by JW Baccaro
"Ha, I almost feel like thanking the Goblins."
Mirabel chuckled. “All right, let us go.”
Before they took a step forward, a heavy wind began to blow against their backs, accompanied by an eerie presence. They turned around and looked across the lake but saw nothing—then the wind increased.
“There shouldn’t be such a strong wind down here,” Darshun observed. “Where is it coming from?”
Mirabel said nothing, though his heart began to race quite rapidly. His senses more focused around the presence, and wondered if Darshun even felt it.
Then, they heard a roar; massive, terrible, echoing across the lake; the water rippling, becoming rough like at sea.
"Melgothris!" Mirabel gasped. “He’s coming this way. Run! Run!"
They were too late. The dragon soared out of the mist and spotted them. He was—enormous! From head to tail over a hundred feet long, massively shaped head, thick brow and wide nostrils, smoke drifting out; glowing reddish-white eyes, jaws filled with hundreds of large razor-sharp teeth. There were also series of horns upon his head five times as long as common swords, shifting down the sides of his face; his body shielded with thick reddish-black plates and his tail looked as if it could crush a castle with one swing. The creature's legs were unnaturally monstrous and its two large wings blackened most of what little light poured down from above. He hovered in the air glaring at them, knowing they were intruders who must die.
Following an ear-piercing roar…Mirabel and Darshun ran as fast as they could to the exit tunnel.
Melgothris flew over and landed in between them, shaking the very ground, swinging his tail against the rocks. A mass of boulders fell in front of their escape.
The second choice of escape had to be taken. "To the Goblin mines!" Mirabel shouted.
With impressive haste, they ran to the other side and hurried into one of the tunnels. As dark as could be, they made well around every twist and turn, using their senses of smell and touch. For the rocky walls, like all of these demonic mountains, gave off such strong unexplainable odors, making it difficult running into one, fortunately. Melgothris helped also, the sounds of his roaring bounced back and forth off the walls, scattering in many directions, revealing to them there were multiple corridors to take.
“Which way now?” Darshun asked.
Before Mirabel could answer, they both heard a sound similar to the eruption of a volcano and felt a blistering heat.
“Melgothris is breathing fire!” Mirabel yelled, grabbing Darshun’s arm while jumping into a separate pathway. “Back back! To the ground!”
Just as they hit the hard floor and covered their faces a stream of reddish-black flames burst past, traveling into some of the other tunnels.
“Wow—what a fire,” Darshun gushed, impressed. “It feels like he heated up the very rocks we’re hiding in.”
“He has and will continue to do so until we come out.”
“Then let see how far this corridor goes.” But not far at all, for they discovered the path to be nothing more than a twenty-five foot cave. "Oh, great! Now what do we do?"
Melgothris roared so loudly it felt as if the whole mountain would crumble apart. Then he breathed another arsenal of fire down a different Goblin tunnel. This time the flames flew passed them, soaring from the other direction. The rocks were heating up and the smoke was choking the air away.
“He knows we’re hiding in this particular spot,” Mirabel surmised. “He’s spreading fire down each tunnel, making the rocks too hot to travel on. If we do not abandon this place soon, we’ll die from heat exhaustion and suffocation.”
“What are we to do then?” Darshun asked.
“We’ll have to…fight him.”
“Without our abilities? We’ll be killed!”
“I may be, but you’ll have distraction for escape.”
Darshun looked into his eyes. “Father, we are both making it out of here alive. Besides, if I escape he’s going to hunt me down on the outside, along with everyone else. There must be a way to beat him.”
His son looked more serious than Mirabel had ever seen him. “Elements.”
“What?”
“This place, it blocks out elements pertaining to Wizards and Nasharins, but what of…Elves?”
“King Sirach didn’t say. Though why assume different?”
“Among all creatures of earth, even Wizards, Elves retain the highest rank of the Light. Their sins are few. And Darshun my son, you are elvish.”
“So is Minevara and she was powerless.”
“She never tried using them. The Nasharin blood in her made it seem as if she were powerless. That feeling struck us all.”
