Another morning had come in Warfang.

Albanion yawned as he steadily woke up. The first thing he felt was Elza, cuddled up beneath his wing. With a smile, Albanion leaned down and lightly nuzzled the wind dragoness on the forehead; she wasn't about to snooze the day away. Not on THIS day. Elza gave an irritated grumble as her eyes opened up. Albanion flinched just a bit from the way she cast him a deathly glare, but soon he was back to smiling at her.

"You'd better think of a good reason why I shouldn't beat you within an inch of your life." The tired dragoness growled.

Albanion cast the dragoness a sly smirk. "Because then you won't get your present."

Elza balked. She shifted to cast a glance over at the far wall. There it was on the calendar, circled three times by the leader of the Deep Shadows himself. The wind dragoness looked back at him in surprise.

"Th-That was today?" She asked incredulously.

Albanion could barely contain his laughter; oh, she was just too precious. He leaned down and planted a loving nuzzle on her forehead. "Happy Hatchday, my love."

A blush creased Elza's face in just the right way that made her look like the cutest thing in the whole realms. Albanion couldn't help but hug her tightly against his body as he nuzzled the crook of her neck. Elza gave a light gasp as she embraced him.

"You're certainly a lot more loving than you used to be." Elza chuckled.

"I have to make up for lost time." Albanion said as he nuzzled her again. "You don't want me to be as miserable as I was after The Hive fell, do you?"

"Certainly not." Elza mused. She shut her eyes and allowed the poison drake to shower her in a few more kisses. But once she'd had her fill, she lightly nudged him away. "Alright, where's my present?"

"You'll get it soon enough." Albanion laughed. He pulled his wing away from his mate and rose to stand up on the floor of their bedroom.

As Albanion walked across the room, he gazed about at the interior. It was nice and spacious, with all the furniture trappings that an adult dragon needed, he supposed. But what made him happy to be in here were the little imperfections. Bumps on the wall from where he'd hit his head. Little nasty holes burned into the sides from accidental magical spills. And to top it all off, the comically-large post of the Guardians that hid a secret tunnel out whenever he'd been grounded. Albanion swelled with pride; he wasn't sure how this room survived occupation by the Order of Culmubrae. But he thanked the ancestors that it did.

Albanion made his way over to a dresser and pulled open the door. It revealed two sets of dark grey robes; the Deep Shadows' attire. He pulled his robes out of the drawer and quickly twirled them about himself. At once, the magical fabrics broke apart and turned into mist about his body. After a few moments of shivering in discomfort, Albanion looked down to find himself neatly dressed for the day.

"All these years, and I still never get used to that." Albanion snorted.

"Still, it's much more efficient than standing around for an hour trying to get dressed." Elza snorted. She slowly made her way over to put on her own robes. She fell back onto her haunches and shivered as the hood materialized over her head. Once her transformation was done, she stood back up and looked down at her rotund belly.

Albanion followed her gaze and sighed; she was getting so close to the day she laid her eggs. He just couldn't help himself; he stepped over and draped a wing over her back once again to hold her as close as he could. And as he looked over Elza, the sunlight shined through the window in just the right way to make her mane radiant, and her eyes glowing. Albanion shut his eyes and cried; he didn't deserve her.

"Al, what's gotten into you?" Elza asked curiously.

"Oh, you know me…" Albanion pulled back and looked her up and down. "I always get teary-eyed when I think about how I'm going to be a father soon."

Elza gave a little laugh and shook her head. "Well, you'll probably be crying for different reasons when it's time to learn to change diapers."

"Oh, of course I won't." Albanion wiped his eyes and smirked. "You didn't forget about what Elenar's boys were like that then, did you?"

"Forget? Never." Elza laughed. "If anything, I have them to thank for getting me to put off letting you put buns in my oven for so long."

Albanion and Elza laughed together and hugged once more. It was good that they could laugh today after they'd gotten so livid yesterday. It wasn't too long ago when Cyrus was a bright-eyed little youngling, always eager to impress the grown-ups with his magical antics. They were so blindsided when they heard that same boy ranting and raving so viciously from around a corner. Elza was just about to bend Cyrus over against a wall and paint his rump red… but she restrained herself just long enough to let Elenar do it instead.

What's gotten into that prince lately? Elza sighed.

Once he'd finally calmed down, Albanion backed up a bit and smirked at his mate.

"Now, for starters, that present of yours…" Albanion smirked. "Close your eyes first."

