"Oh, come on!" Jericho groaned as the small structure collapsed. He clawed the ground in anger, grazing the rock under him. I almost reached the top!
Indeed, Jericho was attempting to build a small tower with wooden cubes. As a young dragon of seven years, he was still trying to succeed in his quest to stack the very tiny 150 cubes in his playset. It was a gift from Odyss, for his exceptional learning ability during his teachings, and it entertained him to no end.
Unless he was failing. He was that close to putting the final cubes together, but then it all crumbled, like his hopes and dreams of impressing Odyss.
Well… That's 30 minutes I'll never get back! Great Malefor! Jericho then kicked one of the cubes back into the collapsed pile. I'll try again… Until I get it!
He sat on his haunches, picking the cubes back up. His dark blue scales shone like metal in the artificial light provided by a lantern next to him. Curved blue horns gently refracted the light back onto his bent backwards spikes, which were linked with soft dull grey membrane. The same grey membrane dressed his wings, which were still developing at his age. It wasn't long however until he got lost in the stacking of his little cubes. Yet, it felt a bit lonesome. If only Hallimede were here to play…
"Boo!"
Jericho screamed, kicking his tower down once again. As soon as he thought of someone other than her, she appeared to burst his bubble. It was as if she knew. Again?! Oh for-
"Missed me?" the dragoness grinned triumphantly at Jericho's surprise.
"Elara! You're a real hatchling, you know that?!" exclaimed a startled Jericho. His mouth hung open in dismay.
"Says the one with playing blocks. Were you expecting someone else?" The Earth dragoness chuckled. "Let's see... light green scales, ram horns and brown membrane? No, that's you, alright! The dragoness of my nightmares!" Jericho sighed.
"Ever since you got that crescent on your muzzle, you've been scared of me," she teased.
Jericho balled up his fists, growling at the dragoness. "Don't talk about it! You also have one!" he shot back.
"At least it looks good on me." She smirked, gently touching the downwards pointing crescent scar linking both nostrils. "Nothing beats it."
"You deserve to be beat instead! Anyways…" Jericho took a deep breath. She loved to get on his nerves. "What terrible news do you bring?"
"Oh, indeed, terrible news," she said in a dramatic voice. "The Great Follower needs you. The clock strikes fifteen, and you have ten minutes to go. Meet him in the Warren's Hall."
All of Jericho's anger melted down to his stomach before turning into fear. The Great Follower? What did he do wrong? Did he forget his duties? Did he-
"Relax," said the dragoness, interrupting his thoughts. "He said it's important, and that it's no punishment. You'll have to get the details from him." Jericho was still shaking, and that amused the young dragoness.
"F-fine… Just help me clean up the cubes! It's your fault this time!" He grumbled.
"Aw, you need my help? Who's the hatchling now?"
"Forget it!" Jericho growled, before scrambling to push all the small wooden objects to a corner of the room, almost slipping on one. The only regret he had at that moment was that he couldn't punch the laughter out of Elara's face. Nonetheless, after his poor attempt at a clean-up, he rushed outside to join another cave, sprinting as fast as he could. The Warrens were not far, but he had to be quick. Being late was disrespectful to the Great Follower.
He quickly reached the Warren's Hall, where a certain figure was standing. "Great Follower! Jericho, reporting to your call!" He declared. The Great Follower nodded wordlessly in acknowledgement, before gesturing ahead.
"Come." They rasped.
Putrid smell. That was the first thing that reached Jericho's senses. It was too dark to see ahead of him. Whatever lay forwards had to be a trial, a lesson, a challenge. Something important. But he couldn't help but worry. What would happen to him?
He walked in darkness, guided by The Great Follower. He felt both honored and scared. The further he went, the louder the noises were.
Soon enough, he reached the place. Within a dimly lit room, the young dragon was met with another dragon, his age, tied down to an altar of stone and concrete. It kept bleeding from its mouth, as it made horrible noises while trying to scream and thrash. The smell was overbearing, the smell of rotting meat and copper.
"W-what… Is…" Jericho recoiled unwittingly, the sight burning a hole into his mind. He bumped into The Great Follower, as they gently laughed.
They didn't wait for Jericho do anything more before they presented the young dragon with a dagger, putting it on the altar. Its blade was straight, the metallic handle decorated with unknown sigils. "Go on, Jericho… Take it. Feel its power. It is time for you to do what matters."
The dark blue dragon put his paws upon the dagger's handle, squeezing it hard, scared.
"Put it to that weakling's chest. Pierce its heart. Release his soul in the name of Malefor."
"I…" He closed his eyes for a moment. It took what seemed hours for the young dragon to put the dagger onto the dragon's chest, where the heart should be. "Like this…?"
"Push it in. Enjoy every moment." They commanded. N-no! I… His mind went blank for a moment, as if everything had turned inwards. The sinking feeling in his stomach overtook him. He had to. Or else, he too, would not get out alive. His thoughts crashed against each other, offering nothing but static. At least a little bit. Jericho started putting his weight on the blade, it slowly going inside the body of the sacrifice. The scales provided resistance, but the dagger was sharper. The… Victim tried to scream even harder, trying to shake free. It was also crying. Jericho averted his gaze from the victim's eyes, for fear of also tearing up himself.
"Keep going, Jericho. You're doing the right thing."
"B-but… I…" Jericho froze up. He couldn't. He can't take a life. He can't be a murderer. I can't…
"Jericho. Do you remember your oath?" said The Great Follower in a raspy tongue.
"Yes… A-ashes to Ashes… Dusk to D-dusk… O-o-o-ode to Malefor…" the hatchling stuttered, as the gagging sounds drowned out any thought. This… Thing… needed to die. It was now a merciful act, no more, no less.
