They're here.

"Igneel, what's going on?"

The sound of footsteps against the cold stone of the castle's floor echoed throughout the empty hallway. The two were surrounded by absolute darkness. The only light that lit up the long and winding corridor was a fist, burning hot and red with fire.

The sound of roars and metal clashing against metal echoed throughout the castle walls and beyond. Igneel wasn't sure who the roars belonged to: the dragons that fought to their deaths just over their heads in the clouds that carried thunder or the fire that seemed to be slowly devouring the castle. Flame licked the walls and the curtains, leaving trails of ashes trapped between the crevices of the cobblestone floor.

"Mother, I don't have time to explain! Please, just...keep up!"

He didn't know what sound was more erratic: the sound of his footsteps that were too heavy or the sound of his heart beating within his chest as if ready to leap out of its rib cage prison cell.

His grip tightened around the woman's slender wrist as he quickened his pace, practically dragging the woman with him. She followed, albeit reluctantly. She didn't stagger at the distance and the pace his long legs carried him, but then again, she never staggered.

We don't have time!

"What do you mean you don't h—!"

The sound of walls collapsing and the giant thud of a body, a dragon's body, was heard. A tower had just fallen, and he didn't know who fell with it: a comrade or an enemy. Either way, it as a loss. It wasn't the first loss, nor will it be the last loss they face in this war.

He could feel her body tense, reluctance no longer a whisper her body language allowed, but a scream. He knew she would never be satisfied with excuses or half-truths. She deserved more than that. More than this. But in this war where the only thing he could afford was uncertainty and paranoia, this was all he could give her.

She'll be safe there.

"Grandine, Metallicana, Weisslogia, and Skiadrum are outside, Mother."

They stop in their tracks.

Her round violet eyes widened in shock, her hands rising to cover her mouth. "Igneel…" she whispered, "Igneel, no. They can't be here. They must remain safe, they must—" her hands fell to her side as she looked at him with a broken look in her eyes. "Why are they here?"

"I…I…" Igneel's gaze fell to the ground.

Her shoulders shook as her breathing became rapid. "Answer me!" She pleaded…begged.

"I cannot tell you, Mother," was his whispered reply. "Time is a luxury and answers are a luxury. But this is war; luxuries have no place on the frontlines."

He hears her let out a shaky breath. "We're at the frontlines." She says. When Igneel doesn't answer, she shakes her head. "No, this castle has become the frontlines."

"We didn't mean for this to happen, Mother."

He looks at her and sees her eyes. Her softness and melancholy hidden by her white lashes. He sees her eyes and he sees hope. What kind of hope, he does not know. Perhaps hope that their kind will live on. But in a flash, hope becomes a backdrop and he sees nothing else—no one else but his mother.

She brings her hand up and cups his cheek, smiling sadly. "No one means for war to happen. And no son means to hide his mother away."

She'll be safe…

He lets out a shaky breath, feeling the tears sting his eyes as he looks at his Mother for what is possibly the last time.

He turns to the door before them. He knows she did not notice this, too busy with the numerous thoughts this war has brought her. He knows for certain that the war has changed her, turned her mind into a labyrinth.

"I fear this will be the last time I lay my eyes upon you." She says as she stands before the door, looking ahead to avoid meeting his eyes. "No mother wants to part from her children."

Igneel smiles slightly. "And as you said, no son means to hide his mother away."

"Is there truly no other way?" He hears her ask. Her voice a small thing amidst the battle that waged around them.

He shakes his head to say no. "We've exhausted resources and man power to find another way. If there is one, finding it would require the luxury of time and—"

"We cannot afford such luxury at the face of war," she finishes. "It is my only regret that I could not say goodbye to my other children myself."

"They will understand, Mother." He says, an attempt to convince her. Convince himself.

"Will they?" She sighs. "It is best if we do this now."

He nods. "Yes, Mother."

Igneel opens the door and reveals the mountains of Hakkon. But it wasn't Hakkon. Hakkon is but a mere memory. Hakkon is ravaged by war and raped of its resources. Hakkon has bathed in blood and magic and gore. Hakkon is the frontlines. And soon, Hakkon will be a relic.

He frowns as he watches his mother enter. At her signal, he raises his hands over the open doorway and lets his magic flow. It hums steady, filling their surroundings. A slew of ancient words escape his mouth as he begins chanting. Light begins to envelop his Mother as he nears the end of his incantations. Just as he is about to lay down his arms and seal the doorway, he feels malicious magic cloud his own.

Igneel turns around and sees one of the enemy running towards his Mother. Before he can catch him, the doors close.

And the last thing that Igneel hears is his mother scream his name.

"Igneel!"


AN: Now, before you all kill me, I have a legitimate excuse as to why I haven't updated. The excuse being that all my outlines for this story and all the chapters that I have finished (all five of them) are gone. I got my computer fixed at the shop and when I came to pick it up, no more files. I'm not going to go into details about what happened, but I will say that it sucked and I had to redo EVERYTHING. So when rewriting the first chapter, I thought, "Hey, why not just revamp my outline as well!" So here we are now: you with a new version of the prologue to read and suck on, and me without a heading.

Since I am rewriting the entire story, I will need help. I have decided that all the details revealed from the first arc to the GMG arc will remain intact, but the new information we got after that arc might be ignored completely or changed. In order to do this, I will need a muse. To those of you who are interested in helping flesh out this story, you can PM on this website or on discord where I am known as Shymmur#3862.

Please do fav, follow, and review! Your support always helps!