“Not I.”
“Yes, not you, interesting…”
Realizing he might be right Darshun continued with his doubts, “Even so, my abilities can do nothing to help us, they’re not offensive. And if they were, I’m untrained in the magic.”
As another river of Melgothris’ flames came bursting through, Mirabel was taken back to old tales spoken by his father. “It has been said that the Nasharin is the most highly advanced being to walk the earth, adaptable, powerful, intelligent, but also dependable of his element. Naturally, it is his life. You and I both know that our weariness right now is more so because of being denied our powers.”
“Yes, my body feels like it’s on its last leg and I feel as if another day within this mountain I’d die.”
“Your thoughts prove correct. As spirits are infused into bodies, completing the link between the Creator and the created, so must our elements once again infuse us.”
“Yes, but we must find our way out of this mountain for that.”
“The body longs for it, my essence welcomes it.” The look in Mirabel’s eyes seemed powerful, concentrated, as if he were conjuring up a sacred energy from the deepest depths of the earth.
“Father, what are you saying?”
“Caelestias said you have power over the elements. Darshun, using every amount of will given, you must draw lightning out of the sky and into me.”
His jaw dropped. “Have you lost your mind?”
Flames flew past yet again, dramatically increasing temperature. Some of the rocks where turning red, the smoke stinging their eyes.
“My son, there is no other choice. I know you can do it; the elvish magic within is strong. Don’t worry about me, I possess no fear, and—welcome my element.”
“And if I can’t draw the lightning?”
Very Sternly Mirabel spoke, “It shall work. Let us go.” He unhooked the shield King Sirach had given him, as the King had put it, “the shield of glistening beauty,” created with sapphire gemstone, Milandrith Metal and infused with Water Magic, specifically fashioned to defend against Melgothris, only—how long would it last?
They stepped back into the tunnel, Darshun got behind him. Then they ran out and saw the dragon hovering beside another one of the Goblin mine entrances, preparing to breathe fire into it, his gaze caught them.
Swift-like, Mirabel unhooked the Dragon Spirit Lance from his belt, aimed and focused his mind upon the target, merging his thoughts with the Lance, intertwining like the harmony of music, only this was no harmony. A kind of sacredness danced in his head, aligned to the mystic powers of the Lance, and the target it was bent on, as though it was the audience, was the evil of Melgothris, disrupting the harmony. Mirabel could feel the Lance wanting the corruption to cease, longing to destroy it. He now understood how wielding the Lance was done, which came naturally, and how no entity of darkness, or one with a weak, unsteady/unstable mind could ever hope to control it. The thought patterns had to be balanced and direly focused.
Seconds later, the Lance shot out a flame, it blazed through the air, gracefully forming into the shape of a massive dragon, three-quarters the size of Melgothris—what Magic indeed! The fiery image flew directly into the enemy causing a ground-shaking explosion. “Now Darshun!” Mirabel shouted. “Do it now!”
&n
bsp; Darshun closed his eyes, held his hands into the air and a green glow surrounded him. He hadn't much faith in the idea, with little to no understanding of what he was doing, but amazingly it came natural. Just as it had with Mirabel and the Dragon Spirit Lance, reminding Darshun of the first time he’d ever transformed when he launched two streams of blistering red flames against his Dream Assassin, striking the unholy entity down. It felt instinctual, natural.
As if elements in the sky were part of his body, the wind, the clouds, the rain and the light, urging to come to him. He focused all he could on the electrical charges, the phenomena which causes lightning, and to even his surprise, felt them. They made his skin tingle, his senses enlighten. Now, he needed to draw them to himself, as if hooked on rope or chain, link by link. The elvish magic seemed too unbelievable, ridiculous, and mind-boggling. He began the process, causing the sky high above to slowly darken, ever curious what those on the outside were thinking.
As for Melgothris, he’d fallen down from the attack of the Lance, dazed and confused, but only for a few minutes. He stood up, unharmed, having minor burns—worst of all now, the monstrosity seemed enraged.
