Acceptance

hi you guys! this is my theory on albel's past. sadly there's no nel but i don't think she knew him then. here it is. what if you had to be ina ceremony before you could be officially allowed to exist? what if all the males had to be in the Ceromony of Acceptance before they could do the whole Accension-y thing? just a what if, mind.

not mine, however i am formulating a plan to...(shifty look to the left, shifty look to the right)...TAKE OVER STAR OCEAN AND DRAKENGARD! MWAH HA HA HA! ahem. yes, well, onwards, defrosted tuna team!


The huge cavern seemed to tremble with the power of the alpha dragon's voice. "What business have you with I, Crosell, greatest of the air dragons?"

The eldest human knelt. "To ask for my son to be accepted into the Clan, oh Mighty Lord of the Skies."

He nudged his son, who stepped forward and bowed his head.

"Are you the one to be tested?"

"Yes." His father elbowed him, and through gritted teeth the lad added, "Great One."

The dragon rumbled deep in his throat. The boy had guts. Whether or not that was a good thing, though, was questionable. "What is your name, wyrmling?"

"Albel."

The dragon fell silent, and Albel risked a glance upwards. The dragon's gaze trapped him, and he trembled. Those molten gold eyes seemed to pierce his soul, laying each and every flaw bare for all to see. After an eternity, the dragon closed his eyes, and both humans let out a sigh of relief. Albel forced himself not to collapse, knowing the dragon would see it as weakness. And Albel Nox was not weak.

Crosell reared back his head and let loose an earth-shattering roar. The walls trembled, the floor shook, and Albel fell to his knees, cowering, clutching his ears. The roar was answered, once, twice, again and again until it filled the cavern, so thick Glou could almost see it; a writhing mass of fury, screaming and roaring, trying to escape. He shuddered. Even though he had seen it before, years ago, it still haunted him.

Dark shadows appeared in the cavern, terrible gusts of wind extinguished the flickering torches that lined the cavern, and to the terrified child, it seemed as if the entire world had been plunged into darkness.

There was silence, so sudden it made the humans' ears ring. Gouts of flame appeared around the room, lighting the torches once more. Albel gasped. The entire cavern was filled with dragons. They formed a ring around the two humans, snarling and snapping if he held their gaze too long. Their fierce golden eyes glinted in the dim light. Albel had seen dragons before, of course he had, but those were tame. The ones that surrounded him and his father were wild, free. Beautiful, sleek, their muscles rippling beneath shimmering scales. Like panthers, the beauty hid the darkness beneath, the primal instinct to kill.

"This child, Albel, wishes to be Accepted!" The dragons stirred at the sound of their leader's voice. "Should we welcome him into the Clan? Or shall he be destroyed, for tainting the sacred grounds of our ancestors?"

They all roared as one, then turned to face the cowering child. Shaking, he rose. He was not weak, they would see. He was not!

Glou watched, holding his breath. Would they take the movement as courage or disrespect? The dragons snarled, fangs glinting in the dim light, and closed in on the boy. The one closest to Glou picked him up and set him outside the ring. Barred by the huge tail, he could do nothing but watch helplessly.

"The time of judgement has come!" The wind hissed as the mighty wyrms opened their wings, plunging the circle into darkness. Glou could just make out a pair of terrified ruby eyes.

"Albel! Your soul is flawed, your heart is weak!" Crosell growled scornfully. "You aspire to be strong, better than anyone, but be wary; for if you let it consume you, it shall be your downfall!"

The dragons growled in anger, their fury causing the youth to fall to the floor, shaking uncontrollably.

"However," Crosell carried on, quieter now, "as flawed and as weak as your heart may be, it is still pure. Time may erase the faults, but only if you make it so. You may live…"

All but one light went out, and the dragons were gone, leaving only a stunned man and a whimpering child. The tears flowed, unchecked, down his face.

Glou ran over to his son, cradling him to his chest. Picking the boy up, he carried him outside, to the light, the beautiful sun that sparkled down on the rivers that stretched below, so different from the Urssa Caves, with its streams of hissing lava.

There was a sigh of wind, and a single voice whispered in the youth's mind.

For now…


du du duuuuuuuh! read and review people, read and review! if you do, i'll add albie's acceptance, and one for nellie!

Nel: excuse me? nellie!

Me: if you complain, i'll get my fluffy sheep of death to eat you!

Nel: eep!