The Madness of Malefor

Arc 1: Incarnation

Chapter 6

Wind sliced through the rigidity of the attack party's demeanor as they waited on Falconer's signal to launch the assault. All throughout the group, paws were quivering; none were entirely sure of their plan's success. Even their great chieftain Falconer possessed some doubt as to the solidarity of the scheme, but he needn't show his concern, lest it fracture his troops' morale. Ygraine stood ready with the mass of cheetahs. Her heartbeat was steady as she anticipated the oncoming skirmish, and her eyes were fixated on the apes through the thicket. She'd been forced to tuck her wings close to her side to make room for the other warriors, and though it was quite the unpleasant feeling, she maintained her professional composure and remained silent. Falconer stood with his head and right paw down, ready to raise both at a moment's notice. He was waiting, waiting in an uneasy muteness that riddled his conscious. His left ear twitched, and his legs shuddered. The chieftain felt his tail begin to flicker, but that was only the beginning of his descent. He knelt closer to the ground, the party at his back stood ready, and he heaved. It was croaky, like he'd inhaled smoke. He'd kept it to himself, for he didn't want his people to see his gut churn. Ygraine, though, had noticed. In mindset only, she shared his confusion and disparity. But yet these premonitions were merely leaves in the wind compared to the task before them. Certain or not, there was going to be an attack that night, a spectacle, and no amount of indecision was going to deter them.

In a bushel of fieldgrass not far from them, another attack party, composed of one, slinked through the dimly lit forest. Qafiel crawled quickly like an insect in the direction of Cheetah Village, but he was careful to stay a good distance behind them so that he was not detected. The dread he felt as the space between him and the village closed was not a foreign one. He'd felt it before, many times. All those nights he'd spent alone in the swamp, not knowing how he'd gotten there or why, it was the very same notion. The same terror that had kept him awake for so many nights had found a way to crawl back up his rubbery spine, but now the stakes were far higher. Back then, Qafiel was alone and was left to face the world with nothing to lose except himself; now there was far more to lose. Ygraine, Ellevyn, Desma, and the rest of them, each one had worth to Qafiel, and not something of which he could easily let go. They were more than tokens, more than trivial idols, they were friends. The impression of losing Ygraine, or any of the others, was a thought most filthy. Qafiel denied it influence on his resolve.

Within minutes the village had come into view, and the sun's rays had begun their last dance of the day. Wind swept past Qafiel as he raised his head over the flora that surrounded him; he needed a peek at the condition of the situation. From where he stood, there was indeed commotion in the village, but all he heard was a series of grunts and yowls. The apes had yet to be driven out; the incursion wasn't rectified. This was both a savory and rancid taste in Qafiel's mouth. It meant that Ygraine had yet to battle, but it also didn't guarantee her safety once she had. He knew better then to call out for her, because then their position would be exposed and he'd likely be spotted. Though he possessed a vantage point, there was nothing that could be done from where he stood. All the adolescent could do was wait, writhe.

A pattering rumble rose from the ground and contacted Falconer. He felt the earlier magnitudes of it as his feet trembled. The quake had come from the village, and the commotion within. The apes were running rampant, likely decimating everything that the cheetahs had built. It had to have been that, or they were starting to build their own settlements. If there was one thing to be certain, it was that if they were starting to build, it meant that they intended on staying. While it was merely a hunch, Falconer couldn't let it faze him; there was no time for that. Regardless, by day's end, the onslaught was going to commence, and the cheetah could feel the mass behind him growing antsy. Ygraine feared that it would cause Falconer to act in a rash manner, but all the while she stayed silent.

Drips of sunlight evacuated the sky, and with their evanescent presence the fracas had been initiated. "Archers…fire!" bolstered the chieftain.