"I took his tongue. Now. Take his life. For the Dark Master." The thought of having his own tongue cut off turned his blood to ice. He needed to get this done.
He had to do it. For the Great Follower. For Malefor. For himself. Ode to…
Jericho pressed the dagger deeper into the dragon's chest. Slowly, until the blade went through the heart. The scream he heard was beyond explanation. And gradually, as blood poured out the wound, the gagging stopped, along with the attempts to break free. The dragon was finally dead, and The Great Follower grinned at Jericho.
"Good… You shall make a fine leader soon, Jericho. Remember… You're doing what is necessary. I'm proud of you," said the larger dragon, patting at Jericho's head.
"…Yes…" he simply replied, still shocked at his actions. Did he just kill…?
"Don't worry about the body, we'll take care of it. But keep in mind. Malefor's memory must be kept alive at all cost. Trust in your dagger… It'll serve you well." … I… I killed…
Putting his paws over Jericho's, he removed the dagger from the dead dragon's chest.
"That is all for today. Rest and ponder, as you are meant for great things... Ode to Malefor."
"…Ode to Malefor…"
Oh, how much he cried during that day. Thinking he was a monster. A murderer. Not worth anything. Even young, he understood the burden of his actions. But tears were pointless. He now understood the purpose of the lesson. No life is greater than Malefor's. Not even his own, or any of The Followers. Ten years later, he couldn't help but think of that moment in his life.
He sighed, sliding the same dagger he once used all the way back into its scabbard, which was hung around his neck. This memory will forever be burned into his mind. And it only made his mission even more important.
Jericho walked down a small path carved through the grass, heading back into the forest. His resolve was tested every single day, but he would not fail in his purpose. These short walks helped him to keep his calm.
That's the second altar we found… More flesh. More flesh… Stop. Focus. Field report first. He thought to himself.
After walking for a bit, he made it back to camp. The Moonlit Crescents were installed here temporarily, at the outskirts of Warfang. As the Followers' forward reconnaissance and scouting unit, their role was to find anything that may further their cause. This time, it was artifacts. Said remnants were supposed to be related to Malefor.
He sat by the fire. It was getting late, and the growing fear in his stomach wouldn't go away. What if it wasn't enough? What if The Great Follower wasn't satisfied?
He shook his head. The thoughts shouldn't be overwhelming, yet, he had to consider every single one of them. Maybe then he could earn his rightful place.
"Jericho?"
He turned back. There stood the light green dragoness.
"Oh, Elara…" he blurted out awkwardly. She replied with a small chuckle. "… R-right. Field report?"
"Right so, not many new things, Apart from that altar. We know it's for sacrificial purposes from the markings on it, but we don't have any flesh to give. Maybe you can let Tethys provide you with-"
"N-no… We're not sure what happens if we do, at least for now. You told me your translation book has missing characters. We warned The Followers back home of its existence, now we wait for a reply. Then we'll… You know," Jericho said meekly.
"Whatever you say, O dear Leader." Jericho couldn't help but chuckle at the dragoness' striking sarcasm. "Anyways, he'll be back soon with food. Oh! Before I forget... From the informants over at Warfang, the purple bastard and the traitor are on our case. Namely the sacrifices."
Jericho's eyes widened, before he balled up fists, rage welling up. The bastards are now are after us… How dare they!
Elara groaned, looking in Jericho's blue eyes. "Hey, calm down. No point in doing anything since they're passive. For now, that is."
"… Those bastards destroyed our chances at our Redemption." He snarled. Elara nodded, more in exasperation than agreement yet continued to listen. "And now, the life we live here is nothing more than suffering compared to what was to await us. That's why I'm angry. They keep pursuing a lie." Every time he thought of the purple dragon, he couldn't help but seethe. The Followers knew all too well what happened that day, which was meant to ascend them towards a higher existence. "Ever since this putrid world birthed me, I was meant to follow Malefor. We all did. And our efforts, all wasted because of those two bastards. And now…"
"And now we're stuck hunting for weird objects and strange tables. I get it, Jericho."
"Then you surely understand why I am mad at this. We don't need them bringing down what we strived to build for."
Elara shrugged her shoulders. "Well… Best we can do is keep going... Oh, here, sounds like you need one."
The green dragoness put down a small stone in front of Jericho. Calming clay? I guess… The dragon grasped in his paws, weighting it. Should be enough… He then cupped his paws before crushing the claystone in them, diving his snout in the stony powder before inhaling deeply, coughing as the dry powder hit his nose. He groaned, trying to blow out the leftover powder. The effects were instantaneous. Colors started to fade along with his vision, as calm overtook him. Yessss… he moaned. All his worries seemingly vanished as his mind was put at ease. The green dragoness just gave him a short snicker before crushing herself a bit of the clay, inhaling it in a much slower way. "Feels good, doesn't it?" she smiled, while Jericho had his eyes closed, head slowly bobbing from side to side. The only thing he heard was Elara's constant laughter.
He was lost in his thoughts. Everything he felt seemed… Numb. And it was great. Like all the bad memories faded into a void. He knew the high only lasted for a few minutes, but it was a ritual at this point. That is how he managed his fears and rogue thoughts.
As the effects subsided for a bit, he smiled. He was calm and focused again. "Right… Right. L-let's move on. Bring me the map, I need to add a location to it."
"On it, Leader," Elara said, going into the tent they had set up.
… I got to focus. Keep thinking of what really matters, nothing else. Oh, please leave my mind clear of any doubt, Great Malefor… Great Malefor. I made you a promise. I will bring you the bastard's head along with the Traitors. Jericho thought silently.