I was so eager to write this chapter for so long... I hope you will like it as much as I do ^^


Chapter XXXV

The Scar of Torn Wings"

When I opened my eyes, I saw nothing... I was surrounded by darkness, silence and some scent that I think I knew, but couldn't recognize yet. I was lying on my stomach, on something soft... Could it be... could all of this have been a dream? Was I still lying in the bed in the Siracel temple, or worse... in Kaan's mansion?

I shifted to lie on my left side and tried to lift myself a bit. Something rustled beneath me weirdly. I attempted to get up, but suddenly had to moan and fall back onto the bedding. I felt a faint echo of pain in my left wing...

So it couldn't have been a dream... but who saved me then? Was it the owner of this mysterious voice, or maybe it was just my numbed mind that heard it in the cave? But if someone really still lived in this underground, then who was it? And... where in the world was I now?

I looked around once more. My eyes were adjusting to the darkness annoyingly slowly. I could recognize irregular, bright lines, forming some weird shapes above my head... and I suddenly became aware of something. A sound... something reminding me of a deep, calm rush of water, like the waves of the sea hissing gently upon meeting the shore, and then going back again... It became clear to me that it was present the whole time since the moment I came to my senses, but I didn't even notice...

I carefully reached out with my hand, searching for anything that could cast some light upon my current situation. My fingers met something soft after a few moments, something very warm and... big. I slowly moved my hand across the weirdly irregular, but smooth surface. My curiosity rising, I shifted closer and tried to prop myself on my left elbow... and my wing caught on to something and a pain shot through it, sharp enough to make me unable to hold back a short scream.

"You shouldn't get up," I suddenly heard, when I slumped back, trying to catch my breath. It was this calm, female voice again... it was clearer and louder than ever before, resonating much closer, almost like right next to me... I closed my eyes, terrified that I was losing my consciousness again. It could have been just the echo of a hallucination in my head...

"Who are you...?" I whined. "I remember your voice... you were there, in the crypts of the Siracel temple..."

"I was not there," a hint of amusement reverberated within those words. "But it's kind of you that you memorized it."

"Where am I...? And why is it so dark in here...?"

"Well... I'm afraid that you could get really scared if I let some light reach you."

"Get scared? Of what...?"

"Of me."

I fell silent for a second, blinking. "Then who... who even are you...?"

For a moment, there was no answer, which made me think she left me alone with a riddle to solve. But soon enough, the voice spoke up again. "Even if I told you... I don't think you would believe."

I heard some rustle above my head, strangely similar to the one I heard from the underground tunnel that I never reached after falling into the lake. It seemed like something was moving right above me... And suddenly there was a light so bright that I was forced to squeeze my eyes shut and shield them with one hand. When finally, after a few long moments, I was able to open them again, the only thing I could do was take a loud, bewildered breath.

I was lying in an monstrous cave, bathed in the rays of the sun that stood high in the clear sky, coming in through a vast opening in the dome. A big part of it, partly shielded by an overhang, was covered in a thick layer of hay, forming something that resembled a nest. I was resting in the very middle of it, and right beside me, or rather around me, coiled into a loose ball, laid...

... a dragon...

A real, enormous, golden dragon, watching me with worry in its wise, molten eyes and sheltering me with one of its wings, bigger than my own at least ten times. Or rather it wasn't a dragon... it was a dragoness... who lowered her huge head towards me and purred quietly: "Did you lose your tongue?"

She should have asked if I lost my breath. It took me a few moments before I started to feel an unpleasant stinging in my chest, and my head signaled me with slight spinning that something was wrong. I came to my senses and sucked in a desperate breath. Closing my eyes again and covering them with my hand, I just breathed for a while. "So this is some sort of dream after all...?" I moaned.

"Do you feel like you're in a dream?" she countered gently.

"I see... so the dragonnes sent me to the place where Vecta once sent the dragons..."

"I swear, I never understood why humans like to complicate things this much," the dragoness was clearly amused. "You always search for the most tangled up path."