Elza just snorted before doing as he asked. Albanion turned around to grasp the bottommost drawer's handle. But as he was halfway through opening it, he spotted Elza's reflection gradually opening her left eye.

"Hey, no peeking." Albanion scolded. "That's an order from your superior Deep Shadow."

Elza gave an overly-dramatic moan. "As you command, my Master."

Albanion scrunched up his face to keep from laughing. He turned back around and fully opened the drawer. There was the gift as plain as day, but Albanion made a show of rummaging through the drawer's other contents. He even went so far as to stick his tongue out and pretend to mutter in frustration. In the mirror, Elza was shifting on her forepaws indignantly; she was never one to handle suspense very well.

Once he'd had his fun of toying around, Albanion finally grasped the Serenity Gem firmly in his talons. He pulled it out, slammed the drawer shut, and turned to present it lovingly before Elza.

"Okay, you can look now."

When Elza opened her eyes, she gasped immediately upon seeing the gem's perfect surface. She delicately put her fingers on the gold chain and held it up into the light.

"It's beautiful!" She exclaimed. "Where'd you find this?"

"Oh I… bought it a while ago." Albanion said only a slight bit of caution. "Do you like it?"

"I love it, Al!" Elza pulled her husband close and planted a kiss on his muzzle. "Thank you!"

Albanion smiled and kissed her back. "Anything for you."

~~…~~

Albanion and Elza made their way casually down the corridors and stairwells of the Dragon Spire. Elza wore the Serenity Gem around her neck and beamed with pride. Along the way, many students stopped to wish the wind dragoness a happy birthday. That would have been fine enough, but then some of the dragon guards on duty found the need to comment positively about her.

"You're looking radiant today, Lady Elza." A wind dragon said with a bow of his head.

"Thank you." Elza smirked. "But not quite as radiant as my husband, eh?"

The guard looked over… and found Albanion scowling his deepest scowl at him. The guard yelped and immediately rose to a militant stance and faced forward with chattering fangs.

"Uh… I d-didn't mean any attempts to woo the Lady Elza, Sir!" The guard exclaimed. "Definitely not chasing after married dragonesses, Sir!"

Albanion blew a bit of smoke from his nostrils. "See that you're not."

The Deep Shadow strode forward down the hall, with Elza following just behind him. Albanion shook his head and snorted.

Albanion and Elza strode into the throne room with heads held high… and then they beheld the dour look on the queen's face as she leaned back in her throne. Wraith and Urobos were in the room with her with similar expressions. Immediately Albanion's smile was gone: something was wrong: Even after being disgusted with Prince Cyrus's recent behavior, the high queen shouldn't have been in such a terrible mood. Albanion rose to his full height and marched forward to come to the aid of his high queen. Elza was much the same in reaction; she even growled a bit in anticipation of dealing with whoever caused Elenar any harm.

"Your Highness!" Albanion exclaimed as he approached the throne. "What's wrong?"

"Wow, good timing, Al." Wraith said incredulously. "I was just about to bring you to Elenar myself."

"Hmm?" Albanion blinked. He looked up at the queen. "You needed me?"

Elenar sighed. She descended from her throne and stepped up to Albanion and Elza.

"First things first…" Elenar stepped up to Elza and bumped her forehead against the wind dragoness's. "Happy Hatchday, Sister."

"Erm… thank you." Elza grimaced. She wanted to accept the hug, Albanion could tell, but Elza lightly pushed Elenar back and frowned at her. "But tell us; what's wrong? What did you need Albanion for?"

"I need you to join Wraith in investigating a crime scene." Elenar said, still dour.

"Crime scene?" Albanion tensed up. "Where? What's happened?"

"Well…" Elenar's lip began to quiver. She took a deep breath and sat back on her haunches. "The Hurricos Hearth has been… burned down."

Albanion's eyes lit up in shock.

"Albanion?" Elza shook his shoulder. "AL, what's wrong?"

"We were just over there last night." Albanion stamped his forepaw. "Everything was fine! And you're telling me that it just… BURNED DOWN?"

"Well, that's what the bar's owner told us." Wraith shrugged his shoulders.

"The owner?" Albanion asked incredulously.

"Sam the bartender." Elenar declared. "He came to us just an hour ago and claimed that he saw several dragons break into his establishment while he was away. And then…" The queen clapped her forepaw and extended it to simulate a little explosion. Albanion grimaced as he tapped his talons on the floor.

"I'll investigate the Hurricos Hearth immediately!" Albanion declared. He turned cautiously toward Elza. "I'm very sorry, love. But the stuff I planned for our day together will have to wait."