From within the trees, a dark cloud of arrows emerged from the leaves and cascaded down onto the village. Everyone nearby heard the panicked screeches of the apes as they ran amuck. Falconer dropped his fist and gave the cry to charge. Hordes of the cheetahs erupted from the woods, their weapons failing like wind chimes in a thunderstorm. Ygraine led the barrage with Falconer, and her roar resounded off the wood walls of the village. Her red scales glowed in the dusklight, yelling her defiance in a way her roar never could. The first wave of flames spewed from her mouth and masticated the first wall before them. The flames toppled the wall, and the coalition swarmed the perimeter. Another volley of arrows flew from the branches, and many more of the apes were forced to flee. Naturally, not all the apes inhabiting the reclaimed village fled so easily. In troops of their own, dozens of apes took up arms and charged the cats right back. Yowling more loudly than they had before, they rushed to meet their repatriation. Falconer bellowed, as did the rest of his clan, and the sounds of clashing metal echoed across the valley.

Qafiel lay stunned in the brush, horrified by what he was hearing. For minutes on end all he could do was stare at the carnage unfolding before him. Bloods, torrents of it, flew in a spectrum of directions. The sight made his stomach wriggle, and with that came a deadly dryness in his throat. He hadn't blinked, for he was far too engrossed in the savagery demonstrated. Qafiel was solidly stunned by the situation, but it hadn't changed one thing. Ygraine, the only other creature to ever acknowledge him, was in danger. She needed his aid, likely more than he needed hers, and that was the strongest feeling of all. It burned within the purple dragon and seared itself into his soul. The debate had ended.

The beast was born.

A suppressed rage boiled in Qafiel's innocent eyes as he emerged from the brush with his wings spread. From the depths of his respiratory system came a bellowing boom, and the succeeding roar hadn't fallen on deaf ears. The apes, cheetahs, and Ygraine alike stopped in their tracks and tried to pinpoint the sound, and all eyes turned towards a single purple blur running towards the village walls. Ygraine saw that it was Qafiel, but somehow he was different. Horror was the least of what she felt as she watched her student sprint head-on in the fray; she was more taken aback by the fierce look in his eyes. Ygraine could hear Qafiel snorting like a crazed bull as he tore his way towards the village: it petrified her. Without enough time to blink, the purple dragon burst through the village entrance behind a mass of apes and growled. The apes, while secretly impressed with his brutality, yowled their dissatisfaction with his debut, and one by one they charged him.

"Qafiel…!" Ygraine screamed, but it was unnecessary.

The first ape jumped into the air, bearing its claws and snarling at Qafiel, but he sidestepped and the ape was planted on the ground. Qafiel hopped onto his back and snapped its neck with one swift bite. He'd never been taught how to do that, but anger is a fine mentor. The next apes came in pairs, but Qafiel jumped over their heads and swiped them away with one blow of his long tail. Each one was tripped, and each cheetah could hear their legs shattering under the force of the blow. The monkeys squealed, as if their arms had been twisted off, and lay there crippled by their young foe. The following ape pulled out a mace and started swinging it at Qafiel, but the dragon stood on his hind legs and flapped his wings in the direction of his opponent. A strong gale swept through the village, knocking the ape of his feet. Qafiel ran at him as the ape flew backwards, and in a moment Qafiel had blinded him. Blood dripped from Qafiel's claws as he wiped away the dislocated eyes from his forelimbs, and the defeated ape stumbled around howling. Ygraine was mortified by what Qafiel had done. The cheetahs cheered their ally on, but to Ygraine it was mute. Her own heartbeat drowned all other sounds, listening only to the noise generate by the bloodlust of her pupil. Each rake, scratch, and maim became a ripple in the pond of her heart, and he hadn't relinquished her.

The next apes that charged Qafiel all met the same fate, with each one meeting its maker. One had been disemboweled, the other had gotten a ruptured rib, and the next took Qafiel's horns to the chest. A trail of death followed Qafiel as he moved through the village, toppling one ape after the next. He wasn't thinking, and he wasn't training; he was just acting. His ancient instinct, the one that knew how to fight, had taken over completely, and the rage of the ancestors doused his every strike.

