Chapter 21: Civil War
Silver groaned as he covered his ears.
Silver: Rift, no more puns.
Rift: But… I must make these puns… drag-on.
Silver: Please, enough.
Rift: The contract to have me beta read has no escape claws.
Silver: Ugh…normally I like puns but this is getting ridiculous.
Rift: It's too late to… fire me.
Silver: Noooooooo
Rift: Let me tell you a tail...about a fangtastic dragon, who would always tip the scales in his favor
Silver: Okay, I'm out. My story and characters belong to me. If you don't like it, don't read it.
As the trio, led by Kardia, walked through another large set of double doors, they entered a large domed room. At the center was a raised circular platform, a large water dragon sat upon it. The left, right, and presumably the back side of the chamber had similar doorways to the one they came from. It was a meeting chamber, but with other raised platforms surrounding the perimeter of the room, however, there were no other dragons sat upon them.
Approaching the platform, a pathway led to a small divot toward the center pillar like platform, which was surrounded by steps leading up to it. All the other entrances had the same divot leading to the center, creating a plus if one were to look at the room from above. The floor in the divot was transparent, showing the water and the creatures below the room.
Silvus, Kardia, and Cynder stood halfway through the divot, the walls of the divot only about two feet tall, and the floor several feet wide. They watched the scene before them until it was their turn to speak to the large water drake.
Two guards stood at attention at either side of the platform as the water dragon spoke to several armored dragons before him. "I don't care what they say! They should be executed immediately!" The large drake yelled out. "Do not question my judgement!"
Silvus exchanged a quick look with Cynder, who mouthed, is this Vrochi? The Messenger nodded, causing the ebony dragoness to raise a scaly brow. When the green drake looked back at the scene, the armored dragons were exiting the room. Kardia then began to approach monarch like Water Guardian who had just noticed her.
"Ah, Kardia, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Vrochi asked with a smile, the dragoness in question gestured toward the green drake beside her, causing the Guardian to jump down from his platform. "Finally! Have the Guardians sent you ahead to deliver assistance?"
Silvus raised a paw to dismiss his suggestion. "N-"
"I have been waiting forever for them to send someone to help crush this rebellion!" Vrochi declared. "Even more so now when my Messenger was taken from me." He said angrily.
"Master Vrochi." Silvus said stepping toward the Master of Water.
"Ah yes, of course, you may speak, uhhh, Messenger!" Vrochi said, clearly not remembering the name of the Light Messenger.
"Silvus, Master." He said. "And no I haven't come here to help you, but on a personal mission."
The Guardian's smooth smile turned into a frown instantly, and the dark blue drake began almost glaring at Silvus with his sea green eyes. "What kind of mission." Vrochi said in a low tone.
"Don't anger him." Kardia whispered, Silvus then brushed his tailblade against her forearm, reassuring her.
"I have come here looking for my father." He said, the Guardian's frown deepening. "His name is Skios, former Guardian of Nature."
"I know your father, and he is here, somewhere in MY city." Vrochi said, his smile returning. "I will tell you where he is... only if you help me with this rebellion."
Silvus gave a chuckle. "I'm going to have to decline." Kardia flinched in the corner of his eye.
"I say again, Messenger." He said, spitting out his title, almost disgusted by it. "I will not tell you where your father is unless YOU help me with this rebellion."
The green drake opened his maw once again to defy the request when Kardia stepped up beside him. "Why can't you just give them a simple location!" She protested.
Vrochi immediately set his glare on the escorter. "Since you are so kind to speak for your acquaintance, I will make him a deal." He said, completely ignoring Cynder's presence. "Help me crush this rebellion and everyone in it, and I will tell you the location of Skios." He said with a smirk.
Silvus shook his head. "I don't have the time, I need to find my father right now." He said calmly, his training keeping him from bursting out in anger at the Guardian.
Vrochi shrugged. "I don't have time for a rebellion." He said, shaking his head. "If we don't have a deal, then you have no reason to be in MY temple, or MY city for that matter!" Then, with a gesture of his paw, the two guards beside him immediately walked down to Silvus and Cynder.
The pair turned around and began to exit the chamber, along with the guards. Kardia turned around and watched as they left the chamber. Vrochi walked down the short steps and stopped next to the escorter and watched on with a smirk.