"I understand…" Elza sighed. "If I wasn't carrying eggs, I'd do the same thing."

Wraith stepped up and placed a forepaw on Albanion's shoulder. "Alright, without further ado…"

The crimson drake snapped his talons, and he and Albanion vanished in a puff of smoke. Elza frowned as she watched the smoke disappear. She looked over at Elenar, who seemed even more miserable than she.

"I feel like this is my fault somehow." Elenar sighed.

"Oh, don't say that." Elza sat down beside the queen and draped a wing over her back. "Sam has been loyal to you for years." She tapped her talons on the floor. "I'll bet it was those damn Sons of Culmubrae again who wrecked your favorite bar."

"I feel bad for Sam, sure…" The queen sighed. "But that's not what I meant: I didn't anything to happen to distract Albanion from celebrating your hatchday."

"Well, it couldn't be helped." Elza sighed as well. "Albanion is still a Deep Shadow: when he has a job to do, he has a job to do."

"Right…" Elenar stood up a bit taller. "The real kicker is: that's not the only thing that's wrong today." She glanced over at the aged drake to her side. "Tell her what you told me."

"Aye…" Urobos took a deep breath.

"What's happened, Lord Urobos?" Elza frowned.

Urobos took a moment to repeat the events of the horrible visions he'd seen during his mediation. As he described them, Elza's expression became more and more uneasy. She could just barely imagine evil-looking yellow eyes glaring down at her from all sides.

"That's the same face I had when I learned of it." Elenar tilted her head at the way her sister looked sickly. "We've tried to message Dona to try and increase security around Rune…"

"But we've had no luck." Urobos said with a shiver.

"By the ancestors…" Elza bit her lower lip. "Well… is there a possibility that it was just the incense messing with your imagination, my lord?"

"No… No, it seemed too real to be a trick of the mind." Urobos gulped. "Something very bad is going to happen soon, and I don't know how to prevent it."

Elza fell back onto her haunches and shivered a bit; she didn't want to imagine something so wretched coming true. There were some nights when she had trouble getting over the horrible events of the last Night of Eternal Darkness. It was just too much…

Elenar took note of her sister's unease, so she took a deep breath and put on a smile.

"Once all of this is resolved, I'll work double-time to make things up to you." Elenar stood up to her full height. "I already scheduled an elaborate dinner in your honor tonight. Perhaps I can work to make it even better."

"That's… more than enough for me, Sister." Elza said with a brief sigh.

"Hmm…" Urobos tapped his chin. "Maybe I can try not to worry too much, for at least one day. I wouldn't want to ruin your hatchday, Elza." He stood up and fanned his wings. "In any case, I'm going to go about my daily tasks."

"And I have to settle a few disputes amongst some quarreling civilians." Elenar added. "The sooner I get through it all, the sooner I can celebrate your hatchday with you, Elza."

"Well, in the meantime, I'm going to check in on Cyrus." Elza snorted. "Maybe if he's calmed down enough, I'll allow him the privilege of spending time with his favorite aunt for a while… now that I plan to bring an end to his punishment, of course."

"As you wish…" Elenar bowed her head. "Just be safe, Elza."

"I'm in the heart of the Dragon Spire: What could possibly happen to hurt me here?" Elza laughed.

Elza stepped out of the main chamber and made her way down the corridors.

As Elza walked through the Dragon Spire, she watched as the many students made their way up and down its halls. The wind dragoness smiled; it brought back memories of when she was studying with other wind and shadow dragons in the Erebus long ago.

Elza came to a stop, fell back on her haunches, and sighed as she leaned against a stone column. She placed a forepaw on her belly and tapped her talons against it. Even now, she could feel her three little ones shifting about.

"Someday, you little ones will be running up and down these halls." She said quietly. "You're going to be a real hassle for your aunt Elenar, I can tell."

"Ah, Elza…" A familiar voice said nearby. "You'll definitely make for a wonderful mother someday."

Elza flinched. She immediately sprang onto all fours and filled her maw with wind magic. "Show yourself!"

"Temper, temper." The voice said nearby; there was a figure hidden in the shade of the column. "Is that any way to speak to an old friend?"

Elza growled as the purple dragon emerged from the shadows. He came to a stop and put on a seemingly-friendly smile.

"Bergan!" Elza snarled angrily. She turned her head down both sides of the corridor. "Guards! GUARDS!"

"Well, I find that rather rude." Bergan snorted.

