Hello, guys! ^_^
Chapter 2: My Cult Like Following Is Now Accepting Applications!
5 Years Later
Prince Drake was five years old and sat in his room in the west tower. His parents lived on the other side of the palace; he lived in this tower with his guard Ellipsis, and his advisor Eclipse.
Drake didn't get to see his parents much... which he was starting to find odd, since his mother always seemed so happy to see him.
Eclipse didn't seem to like it when Marina spent time with him. When Drake was with his mother, Eclipse always tried to stay close by. He always looked angry and had even taken Drake away from her many times saying it wasn't safe... Drake still wasn't sure what wasn't safe, but... no one ever answered when he asked.
Today was supposed to be special. Eclipse said they were going somewhere, so Drake sat and waited for him.
Eclipse was pausing to look over his balcony. The view was both amazing, and nauseating. The tower was built on a mountain, so you could look down the entire height of it, and then over the cliff it was built on. Today, clouds and mist made it impossible to see as far down as usual, but you still got the feeling the tower might topple, and fall for miles... not that it would matter much, to him. Heights weren't a problem for him, and the fact that people would fear a fall made this tower all the more useful.
Eclipse backed away. He liked this spot, but they had business to attend to. He continued up the corridor, and a guard opened Drake's bedroom door for him with a bored demeanor, having done the same thing a hundred and one times before.
Drake looked over and smiled, hugging his stuffed red dragon close. "Where are we going?"
Eclipse allowed himself a friendly smile. One that was at least party heartfelt. "We will be taking a boat, and visiting my home." He answered the young prince, while straightening his new blood-red robes.
They were both his favorite color, and the sign of the leader of his people. Though, not many knew that. His ascension to leader had not been unexpected... and would be made completely official in the next day or two, he was sure.
"Your home," Drake echoed. "I thought this was your home? I don't remember you ever being anywhere else."
"This will be my first time back in a long time, Drake." Eclipse said; his voice had the same calm authority as always, "I am sure you will like it there."
Eclipse heard a distant bell as it chimed out, and echoed into silence several times. He knew it meant that it was nine o'clock, and did not even have to count the times it rang out.
"Are you ready?" He asked Drake. To meet your destiny?
Drake stood up with a nod, "I'm ready!" He said with his ever-present smile.
Are you? Really? Eclipse wondered silently to himself as he wordlessly led them down to the docks. Unlike the hidden-by-mist city to the east, Lindblum, it was a long trip down the mountain to the docks.
Eclipse was hoping to avoid the King and Queen on the way out... He had neglected to mention this little trip to them. The wretched Queen would never allow it; he was sure. It was best not to tell them; they still held the dim belief that Drake was their child. Favorable not to allow that thought to fester.
Luckily, there was no sign of the royals, and by almost ten, he and Drake were boarding the boat. Ellipsis was there waiting for them. It almost discomforted Eclipse, the way it was like looking into a mirror now that Ellipsis wore the same dark blue robes that Eclipse had worn for decades.
Drake jumped onto the boat and walked to the front, looking around excitedly. He'd never ridden on a ship, though he had come aboard a few that had docked to deliver supplies before. Drake was excited to be going... anywhere! After a while he circled back, ever on the move as any child would be. He paused behind Ellipsis, partly hidden in the shadows.
Eclipse had walked off to talk to the crew. Ships were slow, and it would take a good twenty-four hours to get to the Island. To Eclipse's delight, being on a boat in the middle of the ocean meant that Drake couldn't really wander off anywhere, like he tended to do... a lot… he was starting to wonder if it was a habit or a disorder.
Ellipsis, perhaps through his own confused thoughts, or mere lack of anything better to do, turned to Drake.
"Excited?" He asked, genuinely interested.
Drake nodded, "Never been on a boat before that was going anywhere."
He looked around again, though he kept his feet planted. "It's not as big as the boats that bring stuff..." He noticed, seeming almost disappointed.
"No..." Ellipsis agreed after a moment. "But this one is faster," he added with a small smile at the young prince. The dock was slowly crawling toward the horizon, and out of sight. The wind started to pick up as well.
Drake took notice to that word, 'faster' and his smile widened. In an instant, something else caught his eye and he rushed off to find something to do.
While Eclipse relaxed during the trip, it was Ellipsis's job to keep Drake entertained… which, on such a small boat, he assumed would be difficult, but was turning out to be easier than he thought it would be.
