     “Blessings and luck to both of you,” Luck Giver told them.  She informed the others about her dream-vision of Kristy, Bran, and the Gargoyles cocooning when they went to sleep.
     “I think we can delay no longer,” O’Hara said to them, “We must all travel to Roslan, before we begin to cocoon as well.”
     They noticed a small wisp of the “cocoon wool” which had been weaving itself around Sig and Mig float over to Sharrah’s foot and wind itself around it.  Father O’Hara rushed over to her, brushing it off quickly.
     “Sharrah!” he cried, shaking her.
     Sharrah awoke, staring at O’Hara. 
     “It’s all right,” O’Hara reassured her, “But I have changed my mind.  Sig and Mig have told us that the Marauders are now all cocooning.  We must get out of here if we do not wish to follow them.  We cocoon because we are sleeping nearby to cocooning Marauders...the material travels!”
 Steeple Chaser had bolted awake at the sound of O’Hara’s voice, waking the three Gargoyle Damsels, LightWing, Wishwell, and Vine Creeper.
     “Yes,” Steeple Chaser agreed with O’Hara, “The cocoon-weaving material is created from the Marauders’ bodies.  We cannot produce it, but if Marauders are cocooning nearby, the weaving strands will spread to us if we lay down near to those who are undergoing the process.  I received this vision from WiseGuard as I slept.”
     “So did I,” added Wishwell, “He advises that we now all go to Roslan—that no one stay here until the entire transformation process to chrysalis has taken place for all Marauders.  It is only when the weaving material has hardened into a full shell that we are safe.”
     Without debating the issue, the two Humans and six Gargoyles made their way up the underground path and out of the rock-hole by the tree.  They covered the rock-hole with leaves and branches once again before beginning their journey to Roslan.
     Father O’Hara and Sharrah went back to the “water tunnel” to retrieve their ground-car.  They paused to gather fruits, nuts, leaves and roots as nutrition for the journey, and soon after they were driving along the road with the Gargoyles following suit.
     O’Hara had sent word with Sky Messenger to the Chestervale people that the Marauders were beginning to cocoon and that only a small party should venture out in one of the Church ground-cars, and meet them in Roslan at the Town Hall building...or at least, what might be left of it after the back-fired military launch that the Roslan forces had tragically engaged in.
     Luck Giver flew hard to keep ahead of O’Hara’s speeding ground-car.  They continued on until finally they had arrived at the Town Hall ruins.  Half of the structure was still standing, but half had been crumbled into strewn rocks and stones.
     Luck Giver felt a deep sadness when she saw it—she could only hope that all of the people who worked inside the building had evacuated before the tragic attack had been launched.  They all stood before it, silent.  They waited quietly for some time, until the Church ground-car arrived.
     “What do we do, Father?” One of the Chestervalians asked Noel O’Hara.
     “We will need to inform the underground refugee populations that the danger to them from the Marauders is over.  We must, however, let them know that they cannot attack the Marauders in their vulnerable cocoon condition.”
     “Why don’t we simply not tell them where to find the Marauders’ cocoon chambers?” Sky Messenger transmitted to O’Hara, “After all, the primary concern of the Humans will now be the care of their surviving population and the re-building of their city.”
     “Yes,” Father O’Hara transmitted generally, so that everyone could hear him, as well as saying it out loud so that Sharrah could hear the answer, “But we need them to know enough to understand why the Marauders must be left alone.  We will, of course, not divulge their whereabouts—which, other than the small stronghold in which we were staying, we do not know anyway.  We do need to be concerned about people like Markon Malaruff, who does not listen to reason.”
     As if he had been summoned, a man in a ragged blue prisoners’ uniform stumbled out of the Town Hall rubble. 
     “Father O’Hara!” He cried, sounding as if he were actually glad to see him in spite of their past disagreements over the Gargoyles, “And Sharrah Raven.  We must now put aside all our differences and work together.  I have heard rumors from some of the older, more traditional people in our underground bunker that the Marauders have finished their acts of terror and are now going into...cocoons of some kind.  We must seize this opportunity and destroy them while we still can!”
     Luck Giver stared at Malaruff in dismay.  How is it that this Human could be so stupid?