The cheetahs countered the masses of remained apes as a few dozen followed Qafiel onto the upper parts of the fence that surrounded the village. Falconer led the charged and called out for his troops to show no mercy. The apes' clubs and the cheetah's sword decorated the twilight sky with a metallic resonance, each clang reverberating throughout the valley. A group of apes ran at Qafiel as he backed up on the fence, but instead of cowering he leapt into the air and pounced on their heads. He mauled the first one's head, drenching his chest in fresh blood. The second one bailed and jumped over the side of the fence, but his escaped was short lived as Archer took aim at him. The cat let his arrow fly, and the ape was on the ground half a heartbeat later. The last few apes were toppled by Qafiel's roar, sending them into a panic as they ran away from him. Morale had risen for the residents of the village, but the feeling was not shared by the Fire Guardian. She couldn't blink, for she was too engrossed in the gore that was Qafiel's bloodbath. The timid broodling that she had rescued from the swamp only a day prior had turned into a berserker. The images before her couldn't be processed, and she continued to stand motionless. Watching, she was made dumb.

Minutes after the apes had begun to flee from within the walls of the village. The cheetahs cheered and growled at their victory, but someone hadn't had enough. In the blackness of the young night, Qafiel stalked the apes further into the forest. He couldn't see them, it was too dark. All he could do was hear them, but that had been more than enough. One by one he listening to their footsteps as they helplessly ran through the forest, trying desperately to escape the rabid dragon cutting them down. But to no avail.

Qafiel jumped onto one's back and gores its neck, flinging its skin into the grass. The next one he chased met the sharper end of his left horn. The ones that succeeded all became acquainted with Qafiel's tail. Like the ones that had come before them, their legs were broken, as were their lives. Soon Qafiel had downed more than he'd cared to remember, and under the glow of the moon he came to a clearing.

The trees herded him, and the light from the moon above blazed through the grass. Qafiel stopped, his legs were tired. He'd gone for almost a full twenty minutes of nonstop slaughter, and only now had his mind and body reunited. His cuts and bruises began to ache, and his legs started to quiver. Qafiel had been so caught up in his adrenal-filled attack that he'd become discombobulated. He became dizzy. His eyes spun in an array of direction, but all the same dozens of glowing yellow eyes appeared in the brush.

Apes of all the sizes had enclosed Qafiel into the clearing; a clearing they had intended on making his tomb. Qafiel's eyes had once burned with passionate rage as he'd cut them down, but there he was an asteroid on a collision course with disaster. Some of the apes foamed at their mouths, eager to exact revenge on their purple menace. Others swung their maces violently in a grand display of their strength. They had no intentions of giving him a swift death. He was going to be made to answer for the butchery he'd wrought.

The first ape, a large gray one, smashed his mace down onto Qafiel's tail. The dragon felt the bone crack before he heard it, and the howl of pain following penetrated the night. The next apes swarmed him and mangled his wings with a flurry of wild swipes. Qafiel experienced every single rip made into his wings as they climbed onto him and tore them apart. All the same he couldn't fight back. The next apes grabbed Qafiel by his neck and hurled him across the field, slamming him into the trunk of a fully grown tree. The sound of Qafiel's spine pounding against the bark sounded like a corroding stone, and in the same moment he was on the ground motionless. His attackers surrounded him again, satisfied with their revenge, but all that was left was the finishing blow. With raked wings, a shattered tail, and a paralyzing wound on his back, the dragon was completely helpless. The last ape raised his mace to clobber the dragon's head, to smash it like a raw egg, but a bright flash blinded him.

All the apes covered their eyes. None wanted to be disoriented by the resonating glisten emanating from the base of the tree. They tried to see what happened, but to their horror the light was emitting from their victim. Qafiel singed with a bright violet flame coming from his eyes, and soon the rest of his body was engulfed. The apes felt the heat coming from their prey, their murderer. Qafiel, suddenly filled with dormant strength, rose from the edge of the forest and jumped over their heads. Though his body remained damaged, he hurt no longer. Even with all the skin peeled from his wings, he started to flap and rose into the sky above their heads. He was about three meters off the grassy earth. They stared, not knowing what was going on, but they needn't wonder about it for long.