The young prince spent much of his time being fascinated by the water. Ellipsis would have thought the boy would be tired of it by now, there being so many ponds and fountains in the palace, but he didn't ever seem to. Drake found it entertaining that the fish would eat stuff he tossed into the water, and the bigger the thing he dropped, the bigger the fish would come. However, there was only so much food on board that Ellipsis could let him waste… so he had to find something else to keep him occupied.
"Fetch."
"Okay!"
If anyone had ever told him to try this, Ellipsis would have thought they were lying… but it worked. He had a white rubber ball for a purpose he couldn't even try to imagine, but whenever it got away from him, Drake went and got it… so he decided to throw it and the same reaction occurred.
He could only play catch for so long and he tended to get tired long before Drake did. There was also the fact to consider that they had to be inside during the game in fear of the toy going over the side of the ship and the boy going after it.
Thus, this game took its place. Ellipsis figured it wasn't cruel since the kid didn't seem to mind and it did keep him busy and, in theory, running around so much would tire him out.
Of course, it had been nine hours and that theory was starting to seem like a lost cause.
The ship moved; the ball rolled everywhere, Drake ran after it… Ellipsis was free to sit back and wait for the prince to come back. It wasn't productive, but so what? Drake had advanced far further than the other children his age had. He obeyed Eclipse and Ellipsis; he was excelling in his lessons at amazing speed. Without Eclipse's subliminal force, Drake hardly lost control of his powers and when he did it wasn't a major deal… the boy's parents had been too quick to worry, they could have handled this on their own.
Ellipsis had to notice, though, the energy and power he'd felt from the Prince as a baby had only grown. If the boy had a harsher temperament, he might already be dangerous, but he didn't. He was as calm and friendly as his parents…, which just made this harder.
This young child had no idea what he was being led into. He didn't know who or what he might be, he didn't know what was going to happen… he didn't know that his life would either be over, or forever be altered once they arrived at the island.
Ellipsis could remember personally doing this before, but never to a child so young… and no one had ever survived before. Of course, if anyone had… Ellipsis wouldn't be on this boat right now leading another person to undergo the trial.
It was ironic… Marina had often made mention of the lack of fire elements in the world now… how there had always been less of them. She'd asked him if he knew why, and Ellipsis had lied and said he wasn't sure… yet this is it. This was why. Because they captured the Fire Elementals and brought them to the Island and none survived. Less and less appeared in the world; it was as if Gaia knew what they were doing and decided to limit the lives it put on the line.
Drake walked back. "Got it!" He said, tossing the ball back to Ellipsis.
Ellipsis looked at the clock and almost choked when he saw how late it was. "It's after midnight?"
Drake looked at the clock, too. He had no idea what time it was, exactly. The clock had lines, but no number. "…Yup?"
"Aren't you tired?" Ellipsis asked, looking at him.
"Yup!"
"… You're so weird. Go get ready for bed." Ellipsis instructed, pointing toward one of the cabins.
Drake shrugged. "Okay," he said and walked to his room. He got dressed for bed in his black and red nightclothes, but left his shoes on since he couldn't get all the knots untied.
Drake fell asleep holding his toy dragon in his arms.
The wind had picked up even more, and the ship arrived well ahead of schedule. About three in the morning, it sailed quietly into the dark stone docks of the island.
Eclipse had gone to find Drake, and found him asleep in one of the cabins. He carefully picked the young boy up, trying not to wake him, and carried him off the boat.
A group of silent people all in dark blue robes met them, much as if they had been expected at that very moment, and they all proceeded onward up a rocky path, and into an ancient building on the volcano's side without a word spoken. Inside, the corridors were dark, and lit only by flaming torches, and thin channels of guided, flowing, lava.
They followed the lava until they proceeded up steps with flows of lava moving calmly down each side. In front of them was a large crest on the wall. The image of a dragon carved into the smooth stone. Small holes near the top let thin trails of lava to flow down the carved trails. Making it appear as if the lava had taken on a mind of its own and worn the permanent image into the rock over time. From the dragon's mouth, the lava that flowed slowly throughout the whole building originated from an unseen source in the rock.
Eclipse turned his attention to the boy in his arms; it was time to wake the young prince up...
Drake yawned, waking up. He felt groggy; sure he hadn't slept long... for a moment he wasn't sure if he was awake or not.
The heat was the first thing he noticed. The next was the light… it was odd, odd light. It wasn't very bright… it was actually rather dim, and it seemed to come from the walls unlike any torch he'd ever seen.