     “No, Malaruff,” O’Hara declared firmly, “The Marauders must be allowed to complete their transformational process, or the Dark Marauders from the Deep Underground will arise to completely and utterly ravish this world until there are no survivors.  If you let the process take place, however, they will emerge as Beings of Light to usher in a new age—one where all the Beings on this planet may live in peace and harmony.”
     “Aha,” Malaruff scoffed, “Yes, I’ve heard all about that myth from the Old Ones.  I saw what those creatures did to our city, however...they caused our bombs to back-fire upon us and they left the city in ruins.  Should we now let them survive so that they may do it again? You fools! You’ve been listening to those ridiculous Gargoyles again...”
     “Those Gargoyles protected us with their courage and they put their own lives at risk to defend us!” Noel O’Hara shouted, grabbing Malaruff by the two ends of his collar and pushing him roughly against the crumbling wall of the Town Hall building, “Are you still going to ignore their advice, after all that has come true?”
     Markon Malaruff glared at Noel, pushing back until the priest let go.  He then slammed his fist into O’Hara’s jaw, sending him sprawling backwards.  Steeple Chaser blocked his fall, bringing him down slowly so that he did not hit his head on the rocks.
     “Traitor!” Malaruff yelled angrily, “Cowards, all of you!”
     He took off at a run down the street.
     “So,” O’Hara said to them ruefully, “It turns out that the word is spreading fast.  We need to do some heavy-duty damage control if we are to avert disaster.”
     “Yes,” Steeple Chaser agreed, “Do any of you know where to find the bunkers where the Humans are hiding?”
     “There is one underneath City Hall,” Sharrah replied, looking at the heap of rubble which was on top of everything.
     Steeple Chaser, LightWing, and Wishwell began immediately to levitate the piles of rock and stone, without comment.  It took a while, but finally there was enough cleared that they could begin the search for the trap door leading down into the underground. 
     They heard a knocking sound at one point in their search and they began to clear rubble frantically, with Father O’Hara, Sharrah, and the younger Gargoyles helping to move the stones physically at the same time as the older Gargoyles levitated the rock-material out with the power of their minds.
     Eventually, they came to the trap door.  They opened it, with great effort.
     “Hello!” O’Hara called, “Is anyone there? It is safe to come out, now!”
     Slowly, Humans began to poke their heads through the small opening and wander out into the sunshine.  As they did so, O’Hara offered them edible leaves, roots, and nuts that he and the others had collected as food for all of them early this morning before they had departed for Roslan.
     The people had food reserves with them underground, but it was being rationed as no one had known when they were going to be able to come out. 
     As the word spread, more people came out.  Father O’Hara met with the Prime Councilor of Roslan, Mariel Kaelstar, who had been underground with the others.  Together they organized groups of people to go out and forage for more food and water.  Work teams were formed to help move the rubble from the opening, and plans were made to begin the search for more people who might be trapped underground.
     Father O’Hara suggested that the vulnerable people, such as children and the elderly, be moved to the country where there was relatively little damage from the back-fire blasts.  O’Hara contacted Chestervale Church through the Prime Councilor’s hand-held comm device—they had a comm device at the Church, and he updated the congregation as to what was happening and what the people needed.
     Slowly but surely, the Humans began to rise up out of their hiding places and help each other.  Food and water stations were set up, and the underground bunkers were opened so that they could let the light in.  Many would still need to make the bunkers their homes, but at least they were no longer trapped there and could go up to feel the sun on their skins.
     For weeks, the main focus of the Humans was to help each other survive the ordeal that they had been forced to endure.  The people of the country opened their homes to the City people of Roslan, and there was a huge amount of shared goodwill.  The Gargoyles were now regarded with great respect by the survivors of Roslan, and most people listened to the advice to refrain from disturbing the Marauders.  There was little will to go on a mission of vengeance, after the people were told the whole story of what had happened.  Many were angry at their own government for not taking the Gargoyles’ warnings seriously.  
     Luck Giver was relieved to realize that very few Humans had any interest in war-mongering after the disastrous “Back-fire” attack on the Marauders.  Still, there were no doubt a few who wanted to kill the Marauders before they could awaken a second time, and they all knew one of those people would be Markon Malaruff.
     After the first few weeks, above-ground camps had been set up around Roslan.  A large portion of the population had been moved to the country, and just about every strong and available citizen was helping in the reconstruction effort.  It was at this time that Malaruff, who had been working alongside everyone else, began to make speeches about the need for a small group of paramilitary people to go out on a “search-and-destroy” mission against the Marauders.
