Chapter Sixteen
[Dragonair]
Across the vast, snowy plains, in an old, abandoned
ruin of a shrine atop Mt. Fenris, Magpie contemplated the recent turn of
events. Ever since leaving the party (that she had only recently agreed
to join) with perhaps one of their strongest allies, she felt a strong
sense of committing a great wrong, almost like that one other time......indeed,
as she jumped into Marley's castle to obtain supplies for the three-day
journey to Mt. Fenris, she considered returning to that strange group.
But she knew that wasn't an option. She was a traitor
to them now, just like back home.......though it was only half a year ago,
it seemed like forever. That fateful day.......
"Alright, that's all for today. There's not much
point in exhausting ourselves, with the situation as it is," he said.
"Well," Magpie replied, "if we're not trained
well enough, it won't matter how tired we are."
But deep down, she knew her brother was right.
They were already the most elite duo in all Aegea, though King Isaac refused
to even acknowledge their membership in his military. In fact, she was
the only one allowed to participate in standard exercises; he treated her
twin brother almost like a distrusted mercenary.
No one knew exactly why, either. But that oddity
was irrelevant. There was a rebellion going on, and the two of them were
perhaps some of the last who remained loyal to Isaac. As such, they finally
received some due recognition and were even allowed to guard him personally
as of late. And today was no different. Or at least, it seemed no different.
They reported to the king's chamber, and assumed their guard. But no sooner
had they taken their positions than a group of rebels entered the throne
room and demanded that Isaac step down. Magpie approached their leader.
"What problems do you have with our king? He
has done you no wrong . . . " she inquired.
"Perhaps you should ask yourself that question.
Let King Isaac tell you why you never truly served in his army . . . "
the man replied.
Magpie, curious, turned to face Isaac. But that
was the last second she would see him alive. As she turned, a pair of knives
flew past her head and struck through Isaac's head above each eye. And
then, her brother's cry, plain as day . . . .
"NO! FATHER!!"
"WHAT?!?!"
Six months had passed since then. Of course she blamed
herself; who could honestly do otherwise? After that fateful day, Magpie
fled from Aegea. She had no idea where her brother was, but she didn't
really want to know, either -- she was a traitor to her kingdom, and he
was not. No, worse -- she was a traitor to her own father, a father she
didn't even know she had. But was the doubt justified? What did that man
mean? Magpie had asked the question of herself hundreds of times since
then, but to no avail . . . alas, tonight would just the same. She turned
over to attempt to sleep for another troubled night . . . .
"Alright, men, our true test is just ahead!"
Dragonair shouted to his troops, knowing that those
orders might be the last they would ever hear. Indeed, what manner of fool
would knowingly assault Mt. Fenris, after seeing what had happened to the
others? His mission was clear, however. He had his own motives; and besides,
the new king of Aegea (although a mysterious, shadowy character who was
rarely even present in the kingdom) had given him precise orders. After
accepting the position of High General of the Aegean military in return
for his life after the revolt, he was to search out a mysterious character
frequently seen ascending Mt. Fenris. And after the failure of countless
others, Dragonair was to lead his best men up the sacred mount.
But there were good reasons why many of the men
never even returned; their group had just fought one. A dragon. And it
was not an ordinary dragon, either. Though an adept dragoon, Dragonair
could not communicate with it at all. It was as if it were bound, by magic
or instinct, to guard whatever was on the mountain. And there were more
just ahead. With hopes of a peaceful resolution with them long gone, Dragonair
gave the order to fight the oncoming horde all the way up the mountain
trail.
In preparation for the fight, he helped his troops
with as many Haste and Image spells as he could muster. He was born with
natural control over many forms of time- and dimensionally-based magic,
and never even had to mutter a single incantation to cast a spell of that
sort. It was a skill he had deduced to have inherited from his late mother
-- who, some said, was actually half-dragon herself. That would explain
his natural abilities as a dragoon . . . but there was no time to think
of his mother then. His men were on the move, and starting to drop often
now. On horseback, Dragonair charged in the fray . . .
Knowing that they might have even been his relatives
somewhere down the line, Dragonair couldn't bring himself to fight them
from the start. Nor could the dragons turn and face him, it seemed. But
that didn't stop him from defending his men at every turn with his lance.
In fact, from his natural prowess dealing with dragons, he acted almost
as a living Safe spell to his troops.
But it wasn't enough, and Dragonair knew it. For
every dragon slain by his knights, another would arrive, often taking one
of his men from behind. They were losing the fight, and perhaps the worst
was yet to come -- one of his men informed him that he had seen a winged
dragon flying just above the treetops in their direction. This one was
different, he claimed right before being slashed across the throat by one
of the berserk creatures.