There were also a lot of... people? Drake couldn't tell. A lot of blue robes, a lot of hidden faces.
It was so dark, he could hardly see anything.
"Hm?"
"We're here, time to wake up." Eclipse announced coolly, "I want to show you something."
He lowered the boy to his feet, resting his hands on his small shoulders, initially just to make sure he didn't stumble into the lava. Though, in a moment... in case he tried to run...
Drake was waking up quickly. "Here? Where?" The smell of sulfur and ash was getting to him already. It smelt like poison in there— wherever there was.
He tried to back up, wanting to be as far from that place as possible. Last thing he remembered, he'd fallen asleep on the ship... headed for Ellipsis ad Eclipse's home. This place seemed suffocating, but he wasn't afraid. Ellipsis was his guard, he wouldn't let anyone hurt him, and Eclipse was his advisor, he wouldn't put him into a dangerous situation. At the moment, Drake was simply oblivious to the goings on.
Eclipse held the boy where he was firmly, and nodded to Ellipsis who was by his side.
Ellipsis gave a short look down to the young prince, and hesitated a moment before looking away. He moved to whisper something to one of the other people there.
After a moment, that person, a man, stepped forward toward the crest. The man stretched out his arm and began to reach out at the crest, his hand emerging from his long blue sleeve. The hand looked odd. It was old, and perhaps by a trick of the light, seemed a faint green color, with long sharp-pointed black nails that looked almost like claws…
Drake watched with confusion. He watched the man reach out. It didn't look like a person's hand, it had claws, it... it looked like it had scales and he could have sworn it was green.
What was going on? What was this? His mind asked questions his young wisdom could not answer. He felt uneasy, but could not fully place why. The hand was very, very unusual— scary looking, even, but he had to do his best to believe he was safe; protected by Eclipse and Ellipsis... still, he could not help but feel anxiety rise in him like the many questions.
Eclipse could sense the boy's unease, but did not offer anything in way of explanation or comfort. Meanwhile, the strange hand moved toward the mouth of the dragon and the molten lava that poured from it, while its nostrils seemed to exhale a constant stream of foul-smelling smoke.
The hand did not stop half a foot away from the lava, nor did it stop a few inches away. Eventually, the long nails touched the lava, and flames rushed along them, making them seem to melt.
But the hand didn't stop, it continued until the fingertips touched the lava. The man growled in pain, and his arm trembled as he fought not to pull away as his fingertips melted. Burned and blackened bits of flesh already were being carried off in the stream of lava.
Still the man continued, his fingers in to the knuckles now. The man's growls of pain had become low, and sounded inhuman. Much like the growls of the monsters Drake's Father had once brought back from a trip to another continent. The ones that howled and growled all night. Causing half the castle to not be able to sleep, and the rest to have horrible nightmares...
By the time the man's palm started to enter the stream, and the last parts of his fingers had crumbled off and dissolved in the molten rock, he looked near collapse. His tortured growls and ragged breathing sounded much like when the King had ordered the monsters destroyed the very next morning. Tortured, and far too low for a human to manage. The growls grew louder each moment, and echoed down the dark empty halls, creating a chorus of agony that surrounded them.
Drake let out a terrified scream, watching this… thing purposefully melting off its own hand! Drake could smell the burnt flesh, hear the popping of the bones in the extreme heat as they broke down, see the blood vessels vaporize! Yet this beast of a man continued!
Drake tried to turn, tried to run, tried to do anything but watch. His mind panicked in the confusion. What was going on and why?
"I wanna go back to the ship!" He pleaded, looking up at Eclipse and then he looked at Ellipsis. "I don't wanna be here!" His wide eyes begged for help, for an explanation. It was a nightmare— a living nightmare. Even though the event was not happening to him; he could not stand being so close to it; could not tolerate the sight of this mutilation.
"Just watch," Eclipse instructed; his voice terrifyingly calm for what was going on. Ellipsis remained silent, making sure not to look at the prince...
The man put his hand all the way in to the wrist. The stench of burned flesh burned Eclipse's nostrils, but was not unfamiliar to him. The man let out a loud scream of immense pain as the skin of his arm started to turn black and peel away.
It was loud, and strangely high-pitched. So much so, that it hurt Eclipse's ears. It echoed down the corridor, and could be heard even from outside the building... Creatures looked up at the sound, fearing whatever monster was making that noise. For it was a sound no human could ever make, and every prey animal would always fear.