     This was what Father O’Hara, Luck Giver and the others had been dreading.  This time, however, very few people listened to Malaruff.  They knew he had been wrong about the Gargoyles, and they no longer trusted him enough to follow his urgings.  There were, however, a few ex-military types who were anxious to protect the vulnerable population.  Sharrah and Father O’Hara had been organizing massive education sessions to let the people know that destroying the Marauders’ cocoons was the worst thing that they could do.
     The stronghold which held Kristy, Bran, and the others was being guarded day and night by both Humans and Gargoyles.  No one knew where the other Marauder strongholds were; and so they lay unguarded, insofar as anyone knew.
     Markon Malaruff and his gang had been sniffing around the guarded stronghold for days.  No one was going to allow him access, especially since both Humans and Gargoyles remained cocooned within it.  Malaruff was told about the Human cocoons, but he seemed to have a hard time believing it.
     One day, while the stronghold was being guarded, he brought along a few of his most trusted men and threw a spray-bottle of sleep-inducing gas amongst the guards.  The Humans immediately fell down, but the Gargoyles were not affected.  They quickly transmitted the need for help, and within minutes thousands of Gargoyles had blocked the entrance to the only-known Marauder stronghold in the whole world.
     It was then that Malaruff began to experience his old animosity towards the Gargoyles.  He ordered one of his men to go back to Roslan and prepare the Gargoyle pesticides to use upon the “pests” once more.
     Luck Giver, LightWing, and Vine Creeper had been among the Gargoyles who had responded to the emergency call to block Malaruff’s entry to the cocoon chambers.  Luck Giver felt her anger rising as she was given the transmission-image of one of Malaruff’s men searching for pesticides.  The transmission was from Wishwell, who was staying in Roslan to help with the re-construction-by-levitation process.  Wishwell informed Prime Councilor Mariel Kaelstar about the situation, and she gave an order for all pesticides to be destroyed.  Since the Chief Head of State and many of the world government officials had been killed in the “Back-fire” bomb blasts, the Prime Councilor of Roslan was really the only official in town who held any kind of authoritative position.
     The Prime Councilor had been fully informed of the consequences of killing the Marauders while in their cocoons, and she had made every effort to make sure that all citizens knew that there would be imprisonment for anyone caught trying to destroy a Marauder cocoon.
     Somehow, none of this seemed to deter Malaruff.  When his men returned to him without the pesticides, he was furious.  Finally, he decided to try the diplomatic approach as nothing else was working for him.  He asked to speak with Father O’Hara and Steeple Chaser to see whether they would take him—and only him—on a tour of the Marauder stronghold, to determine if they were telling the truth about there being Humans inside cocoons in there.
     At first, O’Hara and Steeple Chaser answered with an emphatic “no”; but Wishwell convinced them that people like Malaruff needed to see the cocoons, especially the Human ones, with their own eyes in order to believe it.  The cocoons had been transforming into chrysalises during the past few weeks, and they were almost ready for emergence.  Wishwell believed that the spiritual power of the chrysalises might be enough to at least give Malaruff pause to consider his past actions.  
     Malaruff’s men had been arrested for the “sleeping gas” attack on the Human guards.  Malaruff, too, was put in handcuffs.  He had become too dangerous to leave free.  Before he was led away, however, he was taken down the underground path to the stronghold to see the Marauder cocoons.  He had been searched thoroughly for weapons and had been bound by extra-strong handcuffs.  Father O’Hara led him through the stronghold of Marauder cocoons, which were by now becoming crystal-clear as they transformed into chrysalises.  O’Hara was accompanied by Steeple Chaser and Luck Giver; and as for Malaruff, he was astonished by what he saw.
     He was finally led into the Human-Gargoyle cocoon chamber, and he could plainly see that the chrysalises that were forming there were in Human form, as well as the Gargoyle forms. 
     “There you go, Malaruff,” Father O’Hara told him, “All of the creatures within these chrysalises will be turned into...what, we don’t know.  But from everything that we have been told by the Gargoyles, we believe that Beings of Light will emerge—provided we do not interrupt the process.  Do you not see, Malaruff, it is imperative that we allow the chrysalises to fully transform the beings within to their new form? If we do not allow this vital stage to take place, the Deep-Underground Marauders will awaken to ravish the world and we will not survive.  This is the first chance in thousands of years to complete the cycle where many, many former settlers on Kalthorne have failed.”
