Arete turned the pendant over in her hand staring at the light blue glow emitting from the stone at its center. In the early dawn light the glow had an eerie effect upon the dim room. She glanced up to see her husband putting on hiking books while her sister helped to gather supplies for his trip. Her hand fell to her stomach as she dropped her gaze back down at the pendant.
"I still don't like this idea." She said quietly.
The king of Valla sighed as he sat on the bed beside her holding his hand out for the pendant. Arete paused for a moment before placing it in his palm. He placed the gold chain around his neck as Mikoto handed him a pack full of water, rations, and some emergency first aid.
"I know you don't like it Arete, but I have to do this." the king wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulder and pulled her close, "No one has visited Anankos since my father's death. It's time I inherited all the duties of the Vallite king." He ran his thumb over the pendant that settled so easily over his chest.
"Lysander that dragon is mad. His sense of reasoning is gone. He's more of a threat than anything else now. You can't go up there alone." Arete locked eyes with her husband.
Despite the steel in her gaze Lysander reached forward and brushed her hair behind her ears, "Arete you know as well as I do that only those of royal blood can pass through the barrier and back safely, and at the moment you are not prepared to go hiking up a mountain." Lysander settled a hand over her swollen belly, "The only other person who can pass through is your sister, and I think we would both prefer Mikoto helping you out."
At mention of her name Mikoto sat down on the other side of Arete and gently patted her hand, "I know your worried, but you of all people understand what duty is. At least given how much you remind people of their duties I assume you do."
Arete sighed at her sister's ribbing. As much as she didn't want to admit it, this was the king's duty. Who knew what would happen to Valla if they didn't appease the dragon, even if he was more of a monster than a god.
Her displeasure towards Anankos must have shown on her face as Lysander huffed, "You know he's not a bad guy. Sure he has his bad days, but he is a good person deep down."
"Since when were dragons people." Arete snapped a bit harsher than intended and bit back her fire when she saw the look on Lysander's face, "Sorry"
"You and Mikoto only met him once each when we were younger right? Trust me I've been meeting him around twice a year since I was ten. He's an intelligent creature with a good heart, but like all of us he has his moments of weakness." Lysander rose from the bed and grabbed the bag, "And I'm here as his friend so that he doesn't have those moments of weakness. Truth be told, I'm less nervous about this than trying to rule the kingdom. You are much better at handling those duties than me."
Arete smirked as she stood up to hug Lysander, "Well one of us has to know how to."
Lysander laughed as he wrapped his arms around his wife, albeit loosely, "And that is why my father approved of you." Then he knelt down in front of Arete belly, "And why I hope you take after your mother and not me."
With a final kiss goodbye Lysander strode to the door, "Take care while I'm gone."
"Don't you worry about the thing." Mikoto stood beside Arete.
"Just take care of yourself." Arete said as Lysander exited the room and headed towards the back garden of the palace.
The halls were quiet this time of morning. People were beginning to rise, but only a few had started their tasks for the day. Lysander strode through the halls doing his best to avoid unnecessary contact. The fewer people that saw the king acting strange the better. Lysander reached the door and stepped out into the garden watching his breath hang in chilly morning air. Shadows still danced around the courtyard as the sunlight fought to rise over the walls surrounding the royal garden and the mountains beyond. Yet despite the darkness the spring in the far corner still glittered in the king's eye. Traveling through the sacred spring was a tempting idea. There were springs and ponds all over Valla that shared a strange connection like a tunnel. It was convenient for fast traveling, but only for those of royal blood. They just had to sing to activate the spring, which thankfully took only a little strength from their dragon blood. It didn't strain their bodies the same way singing to Anankos did so it could be done freely. The problem was trying to use them without being seen. There were plenty of eyes all over the palace even if the back garden was supposed to be for the royal family alone. The last thing he needed was people thinking that he had jumped into the water and disappeared.
Lysander let out a sigh and turned away from spring towards the path through the woods and up into the mountains. His feet crunched on the slightly frosted grass as he began his trek. Gyges was a fortified palace, with only one entrance that didn't have a wall to funnel the traffic: the back of the royal garden. Unlike the rest of the palace the high walls only extended on three sides and offered a small area where nature remained in control. In truth the path itself was secure. Surrounded by steep mountain cliffs on either side it would have taken a great deal of work to scale to even enter the palace. That was what the population of Valla knew.
Lysander stopped as he reached the edge of the treeline. The next step would take him into mountain terrain, and through the barrier. To the naked eye there was nothing that appeared odd about where the trees from the woods tapered off and transformed into rocky ground other than the fact that it was much lower on the mountain than any of the other treelines. Lysander only knew the exact edge from the sheer amount of times that he had passed through it. Carefully adjusting the pack on his back he took a step through that barrier.