A pillar of purple light descended from the sky and crashed down onto Qafiel and consumed him, filling him with the power of annihilation. Ygraine, the cheetahs, and the rest of the dragons witnessed the spectacle as the purple light decimated the blackness that had previously occupied the sky. It looked like purple veins had been stretched across black skin. The glow radiated, and created as much wonder as terror. No one witnessing the phenomena knew what was happening, but at its epicenter, Qafiel was about to rain down destruction onto his assaulters. The light in which he was trapped flowed through him and poured out from his injuries, healing them, infusing them shut. Restored, the dragon gazed down upon the apes from within the light, and through the sounds of energy bouncing all around him, his anger surfaced. The apes could see his eyes surrender all mercy, leaving only barbarity in its wake. He was going to kill them, slaughter them, and they knew it. Terrified the apes started to run in a futile attempt to escape their fate, but Qafiel's rage knew no bounds. He thrust his wings outwards and roared, sending a showering of cascading purple light down over the entire valley, disintegrating everything it touched. The cheetahs were sent into a panic, and the dragons scurried to find cover. Qafiel's light engulfed the entire forest and obliterated it, leaving behind a maze of blacked trees and ashes that had once been bones. Meteors of the dragon's light continued to bombard the rest of the valley. Dozens more of trees were pulverized in the shower, forcing the cheetahs into exodus. Running for their lives they abandoned the village they'd worked so hard to claim, and the young dragons flew out of the valley in a slim chance at survival. The whole valley had been decimated by Qafiel's light, his ultimate power. His fury.

Through the desolation, Qafiel's anger thrived. This caused a wave of purple energy to repel from his levitating being and shoot out across the land. Anything that had survived the initial barrage was coated in a bright surge of light, and in its path there was nothing left. Where Qafiel had been hovering in the center of the large purple beacon, where once vegetation had sprouted, there was only a gray crater. The ground directly beneath him had succumbed to his rage and mirrored his anger in a grand display of black cracks, like broken glass. The surrounding treeline had been blown away, and debris continued to fall all around the dragon as he, at last, slowly lowered back down to the ground. His power gushed, and he was spent.

Qafiel hadn't understood what had befallen him. One moment he was being attacked by a horde of savage apes, and then the next he felt rejuvenated, powerful, but above all else, angry. Now he'd been expended, just in a different manner. Qafiel came back to his senses as his claws touched the barren ground that had once been fertile soil. It felt like he was walking through grimy water, for it was thick and scattered. Qafiel, with a blistering headache and fatigued body, stumbled around and he soon collapsed. Never had he been so tired, so drained. It was as if someone had yanked the essence of life right out of him. The weary dragon could hardly keep his eyes open. As he inhaled, freshly scorched ash explored his nose. He began to wheeze and hoark on the evidential remnants of his rage, and it burned his throat as it travelled closer to his lungs. His eyes became weighted, while the glimmering purple light faded into the sky. Blackness returned to the air, and it covered Qafiel like a blanket. With a sigh, Qafiel stole a last glance at a large red figure walking towards him from the distance. He could barely see her, but he knew that it could only be her.

"Y-Ygraine…" and he fainted, once more.

Ygraine arrived in the clearing, staring at her pupil. The shock and awe she had felt previously had subsided, for then she'd only felt sympathy. Her Qafiel, her student and adopted, had demolished half the valley, killing many living things in the process. Not only that, but he'd torn through so many apes that she'd lost count, and then chased after them even in retreat. Ygraine was conflicted, but her resolve remained unshaken. She sniffed the air once, foul like charcoal, and walked to Qafiel's unconscious body. This wasn't the first time he'd been this way. Matter of fact this was the state in which she was attuned to finding him. Ygraine tried to smile the best she could, and curled up around him. She lifted his head, getting it out of the ash so that he could breathe easier. She then tucked them under her wings and stayed there. There was no sense in flying, it would kick up too much ash. All that was to be done was to stay still. Given the size of Qafiel's light, citizens from all over the realm likely saw it, including Theos and the other Guardians. She would wait for them, she would be patient. She needed to, for Qafiel.

"An outrage, a menace! That dragon's a walking cataclysm!"

"That's a bit harsh, Theos. It's clear he had no control of what he was doing." A peeved Ygraine argued in the defense of Qafiel.