Then there was a load click. Like stone crashing against metal. Like a giant lock being opened. And the stone of the floor and walls began to vibrate, though it felt like the stone was trembling at the terrible scream, it may have been a mechanism at work.
Eclipse's hand gripped Drake's shoulders tighter as all this went on. Then suddenly, the man pulled back. His scream suddenly stopping and he fell to his knees, cradling his hand. Which although appearing not completely human, was somehow completely unharmed. Not a single burn or scratch.
The man was gasping for breath, and still trembling.
Drake was breathing fast. He wanted so badly not to have watched, not to have seen, but he had...
What kind of thing could do that?
Drake didn't know what to do. Eclipse's strong grip kept him from moving, and he didn't even know where he was, so he couldn't even hope to find the way back to the boat... If he did find the way back, then what? Why had he been brought here to this horrible place full of monsters?
No one would tell him anything. Eclipse had said they were going to visit his home. He said Drake would like it...
Drake definitely didn't like this.
He felt a burning inside his chest, an anxious feeling he'd felt many times before. He knew what it was, this feeling. It was his power, his magick, ready to be summoned should he just drop that final guard.
Would it be enough? That beast had just purposely tormented itself with the burning, flowing rock— would Drake's fire have any effect on them?
The burning grew. It didn't hurt, it never did. It made him feel safe. It spread through his chest and then up through his shoulders and down his arms where it stopped at his hands, getting stronger and stronger.
A flicker, nothing more than small, blue flames formed at his fingertips; a fraction of what he could do. His mind was worried, so his magick was preparing for action.
Drake had fallen asleep holding onto his favorite toy, his plushy red dragon. It wouldn't burn, luckily. It was soft, velvet and cashmere, but magickally enhanced not to burn. At the moment, it felt like one of the only things he had left. His dragon and his fire.
Eclipse could feel the power grow in the boy, but had expected this. Drake would...understand soon enough. In fact, even now, the wall was beginning to move aside, the lava no longer flowing from the crest. Beyond it was a dark cave-like passageway. Warm air blew out of it, thick with the poisonous scent of the volcano. Like the rancid breaths of some giant beast. The blue robed people began to walk inside...
"Come along," Eclipse instructed, in a tone he used often with Drake that would pass as reassuring. The same tone he used when the boy failed a task he was given, and needed encouragement to try again. He was quite sure the boy would walk into the passageway without being forced. Eclipse wanted to avoid that. It would be...bothersome.
Drake was fairly certain that forward was the last direction he wanted to go. His mind did not even register the request from Eclipse for nearly a full minute, just stood there biting his lip and shaking his head. However, Drake was so familiar with that tone of voice he took a subconscious step before he could stop himself. Just the one, then he froze again and even more fear rose in him.
His fire flickered again, growing bigger.
Eclipse stepped forward too, coaxing Drake forward softly. It wasn't a push— at least not one that would alarm the boy. Just enough force to let Drake know that he wanted him to keep going.
"It will be alright, trust me." Eclipse assured him.
Ellipsis shivered slightly at the falsehood of his superior's words. Eclipse didn't seem to find lying to the child hard at all...
Trust me. Those two words circled around Drake's mind, making him dizzy for a second, and then he was walking, slowly, before he even realized it. Drake kept moving, feeling and hearing his advisor's urging. He'd always been taught to obey Eclipse and Ellipsis…
In the back of his mind, though, the worry was increasing. His mind raced with hopeless escape plans. He glanced up at Eclipse for a moment, as he walked.
I have to trust them… Drake thought to himself, they've never hurt me. Drake wasn't sure why, but that thought made him shudder and his fire grew large enough to be visible around his plushy dragon.
They followed the passageway in the dim light for a few minutes, slowly getting darker, till it was almost pitch black, however, the people in the blue robes kept going as if they could see perfectly fine in the darkness... as silent and at home in the black as shadows. It began to get lighter again. The same fiery glow as back at the crest, but brighter.
Soon, they came to the end of the passageway, and it opened up into a large cavern, in which there was a large lake of lava, which took up most of the floor. It was hot here, and it was hard to breathe, but perhaps that was partly because of the truly terrifying sight in the middle of the lake.
There stood, a huge statue of a dragon. Not just any statue, but one that seemed to be made from magickally suspended lava. Drake remembered seeing a glass blower working once, the heated glass almost looked like what this dragon was made from.
