by LJ Davies
A plume of deep red fire disintegrated the remainder of the door into charred ash. Pillars shook and came toppling down, roof braziers clattered as they fell to the floor and scorched marble cracked into sharp splinters as it was crushed by the weight of what should have been weightless.
I saw Zephyra lurch forward as her father dissolved before her eyes, yet the storm swallowed his muffled screams, and an invisible force pushed her back while the swirling mass slowed and Mordrakk’s draconic figure finally materialised.
His wings were almost indistinguishable from the smoke, but what was clearly visible was the flaming heart burning like a furnace at its centre. His claws clutched at the floor, cutting deep molten gashes through the marble. While his head stretched forwards upon his slender neck, his mouth filled with fire behind rows of razor-sharp fangs. Embers snorted from his flared nostrils, and the fiery glare of his eyes pierced deep into my soul.
Unlike before, it felt as if he could kill us all with nothing more than a glance. Only this time I was far more terrified of what he'd do to those standing around me. He lowered his head to our level, his eyes scouring each horrified face with great satisfaction.
"Such courageous souls who dare to challenge me. Your efforts are almost admirable," he purred in a deeply patronising tone.
No one responded while his head snaked about, taunting further. Ember, Risha and Neera pressed slowly to my side, but his dark eyes didn't set upon me as I'd expected.
"Did you really believe that you could prevail? I am your creator, your master, the twilight and the dawn. I am everything you ever were," he condescended, pausing for a moment, as if he expected a response.
When he received none, he snorted a jet of fire and growled impatiently.
"Very well, I will see your deaths are as slow as your tongues," he snapped.
As he coiled back, I peered at him through the crowd, and without thinking, I stepped forward. I felt the others slip away; their attention focused on blocking Mordrakk’s imposing image from their minds.
"Now you will all burn in the fire!" he bellowed, opening his muzzle.
"No!" I declared, stopping between them.
With a sharp hiss, his muzzle snapped shut and his head swivelled, narrowed eyes fixing on me.
"Guardian!"
I stepped further forward as his head craned down to my level, his flaming muzzle dwarfing me as it glided up to my own. He peered at my amulet and snorted another plume of embers into my face.
"It would seem you have fulfilled your purpose perfectly," he goaded.
A terrified shiver ran through me, and I almost faltered. But forcing myself to remain firm, I stared back.
"Your purpose, not mine," I spat.
"It matters not to me what lies have filled your mind. I gave you your chance and you chose the way of my traitorous children," he answered, glancing to the others. "And now you will see the flaw of their ideals, you will feel the pain they felt."
No, take it! I screamed within my mind, knowing he could hear me no matter what.
The giant, shadowy form paused with a fiery grunt. No matter what I did now, I believed we would all perish.
"You would give up everything you have fought for, if only to spare these insignificant souls for a few moments more?" he asked in his infinitely condescending tone.
I stepped right up to him until the cold chill of his smoke forced my body to crumple and the flames of his eyes charred my soul.
"If you believe that what I do is a weakness, you should have no problem with it. Yes, I would give you anything to spare them, even for a few moments."
He stared at me, seemingly thinking deeply upon the offer.
"Very well, you will have your reprieve. If only so you can watch them die!" he growled.
His muzzle flashed, crashing down over me in a torrent of fire and shadow. The world went dark and icy coldness washed over me. I felt as if I was falling, before being plunged into a storm of purple fire that scorched even my fireproof scales. There was a distant voice amidst the destruction, cast upon a sea of screams and cries for salvation until everything fell silent.
*
My eyes shot open to a familiar place.
The world was dark, cold and shimmered under the light of distant stars, while glossy stone pillars gleamed around me. The great sphere of Enishra sat high in the darkness, flickering lightning storms covering its gleaming blue seas and vibrant green land. All were trapped in an eerie silence. Not even the tapping of stones or the dark spectre’s cruel, twisted voice could be heard. Despite the quiet I could still see him sitting on top of a rock, his fiery eyes fixed upon me while his bony tail twitched.
"That's it then, you've won?" I questioned.
He glanced up, his arrogance infuriating me. Clumsily, I staggered forward. My body was weak, but the pain of battle had left me, even my scars and battered armour were no more than a memory as I stumbled across the rocks, until one hurdle beat me, and muzzle-first, I fell to the glassy floor. I wrapped a paw about my snout as the pain of impact took hold, while a light drew my eyes up toward a pair of eyes.
"Isn't this everything you wanted?" I growled through gritted teeth.
The dark illusion cocked his head curiously.
"Is it?" he questioned sharply.
I rose to my paws.
"Don't bother with the games, I was stupid to think you were doing anything but deceiving me from the start," I replied.
A ghost of a smile crossed his muzzle.
"Really?" he began, looking back up at the starry ocean. "If that were true, why would I be here now?"
"It seems I was also wrong to think gloating was beyond you," I grumbled, and his eyes snapped back to me with a hint of insult.
I gave a weak smile of satisfaction while he shook his head.
"You know it is not over," he continued, turning away and walking off into the shimmering landscape.
