"Songs of the Return"
Volume 2: A Cry to the Moon
Over the realms and through the stars flew the great dragon Nidhogg, at last freed from its imprisonment within the roots of Yggdrasil, the Tree of Life. The rage and resentment towards the world had finally festered into a nasty, relentless bloodlust within the beast, and it had become too blinded by vengeance to realize the tragic irony; it was becoming the very monster everyone feared it to be.
The fearsome, undead dragon whose smooth scales sparkled like ice soared across the dark velvet sky, but came to an abrupt halt when a dark figure stepped into its path. A large wolf, its black pelt speckled with starlight and dazzled by the moon's illumination, stopped the mighty beast.
"So you are Nidhogg." The wolf spoke with a soft but stern voice. "I heard you might be gracing my sky tonight. What brings you to cross the face of my Moon?"
The dragon recoiled slightly, having never been stopped or questioned. "I'm sure you've heard the prophecy. That should tell you the answer."
The canine scoffed quietly. "The prophecy said you'd carry corpses in your wings, and yet I see none."
Nidhogg growled and snorted. "So you don't believe it?"
"I believe I asked you what you are doing."
"I'm going to lay waste to Asgard."
"To show them you aren't the monster they fear?" The wolf grinned. "I know you, Nidhogg. You're nothing like they say."
The dragon snarled and lept forward. "You know nothing about me!"
"You're wrong." He spoke calmly. "I watch over the night skies, as my brother watches over day. My brother sees what the rest see - a snarling, angry, powerful monster who should be sealed away to rot for eternity."
Nidhogg's muscles tensed, but it remained silent.
"And yet when he disappears over the horizon, as I rise, I see something very different. As the night sets in, I see the animals return to their homes, their families, their warmth and love. And I see a creature, utterly alone and sentenced for a crime they may never commit. They may see you roar, but I see you cry. Do you forget how many times you have cried to the moon?"
Nidhogg remained silent.
"I don't believe the prophecy. I believe we carve our own paths, armed with the purpose of our choosing. And you, Nidhogg, need only choose if you want to be a monster."
After a long moment of silence, the dragon finally spoke, very softly. "I'm already a monster. That was decided a long time ago."
"No. That choice is yours alone to make."
Its tail twitched with agitation, its body becoming rigid, its growl returning. "My choice? And what of you, did you choose to take the darkness of the night while your brother brings warmth and light to the world? Do you choose for your brother to revel in life while you sit to watch the world sleep?"
The wolf's ears flattened as he too growled back to the dragon. "No, I didn't choose my place, as you didn't choose yours. But I chose what to do with it, I chose my purpose. I chose not to resent the world, nor my brother. It took time for me to realize that, but I did and I made the choice." His ears perked up as he stepped forward. "Now you have a choice to make."
Nidhogg's wings stretched out once more and lifted the dragon. "Enjoy the darkness," it taunted as it flew past the wolf.
As it passed, the wolf sighed. "I don't want to see you cry anymore, Nidhogg."
For a brief, fleeting moment, as the great dragon pushed onwards, its eyes softened.
