Every society has them; the secret organizations that become the boogeyman or are thought to be the secret hand controlling the population. This describes the Ruling Council of Hafjeris well, but the Auburn Order is better than that. They have existed secretly among the Hafjeris for as long as the population has inhabited Hafjeran, which is a feat considering the red color of their wings that is not a common trait amongst the Hafjeris. The secrets of the order are well guarded and they are never seen unless they want to be.
The male Hafjeris who crashed landed on the balcony of the top floor of the Jiris building, continues to advance on Whadgaf who is yelling at security through the wall communicator. But their help seems too far away now and Whadgaf remembers her training with her mother. She stretches both of her wings up and back and lunges at the man with her right fist. She lands a punch square on his cheek. She maintains her momentum and rolls her body over into a flip with a slight flit of her wings, and she connects with her left foot against the same side of the man’s face.
The man stumbles back through the balcony doors and Whadgaf follows, ready to finish him off. But the man recovers quickly and before Whadgaf can react, he has wrapped his arms firmly around her and has taken flight away from the Jiris building. Security arrives just in time to see the man with the red wings fleeing with Whadgaf, and despite their pursuit, they are unable to keep up.
Panic ensues at that Jiris building. Security guards are fired and Whadgaf’s father, Wadged Jiris, is yelling into a communicator with a member of the Ruling Council, insisting that all measures be taken to find his daughter. “She was taken by a man with red wings! You know what this means and it’s not good for anyone.” As a member of the Jiris family, Wadged has been a part of the secretive Ruling Council since the death of his oldest living relative. Membership on the council affords privileges that are not known to the average Hafjeris, and in actuality, the members of the council are not public knowledge. The Hafjeris have a shadow government in the Ruling Council that is made up of the planet’s wealthiest owners and they have manipulated Hafjeris society since its inception. The fact that Wadged is even making a call to the council over a public communicator is controversial and speaks to the urgency of the situation. It’s all for nothing, though. The man with the red wings has taken Whadgaf high into the Hafjeran atmosphere, to the lair of the Auburn Order that formed in opposition to the Ruling Council and has vowed to expose the council and its practices that keep wealth in the hands of the few and exploit the needs of the renters.
The lair of the Auburn Order is camouflaged well in puffy white clouds; it cannot be seen from the surface of Hafjeran. “We have come to my home Whadgaf Jiris. You do not need to fear us, we need your help.” The man with the red wings does his best to comfort Whadgaf, but she is in pain and hasn’t stopped struggling to free herself since he grabbed her. His arms are strong and Whadgaf wonders if he will snap the bones in her wings.
“You have to put me down soon!” Whadgaf yells into the man’s ear.
The man ignores her as they fly up through a cloud and emerge in front of what appears to be a castle sitting on the cloud. Whadgaf is awestruck by the sight and forgets her discomfort while the man with the red wings lands just at the gate of castle.
When he releases her, Whadgaf suspends her wonder long enough to take another shot at the man. This time she connects with his beak and hurts her hand.
“You don’t need to fight me. I am not your enemy. We can dress your wound inside.” He grabs Whadgaf again and he forces her inside the stone door of the castle. “I hate to be so rough, but we have important things to do.”
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