The two guards sent with Silvus and Cynder, led them through several different alleyways. They had the two adolescent dragons walk in between them so that one guard was in front while the other followed behind them. Occasionally, they walked through some of the main streets, but that rarely happened for an unknown reason.
"What now?" Cynder whispered to Silvus who walked in front.
He glanced back at the dragoness. "I'm not sure." He murmured.
Silvus knew finding his father wasn't a life or death situation, however, not only was it important to whatever the riddle was for, but for personal reasons. He hadn't seen his father in ten years and didn't even know he was alive.
The Messenger sighed and looked at his surroundings, trying to distract his mind, until something caught his eye, but he couldn't get a closer look when they turned another corner into another alleyway, this one leading to the edge of the dome. At the end of the small street was a doorway similar to the one they first entered through, except this one was smaller and was more worn down.
The guard in front of Silvus stopped and turned around, and gestured with his head to the other guard, who placed a paw on Cynder's shoulder to move her, but upon contact, the ebony dragoness sent the guard a death glare, causing him to immediately retract his paw.
Silvus smirked at the dragoness as they made eye contact, the Messenger gave her a slight nod, which she returned. Both dragons prepared an elemental attack, Silvus with an ice blast and Cynder with a powerful wind gust. The armored guards didn't wait for the adolescent's to remove their armor pieces. Instead, they went straight for their exposed necks.
Before the pair could release their attacks, two large earth dragons suddenly crashed down on top of the two guards, causing both Silvus and Cynder to jump backward into defensive stances. The earth dragons both used blunt earth missiles to knock out the guards. Once they were unconscious they dragged them into the building behind them.
Silvus and Cynder watched with confused expressions, until a water dragon jumped down from the roof above them. The pair glanced up to see several water dragons watching from above, some of them waved at the adolescents.
"You two need to come with us." The water dragon said in an urgent tone.
The pair didn't leave their stances. "Why should we." Cynder growled.
The drake sighed, and gestured with a paw to the dragons above. "We don't have time for this, just come with us right now." Again, neither Silvus nor Cynder moved an inch. "I was sent by Kardia if that helps you."
At that, the pair dropped their defensive stances. "Kardia?" Silvus questioned.
"Yes, now come on." He said, flapping his wings till he was atop the building he jumped off from. Silvus and Cynder hesitantly followed.
Similar to how the pair entered the city, they crossed rooftops, glided across streets, and avoided several guards of Vrochi. They followed the rebels to a more run down part of the city, and into what looked like an abandoned warehouse. Upon entering, there was absolutely nothing but a wide open space. The water drakes started forward until they reached the back of the room, Silvus and Cynder followed, slowly.
He knocked on the wall in a series of complicated patterns, then silence. After a few moments, the wall opened up, revealing another room with several different water dragons in it, Kardia included. She paced back and forth until she noticed their presence in the room.
Silvus immediately went up to her. "You're part of this rebellion? Why?" He said, giving the vibe that he was angry, however Kardia knew better. The same couldn't be said to the water dragons around him.
One of the larger water dragons gripped Silvus' right shoulder. "Back off Messenger." He growled at the green drake.
The Light Messenger, blank faced, immediately grasped the drake's forearm with his right paw and then used his hind legs to do a front flip, bringing the water dragon with him. Halfway through the flip he let go of the dragon and sent him flying into the back wall. Other water dragons attempted to charge him, but Silvus slammed his paws to the ground, freezing their paws.
Silvus then faced the water dragoness, who shook her head at him while he smirked. "That was fun."
"Bringing a Messenger for the Guardians here was a mistake and you know it!" The dragon Silvus threw into the wall said to Kardia. He then got up and started to approach the Messenger again, but stopped when Cynder moved to the green drake's side.
"He can help us." One of the dragons off to the side said, one of the few who didn't charge Silvus.
The Messenger shook his head. "No, I cannot. I am a Messenger for the Guardians, I fight for the Guardians, not against them. Vrochi is indeed the Guardian of Water, therefore I cannot fight for you." Silvus finished looking at Kardia. "I still can't believe you're apart of this." He said, almost with disappointment.