I opened my eyes again and hesitantly looked at the fascinating creature lying beside me. She didn't seem to be an illusion... The sun's rays coming from outside reflected off of her dreamlike, golden scales, casting dancing lights onto the rocky walls of the cavern. I realized that it must have been them, that caused the mysterious sound when she was moving... I unmistakably felt the heat of her mighty body, with which she enveloped me like a mother would do with her offspring...

"But that's not possible..." I muttered. "Dragons, they..."

"They didn't die out, Kirito," she interrupted me. "Not all of them." She must have interpreted my bewildered silence as a sign to explain some things, so she continued: "Back then, when all dragons of this land bonded to face our enemy, I was the only dragoness awaiting progeny. It was why I was told to hide in the depths of the Dragon Mountains, in case the worst should happen, and ensure the safety of my children. We wanted to defeat our enemy, but also protect our race... It was horrible... to sit here, where it was safe, while this bloody scenario was being played out there, at the heart of this country... I was listening out for news about the outcome the way humans listen out to the sounds of approaching storm... And the last sign from my brothers and sisters was one of the shards of the Sunrise of Earlindon, sent here with the last spark of their magic, along with a request to wait for the ones chosen by the Last Three Dragons..."

"You were... awaiting progeny?" I finally managed to stammer out. "Where are they?"

The dragoness craned her neck elegantly above my head, pointing her snout towards her rear paws. When I followed her gaze, carefully lifting myself a bit from the hay again, she shoved a layer of the nest aside with the huge spikes on the tip of her tail, revealing two big, yellowish eggs. "Here," I could clearly sense the motherly warmth and pride. "They are waiting for the day when the last descendant of the deranged Caydranth lineage vanishes, so they can hatch safely."

I couldn't hold back a smile. I felt like I just saw a spark of hope... a promise for the future I would never have dared to dream of... My arm was starting to tremble, so I wanted to lie down again, but then... I noticed how close the head of the dragoness was to me now... I unwittingly reached out with a shaking hand and carefully touched the fine scales on her cheek. Her eyes drifted shut...

"You're real..." I whispered in disbelief.

I thought I saw a glint of amusement in her beautiful, molten eye when she opened it again to look at me. "Really, it's so difficult to convince you of anything..."

I suddenly felt myself sincerely believing... All of it kind of made sense. The golden shape I saw before I lost consciousness wasn't the shadow of the last of the dragonnes coming out of nowhere... it was her... And the magic that protected the shard of the Sunrise in the crypts of the Siracel temple, which Heathcliff told us about, were cast by dragons... That's why she could speak to us even though she was here the entire time.

Maybe dragons really did look for some solution beforehand, not only to ensure the safety of other races, but their own as well...? Suddenly, the memory of something Eugeo once told me started to echo in my mind... 'You see, dragons were extremely intelligent, I dare to say, far more than humans. Their magic abilities supposedly gave them the power to see the future...'

I closed my eyes.

I believed...

I felt myself smile, and a single tear rolled down my cheek...

"What's wrong?" I heard the dragoness' concerned voice.

"Nothing..." I wiped it away. I suddenly felt the urge to laugh. "It's just... I feel so relieved... Because that means we are not the Disciples of the Last Dragons. We are not alone..."

"You are not. You had help even before you were born for the protection of this land."

There was a sudden chill running down my spine. I felt like my own words just slapped me in the face. 'The Disciples of the Last Dragons'... If it weren't for the pain in my whole body, I would have just jolted up from the hay.

"Eugeo, Asuna..." I started to look around. "Where are they?"

The dragoness was silent for a few moments. "I'm sorry, but I only found you. If you hadn't caused such a ruckus, I wouldn't even have noticed your arrival. I didn't yet have the opportunity to search for them, I had to take care of you."

"I have to find them!" I tried to get up again, but was once more sent back to the bedding by the sharp pain.

"With a broken wing?" she cooled me down gently.

I froze for a moment. Of course I knew that something was damaged there, but I didn't expect it to be that bad... "But... if they are injured too, if they need help..." I clenched my fists in helpless anger. "It's all Sharish's fault... if he didn't send those unappeased dragonnes..."

"Yes, he sent a whole three of them," the dragoness puffed a small cloud of smoke out of her nostrils, as if wanting to say that such a number is not even worth mentioning. "I don't think you need to worry about your companions."

"Why?"

