LEGEND – Part 2: Phoenix Rising

Chapter 6 – Corpses

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He didn't do well with sound. To Sol, it was only a weapon, something to be wielded out of a desperate need to protect himself and Jordan, no matter the debilitating effect it had on him.

Jordan was kneeling beside the lump of frozen shadow splayed out on the forest floor, ignoring the cold seeping through the knees of his torn cargo pants. He took a breath as Sol did, but long before the dragon had finished inhaling, Jordan's air was gone, a lonely white cloud drifting towards the canopies.

The boy was holding his hand above Sol's ear, a tiny hole in his head half-cloaked in a scrap of flexible flesh, like tiny furless rabbit ears. Deformed rabbit ears. His fingers tensed like he was about to do something he wasn't sure of—but he did it anyway. He snapped his fingers, once, twice, letting out a defeated sigh when the dragon didn't react. If he could hear him, the ear would've twitched.

Jordan clapped once. Leaned down close to the dark creature's head to say "Sol!" in a brisk, flat voice.

The dragon's entire body convulsed and suddenly shifted, wings readjusting their position crumpled against his back, heavily clawed toes stretching as he woke.

"You're not deaf!" Jordan exclaimed, a grin breaking out on his face. He was a bit too loud, a bit too excited, a bit too willing to believe what he knew was false.

Sol was hauling himself onto his feet, tail flicking around aimlessly to balance his weight. The dragon swayed, his clawed wings latching into the permafrost for support. His head hung low, nodding from side to side in an odd, psychedelic manner, like he was trying to shake something loose inside his heavy skull.

"Are you…" What? Was he going to say okay? Of course Sol wasn't okay. Gashes crisscrossed across his flanks, his spine, tearing into his thick leather saddle Jordan had spent days on end patching together. He shook as he lumbered towards Jordan, tail slithering across the forest floor like a snake, head slowly rising up to meet his companion's.

Jordan froze there—staring the creature in his one working eye, a pit of lavender fire that burned through his gaze straight down to the bottom of his soul to piece it apart, to know him. The dragon leaned forwards, Jordan still motionless, pressing the flat part of his skull against Jordan's forehead and unleashing cathartic sigh.

Jordan jumped. He wasn't ready for the flood inside his head, the cold rivulets pouring in between his thoughts and dissolving them, seeping against his memories and drowning them all. He wasn't ready for the strange and overwhelming vortex of black to rip through his head—powerful as it was, it didn't scare him as Sol brought Jordan into his own mind, a safe, cold, and dark place so different from his own, he could only marvel at the fact he stayed sane with so many words always streaming through his thoughts. Madness. His mind was chaos and madness.

Sol's was quiet—but not empty. No, there was a lot there, thousands of memories crammed somewhere faraway, out of reach, thoughts that streamed by on the edge of the vortex but didn't dare let themselves be swept into the core.

This was Sol—he could ignore everything he felt, everything he thought, everything he'd ever seen or experienced if he so chose. Jordan knew that was powerful. It was immensely powerful.

He didn't even notice the pain he felt in Sol's head. Here, it was nullified.

He didn't even notice he was staring into his own face through Sol's working eye, his own gaunt, hollow face.

But he did notice the silence. The sheer, overwhelming, crushing silence.

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As they walked, Jordan thought of the dead man.

No doubt the corpse was far behind them, collapsed and crumpled in the dirt just a few chunks from Caelum's stone walls. No doubt the blood pooling in his ears had frozen and turned black, no doubt he was slowly decomposing, every component of his body dissolving bit-by-bit back into the earth.

The heart-wrenchingly terrified expression on his face would probably never leave it. Even as his flesh rotted away, the ghost of his fear would linger on the bare-toothed face of his skull.

He was just one of Sol's victims, driven mad with horror, his insanity enough to tear through his head and wrench everything to clarity—because somehow, he'd found a way out of Caelum. Maybe it was a stroke of genius. Jordan hadn't understood it then, standing side-by-side with Jade and Azure all those months ago, staring down at the corpse. He hadn't understood the madness and fear his dragon could inspire.

And he still didn't, not till they stumbled upon the second corpse. This time, it wasn't human. It was horse.

