by Dreagen
“So you enslaved them?” she asked, horror stricken by the implication of what she was hearing. Her ancestors, the ancestors of all SaVarians, decedents of those who had their freedom stripped from them and forced into a life of merciless servitude, where the only release would have been death.
“Still, they needed a bit of work,” he continued. “Numerous and easily controlled as they were, they were hardly suited for life in this world. Because of this, we changed them to suit our needs, to better survive in a world that would otherwise kill them. By combining your DNA with that of the DyVorians, plus some genetic tinkering, we managed to produce a variant of the species that was perfectly suited for life in EeNara. Thus, the SaVarian race was born.”
“So we were…your creations?”
“Indeed! And such a successful one at that, for centuries after you were to have served your purpose and succumbed to the biological pressures of this world, you are still here. Alive and thriving! We would have never guessed that the very creatures that were supposed to drive you effortlessly into extinction would be the very things that enabled you to survive and prosper. Funny how life works.”
DiNiya just nodded, numb to everything around her. The shock of her people’s origins was more than she would have expected—that all SaVarians could trace their roots back to another world, and that they all carried within them the blood of DyVorians. Still, there was something she could not shake. Something that despite all his conviction did not add up. Turning her gaze back to him, she fired back, “But the DraGons sought only to conquer this world to expand their territory. You speak as if you were a race of enlightened beings, but you were nothing more than bloodthirsty conquerors! You opened the gate only to expand your empire!”
Without warning DayKar slammed a fist into the ground, sending a tremor beneath her feet that caused her to stumble and fall backwards. “There is much more to the history of our two worlds’ first contact than you know, child.”
DiNiya watched him, scared that he might lunge forward; however, he just seemed to stare off at nothing in particular, as if recalling some far-flung memory. Then with courage she had no idea she had, nor knew where it came from, she said in a reserved yet spiteful tone, “Well, then, why don’t you enlighten me, DraGon?”
DayKar looked at her long and hard, as if the mere question was one he himself had not thought he would be confronted with, but no doubt must have suspected would be at some point. After all, how could he not, given that he was tantalizingly hanging the truth of ten thousand years of speculation right in front of her? At last he felt his sense of cynical humor trickle back into his veins, causing him to grin mischievously. “Rest assured, my little AmaRanthine, all your questions will soon be answered.”
“The DraGons lost the war,” DiNiya said. “Lost because they faced the DyVorians. Your numbers are so few now, so much so that we thought you were extinct. But the DyVorians are still alive and well. How can a handful of DraGons hope to defeat an army?”
“With one of our own,” he replied as he dramatically snapped open his huge wings.
“You call what’s roosting on this tower an army?” she asked, unable to hold back a small laugh.
DayKar shook his head, then pointed skyward. “I call what’s trapped up there beyond the sky an army. My army. Caught in the realm between time and space.”
DiNiya looked up but did not understand his meaning. All she could see were the thick beige clouds that filled the sky. There was no sign of anything beyond that, certainly not some grand DraGon army. “I don’t see anything,” she said at last.
DayKar just laughed again. “Well, I should expect not! It’s like I said, it’s the area between our two worlds. You see, the original crack in space-time was a small one, and would only remain open for very short intervals. It was for this reason that we could only send small contingents of knights at a time: enough to fight a war but not win one. Strong as we were, we were also very much outnumbered. Combined with the fact that we were in enemy territory and, well…you can see how it wasn’t going our way.”
“So that’s why you lost? Because there were too few of you fighting at any given moment?”
“You sound disappointed.”
“W-well, no,” she stammered. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m glad we won, but it just seems strange that you would have hung your people’s entire victory on such a poor strategy.”
“Agreed,” he said, sighing heavily. “However, I assure you we were not completely without reason. You see, we had no idea that this world possessed beings like ourselves.”
“It doesn’t,” DiNiya replied in a low, defensive tone.
Sensing her meaning, he narrowed his gaze and replied in an equally dissident tone. “Beings of flame.”
His response was one that made no sense to her at first. “But all life is of flame.”
“Yes, but not all of it possessed by those who have been ignited.”
DiNiya immediately remembered her early conversations with Rex, where he had told her of Earth, a world where everyone went through life with their flame dormant within, just like her. “Is that why you came here?” she asked, more reserved now.
DayKar looked at her for a moment, then out towards the sea. “We were a race of beauty, strength, and above all else, faith. All of which was unshakable. We absolutely knew we were the one true race of the Nova Queen, the great mother and creator of all that was, is, and will be. And that from which the first DraGons were given form.”
“Wait,” DiNiya said, cocking her head as if trying to decipher something. “You said creator of all…”
“That was, is, and will be,” he finished for her. “Yes, I know it makes no sense to you. It didn’t for your ancestors, either.”
“That’s because it doesn’t make any sense, period. A…creator?”
“That’s correct. The one who forged all of time and space with her flame, the first flame: the white flame.”
“A white flame?” she repeated with a startled look. “But a white flame is just the basis for all flames before they take on their signature characteristics. What exactly do you think this Nova Queen, or whatever you call it, is supposed to do with it?”
