by LJ Davies
The fire within his eyes intensified, dancing frantically in the raging wind, while his robes were bathed in flashes of colour leaping from the glowing vortex. I closed my eyes tight, attempting to resist, but the more I fought, the more the magic pressed. It was a shock that I'd not been squashed.
No, I can't let it end like this! All my power and he simply pins me here like an insect!
Almost as suddenly as the invisible force pressed me to the ice, it disappeared. I looked up to see Acrodan struggling, his robed arms and staff flailing. Risha sank her claws into his head, yanking him around uncontrollably. His arms swayed as she raised herself above his waving bulk, releasing a torrent of searing blue flames across his whole body. A concoction of acrid black smoke and purple fire bellowed from the blazing wounds.
Fighting the cyclone, I scrambled to my paws and bolted up the stairs while he finally grabbed her in his iron-clad grasp and tore her from his back, disrupting the stream of fire. Mercilessly holding her by the neck, he crushed her throat as she kicked and thrashed. His glowing eyes stared into hers with a cold contempt that betrayed their burning nature. Before he finally threw her at the wall, her limp body slamming against its crumbling surface, sliding down to the floor, before collapsing amidst the chunks of fallen ice.
The world fell silent. The whirling vortex and his sinister laughter no more than a whisper. Time seemed to slow: the falling specks of dust that plagued the air crawling into a gentle snow, softly settling on my scales. It felt like my soul had been ripped from my chest and without any thought or emotion my dragonfire began to burn. White immolation consumed my scales as a searing burst of flame flared from my wrinkled snout.
Acrodan turned his staff towards me in another attempt to pin me down as I launched myself at him; his magic shattered as I threw him down, pinning him to the floor; the staff across his chest the only thing between us. My glowing forepaws gripped the slender weapon until it started to warp, boiling into a hideous stream of noxious black fumes. His eyes burned brighter, the crimson fire bursting out from his mask in a shower of embers. Using what remained of his strength he pushed the buckled staff up, rolling me onto the ice. The cold surface exploded with a hiss on contact with my blazing body as I spun to my paws.
Writhing black shadows helped him back to his feet all the same, the vapour dissipating as he thrust his warped staff forward. The fiery purple tip erupted with a beam of intense light and I dropped my head, lifting my wings as cover and fearing an impact that never came. A shield of white light surrounded me, instantly blocking his assault as it effortlessly spread the purple light across its spherical surface.
Acrodan focused intensely, desperately trying to force the beam through the mysterious shield. I looked into his burning eyes, and with a feeling like nothing I'd ever felt before flowing through me I instinctively flared my wings. The burning shield immediately disappeared, exploding into a ball of fire, launching the purple beam back at its sinister master. The force tossed him across the floor, bent staff falling from his metal grasp as he slid away. I approached, each burning step instantly boiling the ice with a sharp hiss, until a cloak of steam enveloped me.
Seemingly powerless without his staff, Acrodan struggled to his feet. His eyes burning with the same intense fire while he continued to laugh to himself. Before he could enlighten me again, the ground shook violently, rupturing in several places. With another loud crack the chamber began to break up, falling chunks of ice helping to smash the crumbling floor.
The sphere expelled another pulse while more loud rumbles echoed through what remained of the chamber, stressing the ice beyond its limits, causing the wall behind Acrodan to come cascading down. Hidden by a dark plume of dust the structure beyond and beneath the chamber broke away, casting vast pieces of the fortress into the growing abyss.
More ice shattered above us as the sphere’s pulsating beam tilted with the crumbling floor, sending another powerful pulse directly into the upper wall. A cloud of rubble and an ear-piercing screech cried out as the beam sliced effortlessly through the ice, allowing a flood of fresh air and bright sunlight to burst in from outside. I jumped back from the edge as the whole floor started to break apart.