But Dragonair fought on; indeed, he continued fighting
until his men dwindled down to an amount he could count. Likewise, the
same appeared to have happened to his opponents. But it was hardly even,
now. There were at least twenty dragons, and only eleven men. No, nine
men, and eighteen dragons. Now only fifteen dragons . . . but only eight
men accounted for. Twelve dragons. Six men. Seven dragons. Three men. Three
dragons . . . and only a single knight left to fight with him. The dragons
lunged, and Dragonair threw his lance at them, muttering something to the
effect of "forgive me . . . " under his breath. The spear flew through
the air . . . and missed. Whether it was a momentary loss of skill or an
unwillingness to take a dragon's life, it was irrelevant. Dragonair was
now alone, so close to the summit of Mt. Fenris, with three berserk dragons
blocking his path.
And that was not all -- he felt a sudden gust of
wind, and stole a glance upward. As expected, he saw a winged dragon, decidedly
female, fly over them and turn back towards the scene. As this dragon approached,
Dragonair noticed that she was different from the others -- he could feel
her life force, unlike the others. And it almost seemed familiar . . .
[Lorli Chan]
The winged dragon flapped her wings swiftly as she
brought her body upright to the ground. She lowered a few feet and fell
to the earth between the opposing forces with a dull thudding sound.
Dragonair, facing the dragon's back, pondered if
he should take advantage of this situation and strike the dragon while
she was off guard, but he sensed a familiarity with it...as if he knew
this creature.
While he was trying to remember if he saw such a
dragon, the winged beast seemed to be communication with the three dragons.
From her throat emitted deep rumbling growls. The
three dragons answered with higher-pitched wails.
Dragonair noticed that the dragons must have answered
with something the winged dragon did not want to hear, as she bared her
sharp teeth and arched her back in an intimidating way.
The dragons caught side of her long, sharp teeth
and backed away, except one. The brave dragon lowered to the ground and
shifted its two front feet. Dragonair recognized this motion; it was going
to pounce.
The winged dragon realized this too, and gave out
a frightening roar that chilled the blood of every creature that was around
to hear it. Nevertheless, the bold challenging dragon leaped. Dragonair
realized, in complete surprise, that the dragon had himself as the target!
He didn't know what to do, it happened so unexpectedly; he was entirely
off-guard. He stood still, as if paralyzed.
The winged dragon snarled as she lunged her head
to the side, grabbing the unfortunate dragon by the neck. Dragonair watched
as her sharp teeth sunk into the dragon's scales and into its tough skin.
Blood dropped to the ground as the dragon, though surprised, started to
rip the winged dragon with its keen claws.
Dragonair watched in amazement as the battle between
the two raged on. Dragon blood, scale, and feather went flying as teeth
bit and claws scratched. Snarls and screams filled the air; it was hard
to picture that this place may have been quiet at one point.
He looked for the other two dragons, but they had
gone. Either they sensed another threat and took off, or they just were
frightened. Either way, they were long gone. Just as he was looking over
the horizon for any sign of them, he heard a scream that told him that
the fight was over.
He quickly looked back and saw that the winged dragon
had ripped her claws across the other dragon's neck, in a move that determined
the battle. Black blood soaked the ground as the dragon made a few gurgling
noises, and his jaws clamped onto the winged dragon's leg released. The
winged dragon had won.
The winged dragon arched her neck to the sky and
roared; it seemed as if it was a roar for victory. Though Dragonair wasn't
quite sure if the dragon should be quite so happy about the battle, as
the dragons were supposed to be on the same side.
The roar ended, though it echoed through the mountains.
The dragon beat her wings and folded them across her back. Dragonair wasn't
quite sure if she was going to attack him, but it seemed as if she was
waiting for something. Dragonair took a chance, and attempted to communicate
with it.
"Um...Hello. I can't help but sense I know you
in some way. It seems so, as I saw you defending me with such vigor."
The winged dragon looked at him and bared her teeth.
Dragonair realized that trying to communicate was in fact, a horrible idea.
But he was surprised when he heard the dragon's
answer. In a deep, hissing voice, she answered, "I've been awaiting
your return for several years now, Dragonair. It makes me angry that you
would not remember me."
Dragonair studied the dragon, and tried to remember
where he saw her. She had black scales, and her wings sprouted black feathers,
which shined teal in the sun. Her eyes were bright yellow, with a black
slit down the middle; like a serpent's eye. Her teeth were long and sharp,
and probably white if they were not stained black with blood. Dragonair
recognized her, but he could not quite remember where she came from, and
when.
The winged dragon saw his confused expression and
a deep growl was heard, "If you do not remember me, perhaps I should
take leave, as I am not that important."
