Ghost bellowed out smoke as he landed in the snow-covered valley and looked around at the surrounding mountains; nothing seemed out of ordinary. In his arms, the frost beast let out a long howl that echoed through the valley. Ears pricked, it listened, and as the echoes ceased another howl sounded in response. He placed the pup down and it bounded away until it was met with a much larger beast at a mountain base. After watching them leave together, Ghost took to the air to glide over the mountains.
Despite how well hidden they were, the dragon was easily able to spot the different creatures hiding or roaming through the snow. Nothing appeared distressed or unusual until a glint in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Making a wide turn he located a cave entrance in the tallest mountain where an icy path trailed along the edge to lead up to the cave. The pressure it gave off told him that it was the location of a natural gateway, but something was off about it.
He landed silently at the entrance and peered inside. There were pale-colored crystals growing along the ceiling and walls ranging from pink, to green, and even white. With pointed tips, all of the crystals, no matter where they were, appeared to be pointing at the crystal gateway in the center of the cavern. Oddly, the gate was active, a swirling gold vortex at the center was letting out little sparks of electricity.
As Ghost neared, the sparks became wild and he had to quickly duck as the gate shot out a lightning bolt that flew out of the cavern. Almost as soon as it had left the cavern a loud ear-splitting crack resounded outside, echoing loudly across the quiet mountains. He ran outside and was surprised to see that the lightning had literally split the sky leaving behind a vigorously spinning vortex of purple and black. The portal's shape was jagged and strange and in the mere seconds that it lasted the snow, stones, and even several plants were almost sucked away from their places.
.
.
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"The crystal portal located in the northern snow valley must be deactivated and sealed off." Ghost stated.
Gaia looked down at the white dragon before her. Beside her, the blue and white dragon Zephyr wrinkled his snout. "Seal a natural portal?!" he growled. "Who do you think you are making those proclamations!?"
Ghost shot him a look that made the smaller dragon wince slightly. "Was keeping an eye on the gateways not what Gaia had asked me to do?"
"Er…well, yes, but… It's still not for you to decide or tell the Great Mother to seal a portal!"
A flick of the end of her tail told Zephyr to silence himself. "I do not believe that Ghost was finished speaking, Zephyr."
Zephyr lowered his head like a scolded dog. "Eh, forgive me…"
"Please," she turned her attention back to Ghost. "Continue."
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.
.
Amy lowered the hose and sighed with relief. At some point that day, Dipper had said something, Amy wasn't sure what, that had angered Bill enough for him to try and blast the boy with fire. During the process a blast of flames had burned through part of the sheep pen and set some of the poor animals on fire. Luckily, she was able to douse them before they were hurt.
She looked over when she heard screaming and saw Dipper trying to put out a small fire on his head. Aiming the hose, she twisted the nozzle so that it blasted him with a jet of water. "Thanks…" he said, now dripping with water.
"What'd you do that for?" Bill growled.
"If he's on fire he might set more of my sheep on fire!" She snapped back. "Watch where you're throwing fire around! You almost made lambchops out of my sheep and now I have to fix my fence!"
"Gee, thanks Amy." Dipper threw his arms up.
"So what?" Bill rolled his eye. "They're just a bunch of dumb sheep. You can always get more."
"Ugh!" Amy growled and stomped off.
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"Man, what a jerk." Dipper sat on his bed and brushed soot from his shoulder.
"That's what you get for messing with an immortal demon guy," his sister hummed.
"Whatever," he huffed. "I wish I knew a way to get him back for setting me on fire." The Enchiridion's cover flashed and the book flipped open a few pages.
"Whoa," Mabel leaned forward. "Magic stuff."
Dipper grabbed the book from his nightstand and looked over the images displayed. "Looks like some kind of diagram about a flower."
Mabel jumped onto his bed and peered over his shoulder to look. "It looks like those glowy flowers Gaia wears." She pointed a finger at the image. "Except that one is black instead of purple."
He rubbed his chin. "Hmm, where can we find one like this?" The book turned a page and showed a three-dimensional image of the forest gateway. "It's in the dragon realm?" A diagonal line that appeared on the page told him 'yes.'
