"The lingering phantom in our mind is not an external force; it is what we created with our own emotions and thoughts. It is scarier than any beast and as real as any physical pain."

:: CHAPTER 1 [When The Dead Meets Awoken Dragon] ::

The once great castle of the Esperica Dragons had long since fallen; torn by raids and war of which left the dragons of this tribe all but extinct. The few that had managed to survive the harsh series of events either went into hiding or died many years later. The dragon heir, however, was cursed by the infamous Golden Banshee and for 600 years he lay in stone, awaiting the day his imprisonment would come to an end.. at a price.

As the Shikon Jewel shards scattered across the country the stone began to crack before crumbling all around the frozen frame of the heir. The rocks fell and landed on the ground with loud thumps as his outstretched hand slowly twitched, flexing into a fist before opening carefully. His head bent down as the body was finally free from its stone prison for all those years.. though his perception of time was not yet noticed.

"Mmm.." His throat vibrated with the first sound he had made since his imprisonment as his eyes opened, peering into the darkness of the room. In the falling darkness he could see, his eyes adjusting faster than most demons despite disuse.

"What.. happened.." His throat was so parched as he whispered this question to himself. As he was gaining awareness a void seemed to present itself to him as his brows furrowed. "Who.. am I.." He, for the first time in so long, was free now to think, to feel, and yet he could not seem to remember just who he was.. his name.. his life.. or what had happened to him.

He slowly stretched his body, peering around what looked like a destroyed room; the walls were wild with moss and from the feel of it he must have been underground. An unlit torch hung on the wall and he moved to it, reaching up and tugging it down. It lit upon his touch and he blinked, his red eyes stared intently at the fire..

Laviel was awake..

His free hand pressed against a wall as he braced himself, touching his forehead against the wall in an effort to reorient himself. He was dizzy, he felt extremely weak and it was as if he hadn't eaten in such a long time.. he was so very, very.. hungry. How long had it been since he had consumed some form of food?

He pushed away from the wall, swinging the torch around as he looked for a way out; there, stairs! He moved to them, climbing them with cautious steps. The stairs were broken in areas, chunks of rocks resting on one occasionally, the walls on either side were cracked as if struck repeatedly.

He climbed further before coming out into what he presumed was once a grand room; it's wide spacious flooring providing ample room for guests in the past. Maybe even parties or celebratory events.. or perhaps meetings. Laviel could see the sunlight peeking in from outside. He moved to a wall, wincing as he felt something inside his body crack, a rib or something. Was he injured before he had been turned to stone?

"I wonder who.. lived here.." He began to trek through various rooms, noticing the ruined state as he passed each room. Some held bones, some held melted pieces of armor, some held crushed and broken furniture. Judging from the state someone had once lived here.. but so long ago it seemed. "This place must have been.. abandoned." He surmised as he paused in what was once a weapons room; racks bare of crafted pieces and torn up.

"Strange.. this place feels.. familiar."

Laviel turned from the weapons rack room, leaving it with a brisk walk as he studied the next few rooms he passed, the empty destroyed states of each tugging at phantom strings of memories buried deeply.

He couldn't place why this ruin seemed familiar.. or why he had been trapped in stone for however long here. He staggered then, his leg buckling as he collapsed onto his knees, his vision blurring. He took a few seconds to orient himself before forcing himself to rise. His ribs ached like a ghost injury despite that, as he pressed against the area, he didn't feel any broken bones. His body was already mending the wound that had been preserved in stone with him.

He began walking towards the doors then, throwing them open, sharp sunlight glaring down at him. The ruins beyond this room had grown up with grass and moss, trees blossomed above and it was clear from the ruins themselves a great battle had been fought. It left the buildings scarred, broken, destroyed, this place a mere shell of former glory.

Laviel flexed his fingers almost.. nervously, but it was not nerves that he felt. He was confused, lost and even a little spooked. He had woken from a stone entrapment for who knows how long.. in some dingy little basement room at a castle he felt was familiar but he couldn't place. Not forgetting his memories seemed to have been jumbled.

His nose twitched as did his ears, his eyes narrowing at the various noises he could hear from his perch in the shadows. A sash he wore at his waist was the markings of the Esperica, a proud red and white dragon detail etched with gold lining on a silver and black cloth material. The symbol of the heir specifically.

Phantom memories danced at the back of his mind, just out of reach and grasp, taunting him with whispers and voices he could not quite recall.

Judging his trapped state in the castle basement, the expensive nature of his garbs and his own gut instinct.. he was betting on being part of this extinct tribe. He peered down at his attire, his form, tugging at his own long white hair, at the fur on his kimono.

He lifted his gaze, stepping into the light of the outside world, allowing it to show his full appearance. He was tall, roughly 6'1.

His red eyes flicked to the distance of a building half caved in, a particular set of bones half jabbed into the very walls where a dragon must have been nailed to and killed or vice versa.

A word filtered into his mind as he stared intently at the old half broken symbol of the castle, stepping down the stairs and onto the soil below. "I have this.. notion that in the past.. I was once called 'Lav'." He muttered to himself. The nickname had been a term of endearment from his mother; she would always say it in a way that resembled 'love', with a little accent on the word.

He turned, peering almost.. sadly towards the ruined castle situated behind and around him, the ruins once a home to him in memories he could not recall presently. Phantoms lingered at the edges of his peripheral and it caused a frown to tug down his lips. "I must discover who I am.. I will dig for clues to my past." He turned away from the sunlight and outside world, walking carefully back towards the stairs that led up into the main room of the castle.