A quick glance back to where her body lay confirmed Risha was safe on the same stable platform along with me. The same could not be said for my enemy, and jumping back to the remnants of the topmost stairs, I watched as the far side of the chamber began to sink. Acrodan battled his way towards me, reaching the opposite side of the growing canyon as the ice on which he stood broke away.
"My master will return!" he shrieked repeatedly, his voice broken and crazed as his mask began to crack.
The whole chunk of ice he and the sphere occupied tilted and dropped lazily into the void, the light beam slicing indiscriminately through the fortress’s structure, creating clouds of glistening dust followed by an icy hail.
His eyes still burned; flames so intense they almost obscured him from view. He stared, peering through the devastation that fell between us, studying me closely while the destruction rained down around him. With only one glance at his fresh fiery gaze, something within me grew cold. He spoke again, not in the same ghostly voice as before; now his words held more authority, a new voice, filling me with a new terror.
"You do not rule here, Guardian! The time has come at last; the shadow will fall!"
With every word the fire in his mouth burned brighter. Ever since I'd known of him, I'd believed he was nothing more than an empty husk, filled with an all-consuming corruption, and now I was certain. This voice wasn't his at all – whatever lay trapped within the sphere was controlling him, as it always had been. It was terrifying, and just as they had guided me, my instincts told me to fear it.
"I will return and finish what I began," the new voice promised.
Influenced by the tainted words, a thousand questions raced through my mind, only to be instantly discarded. I gathered my power with no regard for the demonic presence as my opponent’s expressionless face looked on. Whatever or whoever I now addressed showed no signs of being able to react, leaving it helpless to stop its imminent descent into the abyss as I pulled back my neck and opened my mouth.
"I will rule once more! I am all-powerful, fear and death! I am darkness! Darkness reborn!"
Without a word I unleashed all my hate, anger and fear in one explosive blast. The ball of light sliced through the air like a comet before crashing into its hopeless target. What remained of Acrodan exploded as the blinding flash launched him into the sphere. The force instantly tore through his body, incinerating what remained in a blazing flare of purple light. I heard him scream in what was surely the first pain he'd felt in centuries, until he was no more than a fine black dust instantly swept up by the vortex.
I gripped even harder while more dust and chunks of ice were pulled inexorably into the abyss. The sound of a dull thud silenced the chamber when the maelstrom and pulsating light were simultaneously drawn back to the sphere. The whole phenomenon held at a suspended point, creating an intense moment of absolute emptiness before the sphere exploded in a burst of energy and a deafening howl. The force shattered the ice around me, blowing me back from the edge before I could witness its complete annihilation.
The tremors subsided as a fine layer of dust settled in the wake of the devastation. Consumed by the void, the Sphere of Eternity was no more.
Chapter 16
Home
The wind-swept ledge fell silent as the destruction settled around me. Brilliant beams of sunlight streamed in from the gaping wound in the fortress's side, coating what remained of the floor with the first natural light it had seen in centuries. Distant echoes of crumbling ice occasionally punctuated the stillness, bouncing off the newly formed cliffs and into the depths. Wind battering my wings, I staggered and panted, the waning of my power having left me weak once again.
Finally, my legs slipped from beneath me, subtle pangs of pain flaring where Acrodan had struck me. I barely had enough strength t
o remain conscious, and as the horrors of what had just transpired gradually crept back, I was left with only one thought: Risha!
Forcing my debilitated body to respond, my eyes quickly settled on a blue shape amongst the boulders. My stiff limbs groaned in rebellion and I could still taste smoky dust as well as feel the fiery pain in my chest from my backfire. Forcing myself forward, I unsteadily clambered across the debris, until I reached where she lay.
Nothing more than a layer of fine dust coated her blue scales as icy boulders lay scattered around her. Taking a haggard breath, I stumbled clumsily down to her side, she was as cold and motionless as the broken ice around her.
"Risha?" I whispered softly, her name quivering in my throat as I edged a forepaw forward nervously, softly nudging her side.