"I said forget the games!"
"You assume I truly play such things?" His molten grin returned, and he scratched a claw against the smooth stone. "Indeed, you have followed every direction I have set forth, fulfilled your part in my plan without question, whether you knew as much or not," he began, trailing his claw from the stone before stopping just above it.
"Now the time for such things has come to an end and I find myself in a position I have not been in for millennia," he continued, and it became my turn to cock my head in confusion.
His sly grin deepened.
"Do not mistake my intent. I know you have one last fight left in you. You are not dead, not yet, and neither am I."
"You are the last one in the universe that I would trust right now," I replied, but his expression didn't fade.
"I've always counted on that; paranoia is such an efficient motivator," he added, pressing his paw back to the stone.
"Though, you cannot deny that we have always had one thing in common." He smiled at my increasingly perplexed look. "Our enemies," he added, and with a thrust of his outstretched forepaw, he sank his claw deep into the ground.
A pool of golden light blossomed from the tip and his dark image dissipated with a laugh as the light flooded outwards. I felt a brief sensation of falling, forcing me to instinctively spread my wings, but before I could even think about flight, I slammed into something hard.
Urgh… I hate that feeling.
My eyes flickered open to find a hall of silver pillars. Tangled vines wrapped about each, while levitating braziers hovered between them. A cold chill blew through arches on either side, beyond which the sky flashed and flickered as if the clouds themselves were furious.
Lightning lanced and thunder boomed, accompanied by swirling torrents of flame, shattering all that they struck. The stench of smoke hung in the air, and the sound of demonic laughter made a mockery of the death and destruction. A mass of tightly-packed silver thorns and vines, almost identical to that I had seen in another of my visions, covered the surface of a mighty door standing before me. H
owever, one thing didn't match my dream, a flickering image of my amulet hovering in the turbulent air.
"It looks magnificent, I must admit. I never saw such a thing in my time," interrupted an unmistakable voice.
I turned to see Seraphine standing behind me, but she was not the flaming elemental queen I'd seen within the realm of fire. She was now a white-scaled star dragon, dressed in equally regal armour. Her scales gleamed like starlight and her eyes shimmered like jewels. Despite all her beauty and magnificence, I averted my gaze.
"Is this it, am I dead?" I muttered.
"I can think of many that would give you a long explanation on the feasibility of that, especially in your case," she replied with a light hint of humour.
The feeling wasn't mutual.
"This isn't it then, I'm not dead?" I demanded, angered by the idea.
As if in reaction to my rage, a deep boom shook the hallway, dust shuddered from above and the walls groaned in pain. I glanced up as the sound subsided into a deep grinding, beset by horrific laughter and a war chant that put the orkins’ vast legions to shame. Amidst it all, I heard the distinct calls of bedraggled soldiers and survivors, and it became increasingly hard to believe that this was simply a memory of events long since passed.
Seraphine paid no attention to the disturbance.
"Life is not a thing to be given up so readily," she proposed thoughtfully.
"It is if you're going to live forever. It's not worth anything," I muttered, shaking my head.
There was another loud explosion beyond the walls, and yet she smiled.
"You think only of the futility of your own life. While your soul is, without doubt, important, it is not everything," she reasoned.
The pain in my heart surged at the reality of just how many lives that were going to be lost, no matter what I did.
"Not that it matters, Mordrakk's won. He's the god of everything, so in what world was he not going to win?" I countered, waving a dismissive forepaw.
She peered at me curiously.
"Just because one stands against insurmountable odds, it does not guarantee defeat. Nor does one's power ensure victory," she explained.
I felt a fragile smile cross my muzzle, summoned by how little I cared at that moment.
"Like you did?" I asked.
Her expression remained curious and I feared either pain or anger may dawn upon it, but her smile persisted.
"There are very few who could understand, since it is far more complicated than that. There are fewer still that can see it is more than a simple choice," she explained, looking past me as another thunderous boom shook the pillars.
"Come, walk with me," she proposed.
I paused for a moment, watching her move toward the door, her claws tapping rhythmically on the floor. Another explosion shook the hall, causing suspended braziers to break free of their magical fastenings and topple to the floor. Moving quickly I arrived at her side as she stopped before the door.
"Age's twilight, long before the Guardian War or the Great Master's betrayal, came the day the Infernal Blade would wipe out all life upon Enishra forever," she began as the door untangled and started to open.
"For millennia, every soul suffered the harsh wrath of Ophelia's legions, all because of what I did in my efforts to save them from oblivion," she continued as the door vanished and we stepped through into a large circular room.
Its silver walls and stark, natural-looking design resembled drakaran architecture, while several pillars enclosed a levitating silver table, marking the centre. Except for the one holding the door, all the walls were open, the only thing separating us from the sky was a large set of silver columns and a fine, violet curtain. Armoured, silver humanoids with long silver hair and pointed ears that broke through their regal attire guarded the edges of the room. Among them, at least three old and worn golden sentinels stood, like in the realm of fire.