“Everything,” he roared. “It is infinity! The very essence of creation! It was from her pure white flame that all others came—the very power of all that she is, bestowed upon her DraConic children, us, to rule over all that we surveyed. So when your world came into view, we knew we had been delivered a new paradise: our promised land.”
DiNiya listened to what she could only assume was what madness sounded like, for despite all his mostly calm demeanor and intelligent words, DayKar was now speaking in a manner that suggested he had gone mad, discussing things that sounded more like fantasy than truth.
“However, as overjoyed as we were,” he continued, “we did not expect to find what we did when the first of us crossed the threshold into this brave new world: a world that was surely meant to be ours. Beings…beings with the power of flame awakened within them. Beings…who were not us.” He looked down as he shook his head, clenching his eyes tightly shut. “How could it be? Flame was a gift from the Nova Queen. What were these…animals that wielded her glory and grace? These things that had no right to possess any small part of her, for they were of a different sort, not ours. ‘Monsters’ were what the first who had come to this world had said it was filled with when they returned to VoLera. They told us of a blasphemous race of savages who had somehow stolen the most precious gift our mother had ever bestowed upon us. A gift that was meant for us and no other. Such an act of heresy could not stand…could not go unpunished.” DayKar was now breathing heavily, his eyes wide with fury.
“And so…you started a war,” DiNiya said at last in a shaky voice. “A war on a peaceful race that knew nothing of your beliefs…knew nothing of you, even. Not until you came down from the sky and started murdering them!” A sudden burst of red erupted from her, and she shot forward with lightning s
peed.
Before DayKar could even react, she had landed a direct blow on the side of his lower jaw with a tightly clenched fist, sending him stumbling to the ground, where he rolled three times before digging his claws in and coming to a screeching halt. Looking up, he saw the red fiery outline of a small figure running towards him. Rising up on all fours, he backhanded her through the air and sent her slamming into the altar, where she slid down, coming to rest at its base. He stared at her for a moment, still reeling from the shock of what had just happened. His jaw ached fiercely where she had struck. Rubbing it gently with one hand, he was surprised to see blood. Looking back up, he saw DiNiya bare her teeth as blood ran down her face.
“Murderer!” she hissed through gritted, bloodstained teeth.
“You wanted to know,” he replied, spitting blood off to the side. “Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it and realize you never wanted it.”
Rex walked at a quick yet heavy stride, not allowing the others to slow for even a moment should they wish to keep up. He was now more determined than ever, something that came as a bit of a surprise, for after having lost his father, many of those he had come to call friend, and watching the first real one he ever had taken, he had thought that his desire to get her back and punish those who were responsible could burn no hotter. But the incident in DonGahl had forced him to realize that his power was fueled by the very same anger he had harbored his entire life, and just as always, could harm those he did not mean for it to if he did not channel it by giving it a clear and fixed focus. And he knew what that focus needed to be.
“Rex,” AnaSaya called from behind. “Do you think we could stop? Just for a moment? Please?”
“We need to keep moving,” he replied without looking back or even slowing.
“Oh…you’re right,” she said somberly. “I’m sorry.”
“No, you’re right, AnaSaya,” EeNox said as he moved past her and up to Rex. “Listen, Rex…I get it. Trust me, I do. I want to get DiNiya back as much as you, but running yourself and us into the ground isn’t going to make it happen.”
“You don’t think I know that?” Rex shot back. “You don’t think I realize that I’m coming off like some crazy bastard, pushing on like this?”
EeNox was unsure how to respond. He had watched his friend pull deeper into himself since their escape in DonGahl, and feared that he somehow blamed himself for what had transpired. “Rex, what happened back there…it wasn’t your fault. You know that, right?”
“What I know is that as long as I have someone to blame for all of this, then I have something upon which to focus what I’m feeling.”
“So you’re what, now?” LyCora asked, coming up on his other side. “A search and destroy weapon?”
“You make it sound like it’s a bad thing.”
“Oh, listen to yourself! You’re right! You are coming off crazy, but not because you refuse to rest your legs.” He fixed her with an angry stare. “Rex, your desire to help our friend is commendable, like VayRonx said, but you need to remember that even you have your limits, and if you reach them before you get to DiNiya, you won’t be any good to her.”
“That, and you’re also not alone, remember?” EeNox added.
“That’s right,” AnaSaya said with a smile. “You have us.”
“We’re all in this together,” concluded ShinGaru. “Please do not lose sight of that, Rex.”
Rex looked at all of them all. When did it happen? he wondered. When did he suddenly find himself for the first time in his life surrounded by a group of people he actually trusted? A group he did not feel the need to constantly keep an eye trained on, or never turn his back fully on? When did he even learn how to trust? “Thank you,” he said, looking down. “I realize this hasn’t been easy on any of you, but you’re still sticking it out with me, and that means something. Believe me.”
EeNox’s expression lightened. “It’s certainly nice to be appreciated.”
“Showing emotion other than malice and rage,” LyCora said, nodding her head. “I’m impressed. Did it hurt?”