"Ooo, we can go see Flora!" Mabel said with a huge grin. "Come on, Bud!" she called the old dog. "Guide us through the woods!" The dog yawned then lazily stood up and led the way.
.
The twins stared at the active portal. "Weird," Dipper said. "I thought the portal had to be activated by someone like Flora."
"Yeah," Mabel looked around. "Where is she anyway?"
Bud sat down and yawned. "Alright Bud," Dipper said, "wait here." The boy stepped through the portal with his sister just behind and stepped out onto the grassy field. "Alright, where to next?" In his hands the book flipped open to show them a map; a circle appeared around a gray area west of their location.
Along the way, they passed through a lush marsh area where Mabel kept getting distracted by all of the animals and greeting every dragon they met. The dragons eyed them curiously but didn't seem bothered by their presence. A few young dragonlings even chased playfully after them for a while before being called back by their mother.
After exiting the marsh, they crossed through a field of dried grass that was so tall it touched their chins. Finally, they reached the end of the tall grass and found themselves in a gloomy gray area covered with ash and dotted with dead, black trees. Even the sky above was hidden by dark clouds.
"Well this place is depressing," Dipper stated bluntly.
"Hey, look over there!" Mabel pointed where several patches of glowing red light littered the ground around some trees.
"That must be it," Dipper said as he crouched down to look at the black palm-sized flowers. They were covered with white specks and glowed an eerie red color. "Please don't have thorns." He carefully pulled one of the flowers from the cluster and looked it over. "Huh, alright then. Simple enough."
"Good," Mabel nodded. "Now let's get out of here. The lack of color is starting to get to me."
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Bill stood outside of the now repaired fence and watched as Amy thoroughly examined the pair of sheep that had fallen victim to his fury. The animals baaed happily as she patted their backs. He couldn't understand her affixation with these creatures.
"I wonder what giving him a flower will do to get your payback?" Mabel mused as they walked towards Bill.
Dipper shrugged. "I don't know. Hey, Bill," he called his attention as they reached him.
"What," he turned towards the two siblings, "you back for another roasting?"
"Actually, I have something here that I think will help me get revenge for that."
Bill laughed. "Oh, and what would that be?"
Dipper unwrapped the towel he had covered the flower with and held it up to Bill. Bill's bored expression quickly turned to shock as he realized what he was looking at. He jumped back but the flower's magical aroma had already reached him and his vision swayed slightly. He went to say something but an immense pain in his head stopped him.
Amy stood up and looked over. She tensed at the sight of the plant. "Get that out of here! Are you crazy!?"
"What? What is it?" Dipper covered the flower and stepped back.
"That's a Nightshade Amaranth! Just being around it is deadly!"
"What!?" he dropped the covered flower on the ground and quickly stepped away from it.
Amy went to say something but gasped instead when Bill suddenly collapsed. She hurried over and felt his forehead. "There's already a fever," she said to herself.
"Fever?" Mabel echoed. "What's wrong?"
"Indeed…" They looked to see Flora approaching slowly. The dragoness stopped a few feet away and examined the situation. "…What has happened?"
"Flora!" Mabel ran over to her. "Dipper and I brought back this black glowy flower that Amy called Nightshade Amaranth and then it made Bill sick or something!"
Flora hissed, a disgusted expression on her face. "Nightshade Amaranth…is deadly to dragons… The smell alone…can bring a dragon's end."
"We didn't know," Dipper explained. "Besides, Bill's not a dragon. Why's it affecting him?"
She shook her head. "I do not understand either… Quickly…" She helped Amy lift him. "Bring him inside… I shall seek out the Blood Amaranth."
"What does that one do?" Dipper asked.
Flora helped bring Bill over to the house and watched from the door as Amy brought him upstairs. "The Blood Amaranth…is perfect for flushing all toxins from the body… It will increase his chances…of surviving."
"Whoa, hold on. Surviving? Something that simple can kill him?"
"I am not sure…it has only been known to affect dragons… He is having the same symptoms…of Shadow Fever." She lifted her head to Amy's window to watch her place him on the bed. "It is a…black magic curse. The scent of Nightshade Amaranth…causes Shadow Fever. Shadow Fever…is quick and deadly. Blood Amaranth helps…but there is no guarantee."