The change in the air was instantaneous. Everything felt alive and crackling with energy. Lysander had been told that the barrier was created long ago when Valla was founded. The purpose was to guard the dragonstone and their god from anyone who would be tempted to utilize their power. As such only those who shared the bloodpact with Anankos were allowed to cross freely back and forth through the barrier. While anyone could enter there were only a few locations where any person could exit safely. Only royals could both enter and exit anywhere along the barrier that extended all the way around this mountain.
Lysander kicked a pebble out of the path as he gazed up at the slope. In the distance he could see the shimmer of a pond just within his sight. From there he could travel to the spring all the way at the top of the mountain. It would have been much more convenient if Anankos lived closer to humans, but that bridge had been crossed and burned. While he may have once spent his days with humans, Anankos was nothing but a recluse high in the mountains with his dragonstone now. Years and years had been spent trying to convince both the dragon to return and the people to embrace him. In the end nothing had come of it and Lysander felt just about ready to give up on the idea even if the thought of his friend wallowing in isolation for so long weighed heavily on his heart.
He stopped for a moment to take a drink from the waterskin in his pack before continuing. He was sure Arete would prefer he didn't think of Anankos as his friend, but it was true. Ever since Lysander was 10 years old and capable of handling the climb up the mountain he had been visiting Anankos. While he would admit that it was hard to find good days for the dragon, and it was getting harder to find them, the days when Anankos was himself were incredible. Lysander could spend hours listening to the dragon-god speak about the history of Valla, the war of the first dragons, great kings of the past, and countless other things that Lysander could only dream about that Anankos had been a witness to them. On those days Anankos would welcome him and his father warmly into the cave and listen to hear any updates in their lives. Lysander still vividly remembered the day he had announced he was getting married. The dragon laughed, his eyes alight with pride, as he let the lovestruck prince talk incessantly about his bride to be. Lysander had turned beat red once the dragon had started teasing him about the next prince or princess. Surprisingly if there was one thing that Anankos was truly invested in, it was the family lives of the royals. If only there could be more days like that.
Finally Lysander had reached the edge of the pond. Adjusting the pack on his back to be more comfortable he began to sing, "You are the ocean's great waves. Destined to seek life beyond the shore just out of reach."
The water began to shimmer as a glowing column rose up. Lysander walked forward into the light and let himself fall through the warp. The water rushed past in a whirling torrent until an opening appeared. He closed his eyes to spare himself the vertigo, and opened them once the water stopped bubbling around him. He stepped forward out of the spring and looked up to see the peak of the mountain. Just below it was the mouth of a large cavern. Already the low grumbling roars of agitation rang through the air making Lysander grimace. This was going to be a difficult day, but he had already waited too long to come up here. Turning back wasn't an option. Taking a breath to compose himself, he strode the last bit of mountain up to the entrance to Anankos's lair.
"Hello," he called into the cave.
"Who's there?" Anankos fixed a fiery stare on the entrance.
"Just me." Lysander entered putting on an easy smile.
Anankos took one look at him and let out an annoyed growl, "I'm not in the mood."
Lysander held his hands up beside his head, "Sorry to ask but can you be more specific about what you aren't in the mood for?"
"All of it." Anankos turned away from him.
Lysander bit his lip before speaking, "Are you sure you don't want to even talk for a bit. If you are having a really bad day we could try to work it out."
Anankos didn't turn around, but he also didn't shove him out of the cave.
"I can tell you about what's happening in Valla at the moment." Lysander sat down near a boulder.
"Why should I care for a land and people that have rejected me?" Anankos asked, but the words rang with as much sorrow as rage.
"A lingering sense of sentimental attachment?" Lysander suggested as he ran his thumb over the pendant around his neck.
Anankos huffed, but turned to face Lysander.
Lysander smiled at his friend and leaned back against the rock, "Well truth be told it's been hard for me to even keep up with what's been going on in Valla as of late. Ever since my coronation everything has felt like one big blur. I suppose it's not a very confident sign when the king has no idea what's going on. But I've been so busy smoothing things over with the nobles that it's hard to check on the average people. I will say that everything is stable. The only major event the past few months is that Arete is pregnant."
"Congratulations." Anankos said as he toyed with his claws in the ground.
Lysander chuckled but wished that there had been a better day to tell the dragon, "Well I suppose it's about time, at least that's what everyone keeps telling me. The baby is due in about a month. Arete has almost finished getting the nursery set up and Mikoto has been very eager to help."
Anankos didn't bother to look at Lysander and instead stared intently at his claws.