     Malaruff stared at O’Hara, but said nothing.  Without warning, he ran into the main chamber and threw himself on top of one of the clear chrysalises.
     “Stop, Malaruff!” O’Hara yelled, reaching out in an attempt to grab him before he could damage the chrysalis. 
     It was too late; but Malaruff, far from destroying the chrysalis, began to sink into it, as if merging with it.  Luck Giver sensed that this was Myrr’s chrysalis.  She stared at the chrysalis in horror.  How would this affect the emergence process?
     Quickly, without thinking, she began to send the Malaruff-Myrr chrysalis love transmissions.                 
                                                         
                                             
 

The Gargoyles of Chestervale Church

     Another week had passed by, and nothing had happened.  Most of the chrysalises had long since transformed into their “crystal clear” state, although no one could see the exact nature of the forms that lay beneath the liquid held within them.  It was as though, Luck Giver felt, they were waiting for the Malaruff-Myrr chrysalis to adjust to its latest “transformee”.
     Luck Giver had decided that she, along with Father O’Hara and Wishwell, would stand guard over the chrysalises until the forms within them emerged.  She felt that she needed to be there when her friends emerged from their somnolent state into the world of consciousness.
     She kept sending love transmissions to Malaruff-Myrr, knowing that they needed the love most right now.  Father O’Hara had prayed over all the chrysalises, but especially over those of Kristy, Bran, Hearthstone, Firerocker, and WiseGuard.  They had no idea what was going to emerge from the egg-like, crystal-liquid structures.  Once in a while, Luck Giver considered the idea that Malaruff might be right; supposing a group of monsters emerged from the chrysalis-comas? Luck Giver let the thoughts pass by, as clouds across the day sky.  She did not try to chase away her fears, but rather watched them traipse across her mind. 
     They had been sitting with the chrysalises for over a month, while LightWing and Sharrah brought Humans in to see for themselves what was happening.  They were strictly warned not to touch the structures, and most of them obeyed.  Those who did not obey touched only lightly, and from that slight touch they found themselves transforming in astonishing ways.  They did not transform on a physical level, but rather on a mental/emotional and spiritual level.
     The word spread quickly about the transformative “magic” of the chrysalises, and pilgrims began to show up from all over Kalthorne.  The Humans were only allowed in a few at a time, but Wishwell believed that they needed to observe the process in order to better respect it. 
     They had all made a decision to trust the inner wisdom of the Humans rather than fearing the worst behavior from them.  It had been a risk, but it had obviously paid off.  None of the chrysalis-eggs had been harmed, but people had begun to worry that Malaruff, with his destructive tendencies, might have poisoned the whole process. 
     Mother O’Hara had long since come out of hiding and was busy counseling people to live out of their love rather than their fears.  Indeed, the entire crisis seemed to have had a transformative effect on the Humans:  most of them were finding themselves changed in little ways, even if they had not touched or visited the chrysalises.  They reported finding it easier to perform acts of kindness.  Slowly, it seemed as if they were all transforming, at least on the inside.
     It was on a particularly bright, sunny morning that Luck Giver had gone out to forage for food.  She suddenly felt a strong need to go down the rock-hole and check on the chrysalises.  She was joined in this by her friend Treeleaf and her sister Mind Tone, who had made a miraculous recovery back at the catacombs of Chestervale Church.  Mind Tone had healed her former injuries, and was now ready to send love transmissions to the forms within the chrysalis structures.
     Today, however, there were many other Gargoyles and Humans who had felt drawn to come and be with the chrysalises—Father and Mother O’Hara, Sharrah Raven and her "Environmental Protector" friends, Prime Councilor Mariel Kaelstar, LightWing, Vine Creeper, Steeple Chaser, Wishwell, and Sky Messenger, to name a few.  They were all there when the first chrysalis began to break open.  It was Riss’s shell.  They watched in awe and amazement as a pair of silver wings began to emerge from the chrysalis.  Slowly, a beautiful creature emerged, milk-white and with a furry head.  On top of the furry head was a pair of antennae, which began to turn and swivel as the being dried herself.  Finally, she gave her wings a shake and came forward.  She was obviously pregnant, as she had an extended belly.  Inside her transparent womb, they could all see a small fetus developing in the same manner that its parent had.