The water dragoness looked at the ground momentarily, then looked up to meet Silvus' gaze. "He has broken many rules the Guardians hold dear." Kardia began, nothing but truth in her hazel eyes. "He has done so many horrible things to our city, he's an overall bad dragon, and...Vrochi is my father."
Silvus raised a scaly brow at the dark blue dragoness. "Then why are you against him?" He asked with curiosity.
"H-he...did something, something horrible...to my mother." Kardia said, her voice shaky all of a sudden.
"Kryma." Silvus murmured, to the ebony dragoness beside him.
"Who?" Cynder whispered to the Messenger.
"Water Messenger..
"Something forbidden both in the Guardian order, and in WaterMount." Kardia said, looking between Silvus and Cynder.
The dark scaled dragoness, felt something for water 'ness, for that, she suddenly enveloped her in a hug. Her armor fortunately didn't make the hug uncomfortable for Kardia nor did it feel awkward, instead, she hugged back, knowing full well that this dragoness had also been through pain.
Silvus didn't hug, he just placed a paw on her shoulder. "And you were born from it." He guessed.
Kardia broke the hug, however Cynder still had a wing over the dragoness. "Yes, but that's not why I'm against him." She said, wiping a tear away with a wing. "He beat my mother as well, and she couldn't do anything about it because she is the Messenger, and he is the Guardian. He did the same to me, but my mother taught me some things, so I was able to avoid some of it."
Silvus gave his water dragoness friend a side hug. "I'm sorry." He said, he then looked up to see all the dragons he froze were still frozen. "Oops, my bad everyone." He snapped his claws and the ice lost it's form, freeing them.
Kardia chuckled, then looked to Silvus. "I don't let it affect me like it used to, but still, he shouldn't be the leader of this city anymore."
The Messenger looked to her, then to Cynder who nodded at the green dragon, who sighed. "Alright." He started. "My personal mission can wait, this Guardian needs to be excommunicated from the order."
The water dragoness instantly shot to the drake and hugged him. "Thank you, Messenger."
"You're welcome." Silvus said, returning the hug, then broke it quickly. "I'll need to speak with a higher up before I can go through with what I have planned."
"What are you thinking Silvus?" Cynder asked, curious to what his idea is.
"I'll need to borrow your crystal." Silvus said.
The ebony dragoness nodded, she then reached into her chestplate and pulled out her calling crystal which was attached to a string around her neck. Cynder reached for the back of her neck and uncliped the bead that held the two pieces of string together. She pulled it off her neck and handed it to Silvus, who winked at her and placed a single claw on his paw in a shushing manner.
"What is that?" Kardia asked, looking closely at the white crystal. "It's beautiful."
Silvus ignored her question then looked up at the dragon who helped him. "Is there a private room I can go to?"
The water dragon nodded and gestured toward a closed door. "Right this way."
"Thanks." He said, leaving the room, the calling crystal grasped in his paw.
Silvus walked down the small hallway and into another room to his left. He looked to make sure no one followed before entering the room. The Messenger walked to the center, sat on his hunches, and grasped the crystal with both paws.
"Klísi" He said to the crystal.
Immediately, the crystal began glowing white, and then a strange image of Gabriel appeared on the crystal. "What is it Cy-ah, Silvus, I see you borrowed Cynder's calling crystal."
"Yes, I need to talk to you." Silvus said.
"What about?" He asked.
"Vrochi is no longer fit to be the Guardian of Water and I need your permission to take away his Guardianship." The Messenger of Light said.
Gabriel raised a scaly brow. "This isn't the first time I've questioned his ability to be a Guardian."
"I am aware." Silvus responded.
"Of course you are." The Guardian said shaking his head. "I trust your judgment, I did mold it after all. Say this phrase and his Guardianship will be stripped of him, me adeia apo to Kyrio for, and kalo tin kidemonia sas."
Silvus nodded. "Thank you Master."
Gabriel smiled momentarily, then his distorted image disappeared and the glow faded to a dull light. The Messenger stood up on all fours and returned to the previous room. Upon entry, several of the dragons that were present before had left, leaving the dragon that brought him here, the drake he threw into the wall, Kardia, Cynder, and a few others.
The two adolescents sat talking with one another, then immediately stopped when Silvus entered. "I can take his Guardianship away and whatever power he holds, both political and elemental. After that, you guys are free to take him down and no one can stop you."