"Two of those filthy crossbreeds followed you, didn't they? One you took care of yourself. The second, I admit, was trying hard until it met the rocks in the water... and I don't think that the two of them had a big problem with the single one remaining."

"And what if there were actually more? We saw them from a distance, we didn't stop to count them..."

"The enemy often seems to be doubling in the eyes of an escaping warrior."

"Maybe, but they could still be injured... what if they are sitting there somewhere, unable to move, and are hopelessly waiting for help?"

"Oh, I don't think so. I heard them calling you from the deeper caves just yesterday."

I gave her a terrified look. I was afraid to ask, but I eventually did it: "Yesterday... was I unconscious since yesterday? And they are wandering around there for almost two days already?!"

"They will find us sooner or later, don't worry. Besides, it makes no sense to go after them. If we started to search for each other, moving around in a dark, underground maze, we would never be able to meet."

I fell silent and cast my eyes down. And what if Eugeo and Asuna don't reach this place? Would they assume that I died and give up the search? If they left the caves and flew back west, I wouldn't be able to find them so easily, besides, what was I even supposed to do with the broken wing? It was Asuna who always took care of health problems more complicated than 'cleanse it and tie something around it'... And the dragoness couldn't just leave the safety of her hideout to come with me and help, she was protecting a way too precious treasure... I felt so utterly powerless...

"We shouldn't worry about things we cannot influence, Kirito," the dragoness said softly. She was quiet for a moment, then, probably upon seeing the despair in my eyes, she changed the topic to try to pull me away from unpleasant thoughts. "Tell me, what do you plan to do if you collect all the shards of the Sunrise that managed to not fall into Sharish's hands? Do you have any idea for what to do with him?"

I needed stupidly long to understand that question. And when I finally came to my senses, I didn't know how to answer anyway. "To be honest... I don't know. We didn't plan out that far..."

"And the Sanctuary? Did you consider destroying it?"

"Of course... it would make things much easier for us, if only we knew where to find it."

"How come?" the dragoness seemed genuinely surprised. "Isn't the Disciple of Ralethiel, the Blue Dragon someone from the Elkjar Mountains in the North? Someone from the Nitrael lineage?"

Nitrael? If I recalled correctly, that was indeed the name Eugeo introduced himself with to my parents... And Chrysheight did mention once, that my friend was born somewhere in the north... "Well... yes, I guess?" I finally answered, not really knowing where we were heading with this.

"And he didn't tell you anything? He like no one else should have known straight away what the riddle of 'a disinherited ruler' was about."

I suddenly felt the touch of a suspicion. Maybe what the dragoness was trying to tell me, was the exact same thing Asuna didn't manage to reveal before this chaos started? Maybe I would finally get to know why Eugeo behaved so weirdly...

"Why him?" I asked, feeling my curiosity grow by the second.

"So he didn't tell you after all... you will be surprised, but this whole story concerns the royal house ruling Earlindon. And for every puppet allowing itself to be manipulated, there is always a mad human being pulling the tenuous strings."

I was silent. I felt everything in my head slowly getting tangled up and starting to whirl like moths by a candle. But I didn't interrupt. The dragoness continued:

"Long ago, when there was still peace between our race and humans, the family reigning over Earlindon was divided into two houses. After some time, one part of the lineage, called the Fearn clan, separated from the rest of the family and moved to another part of the country, changing the location of the capital at the same time..."

"Fearn?" I repeated quietly, answering the sound of a string that was just plucked inside my memory. "So you mean the family... that I was forced to be a part of for some time..."

"Correct. But I heard that the head of the clan met a suitably violent end recently."

"It's true... but it's strange, while I was in there, I learned a lot about the history of the lineage, but in no book was there ever a second branch of the family being mentioned..."

"I see you are assuming that if someone has written a book, then he knew what he was writing about. I suppose you were provided only with works created specifically on demand of the Fearn family, who above all else wanted to erase their relatives from the pages of history. Luckily someone dared to secretly add the missing verses. I don't know if now, with one of the branches having died out, the second will claim their rights... all the more because there still is the..." she gave me an amused look, "son of king Oberon, an exceptional herb in the royal garden, who's chasing dragonnes around Earlindon and experiencing all kind of other episodes exciting for a young man..."