"Harsh? HARSH!? Harsh, Ygraine, is what that irregularity has wrought upon the Valley of Avalar! Harsh is what your Qafiel did to those apes! Harsh, Ygraine, is one of the kindest words to use. I've considered using many, many more. Shall I list them?"

"I think that will be unnecessary, Theos," said a nonbiased Raiz. "Try your best to remain calm. Nothing will be accomplished if you go about this in a hotheaded manner." The Guardian of Electricity tried to ease their honcho, but it was barely making a dent in the Earth dragon's passion.

"How can I not, how can any of you, not go about this in such a manner? You all do realize what we're discussing here? We're discussing the dilemma of how we're going to deal with the adolescent that levelled half of the Valley of Avalar in a manner of seconds. Ygraine," and the three Guardians all looked upon her as Theos focused her attention to him. "You were the one that brought him to our temple in the first place…"

"He's only been here a day, Theos." Ygraine remained unmoved.

"And just look what he's managed to do in that time…!" hollered the angry Earth dragon. Theos' wings became riled and started to twitch as he spoke to Ygraine. "Someone must be made to answer for this atrocity, for endangering the lives of our students and our allies. Have you any idea what could have happened if the residents of Cheetah Village had been any closer to that blast? If our students hadn't been halfway across the valley?"

Mistral chimed in. "They would have been disintegrated. Consumed by that purple light."

"I'm aware of that," said Ygraine. "But they weren't. All my students, except Qafiel, stayed exactly where they were told."

"The debate in question," started Raiz, "is not about what did happen, Ygraine. It's purely a hypothetical discussion. I agree with your earlier point. Tragedy was indeed avoided, but it is our jobs to ensure that our budding students aren't put into such circumstances in the first place." Ygraine remained silent as the judging eyes of Theos and Raiz scanned her. Mistral sat quietly. Internally, he was hoping for some way to support her. However, with Theos and Raiz breathing down her neck, he was forced to be silent until the opportune time. "You don't seem eager to speak to us, Ygraine. Is it the ash?"

"No, Raiz. I'm the Guardian of Fire, a little ash shan't deter me."

"Not you, I know. I was talking about Qafiel. How is the boy?"

"I can answer that," an anticipating Mistral said. He looked at Raiz and Theos, and Ygraine nodded to give him permission. "Ygraine and I have checked on him repeatedly since last night. His condition could be better; he's been coughing a lot. I think it's the ash. It must have circulated through his lungs. He's also been afraid to leave his room, likely worried that the other students will despise him."

"As they should," interrupted Theos.

"Theos, let him finish." Raiz pointed to Theos. The leader eased up a bit, and then Mistral continued.

"Ygraine was correct in what she'd said. We've asked the boy many times already about what happened, and he says he doesn't exactly remember. Most of what occurred between the forest and this morning, or so he says, is naught but a giant blur."

Theos wasn't satisfied. "Like I would believe that. No one could possess such power and be completely blind to its presence. He's probably playing dumb."

"Theos," interjected a daring Ygraine. "I believe this grand display of power explains many things we didn't know before." The three Guardians looked at Ygraine inquisitively. None of them was quite sure what she meant.

"Explain," said Raiz.

"Gladly," and Ygraine proceeded. "We wondered why he was in a swamp with no one around. We also know, from what happened last night, that Qafiel's survival instincts are more than potent. That blast he generated, along with the barrage, is likely hardwired into his being. He was put into a dangerous situation, and his power acted on its own. Almost as if," Mistral cut her off.

"You're going to say that it saved him?" Ygraine nodded. "Are you implying what I think you're implying, Ygraine?"

"I'm afraid so, Mistral. I believe that this power, whatever it is, may have a direct connection to Convexity."

"Preposterous!" snarled Raiz. "I hardly think it's possible for any dragon, purple or otherwise to have a direct connection with the power of Convexity. Just because it has long been thought to resonate in shades of purple, whilst protecting us from the Dark Realms beyond, that scarcely seems like enough evidence on which to make such an assumption. Have you gone utterly mad, Ygraine?"