     Luck Giver and the others present could feel waves upon waves of pure love being transmitted to them.  It was as if all the love transmissions that they had ever sent were being reflected back at them several times over.  Slowly, the other Transforms began to emerge, each one emanating a light.  They seemed very much like Butterfly-creatures, except for the fact that their bodies looked more mammalian.  As well, they had taken on a bipedal body structure.
     Before long, Luck Giver felt a familiar voice coaxing her into the Human-Gargoyle chamber, as the underground stronghold began to fill with a brilliant light.  Luck Giver heard Kristy’s voice say her name. 
     She went into the room, and to her astonishment she saw Kristy emerging from her chrysalis as a winged creature.  She was still recognizable as a Human, although her hair colour had changed.  It was now of a silver hue, and her green eyes had become even greener—as green as the leaves on the trees or the grass on the ground.  As she spread her wings to dry them off, Luck Giver had to restrain herself from going forward to touch noses with her. 
     After a period of time, Kristy smiled at her in recognition.  She did not speak physically, but instead used telepathic communication. 
     “I am here, Luck Giver,” Kristy said to her, “Come and touch noses with me.  I am real!”
     Luck Giver’s heart pounded in joy as she slowly approached her friend.  Finally, they touched noses, and Luck Giver felt her own mind joining with Kristy’s.  It was as if they recognized that they were one consciousness that was housed within two separate bodies. 
     Father and Mother O’Hara were both acting as mid-wives to the other emerging beings.  Graeme Gaiala had emerged as a silver-haired, green-eyed winged being as well and it was not long before he and Kristy were enveloping each other with their wings.
     Bran Raven was also emerging, his skin dark and his hair jet black like before; but he now had wings which reflected a bright golden colour.  His elder sister Sharrah was sobbing both tears of sadness and of joy.  Bran was different from what he was before, but he was nonetheless alive.
     “Oh, Bran, Honey,” she cried, “Don’t mind the tears.  I just have to get used to your new ‘winged look’, that’s all...can you speak, or are you completely telepathic now, like Kristy?”
     “It’s okay, Sharrah,” Bran reassured her, “I can speak.  My telepathic skills were not as great as Kristy’s, so I don’t think that entered into my transformation.”
     Sharrah took her winged brother into her arms and embraced him gratefully.
     The next ones to emerge were the Gargoyles.  Once they began to inch out of their shells, the rest of them emerged fairly quickly.  Firerocker and Hearthstone were re-birthed as silver-white, winged Gargoyle-like creatures.  Their bodies had changed, however, and they now appeared more “Human”—complete with long, bipedal legs.
     As Luck Giver stepped up to touch noses with them, she realized that they were both too tall for her to reach.  They finally bent down to touch noses with her.  She noticed as they did so that Hearthstone, the former Drone, had taken on a fully female form.  The thought occurred to her that perhaps Firerocker might have a mate after all.  The two of them seemed to have formed a bond through their mutual experience of having been transformed into the same kind of being.
     The recently re-born beings were not the only new life forms that were arriving upon the scene.  In the past few weeks, it had become evident to Luck Giver that she was pregnant with Sky Messenger’s Kit, and the news had both thrilled and saddened her.  She was thrilled to be having a young one with Sky Messenger, but she was sad because she had feared that Firerocker would emerge from his chrysalis, having fought bravely, only to find that his love had mated with someone else.
     As it turned out, Luck Giver need not have worried.  Firerocker seemed to have undergone a spiritual transformation of his own, and Luck Giver now sensed that his priorities had changed—although at present he was unable to communicate exactly how they had changed.  Firerocker had not been an exceptional telepath, and so he would need to learn this skill in more detail if he wanted to communicate easily with both Human and Gargoyle...and Transform, for that matter. 
     WiseGuard had been the next to come out of his chrysalis, and as he did so the others were amazed to discover that his physical appearance had not changed form.  The only thing to change was his colour, which had gone from its original grey-brown to silver-gold.  His wings, as well, appeared smooth and less “leathery” than they had been before.  It was as if his wings were covered with soft, silky feathers.  Wishwell, his mate, was rubbing against him in great gratitude and love. 
     It seemed as if the beings had transformed in highly individualized ways, especially amongst the Humans and Gargoyles.  One certainly could not have predicted what had come forth from the shells that had encased them.  They all felt a tremendous sense of peace and relief from the tension of the past few months.  So much had happened, and so much had changed.