"You're in for a world of trouble, you bastard!" Elza snarled at him; she still threatened to strike him with her magic.

"You really shouldn't get so angry; the stress could be a real strain on your un-laid eggs." Bergan scolded. "I think you should just take a deep breath, and spell out your grievances in a calm and sociable-"

Elza swiped at the purple dragon with her talons. But a second later her talons scratched against the side of the column. She howled in pain and pulled back her forepaw; several of the talons were scratched and bent. The wind dragoness held her injured paw against her chest and looked all around; where had the bastard gone?

"Calm down. Seriously." Bergan declared behind her. "I didn't come looking for a fight, old friend."

"We are NOT friends." Elza scowled. She backed up and snarled at him again. "Anyone who hurts Elenar is no friend of mine."

"Hurt Elenar?" Bergan tilted his head. He just scoffed and rolled his eyes. "That's ancient history. I'm here on some different business."

"What are you talking about?" Elza snapped. Her eyes darted left and right; where were those guards she called for?

"I must say; you look very lovely with that Serenity Gem around your neck." Bergan nodded in approval. "Your husband has great taste in jewelry. I should know: I sold it to him."

"What?" Elza balked.

"But that's neither here nor there." Bergan snorted. "What really matters is: what those Serenity Gems can do with the proper training."

"What are you going on about, Bergan?" Elza scowled.

"Well, my dear Elza…" Bergan held his forepaw before himself. "Just see what happens when I do this."

As Bergan snapped his talons, there was a spark of dark-tinted lightning inside the surface of the gem. The spark grew louder and louder, alerting Elza that something was wrong. She immediately reached for the gem to rip it off her neck… only for her talons to stop short inches from the gem's surface. Elza held herself in place for a considerable amount of time.

"Hmm…" Bergan scratched his beard. "Did it work?"

He delicately grasped Elza's chin and tilted it forward. Elza had a blank expression. Her eyes were glazed over, and her breath was almost silent.

"Step forward." Bergan commanded. Elza didn't budge. Bergan grimaced; He waved his forepaw around before her eyes to try and get her attention.

"Hmm…" Bergan tapped his talons on the floor. "Step forward, please."

The dragoness took one step forward and then stopped. The purple dragon couldn't help but laugh.

"Ah, perhaps it worked too well." Bergan wiped a few tears from his eyes. "My mistake…"

Elza looked back at him with that blank face. Bergan's laughter died down, and he fell back onto his haunches with a snort.

"Hmm, I must admit: I liked you better when you talked back." Bergan shook his head. "Well, this is only temporary. I'll give you back your free will soon…" A grin spread across his grin. He grasped the Serenity Gem and casually tucked it down into the collar of Elza's robes.

"But first, there's something I need you to do for me. Please."

~~…~~

When Wraith and Albanion appeared on the street corner, it didn't take long to see the smoke rising from the remains of the Hurricos Hearth. The worst of the flames were extinguished hours ago, but the damage still as clear as day. The civilians living in the surrounding buildings were evacuated by the city guard, while mole firefighters assessed the damage.

"By the ancestors…" Wraith looked around in horror. "What happened out here?"

"That's what we're here to find out." Albanion snorted. "Come on."

"Well, I knew that…" Wraith said defensively. "It's just… Ugh, Nevermind."

Wraith and Albanion quickly dashed down the street to get to the remains of the bar. Already on the scene was Cerulean. The icy drake stood tall as he had several cheetahs carefully extracting the bodies of various dragons from the ruins. The very sight of the charred bodies, coupled with the horrible smell, was more than enough to compel Wraith to heave upon the pavement. Albanion grimaced and stepped away, while Cerulean's ear frills twitched at the noise.

"Oh… hmph." Cerulean sighed. "I should have expected some company."

"Did the queen dispatch you before us?" Albanion asked.

"Not quite." The blue dragon looked about at the carnage. "When I heard that there was a fire, I thought I could arrive on time to save anyone who was critically injured…" He grimaced as he draped a tarp over one of the bodies. "But alas, they were all very much dead by the time I arrived."

"Wonderful…" Wraith said; his face had turned partially green as he looked around. "Oh by the Ancestors, get those bodies to the morgue. I think I'm going to lose my last three lunches at once."

"Wraith, you need to keep your composure." Albanion scolded. "We're in public, and on the job. A Deep Shadow shouldn't show weakness."

"Give me a break, Albanion!" Wraith snapped at the poison drake. "You weren't in the worst of it during those fires in The Hive! You never had to push one of your friends' destroyed bodies off of your BACK to get to safety!"