Lysander felt a shiver run up his spine and slowly stood up. That look was not a peaceful one. "Hey are you sure you don't need to talk about anything?"
"Yes I am sure." Anankos stated evenly, but the gravel in his voice rang out.
"I can try to sing if it would make you feel better. It's my duty now, although I would probably need your blessing first for it to have a strong effect." Lysander reached out and instantly stepped back when he saw the look in Anankos's eyes. The usual yellow was a bright red as all of the Anankos's eyes fixed squarely on Lysander.
"And why would that help? What makes you think I need help from a human?" Anankos's voice boomed through the cave.
Lysander swallowed hard and steeled his nerves. Anankos wouldn't calm down on his own and Lysander couldn't leave him in such an enraged state. "Because every creature needs help sometimes."
Anankos slammed his hand against the ground, shaking the entire cave. Lysander's breath caught in his throat as he knew he must have said something wrong. It took all his effort not to let his legs shake for fear of it upsetting the dragon further.
"I am a first dragon! Why would I need help; let alone from a lesser being!" Anankos rose up his tail lashing back and forth.
A silence hung between them while Lysander thought through his response. The moments felt like hours. While Lysander was thinking about how to help his friend, another part of him was battling with a different concern: the very real chance he could die. One wrong move could set Anankos off and Lysander stood no chance against a mad dragon.
Arete flashed through his mind, her lovely blue hair and warm eyes. The way she smiled when she looked at him. How her voice melded so perfectly together with his own when they sang. The hours she could spend in the library studying new magics. Conversations she and Mikoto had about healing techniques that went right over his head. How when he teased her she would give him a little annoyed huff, but her face betrayed how much she enjoyed the levity in their relationship. But most of all he thought of the bulge of her belly. The little baby who was just waiting to enter the world. He was too acutely aware at that moment, that his child might grow up without a father.
He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath before looking up to meet Anankos in the eye. Even if he wasn't acting like himself at the moment, this was the person who taught him more history than he could ever hope for. The dragon that had given him singing lessons alongside his father. His true friend he could confide all his secrets and worries in. The person who gave him all the advice he could ask for when he needed it. This may be a bad day and a terrible moment, but he knew his friend was in there. He just had to trust his friend was stronger than his madness.
Lysander kept his voice even as he spoke and tried to convey every once of his friendship in it, "Even if you don't need help, I want to be able to offer it as your friend."
The world hung still for a moment, before Anankos roared and Lysander's stomach dropped as he knew he said the wrong thing.
"FRIEND? What do humans know of friendship?" Anankos's head bobbed and his body shifted as if the madness in his mind had begun to infect it, "Humans are nothing but vermin that no nothing but betrayal!"
The next thing Lysander knew sharp claws had ripped across his left arm and chest. The momentum carried him across the room and he landed on the ground by the cave entrance. For a moment he laid there like a broken doll. He looked down to see blood already pouring from the wounds. In some part of his mind he was aware that the pain was extraordinary, but somehow he couldn't find it in himself to cry out. He looked up to see Anankos standing over him. The dragon's hand ready to come crashing down and end it all. At the last second Anankos recoiled and let out a pained roar.
"Hurry, get away from me!" Anankos threw head back and forth slamming it against the walls over and over.
"Anankos" Lysander wheezed as he forced himself upright.
"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!" Anankos gasped the words over and over as tears began to fall, "Hurry, I can't control myself. I'm not strong enough anymore. Please before I can do anything worse: flee. Oh my dear friend I'm so sorry."
With sudden clarity, the situation hit Lysander and he dash from the cave as best as he could. All the way to the spring he could hear the sobs of "I'm so sorry". As he reached the spring his legs finally gave out on him and he toppled to the ground. His pack flew off of his back and spilled its contents a few feet away from him. The world around him spun as he lie there. He turned his head to the side and stared at the spring. He had to go through there right? Letting out a groan he rolled over and straight into the spilled contents of his pack. Then he saw it. Right there was a vulnerary and bandages. Thank the gods for Mikoto's good sense where he lacked it. His good arm shook as he reached out but he grasped medicine with all the strength he could muster.
He let out a strained chuckle as he realized that all those years of listening to Arete and Mikoto talk about healing might have come in handy. It wouldn't be enough. He knew that, but it could at least buy him some time. Without hesitating he coated his hand in the vulnerary salve and began to rub it over his wounds. The medicine burned as it was applied, but at least the bleeding slowed just a bit. He couldn't stop though. If he didn't move quickly he would die out here. Wincing, he gathered the bandages loosely in his right hand and began to drape them around his body. There was no way he could properly apply them, so the the best he could do was to put them on at all.