There was no response, but refusing to acknowledge the worst, I repeated my action, again without success. Hope slowly dwindled, my body and heart fell silent and a wave of despondency fell over me like the pressure of Acrodan's magic. I knew I felt something for her – a strange feeling that I could only compare to how I felt about Tarwin. My thoughts turned to the things she'd done for me during the short time we had known each other.
Were her risks and sacrifices worth all of this? I'd no thoughts of my victory, or the fact that my foretold task was complete.
Only memories of her blossomed, filling every cold, dark corner of my mind with the warmth she'd brought me. My eyes flickered as tears seeped from my sealed eyelids, rolling slowly across my scales before freezing into what felt like a stream of razor blades.
I'd set out and saved my friend, but what had I lost? It was the curse of which Acrodan spoke; I had more to look out for, to protect, to save, though, I couldn’t save them all.
Was it worth it?! I screamed inside, blaming myself for everything.
What is left now? To save the world and lose my... I banished the thought from my mind, snapped open my eyes and finally fell to my knees.
Shaking uncontrollably, I knelt beside her, tears flowing. I lay there for what felt like hours, with my muzzle pressed into her neck. My scales brushed against hers and I wished repeatedly for something I knew was impossible. Until finally I moved my head against the ice, its cold embrace freezing the turmoil I felt inside.
What have I done?
As I fought with my fears, I was sure I felt movement, followed by a faint cough. It sounded as dry as one of Acrodan's undead minions. My head shot up and my blurred eyes focused on her sapphire features, but there was nothing.
Unable to take any more torment, I turned away. I had to accept it; I couldn't do anything to help her now, even my tears had run out.
"Still... nothing to hold me to... yet..."
The words were shrouded by breathless wheezing and raspy coughs. My mind recognised them, but I was sure it was just my imagination. My head turned at the sound of another weak cough, the violence of my emotion instantly forcing me to jump up. My aching body screamed in protest; I wasn't imagining anything… she was still alive!
"Did you win?" she rasped.
Overwhelming joy left me unable to speak as I stammered.
"Yes!" Was the simple response that eventually fumbled out. "Yes! We won. We won!"
She gingerly lifted her head, the fine covering of snow tumbling off. Seeing her struggle, I dipped beneath her wing, moving gently forward until our shoulders aligned.
"Are you okay?" we asked each other simultaneously.
"I'm fine," she replied, shaking each of her paws in turn, before rubbing her neck and wincing. "Just sore."
"I'm okay too," I admitted, trying not to overwhelm her with my incredible joy as I felt heat pool in my cheeks like never before.
"What happened to him?" she asked, looking over the shattered remains of the chamber.
I wasn’t sure what to tell her.
Acrodan was gone, though my doubts had festered; what had happened to the sphere? Was I in time to stop it? I didn’t see it open, if it had, the thing inside would surely have stopped me instead of using the last of its energy to cry out empty threats.
Really? Relax, that thing exploded for spirits’ sake! No matter what I thought, more sinister ideas followed.
Did Acrodan really speak the truth, about the gods and their fear? Were the final words of whatever lay within the sphere, his, or his master's?
‘Guardian!’ that's what the Ethereal said, I'm sure?
Unable to comprehend what they could possibly mean, I cast the thoughts aside. Thinking on the riddles of the gods had only brought me pain so far, and I was done with them.
"He fell down there along with the sph... that thing," I answered, pointing to the edge of the frozen cliff with my free wing.
"Good riddance!" Risha declared firmly, peering over to the abyss.
"Acrodan," she said with a nervous laugh. "As hatchlings, my mother would always tell us stories about the war and the last Dark Guardian." She leaned her head back against my shoulder. "They used to be scary," she added with a giggle.
She limped out from under my wing. I was reluctant to remove my support at first, but I let her walk uneasily to the edge of the vast pit, bowing her head to the floor. After a few moments I came to realise what she was thinking about.
"They would be proud of you," I reassured her.
She glanced back to face me; her eyes set deep in thought.
"I know."
