Chapter Three: D'naermon Fatalis Mortis
Aldrith sat in a cold, damp room, barred from the outside world. He had already tried to break the bars, but they were solid union ore, a rare mineral discovered by the Emperor several decades before. He had nothing but the clothes on his back, which had become ragged and torn from the many beatings the guards had given him for asking questions. Aldrith knew his Emperor was a cruel, sadistic man, but this was taking it to a whole new level! Not only was the Emperor corrupt, but so was his council! Aldrith could forget about escaping Schrade now. Cantus, the city he was trapped in, was one of Schrade's biggest military bases. It had a fort, well it used to have a fort, and so many guards and knights walked its streets, thieves would think twice of stepping into this town.
It was second in military power only to Dondruma, Schrade's capital. The Cantus Palace, however, was where the Emperor resided, for Dondruma was often attacked by all sorts of monsters that dwelled in the nearby Himeroon Mountains. Aldrith knew he would still be trapped in this palace by the time the dragon was awoken; he knew it was going to happen, one way or the other. But he had to find some way out of here, somehow, at least before the fighting began. Aldrith knew enough about Elder Dragons to know that the legendary Fatalis could easily destroy all of Schrade, with or without assistance.
There were many tales of hunters facing Fatalis, sometimes alone, sometimes with help. But the stories always ended in their deaths. Of course, that was one to four strong willed, hardy hunters; this situation would be over ten-thousand well trained Schradian soldiers. The odds seemed stacked against the Fatalis, but Aldrith knew better. And so for the past four hours, Aldrith had watched guards pass by his cell, always seemingly in a hurry. How dare they throw me in here? I'm the head of the Schradian Mining Organization! How are they supposed to start without me?
Well, better in here when the battle starts, than at the heart of the monster's lair.
* * *
After standing at the doorway for several moments, Remus followed Naru into the prophecy library. He glanced around, taking it all in. It was full of enormous shelves, filled to the brim with books and stapled papers, or various objects. Remus chased after Naru, who had gotten several dozen feet ahead of him. Naru struggled to extend a tall, wooden latter. When he finally got it folded out, he gasped for air. He wished the boy was still here. Naru climbed up the latter, and grabbed a large, red book, and a stack of weathered old papers. He returned to the library floor, and disappeared behind the tall shelves. Remus followed him around the corner, to see Naru taking a seat at a small table. Remus pulled up a chair from another table, and sat down next to Naru. Naru promptly wiped the dust from the table.
"This," he said, "Is the history of D'naermon Fatalis Mortis."
The big red book plopped down onto the table, sending the remaining dust flying into the air. It had a raggedy old spine, nearly tearing down the middle. On the front cover of the book was a big black crystal, glimmering in the dim candle light.
"I still don't understand. How can we have a detailed history of something few believe in?"
"Let me explain," replied Naru.
"D'naermon isn't the dragon itself, but the fate it carries with it. This book lists the many deaths, wars, disasters, and tragedies brought about from the dragon, usually done by human interference. The one we're about to have now is a good example. But this particular D'naermon isn't like the others. Most D'naermon end with the dragon disappearing for another thousand years. This prophecy, however, says different," said Naru, flipping through the pages of the prophecy.
"It says that the dragon will flee to another land, after 'an immense tragedy plagues an unfortunate soul from Schrade'".
"Right… but what kind of tragedy are we talking about here?" asked a confused and curious Remus.
"I'm not certain, it isn't clear. But it does say that the dragon will be severely wounded, and will require several decades of rest."
"Well, how the hell do we stop this dragon?" said Remus, obviously flustered by the recent occurrence of events.
"Stop it? We can't stop it! The D'naermon Fatalis Mortis is the most written about prophecies in history, and each tale ends with the dragon victorious! Whatever will come from this war will be bad. We cannot stop this, Remus Dain."
"Then why the hell have you brought me here? You might as well have let my buy my damn tickets so I can get out of this doomed country!"
"No, you misunderstood me, Remus. While we cannot defeat the dragon, we can stop it from continuing this unending cycle of death and chaos. The prophecy says a man named Remus Dain II will engage the dragon in combat, and with the help of the Schradian Military, will repel it. The dragon will flee to faraway lands to rest and recuperate. In that time, we will form a band that can defeat it the second time around!"
Remus just sat there, mouth agape from shock.
"You… expect me… to fight… a dragon?!"
"Yes! The prophecy says so!"
"Now I know you're crazy," said Remus, leaving his seat behind, and heading for the two, great, double doors.
"Wait! Would you really abandon your nation in its time of need?"
"You must be joking," said Remus, standing at the doorway.
"Wait. I will show you proof," said Naru, grabbing Remus on the shoulder. The prophet led the guardian down the tall, shelved corridors, towards a small door at the back.
"This is my storage room. I will show you the undeniable proof that this dragon is coming."
Remus followed Naru into the storage room. He watched as the prophet opened a small, velvet covered box, using a golden key.
"This," he said, opening the box's lid, "Is one of the dragon's scales."
Remus watched the pitch black scale shimmer in the dimly light storage room.
"Why are you showing me this?" asked Remus, confused.
"Just stare at for a few minutes," replied Naru.
And so Remus gazed into the dark crevices of the large, shining scale, for several minutes. He began to feel his legs wobble, and he could tell drool was beginning to form on his lips. What was happening? He just stood there, feeling his head bob back and forth, and his legs buckle from weaknesses.