“Is it working?” Mirabel asked.
“Yes, but I need time,” Darshun yelled.
"So be it." Mirabel ran toward Melgothris.
The Dragon seemed much more interested in Darshun, now that a greenish light shined around him. Fixing a dark glare on its prey, he took flight, attempting to do ‘who knows what kind of damage.’
So, Mirabel, putting all his strength into one arm, launched his sword into the air, shooting right at Melgothris, piercing his left wing.
In a flash, the Dragon turned its cold eyes on Mirabel and breathed fire.
Hoping, praying this might work, Mirabel held out the blue shield, stationing himself behind it.
The dragon's fire was much wider in width than the shield. Surprisingly, aqua light extended out of the metal in all directions, becoming large enough to stop every spark of the deathly flames.
"Amazing," Mirabel said. "It really has been infused with Water Magic, not that I doubted. However, it won't last for long. Of that I am sure."
Melgothris, becoming even madder, tried stomping onto him.
Mirabel ran back and forth, maneuvering around its massive clumsy feet, but the trembling ground made it difficult to move gracefully. Then a sharp swing of the tail struck Mirabel on his side and sent him flying across the cave, helplessly plunging into the lake, not to mention losing hold of his weapons. With a swollen chest, and probably a few broken ribs, he surfaced as fast as he could, though only to come face to face with the King of all Dragons, hovering above the water, preparing to breathe fire.
Immediately, Mirabel swam under. The flames fell hard into the lake heating it up. Mirabel resurfaced at another location, hoping to make a clearing for air but yet again. Melgothris was waiting for him. Back under the water he swam, as flames fell into the lake a second time. Cold, tired, and losing breath, Mirabel wouldn't last much longer. There must be something he could do, it couldn't end like this, not his life. Then he saw the shield drifting past from above, shining a glorious aqua, as if calling to him. With little strength left, he swam up, grabbed the handle and let the extension of light protect him as another host of flames fell. While this allowed him time to breathe, he saw that the shield had lost a section of power, like defected metal, one-fourth of the aqua light had broken off or disappeared while some of the Dragon’s fire touched water. The rise in temperature proved incredible. From just a tad of the Dragon's flames, the lake began to feel like a steam bath. How much longer could he keep this up?
Suddenly, a roaring thunder coming from outside the mountain distracted Melgothris and he ceased attacking. Growing ever curious, he began to fly up to the exit of the cave.
Under no watchful eye, Mirabel took advantage of this moment and swam to shore. Fortunately, he found his sword lying upon the rocks, picked it up and began to run toward Darshun.
Melgothris saw the raging storm brewing outside, the first thunderstorm to ever sit in Syngothra's sky. It made no sense, not in this frozen land ruled by his master Abaddon. Then, he stared down at Darshun, the green glowing creature; HE was causing it! Not knowing the reason for the storm, though understanding it couldn't be good, Melgothris flew down to him opened mouth and breathed a heavy arson of fire.
Mirabel, running as fast as he could, leapt in front of Darshun at the last possible moment, holding out the shield and blocked the flames. It held out long enough for the flames to pass, then all light ceased and the metal crumpled apart from the handle. Mirabel cast it to the ground. “I can’t hold him off anymore,” Mirabel fell to his knees with exhaustion.
Melgothris had only to do a final attack.
Then came a large surge of energy, strangely red-orange with electrical streaks around it, storming through the opening by the motion of Darshun's hands and right into Mirabel.
A supernatural flash streaked horribly, followed by a bright glow, and smoke.
Darshun didn't know if the process had worked, or if he’d just reduced his own father to ashes.
When the brightness lifted a being stood, shining yellow, white and blue with eerie glowing emerald eyes.
Mirabel! The plan had not only worked, but it enlightened him to a whole new level of power, almost like a third ability beyond Ascension—mind-boggling!
“Finish this father,” Darshun gasped out and collapsed to the ground, nearly falling unconscious.
