Chapter Text
“Across the globe and beyond are a multitude of mystic points upon which myths and legends are born. This atlas is a map to them all, but only I, Xandra, goddess of adventure, can harness its power.
“Centuries ago, a dark wizard named Lord Felldrake gained possession of the atlas and bound me to the book, forcing me to take him to these fantastic worlds. While there, Felldrake disrupted the balance of mystical forces, bending them to his evil will, and built an army to take over the universe.
“Felldrake’s victory seemed certain...until THEY appeared: the Three Caballeros!
“The Caballeros stormed Felldrake’s stronghold, and using the power of three magic amulets, they trapped Felldrake in his own staff for all of eternity.
“I swore to be their guide and ally. Together, we adventured to many magical realms, undoing the evil of Felldrake while searching for a way to free me from this book.
“During one of our most dangerous adventures, my book was closed.”
Darkness.
An infinite cloth of ink blanketed the Pacific islands as soon as nightfall collapsed. Even the celestial bodies were tucked away; the clouds skating across the sky suffocated the twinkling stars, and the only evidence of the moon was seen in its presence in the lapping waves of the sea.
Smoke started silently billowing from little Papua New Guinea, and that’s when the four of them realized that it was the perfect time to make their move —
The glowering amber from the pack leader’s eyes ignited each island of the Ring of Fire, illuminating the entire Pacific with a harsh orange light. Amidst the flames, on a teetering column in the center of the volcano, stood the intense figures of the graceful Guillermo Gonzalez, the brave Baltasar Carioca, and the daring Don Dugo de Pato — the Three Gentlemen, the Three Knights, the Three Caballeros. The gleam of their armor and swords and staffs made the image of their guide even more immaculate.
The goddess of adventure was the epitome of Greek art. Her golden skin and garments shimmered, the heat of the lava reflecting against her and hardening her appearance, allowing her to take on the likeliness of a terracotta bronze.
“So, just to be clear,” the rooster grunted, swiveling on his ledge and jabbing swiftly, “in order to appease the dragons, we have to replace the damsel Lord Felldrake took for his own.”
“Yes.” Xandra continued lending the champions her blessing: her strength, and the blood of combined lineages of heroes.
“Okay. But only for another knight to come and rescue her again?”
“That’s correct.”
Baltasar sacrificed a few of his emerald feathers during his successful attempt to hook his sword around a particularly vulnerable set of wings. He painfully patted down the char, turning his attention to his guide’s weak side and kicking a snout away. “But wouldn’t they just get upset all over again when said knight comes to steal her away?”
Perched at the peak of their tectonic plate, Don Dugo tightened his grip around his sword and firmly planted himself in place. He focused on a single point in the horizon — their makeshift entrance into the volcano — slid his other thumb inside of the atlas in order to mark their place, and began to spin. Quickly the caballero devolved into a cerulean blur, and was able to deliver violent slashes to whoever stood in his way.
“Well, yes, but that’s how it’s supposed to be done. Dragons like order, apparently. Lawful evil bastards.”
Miffed, the pack leader snorted a ring of burning smoke directly into Xandra’s eyes before she was able to dodge. She let her guard down, and dropped her shield over the rager. The lizard took advantage of his opponents’ blindness and slammed a ribbed tail into the hurricane’s bill. The duck lost his grip on the atlas, causing the goddess to disappear, and both of them went flying off of the cliff.
“No!” Guillermo crowed at the sudden burst of wind in his ear. He abandoned his staff and dropped to his knees, clutching the edge of his ledge to hopelessly watch his family plummet to their deaths. Baltasar quickly reached into his pocket and retrieved a small umbrella.
“Keep these palookas at bay! I’ll get Don and Xandra!”
A dizzy Don slowly opened his eyes, suddenly feeling an immense heat singeing his beak. He immediately recalled what had happened and was about to start clawing the air for the atlas when a warm familiar body pressed against his. He felt an uncomfortable but frequent fury wash over him and started slamming his fists into the parrot’s chest. “No! Her book! Get her book first!”
Baltasar wrapped his wing tighter around his friend’s hips and willed the umbrella to hold them steady against Don’s protests. “She’s a goddess, Don! She’ll survive a million meter drop into a lake of fire! You would not!”
The duck relented temporarily before noticing their path of ascent. “Baz, no! What are you doing? Why are we rising?”
“We have to help our caballero! I need you to trust me!”
The duck stared into the parrot’s deep brown eyes, and the caffeine rejuvenated him. Don nodded furiously, and began determinedly flapping his arms to help the pair rise faster.
“Quit it! You’re knocking us off course.”
Guillermo inhaled deeply and gave a long and low whistle. He quickly swiped at his eyes before readjusting his grip on his spear and bending his knees defensively. He pooled all of his anger and sadness and terror into one, and slowly emitted a ruby aura. The jewel against his neck started vibrating, and with all of his strength, he lunged and thrusted his weapon into the eyes of the chief dragon. The squelch of the irises and the trembling bellows of pain gave the rooster the satisfaction of vengeance, and, alone, he watched as the rest of the pack retreated into the volcano’s exhaust.
Darkness.
An infinite cloth of ink blanketed Guilermo’s heart as soon as realization collapsed. He clutched his necklace, hoping to still the deceptive palpitations. The gem was only to do that once the brothers were reunited, when their jewels achieved pure harmony…
But that was never to happen again.
“Aw, you didn’t leave any blood for us!”
Guillermo’s head snapped up so fast, his wattles smacked him in the eye. “Baz?! Don?! You’re — you live! How?”
“No thanks to this idiota.” Baltasar tugged at his own necklace, a virescent quadrilateral, and explained how its convulsions aided in carrying the added mass (“the duck’s temper is ten tonnes alone!”) and allowed them to rejoin what remained of their small family. His playful manner quickly slipped away as he watched the remaining caballeros hatch a foolish plan on that last note.
“Wasn’t there someone who said heat makes you float...Sy? Sy, something or the other?”
“Sy Ents, I believe,” Don confirmed. “A fine fellow, I’ve heard.”
“Okay! Then we’ll be perfectly fine. I was just being unmanly earlier. I knew all along you would make it.”
“I bet the book is harmlessly gliding down there. Maybe Xandra was in the mood for a tan.”
The parrot finally interrupted, anxiously fiddling with his helmet and tapping the stem of the enchanted umbrella against his zygodactylous feet. “You two...I do not believe that you are being wise. Yes, the sorcerer has been defeated, but we haven’t checked every single thing off! Suppose forgetting something will ultimately lead to our demise?” He slipped out their prophecy from underneath his armor and held it up to their faces, only to have Guillermo nearly hurl it into the ebbing lava.
“Forget about the prophecy! We have to retrieve the atlas!”
“But —“
A warm grip to the shoulders silenced him. He forced himself to look into Don’s deep blue eyes, and suddenly felt the need for air. “I need you to trust us. To trust me. The prophecy will be fulfilled, one way or another. But you cannot break a swear. Especially one made on the River Styx. We are to be with Xandra, until death does us part.”
With painful hesitation, Baltasar Carioca gathered up the last of his strength to propel his soaking wing out of de Pato’s sea, and released his grip on the Oracle’s scroll, allowing it to flutter meaninglessly into the wind. Hot blasts coerced the parchment to rise out of the volcano and ride the pitch waves of the Pacific.
Although slayed be the mage…