He moved up the stairs, entering the building before moving towards a room he did not enter.. saving it for last. A grand room tucked into a corner of the building was blocked by a broken door. He kicked it in, stepping into the room to evaluate it. Grand pictures were half burned on the walls, revealing the etchings of former leaders to this tribe of old.

As he lurked among the fallen trinkets and mess he discovered a few things. The dragons that had lived here valued colors of blue, red and gray for most of the things he could find were in those colors. He discovered a scroll tucked into a crook in a crushed wall, tugging it open to reveal writing. Despite his lack of memories he was able to relatively read it, his muscle memory kicking in.

"Hm.." The scroll was a letter, a document depicting several things that granted him some awareness.

Laviel. That was his full first name. In this document it revealed to him who his father was; Trav'legur, the mighty Dragon Harbinger and Dragon King, his mother Beladriva, the Golden Mistress, and that he was the Esperica Dragon heir.. a lonely title that was, with no tribe to lead..

He closed his eyes, pressing his forehead against the scroll as tears trailed down his cheek despite his denying them.

He stared there for a little while to collect himself.

A few hours later Laviel wandered outside, the setting sun shining down upon the central courtyard as he examined it. The once great water fountain was broken, a mass of moss inside and ringing along the outside and edges. The tree just beside the fountain had creeping ivy moving up the bark and along the branches.

His eyes lifted to the tower that was half collapsed, the bones of a long dead dragon embedded into the stone.

A frown creased his lips before he let out a sigh, getting an idea of what had happened. "You were all slaughtered.. and I remain. I am the heir to this once great.. Esperica Dragons.. a people I do not remember.. a home I do not recall. A family I don't even know and will never meet now." As if unbridled, a tear slid down from his left eye, having escaped without his permission, without actual physical feelings. A phantom memory drawing forth this response to the thoughts he was enduring.

He didn't remember.. and because of it he had to discover himself again.

"My.. name.. is Laviel." He closed his eyes as he tilted his head back, feeling the sun warming his cheeks, a soft breeze rustling long white hair.

He sensed someone.. someone coming closer. A powerful demonic aura enveloped the castle grounds as he opened his eyes, glancing towards the source.

A tall man was walking into the courtyard, two tails of fur trailing behind his frame as he walked. The fading sunlight above cast his shadow long and from the silvery strands of hair and his very yoki Laviel could tell this man was a higher breed of yokai.

As the man came closer, clearly moving towards him as Laviel stood relatively out in the open in the courtyard, Laviel blinked in confusion. He wondered just who this person was. "You.." The man's crisp voice said softly, the wind carrying his voice. "I.. didn't expect you to still be alive." The man's tone was speechless.

Laviel's brow furrowed. "Do I.. know you?"

The man stopped a few feet from him, a soft smile on his face. "Are you not Sofira Esperica?"

The young dragon felt his eyes narrow. "The Esperica people must have been wiped out. I am all that remains. My name is Laviel."

The man's golden eyes turned sad as he looked away. "I.. see.. You must be one of his descendants." He turned back towards Laviel, a sad smile on his face.

"I suppose, since apparently I was the heir before I was turned to stone for who knows how long. According to a scroll my father was Trav'legur and my mother Beladriva. Perhaps those names are familiar to you?"

The man hit one palm with the fist of the other hand, giving a wide grin. "Yes, I recall your father. Little Trav'legur was but a young dragon when I met him. Sofira was his father, that's how I know that dragon. That would make him your grandfather."

Laviel tilted his head slowly. While he didn't recall the people, his family, he was certain the name was familiar, like a ghost in the back of his mind plaguing him. "They're all dead, from my understanding. Did you mistake me for my grandfather?"

"Yes, you look similar to your grandfather; he was a friend of mine a long time ago." The man said with a sigh, running a hand over his silvery hair. His golden eyes seemed to sparkle with remembrance. "I'm looking for the forge master Totosai."

Laviel shook his head. "I do not know this.. Totosai-" He said, testing the name on his tongue. "-I don't really know anything aside from what little I have learned since I awoke. I must have lost my memories at some point."

"You don't recall what happened?" The man asked with a quirk to his brows.

"I do not.. I was in stone, that was how I found myself upon waking.. and I'm assuming during that time my tribe was slaughtered. Or before. I do not know." Laviel carefully explained. His lack of answers was grating.

"Perhaps you can join me, rediscover yourself in the process. No point standing around this-" The man gestured around the ruins with a clawed hand. "-ruined castle."

"I.. get the feeling I can trust you.. but.. who are you?"

The man gave another smile, a soft chuckle escaping him. "My name.. you may call me Toga."

"Toga.. a strong name." Laviel gave a nod. "I do not mind getting out of here, there's no one left anyway."

Toga merely turned, starting to walk. "Let's go then." He paused a few feet ahead before turning and holding up a hand. "Let me change into an altered version of my true form. We can travel faster to see my friend."

Laviel watched as Toga's form began to melt away into a mist, growing in shape before a massive house-sized white dog stretched it's paws before him. Its mouth opened with a wide yawn before turning its head towards the dragon. He crouched slowly, eyeing Laviel for him to proceed. Laviel took this as his sign before climbing up onto the fur of the beast, resting against the back of his neck and getting comfortable before patting the fur.

Toga stood fully, shook his fur for a second before dashing forth, pushing off to take to the sky. They flew across the sky, using the clouds as coverage to hide while using the wind to their advantage. Laviel clung to the fur, tucked low so the wind wouldn't strike him as they flew.

They were heading toward the home of Totosai.