"Oh man," Dipper said. "I actually feel bad…well, for Amy. Man, Amy's going to kill me! Where do we get Blood Amaranth?!"
She looked down at him. "It grows at the base…of Mount Carver…the great volcano that shaped the land of Telmak. It was once the home of…a great phoenix that fell from the sun…and brought light to Telmak. I am going there now… Do you wish to come?"
"Come on Dipper," Mabel ran over to Flora and climbed up to the dragon's shoulders.
"I'm coming," he said as he ran over. "But I'm only helping for Amy's sake."
"Pfft, you're just scared she'll hate you forever."
"Uh, yeah. I am."
"Where are the two of you going?" They were surprised to see their great uncle Ford approaching.
"We're going to a volcano," Mabel told him.
"Volcano?"
Dipper quickly explained the situation. "Yeah, so now we need a different flower that grows around some ancient volcano or something."
Ford examined the lump of towel on the ground that covered the black flower. "Incredible. Something so simple is capable of actually killing an immortal being?" He looked up at them on the dragon's back. "Why are you two trying to save him? Have you forgotten who he is?" The twins exchanged worried looks. "And Flora, the dragons know of Bill, right? So why would you want to help?"
"One is not born evil…" she said softly. "It is their surroundings…and experiences that mold them… Some are born with distorted minds…or broken realities… It is not their fault."
"How can you possibly see the good in people like that?" he shook his head, trying to understand, then looked back to the covered flower.
"You wish to study the Nightshade Amaranth…" Flora narrowed her green eyes. "I will allow you to take it…but I also must inform Mother Gaia that you have it… If further incidents occur…you will be held accountable. It is dangerous to Amy…please…keep it contained." She turned towards the forest. "There is no longer any time to speak…we must go. We shall return on the morrow." Taking a few steps, she stopped and looked back at the old man. "Our survival is tied…to him."
"Who?" Ford looked up. "What do you mean?" But the usually slow-moving dragon had bounded off towards the trees with the twins on her back.
Flora didn't slow her pace even as they entered the thicker part of woods. She kept straight and the trees themselves seemed to move out of her way. Her eyes flashed as the gateway came into view and the portal lit up with its swirling light. She didn't stop until they had plunged right through the vortex and appeared in the flower-dotted field on the other side.
"You're a lot faster than I thought, Flora." Mabel patted the dragon's large shoulder.
"How far is the volcano from here?" her brother asked.
Flora craned her long neck around and pointed with her snout. "Mount Carver…is located south…directly on the hemisphere. Walking from this location…would take twelve days…to reach its base."
"Twelve days?! How are we going to be back by tomorrow?"
Flora chuckled. "Dragons use gateways…placed by Mother Gaia…to save time. Though…as immortals…we have all the time in the world. Unfortunately…there is not much left."
"Wait, there isn't? Are you saying the world is ending?" His voice cracked a little.
"If Ragnarok succeeds…everything will perish." She walked around the stone gateway they had just come from and began heading over a hill. "That time is approaching…swiftly."
"Isn't there anything that can stop him?"
"According to Gaia and Ouroboros…yes. However…it is not certain that it will work."
"What is it?" Mabel asked.
"We will all play our part…for now…we must wait until it is our cue."
"That's not what I asked."
Flora stopped at the top of the hill and looked down at a red stone gateway that looked highly out of place in the grassy green field. Her eyes flashed and it lit up with an orange vortex. "That is the gateway to Mount Carver…"
.
Bud whimpered as Amy placed a cool damp towel on Bill's forehead. "I know Bud, nothing like this has happened before…" It was weird to see Bill, of all people, helpless and seemingly in pain. "Can you hear me?" She asked, but he only clenched his teeth and grunted. "Oh…I hope Ghost comes back soon. He always knows what to do."
.
"Strange…" Flora glanced around. They were standing near the base of an absolutely massive volcano surrounded by tropical bushes and trees. "The flowers…are not here."
"What?" Mabel pushed some leafy plants aside. "Are you sure? What do they look like?"
"They are red…and glow…but they are not here. I cannot sense them." She looked up at the volcano. "Something is-" Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to shake violently.
