Chapter 25

"It takes less courage to criticize the decisions of others than to stand by your own."

- Attila the Hun

"So she has been taking care of you since we got separated and she is also the person that healed my wounds?" Malefor asked, her tone suspicious. Cynder nodded for the tenth time, getting fed up with her sisters interrogation.

After Gwenhwyfach had entered the building, Malefor had subjected her to an endless spray of questions, and right now she had repeated the same question for the tirth time. Normally it wouldn't have bothered Cynder. Her sisters resistance to open up or trust other people had saved them many times before, although also doomed them sometimes. Rhyddrech could attest to that. It had been their defence meganisme and as such it wasn't that bad.

Now however, it was getting to a ridiculous point. Gwenhwyfach was clearly uncomfortable, and her eyes were constantly looking at Cynder in a silent plea for help. The small healer who had never seen real battle before could not stand the ruthless gunfire of questions made by Cynder's sister, and it wouldn't take long before she would try to run.'s

"Mally. If you ask Gwenhwyfach one more question, I will give you an answer personally. Leave her alone." Cynder scoffed. Malefor seemed like she wanted to protest, but one big ugly stare was enough for her to shut up. A sisterly stare was more lethal than a spear sometimes.

"Thank you." Gwenhwyfach whispered, a small sigh of relief coming through her tense voice. But Cynder wasn't done yet. She had questions too, and although she would be much more calm about it, she still needed to ask them.

"So, Gwenhwyfach. Can you tell me why you came?" she asked as soothing as she could. The healer looked at her for some seconds, before nodding, the reality of her actions only now dawning on her.

"I..I…I just couldn't let you guys die. I mean…. Something inside of me just refused to stand there while Drest made you guys out to be all sort of things. It just seemed so unfair."

Agilulf snorted.

"Seems like something the old bugger would do. Typical."

Gwenhwyfach frowned at this.

"Have you met him before?"

"Yes. He was the one who imprisoned me here a couple of years ago. I could have talked my way out of it, but then this cunt entered the room and just started making up lies about me and Galvano ate it up like it was candy. If it wasn't for some good luck, I would have probably been here for the rest of my life. "

A shocked gasp came from Gwenhwyfach, followed by two slightly startled looks by the two sisters. Authari only looked away, like he tried to hide his reaction to the story.

"As far as I am concerned, he is nothing but a narcistic prick who thinks he holds the truth of the world between his own two paws. He isn't one to negotiate, and personally, I prefer it that way. Gives me an excuse to repay him for the time I served."

Gwenhwyfach seemed to cower away a little after hearing the clear threat in Agilulfs tone. Hostility wasn't something she usually received, being the healer of the village. She helped people, and they repaid her graciously for her services. Not this guy though. But she had an idea.

"If you really want to escape, you can always use the underground tunnels. They run under the whole town, and I think this house is right above one of the underground caves. It wouldn't hurt to try, right?" she tried to say in a confident voice. She failed miserably though, but Agilulf had listened .

"Of course. Why didn't I think about this before. We can just…."

An enormous explosions shook the house they were occupying. Dust and wood flew around the room, followed by the smell of fire.

"Drest is attacking? Is our time already up? " Gwenhwyfach whispered, shock clearly in her voice.

"Probably not. I guess the bastard didn't want to wait any longer. But that's a question for another day. All of you, start digging. Maybe we can survive this night."

A gust of wind flew around the burned down trees and broken homes. Drest was getting agitated. Here he was, his town in flames, children dead in the streets and the tribe that he had served in ruins. His forefathers had built this tribe, every rule and tradition being created to serve the people.

They had made this tribe to be the very perfection of a good society, a place that would survive everything only because it was only natural that the perfect society would survive. But now, these parasites had come in his world.

A perfect society cant function when it embraces less than perfect attributes of other cultures, and it deeply disturbed him how fast Gwenhwyfach had fallen for the temptation. But maybe, they had as well.