"Do not forget this, Remus Dain. This is the shock you feel from just a single scale of the dragon."
Around the forth minute, by which time he was about to faint, Remus could begin to hear whispers echo through his mind. All sorts of screams of agony and pain swirled through his thoughts, and he was sure the scale was telling him something. He could hear Naru say something, and then say it again louder, but it was faint. All Remus wanted to do was to grab the ceremonial dagger in the display case across the room, and take his own life. The pull was strong, and Remus would have done it if Naru hadn't shouted "REMUS!" a third time.
Remus lost consciousness and slipped onto the dusty, wooden floor. Several minutes later he sat at the same table in the library, a cold rag on his forehead.
"Now you see, Remus Dain. Imagine what the entire dragon could do. It has enough power to twist the minds of men, turn them against each other, and force them to take their own lives, or even drive them insane. The power I have in that scale is not one to take lightly. But we will be needing it shortly," said Naru, throwing the black scale into a bag, as well as some rations and a rusty old dagger.
"What? Why?" asked a curious Remus, who then grunted from the headaches the scale had caused him.
"Because, we're going to try and stop the king from awakening the dragon."
"But you already told me we cannot stop a prophecy!" said Remus loudly.
"I know what I said. But prophecies have been wrong before… at any rate, we have to do something. I already have a plan to stop the emperor. To reach his balloon, we will need to break into his palace and steal the emperor's royal pass. We use that at the airport to get an airship to take us to the excavation, where we will assault the king's fleet. We must stop the excavation. But, if the dragon is awoken, I have a backup plan. You fight the dragon, and weaken it so that it flees. Then, we prepare for its return."
"I'm sorry Naru, but I am a mere captain. I cannot defeat something as strong as an elder dragon."
"But the prophecy says you can!"
"You just told me prophecies have been wrong before!" shouted Remus, becoming aggravated.
"Look, I know you can defeat the Fatalis! I've been reading prophecies for decades, I know this one inside and out!"
"Naru, I will not face that dragon alone. It's too dangerous."
"Ah, but my dear boy, you will not be facing this dragon alone," replied Naru, waving the glimmering, black scale of the Fatalis.
* * *
The emperor watched as hundreds of airships circled above Mount Schrade, searching for deposits of ore to mine. They resembled zeppelins, except for the many propellers on their sides. Only Schrade could afford to make such expensive ships. The emperor's royal airship was easily five times as big as the mining zeppelins, with hundreds of rooms for his soldiers, a viewing station, and dozens of bathrooms, an infirmary, an equipment room, and the many cannon stations mounted on its sides. The emperor sat in his throne, at the front of the airship, watching over the excavations progress. A massive, fifty-foot long window lay before him, more than enough to allow some viewing pleasure. The emperor smiled greedily. All was going according to plan.
* * *
"Who is this?" asked Remus, watching a tall, slender man approach. He had a strange sphere over his eye, a red beret on his head, and a brown bowgun strapped to his back.
"This is Razadian Nalim, if you know your western history he's a very important figure," replied Naru.
"THE PRINCE OF KHAL-NALIM?!"
"Quiet!" whispered Naru, putting his hand over Remus' mouth.
"He left his homeland a decade ago, and became a hunter near Barbaroi. He has become quite the rogue in recent years. We'll need his help."
"Mr. Altese, good to see you," said a cheerful Raz, extending a hand.
"Yes, yes, good to see you as well, my friend," replied Naru, shaking it.
"I assume things have been going well since your exile from Khal-Nalim?"
"Of course. Hunting turned out to be a nasty business though. Moved here from Barbaroi, and discovered that being a spy is a lot more fun, and more profitable.
"Glad to hear it. I do hope Greensboro hasn't been sending you on droll tasks."
"Not at all. In fact, he's even let me spy on the Guardians once or twice," said Raz with a wink and a grin.
"Excuse me?" said an annoyed Remus.
"Oh, do forgive my guest," said Naru with a fake smile, "he was once a Guardian here in Cantus."
"I see. Well, I must say your group is quite the interesting one," said Raz, once again grinning.
Remus grunted in reply, and looked off in another direction.
"So, Greensboro hasn't been asking you to betray the Emperor has he?" asked Naru finally.
"Not yet, at least," replied Raz.
"I hear he's quite the contradictive one. He recently shut down my prophecy library," said Naru, frowning.
"Shame. But surely you invited me here for more than just small talk," said Raz, narrowing his eyebrows.
Naru tossed a coin in Raz's direction, who promptly snatched it out of the air.
"Fantastic," he said.
"So what do you need?" asked Raz.
"We're planning on infiltrating the palace, and stealing the king's airship pass."
Raz forgot his manners and let his mouth hang agape.
"Do you have any idea what kind of protection that castle has?" asked a shocked Raz.
Naru tossed another coin. Again, Raz caught it, and slipped it into his pocket.
"Two thousand guards on the inside, another four hundred archers and gunners on the outside, sixteen ballista cannons, four great cannons, a dragonator on the sides and the back, dozens of spike and poison traps in the treasure dungeon, forty-eight prison cells, forty-six of which are in use, twelve royal guards, and six of them are on the Royal Airship at the moment, and last but certainly not least, a Gravios in the dungeon."
Remus couldn't even remember the first bit, for the Gravios part was still being processed.
"They… have… a Gravios… in the dungeons?"
"Two actually, a juvenile and an adult," replied Raz.
The three were silent for a few moments.
"Well, this promises to be one hell of an evening!" said Naru with a reckless grin.