Once, the creature had been cloaked in a pelt of pale brown and black. Over time it had become mangled and bloody, and then, lying there with his head lolling back against a rock, his fur had grown dull, caked with ice and snow, torn out in clumps stuck in the dried blood pooling at his ravaged stomach. Most of Swift wasn't even there anymore. The wolves had taken what they could and ran with it.

Jordan made a small sound of something like fear or disgust upon seeing him, swallowing the bile in his throat and clamping a hand over his mouth. Biting down hard on his cheeks. Sol seemed to vanish from his side as he looked away, curling around the clearing's edge, daring to draw close enough to the horse's body to sniff at it.

"No!" Jordan snapped harshly, shooting a savage glare at his dragon. Maybe he couldn't hear, but he recoiled, body crouched and bunched together like he was preparing to leap at prey.

Swift had been his prey. His corpse was here because of Sol; just like the dead man's. The horse had ran like Jordan knew he could, limbs pumping and working far beyond their limit as he struggled to keep pace with Jade's Agro behind the minecart they'd ridden out of Lyperia. He'd ran despite the searing in his lungs, the dull throbbing in his bones and the gashes in his flanks that reopened every time he took a step. He'd ran till his body refused and shut down, his limbs folding in on each other at the edge of a clearing, still splayed out like he was mid-stride.

No doubt the tough horse had held on long past the point of his collapse. The wolves must've reached him before he was dead—his wide, dull eyes gleamed like moons, staring at everything and nothing, locking on Jordan as he gazed down but seeing right through him. His lips were pulled back to reveal square teeth blackened with blood; nostrils flared with terror. He'd died fending them off, kicking violently at the vicious creatures that descended upon him, screaming with nothing but fear and a fierce desire to live. But when he kicked, they tore off his leg, when he screamed, they scored their claws across his face.

Jordan wondered how the dragons and their men had died last night. Perhaps they died like Swift, awake and aware, conscious of all their pain and fighting to the bitter end. Or perhaps they slipped away and didn't even notice.

"Sol," Jordan barked—the dragon was already staring at him, unsure of how his companion would react. His presence lingered in Jordan's mind on the edge of everything, far from the sieve between them, but there. "Start digging." Perhaps Jordan couldn't bring his horse back, but he could keep the wolves off him from then on.

-{0}-

"I want to go back, Azure."

She was standing ankle-deep in the wet sand, not even shivering as the frigid ocean tide swelled up against her calves and sucked at her buried feet, cementing her in place. She was wrapped in the jacket Jordan had made for her, the hood pulled up over her head to shade her face. There's something about the sun, she'd whispered. It hurts. Does it hurt you?

"What?" I croaked, sitting cross-legged on the slope of the beach behind her, fiddling with the sword sheath I'd crafted back at our camp in the woods. I was struggling with the cheaply-made buckles at the sides, unable to adjust it. My sword was lying at my feet, half buried in sand, rippling with its multicolored electricity—I couldn't carry the thing with my sheath; its weight made one side sag since the belt wasn't tight enough. And the buckles weren't budging.

"I said I want to go back."

Jade was staring out across the gray sea—maybe she could sea the smudge of land distorting the horizon if she looked hard enough. Who knew how well those purple eyes of hers worked?

"To the East?" My hands froze hooked on the belt. Jade stiffened while I cast a sweeping glance behind me, at the crowd of our group gathered farther down the shore, hunched over crafting tables or standing still as petrified stone, eyeing the world around them warily, staring with horror at the vast expanse of the ocean and shivering in the salty gales that blew from the horizon. They weren't watching us. They were too far to hear us speak. "Are you an idiot?"

She looked back at me and I realized exactly why the others were keeping their distance. Her gaze was sharp as flint, not clouded with confusion or uncertainty like it'd been for months now. I leaned forward, heart suddenly on edge, like I knew what she was about to say would mean something.

"I will go back," she growled. "With or without you."

"It's always somewhere with you," I muttered. "First the Aether—now the East? You're a public enemy, Jade. Go back and you'll be dead in a few weeks."

"I can make it home in less than that."