Eclipse looked up high where the dragon's head was. It was looking straight ahead with glowing red eyes that looked like orbs of fire. The drafts of hot air and the hissing of the lava sounded eerily like the dragon breathing. Even though from its horrible red eyes, you would swear it had life, it did not turn to look at them, or move at all.
As Eclipse led Drake closer to the statue, the lava let out a loud hiss that caused even the ground to shake a little, like they had been seen and warned to keep their distance by the non-living dragon.
Eclipse and the others came to an abrupt stop.
The young prince looked up at the monstrous dragon.
Drake's home, the palace where he lived, was full of dragon statues... but nothing like this. The calming statues he was used to were hidden from his memory now, replaced by images of this impossible statue.
Everyone else had stopped as if given some cue, as if this had all been rehearsed and planned for a long time. Drake looked around at the 'people' for a moment, hugging his dragon to him tighter. The toy's soft features and innocent face looked brittle compared to the towering beast in front of them.
Steam and ash poured from the statue's gargantuan jaws where rows of sharp fangs were shown. Nothing could compare to those teeth. Despite their molten material, the teeth were sharp, Drake was sure of it. They were huge, each tooth at least seven inches long... except the canines; they were at least a foot long on the top row, and eleven inches long on the bottom.
It was all impossible… but it was there.
Drake felt another nudge, an urge to move forward and he foolishly took a step or two.
Looking at this statue closer was even more daunting. It seemed to move. Heat waves caused the appearance of true movement, but Drake knew nothing of that. He was sure it was moving on its own.
It was so big; he couldn't even see all of it at once. He didn't care about the rest of it, though. The head was where his gaze was stuck.
He felt completely alone in that room, alone with that statue and his fear built up.
Drake's little flame grew large enough to enclose his little dragon, and spread up his arms, slightly. It also changed from a small, hot blue flame to a more common, but more dangerous red, yellow, white and orange one.
Drake was right next to the statue now and something in his mind screamed.
His throat made a nervous whimper he couldn't stop, his eyes welled up with tears and he slowly started to back up, feeling nothing now but the urge to run from this place as fast as he could and never, ever look back.
One of the men in the blue coats moved, Drake saw it out of the cover of his eye and stopped moving, the movement causing his stare to fixate on the man.
The man moved and the air by him started to fluctuate, making it look like the statue's tail was moving. The man was abruptly hit into one of the many pools of lava and his scream was the same as from the green-skinned man who had stuck his hand into the crest, if not even more haunting in this deadly cavern.
Drake's attention toward the man who could no longer scream was suddenly driven back to the dragon statue's head as it quivered and suddenly really did move.
It lashed to the side and then forward, directly at Drake with its mighty jaws open.
Drake screamed in pure terror, he brought his arms up to cover his face and his body erupted into flames— from the top of his head where his small silver crown rested, down to his boots and around the floor as a protective shield.
Drake felt a much, much different kind of heat abruptly, as the dragon's jaws must have surely snapped around him. He held his eyes shut out of fear and felt colossal pain coursing through him, unstoppable, torturing pain!
His arms suddenly felt heavy, his entire body did. Holding his eyes shut as tightly as he did swiftly became tiring in itself.
It had only been a few seconds since the attack began, but his fire vanished by no choice of his own... it was simply and abruptly gone as if someone had hit a kill switch for it.
His arms dropped, uselessly to his side. His precious dragon plushy fell to the ground beside him. Drake was unaware of anything but the sudden darkness that enveloped him. His head dropped and his knees caved… and the last thing he knew, he was falling.
Eclipse watched the whole scene with a serene smile on his face. By the time it was over, Drake was lying on the ground, with his dragon toy a few feet away. The dragon statue was gone.
This was it… this is what he'd been waiting for, what he had spent so many decades searching for… the right one. The one from the Prophecy. The only person that ever had and ever would be able to survive such a thing… the one destined to keep their civilization alive.
And he belonged to Eclipse.
He'd been the one to find the boy— and what an interesting twist the fates had chosen. Making him a Prince of the Water Dragon God's territory. As if they thought that would protect the boy, as if they thought it would scare Eclipse off…
Not a chance. He himself was nearly a god just by having control of the Prince. None of the elders would dare order him around. They would all have to rely on him to keep the boy safe, keep him alive… Eclipse could do anything he wanted now. No one would be above him.
Eclipse walked over and scooped the boy up in his arms.