It was starting to get more difficult to breath and his vision was blurring in and out, but he stumbled to the edge of the pool and wheezed out the song. With his last once of strength he threw himself into the spring and prayed that someone would find him on the other side.
Arete wrapped her arms around herself as she sat on the steps to the back garden. Lysander had to be back soon now. She swallowed and tried to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach. No matter how many times she told herself she was just jumping to the worst conclusions or that she was just being an emotional pregnant woman, the dread wouldn't go away. A cold wind swept through the garden and she pulled her coat closer around herself. She should go back inside and help Mikoto deal with the duties for the day, but she wanted to be here when Lysander returned. Ten minutes, Arete could wait here that long.
Just then the spring began to light up and Arete snapped to attention. Why was he using the spring and not walking down? She stood up and rushed to the spring as her heartbeat pounded in her ears. Soon she saw her husband begin to exit the portal and her blood ran cold. The spring spit him out to the edge as he flopped over unconscious.
"Lysander" Arete rushed to catch him before lowering both of them to the ground.
Her eyes went wide as she felt the sticky wet spot on his chest. She pulled her hand away to see it coated in blood.
"Lysander!" She shook him trying to a response.
Lysander lie still and cold.
Without wasting another moment Arete stood and ran to the door to the palace. Throwing it open she shouted "The king needs medical assistance in the back garden now!"
The few staff who were nearby jumped in alarm at the sudden voice of the queen before rushing off to get the doctors. Arete's eyes landed on one young cleric in training who must have been talking with one of the guards.
"Give me your staff now." She thrust her hands out at the girl.
Wide eyed and speechless the young girl handed her staff over to Arete who raced back into the garden. Practically throwing herself down the steps Arete stooped by Lysander and pulled away his clothes and loose bandages to inspect the damage. The wounds were deep. Five long gashes poured blood from his left arm all the way across his chest. Arete cursed under her breath as she realized they must have come from dragon claws. She quickly held the staff in front of her and began to cast a healing spell. There was no way it heal it all, but she had to slow the bleeding. Every second he lost more blood he was at greater risk of dying, especially out here in the cold.
"Come on Lysander. You can't die now." Arete quickly patted him to get a response after she finished the first healing spell.
He didn't respond and Arete grit her teeth as she cast the spell again, "Don't you dare die."
She panted as she finished the second spell and checked his wounds again. The bleeding had slowed, but it wasn't stopping. He was still growing steadily colder. She could feel her own body beginning to shake as the cold and adrenalin effected it. She lifted the staff prepared to cast the spell a third time when she heard people rushing behind her. One of the doctors came up beside her and carefully examined her husband while another cleric cast a spell of their own. She stared at Lysander as a group of guards carefully picked him up to carry him to the infirmary. She rose to her feet in a daze to follow them stopping for a moment to breath as she reached the threshold of the palace.
"Arete!"
Arete turned to see Mikoto rushing towards her out of breath herself.
"What happened? I heard that doctors were called to the back garden. Are you okay? Is Lysander okay?" Mikoto stood in front of her sister scanning her over, eyes widening as she saw the blood on Arete's front and hands.
Arete could feel the tears begin to well up. She sniffed and then threw her arms around Mikoto as she began to cry into her shoulder. Mikoto wrapped her arms around Arete and patted her back as she waited for her sister to calm. Then they headed to the infirmary.
Anankos slammed his head over and over against the walls, "Get out. Get this madness out of my head!"
His vision spun as everywhere he looked was just something else he could destroy. Eyes darted widely around trying to find anything grounding. Instead it was nothing but shame. The entrance to the cave still stained dark with blood. He could see it on his claws. He couldn't escape this time. His mind was beyond salvageable.
He lifted his hand and stared at it for a moment. The same hand that had turned on the living person he held most dear. Then he cut deep into himself and reached for his soul. With a pained roar he grasped it and ripped it from his body before collapsing onto the cave floor. Looking up he saw in front of him a human form wrapped in a cloak. If the situation were any different he would have laughed at the irony of his soul having a human form.
"Get up." He said as he could begin to feel all his sanity drifting out of his body. Soon this body would be nothing but a house of madness, but for this moment he had to get what was left of his soul away, "Get up and go. I don't know where you can or will go, but get away from here. It will take a miracle, but do something to try to save Valla. GO!"
The human form looked dully up at him, but was clearly responsive as it began to stumble out of the cave. It was a long shot to be sure, but if his soul could save even a few people it would lessen his sin.
The dragon slunk to the back of his cave and collapsed against the wall. Once he slept, he would lose his sanity and it would never return. The dragon let a few tears fall as he closed he eyes on his last thought, "I'm so sorry Valla."