Their king had chosen, for the first time in history, to make his daughter his successor. His son was a weak bastard. Drest had dreaded the day that these decisions would bring the first cracks in his perfect shell. Not in this fashion though. Even his worst nightmares hadn't imagined what he was seeing at the moment. His tribe had been brought to the edge of extinction within one day.

He had no time to lose. Or he saved the tribe now, or he accepted that every single thing his ancestors fought and died for was for nothing. Drest began to tremble. What was happening to his tribe? The place where he and so many others grew up, the place that gave him the values and ideas he so cherished and the life he enjoyed so much. What right did these uncultured outsiders have to enter his land and to destroy every single thing the Withwara had worked so hard for?

It pained Drest to realise that it would never be the same again. His tribe was literally and figuratively in ashes. Their army was devastated. Only one of the neighbouring tribes needed to hear this news, and the Withwara would be history. Drest couldn't let that happen, but before he would be able to solve that problem, he needed to rid the land from another ill first.

"Attack."

The surrounding warriors glanced unsure of what their high-priest meant. Hadn't he promised the fugitives more time? Hadn't he taken a vow before the gods to never lie? What was the worth of his leadership if he even couldn't uphold honour and promises? Drest, noticing the somewhat confused stares, lifted his paw, pointing at the destroyed house.

"Their, in that building that our ancestors build, are six monsters. They brought everything that happened today upon us. They raped our children, annihilated our homes and murdered our women. They even tempted one of our own to join their twisted goals. All the blood spilled on this day is on them. Lets pay them back."

The ground seemed to shake when all warriors joined in union in an enormous battle cry. Traditions and trustworthiness could go to hell. This was for their children, their women, their brothers, their lands. A drastic situation called for drastic measures. As if they were a wave of scales and weapons, the remaining warriors stormed at the building, the first dragons crashing through the roof and breaking through the walls in a bloodthirsty rage for vengeance.

Drest could only shout with them, the atmosphere making his blood boil. All this spirit made him feel like he was back on the battlefield. A warrior spirit rose within him, and he quickly made his way to the house as well, his many piercings and body modifications making him a creepy demon-like figure to behold. A small smile was coming on his face. He was going to do it.

This night could still end in glory. His breath could stuck in his throat though when he saw his troops halted. Pushing his way through his men, he finally reached the front, only to feel this blood boil.

"By my ancestors.." he whispered, his eyes looking right at the hole in the ground before him. It wasn't deep, but it seemed like their targets had gotten lucky. They were right above the ceiling of one of the underground chambers and they had fallen through it. By now, they were gone, somewhere in the endless tunnels under the city.

"What do we do now , your highness? " one of the bystanding warriors asked. Drest, as if possessed, grabbed the warrior by the throat and threw him in the hole.

"Find them." He hissed, his eyes filled with an almost primal rage. The warriors followed his order, and one by one they spread through the underground halls. Some became nervous when they felt Drest his glare upon their necks.

"They will not survive this night."

"Where to?" Cynder yelled. Right now, they were flying through the underground caves and halls, trying to find a way out. To Cynder and Malefor, it seemed endless. No matter how many turns they took or how many new passageways they found, there came no end to the underground halls.

"To the left." Gwenhwyfach desperately screamed, her voice slightly out of breath.

"I hope you know what you are doing." Malefor growled.

"Don't worry. Only one more corner and then we can-"

Out of nowhere, an explosion went off right between the five of them, throwing each of them against a wall. Malefor felt a sharp pain shooting through her spine, before she felt the hard ground colliding with her body. Her only recently healed body made her brain overflow with signs that if she went on like this, this adventure would be over very soon. While trying to stand up, Malefor glanced to where the explosion came from, only to realise that they were surrounded.

Everywhere she looked, a Withwara warrior hovered or stood, their eyes focused on them with a burning furiosity. And that's when Malefor recognised the high-priest, this so called Drest. Now they were in deep trouble.

"You have trespassed in our lands, destroyed our wall, burned our houses and slaughtered our families. Why?" the priest's voice's flew through the hall.

