Edana lay on her roost, set in the heart of the Northspring nesting ground. Her nest was on a shelf of rock that stuck out from the mountain, large enough for at least three harpy sized nests. Harpies tended to have nests big enough for a few baskets, or their prey. This particular flat of rock, held one nest, fit for a queen, and one other large nest, though not as large as her own. The nesting spot to her left, was vacant, as of recently. That spot belonged to her closest sister Onoke, until she recently betrayed Edana's trust. (This is a story for another time.) After her betrayal was discovered, the feathered mare was brought before the high court of the Hatetalons. It was agreed that she would be outcast, and stripped of her feathers. Edana however, feeling better, and having to cover an aching heart, with stone, had decreed that she would be cast into the Walker pit instead. So be it. She would fight in the karst, against a bearwalker. If she survived, only then, would her freedom be bought. Edana, being proud of her selection in a mare, didn't think she would lose. The scene had been a brutal one, and all gathered to watch the cast out sister, fight. It seemed as if the whole flock had gathered to watch, and the crowd buzzed with shouts. The bearwalker proved to be quite challenging. The sister looked as if she would not make it out alive. This fueled Edana's rage. How could one so close to her, be so weak? As one of her guards stood to see if she wanted the fight stopped, she held up a claw, holding her back. This would end without the aid of anyone else. The crowd fell deathly silent, as the bear sealed the harpy girls fate. He snapped her neck, then began to rip her limb from limb. All the pent of rage of being held prisoner, was unleashed on her corpse. Edana stood up, and walked through the tunnels towards the gate entrance to the karst. Her eyes were white, but looked as if they were on fire with rage. A few flock members quickly rushed out of the way, not wanting to fall under her claw.The ivory mare was suited up by the karst guards, without her having to say a word. They opened the outer gate, and Edana stepped in moments later. As the gate shut behind her, the bear took note of her, and began to stare at her....waiting. He might get twice the revenge in one night, or at least this was his thinking. Wooden spikes were pushed through holes on either side of the karst entrance, to push the bearwalker back. He snarled and managed to snap one in half, but not before the gate was open, and Edana was on top of him. He had lost focus for one moment, and in that moment, she had moved in. The gate shut just as quick as it had opened. Edana stood there. She reached down, and grabbed the broken spear with her claw. The bearwalker was dumb. It's lower lip hung open, as it turned to look at his new foe. Being in bear form, he was easily the size of Edana, if not larger. One of the guards was already in the outer karst gate, just in case she needed to move in. This was their queen after all. They wouldn't let the bear rip her apart, should she lose. Though, her worth as a queen would be questioned if it did come to that. It was not the first scuffle the queen had against a walker. She had yet to let herself fall prey to one.
A gap was made, as she moved to the other side of the karst. The bear lunged towards Edana, and she swiftly leapt against the wall, and launched herself towards the bear. It seemed as if she would leap over the bear, but her angle was off. Instead, the large spike in her claw, met with the bears face. The bearwalker had been leaning it's head back, to take a bite at her with her jaw. This caused two things to happen. One, the spike rammed into the bears jaw, and stuck there. Second, it caused Edana to end up on the ground below him. The adrenaline rushed through her, as she slid down the side of the bear. The bear, racked with pain, began to thrash at the ground, and paw at the spike in his jaw. He stomped around, rose to his hind legs, and yelled. It had hit it at just the right angle, to wreck his jaw entirely. Edana quickly averted most the assault, then ran to the opposite side of the karst, towards the gate. By the time she was there, the gate was already open, and she was inside. The bearwalker swung round as the door was being lowered, and charged toward her. It smacked into the gate, and began to pound on it with it's feet. Edana bucked up on her hind legs, and grasped the bears claws through the fence with her claws. She had to reach through the reinforced cage in order to reach him. There was multiple layers, to assure those in the karst couldn't reach through. However, Edana had forced her skinny legs though, just far enough to dig into the bears flesh and get his attention. Looking the bear dead on, she finally spoke up. "Release him. He has earned the freedom, that Onoke did not win." The bearwalker roared with a new rage. Who knew what his thoughts were. Edana had given him freedom, but had also given him a death warrant by breaking his jaw. This was a lucky blow. Her original intent, was to try and wound the bear then have her guards kill it. This worked out. He would starve to death, with that jaw. If it wasn't broken, it was dislocated. Either way, he was screwed.
The watchers left the karst, and the guards began their work. It would take them all night, to work towards releasing the bearwalker in this state. They had their work cut out for them.
Bitter days were ahead for Edana. It would be long before she trusted anyone to get close enough to roost with her. For now, she only shared a nest with Talon, her bonded condor. For now..