I sighed in irritation. Even she had to remind me of that... I suddenly felt the dragoness slightly spread her enormous wing above me once more and leaning her head closer to me. "Forgive me, this joke was misplaced," she soothed gently.

I took a deep breath and steered the conversation to another path: "How do you even know about all this? You've been hiding here all this time, haven't you?"

"That's true, but I was able to sometimes trace your steps using the same kind of magic that was used in the crypts of the Siracel temple. I didn't do it often, I was afraid that one of you would eventually notice as your understanding of magic grew, especially the heiress of Yrvanyss... but luckily, I was able to maintain the element of surprise."

"But returning to the topic..."

"Yes... maybe I should start from the beginning... Long ago, still during the times of Vecta, the capital of Earlindon was located in Hreshia, or as some call it, The City of Peaks, which lies far in the mountainous north-east. The royal family lived in peace and harmony over there, until the day when Vecta discovered something of great interest to him there... He found an ideal spot to create the Sanctuary of the Dawnguard, a place on the border of two worlds, where he could count on the watchful eyes of his dark confederates."

"Dark confederates?"

"Yes. Hreshia conceals the entry to Heiserth, the underground kingdom of drows, or dark elves, as some call them."

I blinked. "Since when do elves live under the earth?"

"Oh they were living there before your race even got to know the other, forest elves. They are not evil by nature, like some would assume, but it's far easier to convince them to do evil. And Vecta apparently knew well how to do that and gain their favors. He also ingratiated with the royal family, and secretly built the Sanctuary in the castle's dungeons."

"Why did he have to do it in secret? I thought the Caydranth mages were highly respected back then."

"Yes, but there were unhealthy ambitions already smoldering in Vecta's soul. With the help of drows, he planned to seize rule over the capital, and then probably over the whole country. He was patient... over a few years, he worked to earn an unshakeable trust from the king, the head of the Fearn line. Once he was certain of his position, he made sure that shreds of true information started to reach the ears of the other clan's head. The brother of the king reacted immediately, and tried to warn his kin about the deceitful snake lurking at his side. At that moment, Vecta talked a suspicion into the mind of the king, that his brother desires to start a conflict and seize the throne, which the king unfortunately believed. I suppose Vecta was hoping to start a war between the two feud sides and lead to their destruction, which would leave him the freedom of taking their place and the access to the Sanctuary."

"For a madman, he seemed to think rather logically..."

"Unfortunately. But the events took another turn. The king officially disinherited his brother and all his descendants, and decided to start a new chapter of Earlindon's history. Together with his own family, he moved to Ioreth and took all pains to make sure the memory of his rebellious relatives vanished without a trace. The disinherited brother however, vigilantly stayed in the old capital, guarding the access to the Sanctuary and preventing drows from gaining too much power and threatening the city. And after all those years Sharish, who wasn't yet certain enough about his powers to take action on his own, refreshed the acquaintanceship with the ruling house and convinced Oberon to search for one of the Disciples, the presence of whom he suspected somewhere near the capital..."

"Who would have thought that even after Vecta's death, his deeds brought so much evil..."

The dragoness sighed, causing the hay to rustle. "Once, it was a wonderful family of powerful mages, but... well, some trees are able to grow only to a certain height, then they start sprouting wild shoots. I had a feeling it was always in their blood. It just became evident now because Sharish decided to not hide anymore, and instead of spreading chaos by whispering poisonous words from the darkness, he picked up a sword..."

"I see... So... now that the royal lineage has died out, shouldn't the other branch try to take over the throne? I think that according to law, if the king dies childless, a disinheritance can be considered invalid..."

"That's true, however I'm deeply worried that the rule of the other clan could not be acknowledged after what the Fearns did. The people of Earlindon are convinced that there were no other royal family members. Besides... a few years ago, the head of the other clan reached the end of his life in Hreshia. He left an adult son behind... but that boy is currently doing the same reckless things the successor of the Fearn line is busy with..."

I frowned slightly, and then heard myself take a sudden, cut short breath. "Wait..." I stammered. "But that means..."