After resting for a while, I started to consider how we were going to get out of here. The only exit I knew of was gone, the roof and balcony had collapsed over it.
"No way out that way," Risha noted in confirmation when her power failed to shift the vast amount of ice.
I suggested she didn't push herself, but she looked about as ready to give up as I’d been when trying to save Tarwin.
She has a strong will, stronger than mine.
She was swift to look out over the sky and outstretch her wings. "So we'll just have to fly out."
The new wind blowing in from the icy wasteland was more than strong enough to carry us and despite my body’s protests, my wings were almost free of pain.
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"My wings are fine!" she shouted over a gust of wind. "Oh, and don't worry, there are no trees for me to fly into," she added with a wink as she dropped over the edge and rode the air upward.
Really, that joke still? I dipped my head, my cheeks burning. I'm never going to live that down!
I spread my wings and the membranes instantly caught the wind. For a moment I used their support to balance on the edge of the cliff. Peering down into the depths, I fought to control my curiosity while the inky blackness of the chasm drew my eyes in like an enchanting spell. All I could picture was the sphere lurking down there, waiting like it had done for centuries.
"Are you coming?" Risha shouted, circling in the sky.
My reluctance evaporated as soon as I saw her gliding, the welcome sight chasing away my troublesome doubts. Without any more thoughts of the sphere or Acrodan, I leapt into the air.
For the first time in what seemed like ages, I was flying to somewhere better, and the rush of the cold air on my face had never felt so good.
Clearing the large crack in the fortress I could see the destruction had consumed almost half of Ilivar, and the higher we flew, the more apparent the damage became. Half of the frozen crater had given way, creating an immense scar across the ice. A fine wisp of white cloud rose from its depths, climbing into the sky before disappearing on the wind like the final breath of a dying beast.
All of that from something so small. I wondered in trepidation.
Rising high, we circled around to get our bearings, noticing that the front of the fortress was almost undamaged, although the top of the tallest tower was missing. Seeing it all vanish behind me, new, unanswered questions began to grow.
I'd achieved everything I'd unknowingly set out to do, ridding the world of a terrible evil, even so, it seemed naive to simply assume something so powerful
would remain in the darkness forever.
No, stop it! It's done, the whole thing collapsed, and the sphere is gone! I buried my doubts in the deepest corners of my mind.
I can't think like that, we must find the others, make sure they're safe. As I came to that conclusion, more urgent thoughts spawned.
Where are they now? Did they get out in time? Risha and I found it difficult to navigate the icy maze, so were they able to find their way out?
I did take some relief in the knowledge that the side of the structure that had survived held the exit and using all my senses I frantically scoured the frozen waste.
"Hey!" Risha shouted from some distance ahead.
I glanced over to see her circling; her gaze focused on something immediately below her. It was then I realised she wasn't shouting to me; she was calling downward. Following her line of sight, I found three distinct spots of colour standing out against the snowy expanse. To my relief the group stopped, erupting into yells and a flurry of wings.
Despite my relief I was hesitant to land, knowing that the moment I did a whole barrage of questions would surely hit me.
"We'd better get down there!" Risha shouted.
Giving me no time to question, she dove, and I hesitantly followed.
Just remain positive, it's over. No more Dark Guardian to worry about.
Upon touching down, I felt layers of snow crumble and shift beneath my weight. More frost scattered with the settling beats of my wings as I snorted cold air. The transfer of weight reanimated the aches and pains that came with the effort of standing, but I dismissed those as I did the sphere.
Encircled by the great cliffs once again, I considered how different Ilivar's crater looked from above, up there the walls were almost indistinguishable.
The thud of rapid paws on snow sounded as Risha ran over to the others. Ember and Boltock sprinted to meet her halfway, each of them sending showers of snow flying up in their wake as they embraced.
They're all safe, they're happy. I did it. I thought, time seeming to slow as I saw the three dragons break into laughter, voices becoming muffled like I was underwater.