"An earthquake?!" Dipper tried to stay standing but ended up falling over and grabbing the trunk of a thin tree.
"The volcano!" Mabel shouted. The tip of the mountain was smoking, sending ashes down like snow. "It's gonna blow!" After a few moments the shaking stopped but the ashes continued to fall.
Flora shook her head and helped Dipper stand back up. "Mount Carver has only erupted twice…once to carve and shape the land…twice to destroy the darkness that once plagued us. Only the phoenix can set it off…but she vanished some millennia ago."
"Vanished?" Dipper looked at the volcano. "Why?"
"No one knows…it was shortly after…Ragnarok's exile." Flora began climbing a little way up the mountainside.
"Hey, where are you going?!"
She flinched slightly then turned to look at him. "I am sorry…I sensed pain…so I instinctually wanted to help."
"Who's hurt?" Mabel tilted her head.
The dragon looked confused. "I…do not know. Someone is calling for help…up there." She pointed to the volcano's peak.
"You've got to be kidding," Dipper rubbed his face.
"Forgive me…" Flora lowered her head. "It is my duty…to help those in pain."
"I know, it's fine." He sighed. "Alright, let's get up there. Do you think you can climb as fast as you can run?"
She let the twins climb onto her back. "Perhaps…" As soon as they had settled she bounded up the red mountain, using her long claws like anchors in the soil and rock then pulling herself up and lunging forward all in quick movements. The two humans had to hold tightly to the spikes down her spine so that they wouldn't fall. She was climbing at an almost completely vertical angle.
"I can't believe you climbed this huge volcano so fast," Dipper gasped. The whole way up he felt like he wasn't breathing.
"When you don't have wings…you make up for it in speed or armor."
"Why didn't you do that when we were climbing to go see Ghost?"
"Bill did not want to share." She replied.
"Whoa!" Mabel peered into the volcano's mouth. "The lava's waaay down there. Hey, there's something down there!"
The volcano rumbled again, knocking them off balance and causing Mabel to fall in. "Mabel!" Dipper shouted. He screamed as Flora grabbed him by his shirt and dived into the mouth. He was still screaming even after they had landed safely on a protruding ledge. "AAHHHHhhhhhh…oh…we stopped." Flora placed him down and Mabel came out of nowhere and embraced him. "Mabel! You're alive!"
"Yep! Also, I think my butt's broken…but I'm A-Okay!"
"You know Flora," he looked at the dragoness. "You could've warned me before you picked me up and jumped into a volcano! How did you see this ledge from up there?"
"I did not."
"What!?"
"Guys, look!" Mabel drew their attention to something just below the ledge.
In the center of the volcano, hundreds of feet above the lava and wrapped in golden chains, was a massive crimson bird, hawk-like in appearance, and similar in size to Gaia. The chains extended tightly and connected to the walls in several directions.
"This whole time…" Flora was shocked. "She was here the whole time…"
"But why is she chained up?" Dipper asked aloud.
The bird suddenly looked up at them with a furious look. She screeched loudly and spat a huge fireball in their direction. Flora quickly pulled the twins back from the edge and the fireball blasted right past them. She screeched angrily and thrashed, but the chains held tight.
"I thought the phoenix was good!" Mabel said.
"I do not know what happened…" Flora shared her worried expression. "She is infuriated…"
As the phoenix thrashed, the volcano shook and the lava began bubbling aggressively. "Maybe she'll calm down if we get her out of those chains," Mabel glanced over the ledge to see them.
"Are you crazy?!" her brother gasped. "If we let her loose she might kill us!"
"Perhaps Mabel is correct…"
"What?!"
Flora looked at him. "The chains are glowing with an enchantment…it must be a curse. Under her fury…I sense pain…a cry for help."
"If they're cursed, how are we going to do anything?" he asked as the rumbling ceased.
"…I may be able to break them at their bases…but I need to get closer…and I cannot withstand…such powerful fire magic. It would be easier…if I could fly."
"What you lack in wings you make up for in speed, right?" Mabel grinned. "We can distract her while you hurry and break those chains."
"How are we going to do that?" Dipper asked.