     “Luck Giver!” She heard Kristy’s voice inside her head, and she saw Kristy exiting the small chamber to go into the bigger one.  The chamber was now filled with silver-lighted mammalian-butterfly people, shining their collective love-light as bright as the sun shines upon the ground.
     Luck Giver looked around, and Kristy drew her attention to one being, who not only sported “the butterfly look” with the furry head and antennae, but also had a Human-like body appearance, with five-fingered hands.  The creature’s face reminded them of Malaruff, but the being’s dignified attitude seemed to come from the one who was once Myrr.  It was as if Myrr and Malaruff had somehow merged, and Myrr’s love transmissions had won out over Malaruff’s wicked intentions.  They both seemed to have been transformed into a completely different being from what they were before.  Luck Giver could only marvel at the process of transformation which had created this strange being.     
     “We are here,” the being transmitted, “Malaruff and Myrr.  We are Myrruff.”
     Luck Giver chuckled in spite of her apprehensions about a Myrr/Malaruff hybrid.
     After a while, the silver beings joined their guardians above ground for a celebration of their re-birth.  They all sang birth songs; and the Prime Councilor of Roslan, Mariel Kaelstar, pledged to work with the newly-emerged beings towards the goal of forgiveness and redemption for crimes committed on both the Human and the Marauder sides. 
     “We are no longer ‘Marauders’,” the Transform that had been known as Riss commented, “We are the ClearStars, and with your help, our spirits have finally been freed from the dark state in which we were trapped for millennia.  Thank you!”
     The ClearStars then gave themselves new names—Riss became Rora, and Sig and Mig became Sola and Marr.  Myrr/Malaruff continued to be known as Myrruff.
     Not long after the spontaneous re-birthing ceremony of the ClearStar people, the O’Haras experienced their own momentous change:  Ariane gave birth to a baby daughter named Noelle.  Father O’Hara was ecstatic, and the baptism ceremony of the little girl was performed outside because there were so many people of all species who attended.  The Humans and Gargoyles of the Chestervale parish all dropped by the O’Haras' residence to bring gifts for the baby.  People everywhere seemed to be celebrating new life in all kinds of ways. 
     Eventually, after all the ClearStar people had been given a chance to meet together, a treaty was signed between them and the Humans, agreeing that no more violence would be employed on either side.  The treaty signing was a political event which signaled not only peace between the ClearStars and Humans, but also the creation of a new government for the people of Kalthorne.  This government was to be comprised of Human, Gargoyle, and ClearStar representatives, and for the first time in their history, the Kalthornic people experienced free elections rather than having a Chief Head of State imposed upon them by the Earth Empire.  Negotiations were set up with the Earth Empire to begin the process of independence from Earth, but there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that Kalthorne was ready to stand on its own. 
     While these important political events were transpiring, Luck Giver and Sky Messenger were setting up their nest amongst the turrets of Chestervale Church.  They would soon be the proud parents of a male Kit named Luck Sky, and so the preparations for the youngster’s arrival took precedence over political transformations.
    Kristy and Bran came to visit them often, flying up to the turrets with their fabulous new wings.  Both young people were thoroughly enjoying their new abilities.
     “The Humans are beginning to get used to us,” Kristy transmitted with a mind-chuckle, “And we’re having a great time flying all over the place.  My Dad loves his wings—it makes traveling easier in his new position as the Human-ClearStar Ambassador to Roslan.”
     “My sister is still trying to get used to my new look,” Bran told them, “Not to mention Graeme’s.  I don’t think she’s ever dated a winged dude before, but she’s happy to have all of us back in just about any form...although I think she does like the wings.  They make us appear quite angelic!” 
     The four friends laughed at the thought of “Bran and Kristy:  The Chestervale Church Angels”.                          
     And so it was that peace at last came to the world known as Kalthorne.  The people of that world now deeply revere all the life-forms found on their pristine planet, and together with the Gargoyles and ClearStars, they have learned to manage the natural world with the same deep reverence. 
    The Humans have expressed their profound gratitude to the Gargoyles through art, carving thousands of stone statues of the sacred guardians on the tops of churches and government buildings.  As Kalthornic history has marched on, many fables and legends have been created around the great heroes of Human and ClearStar salvation:  The Gargoyles of Chestervale Church.