"Quite the opposite, Raiz. I believe I've come to my senses. Why else would Qafiel be left alone in the swamp? Odds are, something forced Convexity's action, and the ensuing blast obliterated anything and anyone close to him. More than likely, that included…"

"His parents…" said a forlorn Mistral. The truth, though speculative, resounded through the discussion hall at the center of the temple. The Pool of Visions in the center of the room, around which they stood, sloshed its contents back and forth as a melancholic silence drifted about. For all the present Guardians, the certainty of their situation settled in like ants in a colony. "His power already seems to have taken away those dear to him. He'd no way of controlling it. If Ygraine is right, we may be able to show him how to direct it. As Guardians, is that not our occupation? Besides, if Qafiel does bring his unique abilities under control, he could very well become…not a cataclysm, but instead a savior. Dare I say, a type of guardian himself. He'd be a hero, an idol. Someone to watch over the races. With such an opportunity before us, would it be wise to waste it?"

One could easily see the conflict in both Raiz and Theos' faces. On one side of the debate, there was always the chance of Qafiel's power spiraling out of control as it already had. But on the other side, if Qafiel could be taught to harness his own abilities and use them for the better, the realms would be made a much safer place. None would dare cause mischief if someone like Qafiel was fighting on the side of good. He would be feared, as well as admired and respected. In short, the perfect sentinel.

"Theos? Your thoughts?" asked a decided Raiz. The Electricity dragon could see how infuriated the leader of the Guardians was, but all the same the chance at something beyond themselves also loomed precariously over their heads. Theos lowered his head, and with a hearted sight he'd been subdued.

"Raiz, friend, it seems you've already made up your mind. Have you not?"

"I do believe that I have. Qafiel, while impulsive and unrefined, could be the most important thing to cross our paths in this lifetime, or quite possibly the next. Such power cannot be contained naturally. I think many of the citizens of the realm would agree, better a power like that rest under our care than handled by the apes. They would twist it, contort it, and mangled it into a weapon of destruction. At least if we are the ones to train Qafiel, he'll have the necessary restrain, and he'll undoubtedly come to see his power as a gift, not a burden." Raiz completed his monologue, though Theos was unhappy.

"Ygraine," said the defeated Earth dragon, "you're in accord with this?" She nodded. "And you as well, Mistral?" The Ice dragon nodded as well. "Very well then, I suppose diplomacy rules. Under our guidance, Qafiel shall…continue his training. But at the very least, for my sake, shall we move him to a place where he'll be easier to manage?"

In Ygraine's room, Qafiel lay under the covers of her bed. His body had yet to recover from the previous night. A reputable smoothie of emotions churned inside of him as he shuddered under the bedding thinking of what horrible things the other students were saying about him. Not just the other student, but his friends too. Ellevyn, Desma, what had they thought of his display? Would they hate him? Could they ever forgive him? Qafiel didn't even want to think of Ygraine. She hadn't spoken to him since the previous night, and she'd had a meeting with the other Guardians once they'd been brought back to the temple by the other dragons. While Qafiel had been semiconscious, he'd heard bits and pieces of speech as he awoke half dazed once returning to the safe walls of the temple. He'd heard the other students walk by him, some of them huffed and others groaned. Injury was apparent, and Qafiel knew it was his doing. He was so ashamed to face them, so embarrass of the oncoming wake. The fathoms of despair reached so deep that Qafiel barely heard the door to the room creak open. Peeking out from the sheets, it was Ygraine. Mistral was with her.

"Y-Ygraine…I…I don't…" mumbled the adolescent.

"Qafiel, stay quiet. You'll exhaust yourself." Her voice was smooth, like a mossy rock after a light rainfall. "How are you feeling? Sleep well?"

Qafiel was genuinely confused by what had been said. He thought for sure that Ygraine, as well as Mistral, were going to be furious with him. Her sudden kindness was stifling, but he was too nervous to badmouth them. Instead, he retreated further into the bedding and meekly answered her from within the shell. "I guess I did. Sort of have a stomach ache, though."

"Mistral, would you mind going to storage and grab a few roots to settle that?" He nodded to her.

"Of course, Ygraine," and he turned around, swishing his tail through the air before vanishing down the hall.