“Ha, ha,” Rex replied while the others laughed.
AnaSaya leaped up and surprised everyone as she wrapped her arms around Rex, giving him a big hug before quickly pulling away coyly.
“What was that for?” Rex asked, eyes wide.
“Just a thank you for you being you,” she replied, tucking her plumed arms back against her sides and staring at the ground shyly.
“Who else would I be?” he asked plainly.
“Yeah,” said EeNox, nudging his friend playfully. “There’s only one Rex!”
“Could you imagine any more than just the one?” LyCora added with the feathers on the back of her head rising then falling again.
“The world would not be able to survive,” ShinGaru said sarcastically.
“Okay, okay, enough,” Rex said, turning away, thankful that DyVorians apparently could not blush. “We’ve rested long enough. Let’s get back to it.”
“You heard him!” EeNox said. “Let’s go save DiNiya!”
They pressed on for the next seven hours, stopping only to drink from small lakes along the way. According to ShinGaru, they were not far from Bloodstone. There they would take refuge for the night while they prepared for the final leg of their journey: The Bloodstone Canyons, where the tower stood at its edge along the coastline.
Rex was still amazed over just how much ground they had been able to cover on foot with the aid of their flames. Moving at full speed, they had been able to traverse hundreds of kilometers every day
Somewhere along the way, it occurred to them all that they had not eaten since they had left KaNar. In all the excitement along the course of their journey, they had scarcely had a chance to seek out any form of sustenance, and the one time they tried, they had been forced to depart in haste. Now their empty bellies groaned loudly as their ravenous appetites clawed at them mercilessly.
“I am so hungry,” Rex growled.
“We all are,” LyCora replied. “We haven’t eaten in days.”
“Well, we’re going to have to do something about that, or else I might be the only one who reaches that damn tower.” LyCora recoiled from the insinuation while reeling from her own hunger.
“EeNox, you know how to live off the land better than any of us,” AnaSaya said. “Is there anything around here that we could perhaps eat?”
“Aside from some of the flora, not really,” he replied, sounding disappointed.
“What’s wrong with that?”
“I don’t know about you, but the thought of eating anything that wasn’t once walking around makes my stomach turn.”
LyCora was about to say something but stopped and considered his words. “You know, he’s actually right.”
“I am?” he replied in surprise.
“I’ve never had any problem eating anything grown from EeNara, but now the very thought literally does nothing for me. In fact…it kind of disgusts me.”
“It’s like you said before,” explained Rex, “we each turned into something strictly carnivorous, so it stands to reason that none of us are in the mood for a salad.”
“So what do we do?” EeNox asked.
“We could always try to seek out carrion,” ShinGaru offered.
“Or hunt,” Rex added.
The thought of running down prey was a strange one to them at first, but seemed more and more natural as time went on—an indication that their instinct had transformed as well as their biology.
“Well,” LyCora said. “Which one is it: hunt or scavenge?”
“And what would we hunt?” ShinGaru asked.
“I hate to say it, but this is wild country, right?” Rex said. ShinGaru nodded. “So according to VayRonx, everyone is fair game out here.”
“Including us,” LyCora added.
“I hear what you’re saying,” said EeNox. “It’s just…hard for me to look at a DyVorian and see food.”
“I know wh
at you mean,” Rex recanted with a sigh. “Hungry as I am, I have a hard time reconciling with the idea of eating something I have loved my whole life, even if I am apparently one of them. Do SaVarians ever eat DyVorians?”
“Not usually,” EeNox replied. “Only ones who die for one reason or another and offer their flesh to their tribe. Otherwise, the bulk of our meat comes from fish, amphibians, and herd mammals we raise.”
“We have to eat something or it’ll be us offering ourselves as a meal to someone who isn’t so picky.”
“We do have these new keen noses that I feel might come in handy for this sort of thing,” ShinGaru declared, raising his snout in the air. “I say we try to catch a scent of something that smells edible and see where it leads.”
“Fair enough,” Rex replied, raising his boxy head high up and breathing in the air through his nostrils. One by one the others followed suit until they all had their muzzles raised above them, trying to locate anything that could fill their now bellowing stomachs. They plodded on for close to an hour, all the while trying to pinpoint something, anything to eat, when suddenly Rex caught wind of something that made his stomach growl ravenously and his mouth salivate like a river. “Anybody else smell that?”
“Yes,” LyCora replied enthusiastically.
“It smells so good,” AnaSaya said, wiping a long string of saliva from her lower jaw. “If not a bit ripe.”
“Indeed,” ShinGaru agreed. “It defiantly smells like something already in the process of decay.”
“I suppose that makes things easier on us,” LyCora said, stepping forward.
“Shall we?” Rex asked.
They followed their noses until they came upon a hulking mass, unmoving, amongst some shrubbery. Glancing down, they saw a trail of dried blood that appeared to have come from whatever fallen creature lay ahead of them. As they drew nearer, ShinGaru suddenly recognized what it was. “Oh my, that’s a KarVora.”