"Yes," the dragoness gave me a serious look. "All this time, you were accompanied by the rightful ruler of Earlindon."

That was too much. "But that doesn't..." I muttered. "Who in their right mind would let the rightful successor of the throne venture out into the wild knowing how important he is for the country..."

The dragoness sighed again. "Eugeo ran away from Hreshia shortly after he learned that he is one of the Disciples. He set out to find the Dracascarion, you, and finally Asuna..."

I didn't want to listen to it any longer. I was afraid to believe her words, but for some reason I still believed. All of it fit together somehow... explained Eugeo's behavior in the past few days, or basically since the day we started to search for clues about the shards and the Sanctuary... It explained his vast knowledge about various topics, his usually composed, almost courtly behavior, his skill with the sword... I believed, but couldn't comprehend...

Why didn't he say anything? He knew almost everything about me, Asuna was able to reveal her past to us as well, so why couldn't he...? What's more, if he told us straight away where the Sanctuary was located, it would have spared us a lot of trouble, maybe would even have saved Ioreth... And above all... if he was the rightful successor of the royal family, why couldn't he intervene? Why did he allow the agonizing charade of young master Kazuto to continue without hindrance...?

"Please don't cry..." I suddenly heard the worried voice of the dragoness.

I raised my eyebrows and wiped at my eyes with the hem of my sleeve. I didn't even notice when tears started to drip from them. I must have reached my limit... Somewhere in the distance, a sudden sound of a thunderstorm came to life, reaching the cave with a still soft murmur. The sound resonated among the summits with a metallic echo...

Then, for some weird reason, a question appeared in my mind. One that should have started irking me way sooner. I wiped my cheeks dry at last and lifted the wing with which I unwittingly covered myself. The huge head of the dragoness was close to me once again, the molten eye watching me with concern.

"You didn't even tell me your name..." I said hoarsely.

A warm spark appeared in her eye. "My name is Armailith," she answered softly.

I slowly reached out and stroked the scales on her cheek once more. "Thank you... Armailith..." I whispered. "At least you told me the truth..."


There's no other way when it comes to the Truth..."


*yay*

Finally, my beloved dragons enter the scene for real... that took a while huh?

It seems that a lot of people are very confused about the relationship of Asuna and Kaan, so I will take this moment to explain it. I know that them entering a relationship was very vaguely mentioned and I wrote practically nothing about this couple, but it wasn't meant to be a huge topic to expand to begin with. It was just a tiny little subplot (if it can even be called that) that was supposed to bring some more color and the realistic feel to the story. It wasn't meant to have much of a meaning to begin with. I understand why people are focusing on it so much, because Asuna is one of the main characters not only in my story but in SAO as well, so everyone expects it to be something significant. But it's not. It's just something tiny that will not influence the outcome of anything. It was probably my mistake to keep that little plot in there and I'm sorry for confusing you all so much. And I don't know why so many people think that Kaan is some old guy, did I really write that somewhere there? XD He's like maybe two or three years older than Asuna, let's not panic XD

Reviews:

scrambled888: Thank you so much sweetheart, and don't worry about Asuna (Yasenka) too much, she will be more or less fine. I was so excited for this chapter for so long... ever since you said that you can't wait for how I would describe dragons at the very beginning of this journey. And all the more since you told me that they are your favorite mystic creatures. I hope you will have even more fun from now on 3

XxDragonToothxX: Thank you so much, I'm glad to hear that you like the story ^^ Asuna and Kaan didn't get together right on the spot. There were just obvious signs of a crush for Kirito to notice as the days passed, and eventually, yes, they got together. It just never got mentioned nor did I expand the topic because, like I said above, this was never meant to be anything major. Sorry for the confusion. And I really have no idea where you saw the things about Kaan's age, you really have to point me to them, because I can't find anything XD And comparing my story to Inheritance is such a huge complement... thank you. And yes, English is not my first language, I'm translating from the book I wrote in Polish. Thank you for all the praise, I'm starting to blush...

Guest: Thank you for your review and for reading this far. I hope your questions were answered by my rambling above XD

I should stop now, or this will get longer than the chapter itself... Thank you all again for reading, favoriting and reviewing. I hope I will see you soon ^^