Albanion flinched, and his eye twitched. He almost growled at Wraith for arguing with him in public… but after another glance at the carnage, it was definitely beginning to look a lot like that fateful night. Albanion just took a breath and stepped back.

"Fine…" Albanion took a deep breath. "But just try to keep some composure. Remember: You're still a Deep Shadow."

Wraith just rolled his eyes. He snapped his talons and channeled a bit of magic to lift one of the bodies into the air, much to the partial relief of a few cheetahs. Meanwhile, Albanion focused on Cerulean as the icy drake continued his own work.

"Cerulean, did any eyewitnesses see anything strange about the bar yesterday?" Albanion demanded.

Cerulean gave a shrug. "Well, from what some have said, there was a panic concerning a white dragon."

"A white dr-?!" Wraith was halfway through shouting before Albanion slammed his forepaw upon his muzzle. The sudden shock nearly dropped the body he was levitating.

"Keep it down." Albanion sneered at the crimson drake. "We don't need a panic to spread about a white dragon. Not after the incident regarding the queen's daughter."

"S-sorry…" Wraith whispered back. When Albanion let go of his face, the crimson drake sighed. "So, what happened to this… dragon?"

"The few witnesses who got a good look said it was a big burly white dragon in thick robes." Cerulean continued. "Everyone fled out of the bar, and a bunch of dark dragons ran in to deal with it…" He looked around and grimaced. "Perhaps a scuffle started, which led to the bar going up in flames."

Wraith's eye twitched; didn't he recall seeing a dragon in thick robes at some point?

"Nobody's sure if they saw the white dragon leave the bar or not." Cerulean said as he looked around. "All I can tell you is that we're still prying bodies out of the ruins. If we find a white dragon, then there you go."

"Then I guess we'd better get to investigating." Albanion nodded.

Albanion and Wraith stepped further into the remains of the bar. Just about everything was burned to a crispy back. Ash was all over the place. There was still some smoke floating about. As the moles shifted wreckage out of the way of the roof, another body was exposed to the air. Wraith put a forepaw over his muzzle and forced himself to look away.

Wraith felt uneasy; as he took in the wreckage of the bar again, he couldn't help but feel like something didn't match up. The damage done to the support beams and pillars, coupled with the patterns of the soot and ash. It all felt… symmetrical. Planned, even. And white dragons weren't stereotyped as being good planners.

"Something's definitely not adding up, Al." Wraith snorted.

"Oh?" Albanion raised an eye ridge.

Wraith whirled around to face the icy dragon. "Cerulean, have the moles spotted any flammable materials lying around?"

"Well, we haven't found any such materials." Cerulean shrugged. "Doesn't mean there aren't any hidden somewhere. They could be here for all I know; I'm a doctor, not a detective."

"Thanks, Cerulean…" Wraith sighed. Holding in a breath, the crimson drake made his way over to the remains of the counter. He put on a glove and ran his talon along it to collect a bit of soot. He ran it through his talons and squinted to inspect for every fine detail.

"Did any of the eye-witnesses say what the color of the flames was?" Wraith asked.

"Some said they were green." Cerulean said.

Wraith flinched. He took the glove off and cautiously turned around. "Well, then we have a bit of a problem."

"I'd say that several dead dragons are more than a bit." Cerulean declared.

"I'm talking about the fire." Wraith declared. "It was definitely wasn't started by a fire dragon. Fire drakes can't make green flames, even with every last drop of their magic." Wraith tapped his talons on the counter. "And if there's anything white dragons are known for, it's spewing convexity out of their faces. And convexity is PURPLE."

He turned around and held a serious face. "It's my hypothesis that this arson was started by someone with access to alchemical demolitions."

"So, this was a pre-planned, artificial fire?" Albanion asked curiously.

"Possibly." Wraith looked around. "We'll need to investigate further."

"Are you suggesting that somebody attempted to frame a white dragon for arson?" Cerulean asked as he scratched his chin.

"No, no…" Wraith looked around. "More like… the supposed white dragon set up the explosion all on their own…" He gave a low growl as he wracked his brain. "But why would a fully grown white dragon bother with alchemy when they can simply spew convexity out of their face…?"

He came to a stop at the end of the counter and looked down. There was some kind of burned residue smeared upon the destroyed wood. It was hard to see amongst the ash and soot, but it was there. Wraith put on another glove and ran his finger through the residue. He held his forepaw up to the light and squinted his eyes.

"Hmm…" Wraith sneered.

