The thing in the sky descended.
At first it was only a shape, something dark and gray moving against the black clouds.
Then it broke free of the mountain's silhouette, peeling away from the red glow of the peak.
It flew.
Its wings were large, and the sound it produced when it beat them was like dragging torn cloth through the air.
Something like feathers, but at the same time scales covered its entire body.
She had almost mistaken it for a dragon because of its size.
Upon its back sat a rider.
The rider didn't need to cling to it with stirrups or a leash. They sat upright and still, like carved in place.
The creature circled, wide and distant, again and again, closer each time.
The screech Sonder heard came from its mouth once again.
Sonder felt even the earth shake with fear this time. The sound scraped against the ears of nature. But she was unsure if it was because of the power of the creature or the fear of it.
She planted her feet, trying to stay courageous. She had seen and felt much evil and had braved it all. This was no different.
The flying thing dipped lower.
She could see more of it clearly. It had a long, narrow body, and its head turned as it flew. Not snapping or jerking in different directions, but tracking one spot. It was watching her.
The rider did not move.
It was cloaked in gray, armored maybe, she couldn't tell.
Even in flight, no wind tugged at their shape. No motion came from it.
The creature banked sharply and completed another circle, this one tight enough that Sonder felt the displacement of air wash over her.
It knew she was there, and must have seen her.
She did not draw out her sword yet, but power hummed faintly through her bracelets and was making its way to her staff; which she had not yet raised.
It wasn't from hesitation, but if she did, it would be like answering the shriek of the creature and its master.
The rider's head tilted. Just slightly.
The flying creature let out another screech, and angled its wings, descending into a slow spiral around the ruins and Sonder.
Sonder tightened her grip on her staff and lifted her chin.
Whatever this was, it hadn't come by accident.
But the aura of dread it brought forth, the kind that made the land and even the dust-creature cower, had not reached Sonder.
The flying creature beat its wings as it came to land.
Dirt and dust stirred up as it landed.
It sat there for a moment, folding in its wings and shaking its head.
And then the rider descended.