Ygraine approached her bed and nestled in next to it. She looked over the bump under the bedding, the bump Qafiel's body had created. She tried to smile, but the strain of the prior discussion had drained her mentally. All the same, her affection was no less fostering. "Qafiel, you're not in trouble. Now come out from under there. Let me see those eyes." Hearing her words, though diffident, the bump crept from the center of the bed to the edge. From the side of the bedding came a narrow purple snout, and soon after the rest of the dragon emerged. His horns lifted up the bedding, and then they crashed down onto his neck. It made a soft beating sound, and then Qafiel was facing Ygraine with crossed claws. He mirrored her posture.

"I'm sorry for what I did, Ygraine. I really…"

Ygraine broke his apology. "Enough of that, Qafiel. You've already told us numerous times that you don't know what happened. Theos and Raiz may be skeptical, but Mistral and I believe you." Qafiel sighed, and Ygraine smirked. She could see her uncertainty, but she was swift to reassure him. "In fact, we've convinced the two of them to let you continue your training." The young dragon's face ignited with delight, and a strong passion irradiated from his eyes. "However, there's one condition." Ygraine's tone changed to a more profession manner, and Qafiel's eagerness dimmed. "Because we agree that the worse of your power is currently a little unmanageable, you'll have to be trained a little…out of the way, in case something goes wrong." The wisdom leaking from Ygraine's proposition flowed over to Qafiel. He felt angry, almost furious that he was being cast in solitary isolation, but yet he understood why. He acknowledged his hazardous tendency. He didn't want to see anyone else injured because of his lack of restrain.

"I…I understand. Where am I being trained then?"

"We're sending you to Warfang, the Dragon City. There an older temple on the outskirts of the city that would be ideal for training you individually until we can better accommodate you. I hear that plans for an underground training ground have already been issued, just for you. You may not realize this yet Qafiel, but you're going to be a very important dragon. Out denizens will need you to protect them. Do you think you can do that?"

Indecision loitered on Qafiel infantile face. What Ygraine had proposed was nothing short of a life-altering commitment. Yet inversely, the sound of hearing that people needed him was a foreign pleasure to Qafiel. He'd never thought he'd see the day that someone would say it. All the same Ygraine had given him the chance, and the purple dragon could feel the justice bubbling in his heart.

"…Yes…yes, Ygraine. I can…I will…!" Ygraine smiled at him.

"You know, you can call me 'Mother'…if you'd like." Tears swelled in both dragons' eyes, and Qafiel nodded.

"O-Okay," and they embraced.

As they hugged, they heard a knocking on the door behind them. Ygraine released Qafiel from the sanctity of her wings and found Mistral in the doorway clutching a claw-full of golden roots. He was smiling, and he laughed merrily before he spoke.

"I believe you know these dragons?" From under his legs came Ellevyn and Desma, both elated to see Qafiel, safe and unharmed. The purple dragon was perplexed by their presence, but he relished it all the same.

"You guys!" He hollered, salty tears traversing his face.

"Are you ailing at all, friend?" caringly asked Ellevyn.

"You'd better not be hurt, loser. No one with that kind of muscle should get his butt kicked." Both were the same as ever.

"No," whimpered an exultant Qafiel. "I'm not hurt. In fact, I've never felt better."

The four dragons all crowded around their little dynamo and embraced him. The group hug carried Qafiel away on a euphoric journey he hadn't experienced in years. The feeling of being loved, the sensation of family, it hadn't been given to him in so long he'd thought it would never be his again. But he had attained it. Despite all his power, all his struggling, Qafiel was safe and loved. With a new world ahead of him, and with new friends and family with which to tackle it, Qafiel could hardly wait for the dawning of the new day. The dawning of his new life.


A/N: And so ends Arc 1: Incarnation. I hope to release chapters more frequently during Arc 2 than I did here. Just as a heads-up any chapter completed, if finished early, will always be uploaded on a Friday. The first chapter of Arc 2 will be uploaded by next week, so look out for that, and as always thank you so much for the support and reviews. It means a lot. Thank you, and write on!