"We didn't do anything, you moron. We where locked up." Authari screeched, slowly standing up as well. Cynder, in an attempt to save the situation, tried to reason.

"We mean you no harm."

Drest's eye-ridge flew upwards at this, as if he was surprised, although he was clearly doing it mockingly.

"Really? You weren't here to kill us? Then tell me, purple beauty, why you left this disgusting beast alive."

One motion of Drest his paw made two warriors stand aside, revealing the knocked out body of Cleph. All eyes now turned to Malefor. What was she going to say? Why did Cleph still live? Malefor knew she couldn't really answer those questions. What explanation would suffice? She could never explain to the people around her why she needed Cleph alive. They would never understand, and honestly she didn't understand it all herself.

How could she justify sparing a murderous maniac, only to satisfy her own knowledge. Was her background really worthy of risking many and many new deaths for? How many more had to die for nothing more than her own peace of mind. It was egotistical, self-centred and entitled, but she didn't really care. She had cared enough about what others thought of her, and she certainly didn't care about what this random priest thought of her.

"We owe you no explanation." She calmly said, to everyone's shock.

"No explentation?" Drest hissed.

"You mean to say that after decimating my tribe, causing every single house to burn down and finally sparing the one person that is the head-culprit in this whole predicament, you still think you can decide what happens to him? You think you are still in a position to decide what we can and cant know? How arrogant." He growled.

"Say what you want. I don't care. You can go to hell for all I care." Malefor barely heard the gasp of Gwenhwyfach, and the sigh of Cynder. She wasn't going to let this pretentious asshole order her around. She wasn't taking orders. Not anymore.

"You are beyond redemption." Drest said.

"We all are. Right now, I only want that white dragon in my clutches, so stand aside and you may live."

Drest seemed to think about these words, before shaking his head.

"You know why I can't let you do that."

Malefor nodded.

"I understand."

"Then lets fight to the death. As a warrior and a priest, that is all I can ask." Drest said sternly. Malefor only nodded again. She wasn't afraid. This guy would be a piece of cake.

Malefor shot a fire ball at the priest. Unsurprisingly, he dodged it effortlessly. From the corner of her eye, Malefor noticed the claw extensions on his paw. She made a mental note to get herself one of those hen she left the place. Drest didn't wait for another strike, choosing to attack himself. An explosion before Malefor clouded her vision, followed by Drest jumping through the dust. She had seen this technique before though, and headbutted the high priest hard.

A groan of pain was all she heard. Without hesitation she grabbed the triangular piercing the hung out of the elder dragons nose, and yanked it out. An loud growl of pain followed, accompanied with the noises of ripping flesh and breaking bones. Blood began to squirt on Malefor, but it didn't bother her. The opposite actually. A primal excitement began to build in her. As if the old dark master returned, she felt her senses heighten and her bloodthirst rise. This guy wasn't going to live to see another day, but she wouldn't make it easy on him to die. He had been to rude and condescending for such mercy.

Drest had by now chosen to take to the air, one paw clutching his ripped open nose in a vain attempt to stop his blood from pouring out of the hole. He wasn't fast enough though. Malefor grabbed one of the many iron rings decorating his tail, and pulled the high priest back down. One flick with his wrist forced the silver circular jewel to turn, breaking the tail bone which they encased. Another yelp was all Drest could do before Malefor broke off one of his horns, and after a last bone piercing scream, she held the horn above the high priest his head, as if thinking about sparing him.

"Any last words?" Malefor asked with an insane tone in her voice. When Drest opened his mouth to answer, he was shocked to find the horn shoved down his throat. A crack was all it took for the horn to pierce and destroy his neck and vocal chords. Blood began to poor out of his mouth and throat, suffocating him. A few spasms where all that it took, before his body became still, leaving the whole cave in silence.

"Mally. You did it again." Cynder whispered in shock.

And so, the whole cave system collapsed.

Tenebris' gaze travelled through the room. The time had come. Finally.