Several armoured dragons rushed about the room, their dulled scales lacking any evidence of elemental powers. While griffins and several other species I didn't recognise all scurried about alongside them. Each creature was scarred and beaten, their armour splintered, robes tattered and eyes struck with weariness. It only took one look to the outside world to understand why.
Below the tower upon which the room was perched, I could see the vast sprawl of a silver city. It looked peaceful and relatively intact, although I suspected that peace was awaiting an imminent disruption. A mosaic wall of blue magic bordered the sprawl, projected by a ring of towers spanning the outskirts.
The translucent bulwark flashed with arcane lightning as monstrous explosions repeatedly struck against it. The source of the disruption was a seething black mass of shadow, eagerly waiting beyond the protective shield. Bolts of scarlet flame rained from the angry sky as great swarms of winged monsters filled the air like flies about a corpse. It was an even more intense version of the reality I'd left, a literal nightmare, and I finally looked at Seraphine.
"This is Andruid, over three thousand years ago, the longest night, end of the Age of Tyranny and dawn of the Liberation war. Here is where the world was almost destroyed. If not for my decision to save it and the intervention of my star-born ancestors at the battle’s direst moment, the world would have been consumed by evil," she explained, a pained expression filling her eyes.
"Never have I had the courage to relive this memory," she added.
Three thousand years? It was hard for me to keep track of it all. Even before the Guardian War the world was almost destroyed?
"Every bastion of resistance, from Ilivar to Exilar has fallen, my lady," the voice of a dragon interrupted from the door behind us.
He was oblivious to our presence, passing through us like we were ghosts as he collapsed in an exhausted heap. In that instant, all the war-torn occupants of the room looked up in surprise when another explosion shook the distant shield.
Then a draconic figure stepped up from the crowd, to whom my ghostly companion nodded. The new dragoness had dull-brown scales and wore a set of battered golden armour. Most notable was the lack of any markings upon her head, making her little more than a glorified sand lizard with wings.
She has no element, none of them do. Even so, my eyes focused on her.
"My Lady Seraphine, I'm sorry, I wasn't fast enough," the collapsed dragon began as he looked up at her.
That's Seraphine? I wondered, glancing to the ghost dragoness at my side as she nodded. But she looks so powerless, so weak?
"It matters not. Know that your news is invaluable," past-Seraphine assured.
"So this is it, this is all we have?" the voice of a weary, dull-blue dragon interrupted.
"I know, Azorean, but there is little that anyone can do to prevent this now," the lead dragoness stated, her voice stricken with pain.
Azorean nodded uneasily as both he and past- Seraphine moved back to the war table in the middle of the room.
"Mortakine has entrusted his Overlords with the assault upon the city, Galro'th the Decimator comes to break the defences. Their legions could destroy the barrier any moment," he explained as past-Seraphine peered over the table.
"I can see," she answered as another explosion struck the shield.
There was a loud crack, and the magical barrier began to shatter as if it were nothing more than glass. I saw the look of horror pass over the faces of everyone in the room as more and more of their last defence fell. Another almighty explosion rang out from below the battle.
The earth itself trembled as a powerful surge blasted through the city. The ground heaved in a vast wave of rupturing stone and crumbling buildings, surging out toward the base of the shield. Finally, it flickered out and a wall of fire, magma and earth erupted from the surface, swallowing the edge of the city like a hungry beast.
Vast legions of shadow swarmed into the streets with little care as a mountain of fire and stone rose from the newly opened chasm. Everyone in the room glanced at each other, then at past-Seraphine as she sti
ffened and glared out at the oncoming tempest.
"I once felt like you do, staring into the face of an enemy we never had a hope of defeating. At the time, I'd no idea that our salvation would soon rain down on the foe, but it was at that darkest moment, that I truly felt like giving up," the ghostly version of the same dragoness beside me explained.
Before I could respond, the shockwave tore through the tower, forcing me to the ground. The dragons about me frantically took to the sky before the swarm of demonic creatures tore them down. I caught a glimpse of past-Seraphine battling amidst the chaos, but before I could consider what had happened, the tower began to topple. Dust and destruction consumed my vision as the world swirled into calamity.
"I never wanted any of this! I didn't want any of them to suffer because of what I did!" I called out into the storm as the vision of Seraphine beside me disappeared.
"There are very few out there who would want such a thing, and yet destiny has a plan for us all. Sometimes suffering is unavoidable," she determined as she re-materialised from the dust.
"So much for fate," I scorned, hating the idea of destiny.
"And do you think your fate is to die here alone?" she asked.
"My fate was to help Mordrakk win. He took what the creators made me for and twisted it, he's the only reason I exist," I replied, and she looked almost disappointed in me.
"I thought you were to stop him?" she corrected, but I gave a low growl.
"And I failed at that task the moment I hatched!"
"Did you?" she questioned, before elaborating further. "The part of Mordrakk that is within you was exposed to the world as you were, and whether he liked it or not, he was forced to see things as you do. You changed that part of him."
I opened my muzzle to argue that he'd simply manipulated me from the start, but I froze.
‘You cannot deny that we have always had one thing in common.’ The words of the illusion came to mind.