And just as she spread her wings and lowered to
take off, Dragonair cried, "I remember! I remember you, Lorli Chan!"
Lorli Chan wings stayed open for a moment, but she
then folded them. She answered in an amused expression, "So, you do
remember."
Dragonair smiled, "I did not recognize you with
the wings. When I saw you last, you had no feathers."
"It has been quite a while, sir."
Lorli Chan stepped toward Dragonair and lowered
her head. Dragonair smiled and started to scratch beneath her jaw. "How
could I forget??", he thought to himself. "How could I forget the family
pet?"
[Dragonair]
"Very easily, apparently," Lorli-Chan retorted
with a snort.
"It's only been twelve years, after all."
"But then again, you must remember that I was only
six years old when mother......"
"Yes, I know. But as you've already pointed out,
I wasn't fully grown, either. Anyway, we obviously have some catching up
to do, with this rampant bloodshed of both our kind . . . "
At that comment, Dragonair shifted somewhat uneasily,
removed his helmet, and moved to sit upon a nearby boulder. "Well, yes
. . . it seems like so long ago when the three of us left home atop Mt.
Fenris. I thought we might stand a chance with our father, but never told
Magpie who he really was . . . that turned out to be more and more of a
disaster everyday. Returning here wasn't entirely my idea, although I have
my reasons, too. Where have you been all these years?"
"We dragons have quite a few places out there
. . . I found the closest one I could. But although life wasn't overly
difficult, I did learn a lot of things. Things . . . "
"Yes?"
Lorli Chan bowed her head. "Things about your
mother, and how I came to live with the three of you."
Now acutely interested, Dragonair looked directly
at Lorli Chan. "Please, go on . . . "
"Well . . . as we all know, your mother was raised
near here, on the lower slopes of Mt. Fenris, by a small group of dragons.
But she wasn't actually born here. In fact, none of my kind actually know
who her parents were. Though distinctly and totally human in form, there
was no mistaking that dragon's blood flowed through her veins, and a dragon's
spirit resided in that body. She communicated with our kind before she
learned how to speak, even.
"But it wasn't long until she ventured out into
the world, and nothing could stop her. When she returned a year later with
a child (or rather, two children, as we both know it came to be) on the
way . . . children that weren't of our kind, the entire lot of them was
furious with her. They were tolerant for a while, but the last straw came
. . . when I was born. Or, when you were born. Same difference, as they
brought it to my attention that I hatched on the very same day that you
two were born."
"Really? I never knew that . . . "
"None of us did. The entire group thought I was
a bad omen, and that was the very reason they left Mt. Fenris entirely.
Your mother raised me, too, as the "family pet". And we both know the rest
of the story . . . "
Dragonair leaned back for a moment. "Of course .
. . well, we've both returned home, and out of all likelihood, my sister
has long been here, as well. Out of sheer coincidence, I was ordered to
find her . . . and now that some of your friends here have relieved me
of the responsibilities with which I came, I have no intention of returning
to him; only of finding out what happened to Magpie; especially since I've
found you here. So . . . what brings you back home?"
Lorli Chan gazed up at the sky. "The gate."
Dragonair almost choked. "You mean . . . the gateway
beneath the mountain that the tablets in the ruins at the summit spoke
of?"
She nodded. "Exactly. Someone has their hands
on forbidden magic, and has already initiated the sequence to finding and
opening the gate. I don't know who or what lies beyond it;
only that it threatens us. Those dragons didn't respond to me, they responded
to my actions. If it could drive my own kind as mad as it did in defense
of it . . . "
Suddenly, a shadowy figure emerged. With no more
than a second glance, both of them knew who it was.
"MAGPIE!?"
"Who else?" she replied. "Everybody else seems to be
dead around here. How in the world can a girl get any sleep with a war
going on down here?"
"So . . . I'm guessing you heard our conversation,
then?" Dragonair inquired.
"Yes, of course. And it's nice to finally see you
two after all these years . . . but after hearing what you said, Lorli
Chan, we have more than a job ahead of us. I happen to have had a run-in
with a group of rebels down in the kingdom of King Marley a few days ago.
They were merely intent on overthrowing the king, but possessed an unreasonably
powerful spellbook. Perhaps it's the one we've heard of . . . "
"If that's true, then we have no time to waste.
Lorli Chan? Think you could give us a demonstration of just what those
wings of yours can really do?"
"I thought you'd never ask! Just point in me
in the right direction . . . "
And so Dragonair, Lorli Chan, and Magpie (still
carrying Flea's Soul Stone) set out for King Marley's castle. But no one
could predict just what they would find when they arrived there . . . .
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