"Rocks!" Mabel scooped up a bunch of sharp stones around them. "I'm pretty sure this used to be a bigger rock until I fell on it." Flora and Dipper exchanged looks.
Flora carefully maneuvered along rocky ledges and gaps until she reached the base of one of the large chains behind the phoenix. She stared at the base and her eyes glowered, causing thick spiked roots to extend from the wall and wrap around part of the chain. Quickly, she glanced up at the humans and they nodded.
"Hey, bird!" Mabel yelled, chunking a rock down at the phoenix's head. The bird glared at her and let out a roar-like screech that caused Mabel to almost lose her balance. "Yep! You just keep yelling at me, pretty birdie." She tossed another rock that bounced off the bird's curved beak.
Flora quickly crawled along the jagged walls until she reached another chain. Her progress kept getting hindered slightly by the volcano's shaking as the phoenix grew angrier.
"We're running out of rocks here!" Dipper called.
There was only one chain left, one directly across from the phoenix's front. The dragoness waited for them to distract it again before rushing over to the chain. As soon as she had set up the last tangle of roots her eyes lit up like green fire and the roots did the same. The glowing grew brighter and brighter and the roots began to emit a strange high-pitched sound that caught the bird's attention.
The phoenix screeched at Flora and blasted a fireball at her just as a loud echoing sound of metal splitting set off and the chains released from the walls. Both Flora and the phoenix began to fall towards the bubbling lava below.
"Flora!" the twins cried out helplessly.
As the massive bird was falling, the rest of the chains wrapped around her came loose and she extended her neck to fall like an arrow into the lava. Just half a second after plunging into the lava a huge plume of fire and lava blasted upwards and out through the mouth of the volcano, carrying the three visitors with it. As the plume reached the sky, two flaming wings extended from it and the fire burst away in all directions like multiple beacons shooting through the blue sky. Left in its wake was the crimson-feathered bird.
"Oh my gosh!" Dipper gasped as they landed at the mountain's base. "I thought we were gonna get burned to a crisp by that blast of fire!"
"Flora, you're okay!" Mabel ran over and hugged the dragon's neck as she rolled over onto her feet.
The huge bird landed hard on the ground in front of them. She extended her wings and let out a long, thunderous screech. They thought for sure that the bird was about to burn them to ash until she suddenly folded her wings and fixed a fierce, but calm stare on them. "Greetings!" her voice was commanding and loud, causing them to flinch. "I am the great phoenix, Dawnbringer! I am the one who brought light to this world! I must thank you, as well as apologize for my aggression. After the war against Ragnarok, I took to Mount Carver where I planned to rest. However, as a final insult to me, Ragnarok had placed a curse here and I vanished."
"Where did you go?" Mabel asked.
"I was sealed away, stuck between existence and nonexistence." She narrowed her glowing yellow eyes. "It was a miserable existence. Suddenly, after so long of wandering aimlessly, I found myself back home, but I was bound by my own sanctuary! Then the three of you came along…"
"I wonder if you came back because of all the messed-up space rifts Ragnarok is causing?" Dipper mused. "But the curse was still active so you were still trapped."
"Perhaps…" Dawnbringer directed her piercing stare at him and he gulped. "Tell me, why have you three come here? No one knew of the reason for my vanishing, so you must have come for something else."
"We came for a Blood Amaranth," Dipper explained, "but there aren't any here."
"Not a problem!" Dawnbringer spread her wings and her feathers began to sparkle. "There is no longer any need to hide! Come little ones, bask in the divine light!" Hundreds of sparkling red flower buds began sprouting all around them, bursting into full bloom upon facing Dawnbringer's light. She looked down at the three. "Take only what you need and nothing more! And, as thanks for saving me, if ever you need my help and I am able, I shall soar to your sides. Farewell, until the next time!" With a single flap of her wings, she took off into the darkening sky with a loud screech.
"I like her." Mabel smiled.
To be continued…
Dawnbringer is a little over the top lol. Several new magical characters are getting introduced and will play bigger roles later on. Ragnarok is going to make an appearance soon as well, which will show them just how menacing and controlling he is. Not a single soul does not fear him in some way and he uses that to his advantage.