I opened my mouth to speak—but I was cut off by a strangled yell from across the beach. Jade didn't move, but I whipped around, hand flashing across the sand for the hilt of my sword. A woman from the group had thrown herself down as a shadow from the tree line took on a solid form and slipped into daylight, grew wings, legs, a giant swishing tail, a vicious face. The group scattered but Nathi held his ground, shouting a brisk "Don't panic!" as Sol slunk from between the trees, heavy paws sinking into the sand with every step he took. My heart was still on edge as I watched, searching for the lanky dark-haired kid that usually clung to his side, but all I saw were the deep red gashes gorged into the dragon's dark flank, the blood gleaming in the mid-morning sunlight, dripping down his legs and staining his talons.

"Jordan?" I called, relaxing my grip on Yverise. Sol's head swiveled around to stare into the trees behind him as a boy stumbled out, face blanched as he emerged on the beach and took everything in.

"Jordan!" Nathi exclaimed, his voice a little too high and tinny. "Did you… did you take care of the Helldragons?"

"You got here okay, didn't you?" he snapped in response, not even sparing a glance at the nervous soldier boy as he made his way over to me, dragon on his tail.

I rose, abandoning the idea of fixing my sheath. Sword in hand, I watched him approach on unsteady feet, watched his dull eyes sweep over the terrain between us and slowly rise till he was looking me in the face, till he saw over my shoulder at the hooded girl standing petrified as the tide tried to wash her out to sea.

He stopped. I wondered if he just didn't want to get any closer to her. I stood halfway between them both, head tilted as I slipped Yverise back into its sheath. Sparks flew, pricking down the leather and up my arm before they realized they couldn't burn me or anything I created.

"Helldragons?" I queried, crossing my arms. "That's what those things were? Why didn't we see any in Caelum?"

"They're hunting dragons," he sighed, nodding. Rolling his shoulder and wincing. "Caelum used them to conquer faraway villages and spread their influence. Sent 'em after us when we escaped. They're no good fighting with armies, they just torch everything…"

"Are you… okay?"

"Fine," he said, voice hard edged.

I sighed. "So, Caelum's not necessarily dead without their leader, then."

He gave a resigned shake of his head. "Of course not. Nicodemus was the only one who knew exactly what the empire was striving for, why we had Sol, but—"

"And Aenj," Jade said emptily. "Caelum worshipped a god only he knew anything about."

"Y-yeah," Jordan sighed, eyes narrowing in her direction. Sol shifted, an uneasy growl rising in his throat. "But Caelum can still exist without him. And without… Aenj. The empire's more than just the tower and the walls. Those bedrock tunnels we were trapped in have duplicates that actually lead places, like barracks, underground towns, mineshafts, places all around Xyrnies—no doubt there really were spies in Lyperia. Yeah, Caelum's not dead, but without Nicodemus they're less… sinister. Now they'll just be focused on expansion and hunting us for trying to destroy them."

"Nice," I muttered. "How much else haven't you told us yet?"

"A lot," he said plainly. "Now's not the time. We can't stay here."

I scoffed at that. "Yeah? Nathi was saying we should cross the cold-strait—" I jerked a thumb at the crashing ocean behind me—"But we can't go to the East. Not with Jade. She'll put those people in danger."

"Because she killed someone? Or because she's got purple eyes and says freaky things?"

"Because she's a public enemy!"

I noticed a few stray glances from the group up the beach. I watched out of the corner of my eye as a few broke away and came striding towards us—Nathi and the short boy trailing behind him with an arm tucked into his shirt. Bailey.

"What about those people?" Jordan said darkly, scowling. "What are you going to do with them?"

"I suppose someone has to get them to a village. Somewhere safe they can live."

Jordan laughed harshly, crossing his arms till he was mirroring me. "What?" I snapped.

"Somewhere safe? In the East? Give me a break."

"Cut the bullshit, Jordan."

"Caelum's conquered almost every Eastern village, Azure. The South's a bit far from here, so your best bet is to cross the wind-strait into the West. We didn't really bother with most of that place."