The energized Nasharin glared at his opponent, holding his sword high into the air. Lightning shot out of the metal tip, striking Melgothris in his chest, knocking the wind out of him. Before realizing what caused the blow, Mirabel ran behind him and slashed the back of one leg, hamstringing the monstrosity, then tried for the other. Melgothris sharply turned swinging his tail, striking Mirabel in the back. Across the cave some seventy, eighty feet he flew, smashing into a wall of rock. Had this new energy not engulfed his body, the blow this time would have surely broken him apart. He struggled to get up.
Melgothris took flight, fixing his eyes on this annoyance of an enemy and sprayed a stream of fire so intense it looked to be larger, thicker and hotter than ever before. The previous toying with the ‘prey’ had ended, no more holding back.
Mirabel barely managed to roll out of the way.
The flames hit and instantly melted the rock to molten lava. Melgothris shot again, and then again, repeatedly.
Mirabel continuously dodging, a pool of lava filling up the surrounding areas. “Wait a minute; he’s not trying to hit me. He’s trying to trap Darshun and I in lava!” Realizing no time must be wasted Mirabel cast a shower of lightning at the Dragon, striking all over its body, smoldering portions of scales, electrifying its entire figure. Continuing the onslaught, bolt after bolt, flowing out of him like a river, he felt his essence beginning to fade; never before had he so carelessly unleashed such power. But never had he faced such a creature of immense strength, and it had to be brought down! He also apparently had no control over the elemental colors, sometimes flashing white, yellow, sometimes blue with echoing thunder roaring to no end. However, every hit was one step closer to victory.
Melgothris had now gotten struck a hundred times and having too little energy for escape, he drifted to the ground, clumsily landing on one leg, the other still oozing blood from the hamstringing.
Mirabel ran behind him, sword in hand, and hamstrung the right leg toppling Melgothris over. Then he climbed onto its back while carefully avoiding the sharp spikes, still glowing red from the heat of the lightning. He hurried to his head, attempting to jab a sword into the skull.
Amazingly, life still sprung in this monster. Swaying his massive wings, nearly blowing Mirabel off, Melgothris took flight once again, soaring up and up, at least two, three hundred feet. What strength, what power! It must have taken massive amounts of energy to accomplish this.
Now Mirabel understood why Melgothris was h
eavily feared in the ancient days, even by the mightiest of Dragons. For what other creature could take such overwhelming damage and still possess a fight? He struggled holding on, gripping the slippery scales.
Wanting this annoyance off, Melgothris purposely flew backwards and crashed into the mountain, almost crushing Mirabel to death had he not moved the last second. Melgothris began crashing himself into the walls continuously, back and forth, to and fro, causing rocks and boulders to fall everywhere—a few almost landing on Darshun.
Then it happened, a devastating blow delivered by the Dragon as it crashed into a position where Mirabel had been keeping his arm and crushed it. The pain shot through him so dramatically, so insanely that every bone in the limb must have broken to shards—with his newfound strength almost extinguished, he couldn't hold on any longer, not in his condition. Landing in water seemed the only hope. Therefore, summoning up what he believed to be his final strength, he cast two lightning bolts at Melgothris' wings knocking them out of commotion. From nearly the top of the cave the Dragon fell like a shooting star; and just as Mirabel had hoped, they crashed into the lake, sinking into depths of darkness, joining the five Demons bound for eternity.
“Father!” Darshun yelled in despair.
For a moment all remained quiet, not a sound, not a peep. Like the storm outside, the power of Mirabel had passed. But did it work, and was he— dead?
Finding the strength to stand, Darshun made his way to the lake, one way or another, his father was coming with him. Then the water bubbled and ripples began to form. They were small; however one cannot be too careful. Darshun stopped in his tracks and unsheathed his sword, knowing full well that if Melgothris emerged, he'd be damaged and possibly able to defeat. Every passing second drove Darshun insane, waiting—watching. Finally, a head surfaced and to his delight—it was Mirabel. Exuberant, he rushed into the lake to help, splashing through the water, and gently setting Mirabel's untouched arm around his shoulder. “Are you all right father?”