"You will thank me for this," he informed the boy in a low whisper and grinned wider. Things could not have gone any better.
There had been a doubt in his mind all along as to this phase of the plan working. The hardest part should be over...
He turned, and started to walk out, followed by almost all the other blue-robed figures, who seemed to have no care for the fate of the one that was now nothing more than the scent of burned flesh in the air.
Ellipsis however, was the last to leave. Kneeling down, he picked up the small red dragon and put it in his robes. He honestly didn't know if the prince would miss the toy when he woke up. Would the change be immediately obvious? Or would it be gradual? The uncertainties worried him, but he followed the others.
As he walked, Ellipsis thought more about what they had just done… they had actually found him. They actually found Dragon. He could see the smiles and grins the Occultations around him were trying to hide. The Pureblooded Occultations were very pleased indeed. Their long search had ended; their continuation assured… because of Eclipse.
He was their leader now. He'd completely proven himself this time. Not only had he found Dragon, but he had managed to steal him back from the Water Dragon God's own territory.
Not that it was difficult to fool a five year old who had grown up being taught to trust you… Yet they all praised him for it. Because he had been chosen…
Many decades ago…
A child was born amongst the Occultation tribe. The boy was able to create fire at will. Form it, manipulate it… they were almost completely sure he was the Dragon they had so longed for. However, it was a problem… his parents were lesser.
Many of the elders were struggling for an answer on what to do. The parents were Lessers, but could gain more control than the elders, the Pures, because they had the child…
The Pure Occultations had been the dominant species forever! The Lesser were hardly better than humans! They were not granted the gift of the dragon heritage; they were not empowered by the dragon's blood…
Eclipse was particularly upset. He paid the family a little visit.
Badru was excited about his son, Khons.
"I have Dragon. The dragon spirit born a lesser," Badru grinned.
It was his mistake to gloat.
"… Congratulations." Eclipse sneered, watching Khons playing.
For twelve years, this Lesser family had gotten special treatment—treated like elders, even! Eclipse was tired of it.
"Thanks," Badru chuckled.
Eclipse crossed his arms. "You know, we could take him to Cináed. To be sure this is Dragon."
"In time, in time." Badru dismissed it, not wanting that day to come.
He was sure of who and what his son was. It could not be a glitch or a mistake, Khons had to be Dragon, Badru was sure.
Badru didn't want to risk losing his son, though. So he was stalling the meeting with Cináed as long as possible. He wanted Khons to feel sympathy for the Lessers, to feel for them, so that he would not be controlled by the Elders once the test was over… Badru was sure they would try to take his son from him… he and a few of the other Lessers had devised a plan in secret. If Khons was Dragon, then that would empower the Lessers. They could take over this island; no one would be able to stop them. If the Pure's wounded Dragon, they themselves would feel it. If they killed him it would drain their powers enough some of the older ones would die off right away… they would have to wait for the cycle of souls to return him to this world and then pray they could find him again.
It was perfect! Those with the least dragon in them, the ones so far condemned to be second rate would be the ones ruling!
Eclipse knew it and it infuriated him.
Khons ventured out of the cave, into the daylight that did not affect him at all, and he even proved it by starting a ring of fire around him to show off in front of a few other lesser children who had called for him to come play.
Eclipse hated children, and why someone would let Dragon play with them was beyond his comprehension… Lesser children did age faster than Pure's did, but it was foolish! If you let a child be around other children too much they would pick up the other children's bad habits, and you would lose control. How many times had he heard, 'but my friends say' while passing a child…too many times. He would never allow it himself.
"Hmm. One more thing the Pures cannot do," Badru mused as he watched the daylight shine down on his son. "And I have him!"
Eclipse shot him a glare… then smiled. "Badru… a Lesser such as yourself, should be much more careful around the lava pools." He purred, and then advanced forward.
Badru had no hope of fighting back in the darkness; he could not even release a scream before his life ended. He had heard the threat… then the sudden pain as his body was cast into the molten earth, then nothing.
"Hm," Eclipse smirked. "It appears… now I have Dragon."
Eclipse wasted no time. He found Aurora, Khons mother, and alerted everyone that it was time to go see Cináed.
And indeed, Cináed was called.
One of the elders opened the door by casting their hand into the lava crest.
Khons watched, uninterested, bored even. It was an ancient test. One of many that had remained from the times when Cináed tested the loyalty of his followers obsessively. One would say he was almost paranoid, often requiring acts that went strongly against even the most basic human instincts, to prove loyalty… but it was a common enough event that very few were affected by it.