Warfang would fall. A small sigh escaped his lips, his eyes closing themselves. He could feel the cold morning wind fly over his face, his scales trembling under this force of nature. It made him feel..humble of sorts. It was an almost comforting feeling that even with all the power he now held, there were still things outside his reach that he would never be able to control. As if the world itself had put restrictions upon what simple beings like he could do.

Tenebris chuckled a little at the thought. He had long since learned that some things were better left undiscovered. And how boring would the world be if dragonkind would be able to conquer it all? It would probably end in yet another thing for them to fight over. Another means to oppress the vulnerable. They wouldn't get the chance though. He wouldn't allow it. And now, he had finally made the last step to that plan.

After Warfang, there was not much to liberate and conquer anymore. The northern Ice tribes would wilfully surrender, motivated by the cowardice that marked their people, and the Artisan empire would collapse under its own aristocratic pressure. The swamp tribes wouldn't be any better off. As far as Tenebir his last messages went, Cleph had been seen within the swamps. He would probably reduce everything there to ash.

It would be a reminder for those who chose to oppose progress. It somehow saddened the dark master. Some people just couldn't let go of these ancient and tribal ideals. Honour, the motherland, status, prestige, one nation, putting "your own" people before others. It were all just silly ideas that had been pumped into the brains of generations of dragons, and now it was his job to clean up the decennia of rubbish left in Pharamond's wake. He wouldn't fail though. He couldn't fail.

"The attack has begone, my lord."

Tenebris opened his eyes, now looking at the black body of his new apprentice, Thrasamund. Her black body shone like a dark diamond, her beautiful scales giving her the appearance of a true goddess of the dragons. She truly was something special.

"Perfect, my dear. Absolutely perfect."

Thrasamund bowed, before seemingly walking backwards outside the building. Tenebris was a little taken aback by her directness and almost robotic way of doing things. He had an idea though.

"Wait. As my new apprentice, I want to teach you something for when you go into battle."

Thrasamund seemed to freeze, as if the ancestors themselves had touched her with their grace.

"What would that lesson be, king of kings?"

Tenebris chuckled a little at her new honorary title for him. Good old Thrasamund. She still had so much to learn.

"Do you now why I let you kill Hilderic?"

Thrasamund seemed slightly confused at the question, as if she suspected this to be some kind of test. Her eyes narrowed in thought, before slowly answering.

"Because he was a coward."

Tenebris sighed a little. It amused him that Thrasamund still couldn't think beyond those easy honour principals, but it also disappointed him. Even after all these years it seemed like Thrasamund wouldn't be able to move past her upbringing. Tenebris had found her and her brother on the day of his exile from the guardians. He came across them as street kids, probably left to fend for themselves by their poor parents in the slumps of Warfang.

They had once been innocent, but this cruel world had taken that from them. They were corrupted. Products of a greedy and unfair society who supported the strong and broke the weak. It had enraged him then and it still somewhat enraged him to this day. But he was going to make this right. He was going to make it so the world would never know any more like creatures Thrasamund. She, her brother, his generals, Spyro and so many others were the last of a dying kind, not able to live in the new coming world. They would either break, or they would go down in history as relics of a barbaric age of ignorance. He wasn't there yet though. There still much left to do.

"No, my dear. He may have been a coward, but he was efficient. I could have easily used him in the future. He may have seemed convinced of himself, but in truth he would have been easily broken."

"Why kill him then?"

"To prove a point. To let my wants go. I wanted him to live, but the laws of equality state the same punishments for all, context and consequences be damned. Otherwise I would be a hypocrite, letting my own feelings before the law of the land. This is what I ask of you, my apprentice. When you go into the battlefield, rid yourself of all desire, and most of all the desire to preserve live. We are all equal in death, so who are you to decide who evades it? "

Thrasamund seemed to ponder his words, probably not really getting the meaning behind it. She didn't need to however. Her life as a street thug had learned her that thinking about words to long only meant death.

"I am nothing but your servant."

Tenebris sighed again. Thrasamund truly was beyond repair.

"I may hope so, Thrasamund. I may hope so."

Same excuses as last time. Nothing new to say this time.