There was something like anger boiling in the pit of my stomach, something acidic and almost painful. "So how long were you going to hold out on that?" I growled, stalking towards him and kicking up sand in my wake. Another growl from Sol, but threats are useless when you can't feel fear. "They're over there building boats, Jordan!"

"It's fine." Nathi stepped in, swallowing his nervousness. "We'll make our way along the beach towards the West. If that place is safer, then it's our best bet."

"Really?" I muttered, glaring at him. "You're that sure about it?" I was somehow aware of Jade's presence behind me without seeing her—she was cloaked in some sort of aura of cold that made Xyrnies' chill feel like a summer breeze. "You hear that, Jade? We're going west. Get over it."

She didn't miss a beat. "Why are you resigned to the notion we have to stay together?" Jade murmured, shifting her weight as she stared out to sea. "You came with Jordan and I to the North to find your family—but your parents weren't there, probably dead, and you took care of your brother, so there's no longer any good reason for you to still be here."

Any words I might've said died at the you took care of your brother part, burned away by the sudden broiling fury erupting in my chest, my stomach, my head—I reached for the hilt of my sword, face distorting in rage as I lunged for her, as someone jumped for me and shouldered me back—Jordan. He'd gotten to me fast, expression suddenly frantic, arm out against my collar, face close to mine—"Don't," he said, almost silently. Almost mouthing the words. "It's not her. It's not her."

"Get off me," I snapped, trying to elbow him aside, but he pushed back and stood his ground, eyeing my sword warily. Sol slipped behind him, wings half-extended to make himself look bigger—he was a barrier. If I managed to get Jordan out of my way, then there would be him.

"Azure, if you hurt her, you'll regret it," he whispered. "You know she would never say that in her right mind. You know she doesn't mean it."

I stared at him, into the strange pits of his orange eyes, trying to fight off the wave of cold calm they seemed to generate, stepping away and shaking my head to break the trance.

"Go to the East, bitch!" I snarled, glaring over his shoulder. "Go die."

"You should go with her," Jordan murmured, still somehow maintaining his calm but wringing his hands like he was afraid of what I'd say. "If she's that adamant about it…"

"You better be fucking kidding me."

"I can take these people to the West," Jordan suddenly announced, glancing over at Nathi. "You, Sol and I can protect them till we find a village. If Jade wants to go to the East… she can. It's not like we can really stop her, but she'll probably get killed if she's alone. So, Azure, go with her."

"Why would you…" I started, glowering at him, but he was ignoring my gaze.

"Look, you…" he murmured, sidling closer to me again. "You're friends. You know there's something wrong with her and you want to help. I… I can't go with her, but you could."

Jade's head was tilted back. I thought I could see the corner of her eye, staring at us.

"You don't want her to die, Azure."

I saw something, then. Maybe it was in the pits of his eyes, maybe just my head. There was an image of a girl splayed out on a forest floor, cheeks sunken and hollow, skin paler than white, paper-thin, and shot through with dark veins like her blood was gray instead of red. Across her stomach was a jagged sword-slash—no, her blood wasn't gray, it was black as pitch, black as the lank, unkempt hair fanning out around Jade's corpse's dead and empty face.

I stared back at Jordan, trying to blink her away, but he'd already left.

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I'm not sure if most of you remember the dead man with bleeding ears, but he's in chapter 33 of part 1. And mentioned in chapter 39.

Cam: The New and Improved AngelTheSeventh kinda let everyone down this time… I'm also not a guy. Is that surprising? Anyway, I will say that seeing all your reviews yelling at me to update has been pretty motivating, so thanks for that. Also, about your OC, it would help if you could give a detailed personality description. If I take him as he is, I'll probably give your character a smaller, more generic role, but if you're cool with that then let me know. Don't worry, I'll give him an interesting small role if that's the case.

TonightsArmy: Heyy, thanks for reviewing my last story too! I'm glad you enjoy it and that you'll stick around. Thanks again!

RenThePyro: The best parts of these stories are always the dragon parts. Sol can't communicate like Agro for a variety of reasons, the main one being that his brain is different, and yeah, being technically a baby is also a hindrance. Basically he's doing it by putting sounds together to make words instead of actually saying/thinking the words.

-Angel