As they walked down to the bottom of the volcano, Cináed was not there… the room was empty… Everyone walked in and stood in position and only then did the statue of Cináed form from the magma…
Eclipse watched, suddenly knowing something was not right about this. He glared at Khons who stood there, watching the magma form.
Cináed should have been able to form nights ago from the energy Khons would have given him.
Eclipse growled as realization hit. This was the wrong child.
Cináed took Aurora as his sacrifice, and Khons lunged forward, angered by the horrific death of his mother.
The dragon god turned on Khons, next. His jaws snapped shut around the angry, pouting child; destroying him instantly, but painfully.
Several of the elders and even more of the Lessers were killed by Cináed for having dared bring him the wrong soul.
Cináed then turned to Eclipse.
You knew… The statue stated.
Eclipse nodded. "I apologize for your wasted trip, we had been so sure for the longest time… it wasn't until we arrived here in your chamber that the realization reached me."
Cináed seemed to consider this a moment as he gazed into Eclipse's eyes. This one had seen something the others missed; even if it was late, he had the right instincts… that had been proven several times already.
Cináed then gave a slight nod. I shall grant you the power of the seeker; you will be able to find Dragon next time! And then Cináed vanished, melting back into the magma.
Eclipse felt a burning in his chest that nearly caused him to fall. It was power, he'd been granted raw power! Dragon blood… not like the rest of the Occultations Pures, not like the blood Eclipse was born with, this was even more powerful.
"Yes… next time I shall be sure you have the right soul." Eclipse had said to himself, and turned to leave— ignoring the other people in the chamber, some injured and begging for help, others beyond hope.
He smiled to himself, brushing ash out of his short, blonde hair.
Cináed had seemed to have forgotten. With a dragon's blood, came a dragon's ambition and greed… Eclipse would find Dragon, of course… but this time, the dragon spirit would be his alone to control. With this new power and Dragon, he could control the whole world! It would all be his!
Eclipse looked at a small statue of a young dragon. It was a tribute to Dragon and a constant reminder of the reason they needed to be watchful.
"… I will find you." Eclipse said, smirking a bit. "You are going to be mine, Dragon. I swear it."
400 years after Eclipse was given the ability to find Dragon, there had been no other children that even came close to being the dragon spirit since Khons.
Every few years, there would be a promising report that would only turn out to be false once the test Cináed gave was done and yet another fire element was killed.
It was after going to investigate one of these at a village of mystics far off to the south, that Eclipse found himself in need of a new aid. There had been an attack by the Earth Dragon God's followers while Eclipse had been there… Now he had to fix the damage to his plans. His aid had been killed in the attack.
Apsis had been a Lesser. She'd had fiery red hair and deep blue eyes; she was as attractive as she was ruthless. Eclipse had often used her talents to engineer a situation to his advantage. It is intriguing how persuasive a pretty girl often was. He couldn't really say he was upset by her death, but he could say that he would miss her talents.
So, Eclipse went to the temple in the Occultation village to see which aids were available. Some aids were in training at all times. Some elders changed them every other month. They often died. Considered expendable, which as far as Eclipse was concerned, they were.
Eclipse asked to see the girls, first, but was quickly disappointed. Only one was Apsis' equal in beauty, but she was quiet, and would not be reliable enough for those tasks in which Apsis had excelled. So Eclipse also saw the men.
It was all pretty routine until one named Ellipsis was presented. His features were what intrigued Eclipse at first… dark, refined, and regal. Then he learned of the young man's talents in sneaking, lying, and working undercover. Eclipse took him on. He was perfect.
Eclipse had a talent that none of the others did, even before he received the power from Cináed.
He could change his appearance. Ellipsis' looks were mostly what Eclipse loved, like a fine suit for display in a shop window. And the man's skills… it was all so perfect!
Eclipse took on Ellipsis' form as his own, and Ellipsis instantly became his twin, in appearance. Ellipsis would be his double. What better way to sneak around if you could be in two places at the same time?
Ellipsis was not pleased with this, but he had no say in the matter. His entire life now was an act. He had to be ready to swap places with Eclipse at a moment's notice. To forever be the shadow of the man that had stolen his face…
Now, here he was... so many years later and still just another shadow to the lord of shadows himself...
Back on the ship, Eclipse put the boy back down on the bunk he had taken him from perhaps only an hour before...