"What is it?" Albanion asked.

"I'm not sure…" The crimson drake snorted. "But it smells like the other bit of soot. Looks like our white dragon friend made a rather distinct mess."

"Distinct, eh?" Cerulean raised an eye ridge.

"Yes…" Wraith glanced around at the wreckage, where the bar originally was. "The fire didn't go off right away; there was a delay. Looks like the pre-planning was considerably pre-planned. Almost like… it was left to start burning until a certain time… after the dark dragons ran into-"

Suddenly, two of the nearby cheetahs gasped in surprise. As the three Deep Shadows turned to look in their direction, they saw the cheetahs reaching down for something. A faint moaning filled the air as a burned, scaly foreleg was pulled up from a hole in the ground.

"A survivor?" Cerulean gasped.

Quickly the three Deep Shadows ran over to lend their aid. Wraith used his magic to lift the rest of the burned dragon out of the hole. And when they saw the dragon's face… well, it almost wasn't a face anymore. Wraith nearly lost his lunch at the way most of the scales were turned a deep charcoal-black. And the left eye was completely destroyed. And most of the rest of the dragon's body didn't fare much better, either. Wraith almost wondered how this dragon could have possibly survived until the answer came from his allies.

"He's a poison dragon!" Cerulean declared. He immediately began calling upon a bit of healing magic. "He must have whipped up some herbal-based magic to keep his life going after the explosion!"

"Indeed…" Albanion gave quite a serious growl. "I taught a lot of the poison dragons how to make such salves."

"Eh? You know him?" Cerulean asked curiously.

"Of course I do…" Albanion gnashed his fangs. "His name is Marcus."

"Who?" Wraith asked.

"He used to be part of Grail's division…" Albanion growled again. "Before he deserted the military after Elenar became High Queen."

The burned drake held a scowl as he beheld Albanion and Wraith with his one good eye. He took as deep of a breath as he could and spoke slowly and calmly.

"Bergan did this." He whispered in a raspy voice. That was plenty enough to leave the two dark dragons alarmed, but then the dying drake went further. "He fucked the queen, and spawned a white dragon."

And with that, the dragon collapsed onto the floor. Albanion held a scowl, while Wraith bit his lower lip. They might have left that dragon there on the floor, but Cerulean pushed past them and set to work placing his talons upon the un-burned parts of the drake's body.

"You're not dying on my watch." Cerulean declared as his healing magic spread through the dragon's body. He signaled for the cheetahs to help him pull the drake out of the basement.

"You do realize he's a criminal." Albanion said. "He's one of the extremists: he's helped other dark dragons try to kill several hatchlings."

"Even so, I have an oath to follow." The icy drake snapped as he signaled for a gurney. "Try and convict him as you wish when he's recovered, but don't interfere with my job, Albanion."

"Fair enough…" Albanion sighed. "We have bigger fish to fry anyway."

"Nice choice of words…" Wraith said with a grimace.

"We need to head for the Faeshrine caravan immediately!" Albanion declared. "If Bergan's responsible for the destruction of this bar, then we finally have a reason to detain him and bring him before the queen!"

"I guess you're right about that…" Wraith stepped up to the poison drake. "But it's not going to be easy to catch a dragon like him."

"We're Deep Shadows; we never get easy jobs." Albanion snorted.

"Heh, heh, heh…" Wraith looked over at Cerulean. "We'll catch you later, Blue."

Wraith snapped his talons, and the two of them teleported across Warfang quick as a flash. But the moment they touched down on the grass again… the smell of smoke wracked their nostrils.

"Hey, is that…?" Wraith began to ask. But then he looked around, and his eyes widened in horror.

The entire caravan, as well as some of the surrounding buildings… had been set aflame. Horrible, green flame.

And it wasn't the only place that was burning.

~~…~~

It didn't take long for Wraith to teleport back to the Dragon Spire. Albanion stayed behind to help rally the dragons to tend to the raging fires in the caravan.

Once Wraith told Elenar what was happening, the high queen took off into the sky with several of the Deep Shadows. Elenar looked down in horror at the flames that spread throughout the various districts. Urobos followed just behind; the old king panted as he struggled to keep up with the others.

The streets that surrounded the marketplace had erupted into chaos. Many moles, cheetahs, and avians scrambled to put out the fires as they spread out onto the other buildings.

"It's a state of emergency!" Rose exclaimed.

"Queen Elenar, what should we do?!" Apella asked.

Elenar bit her lower lip. Her mind raced as she struggled to put together what was going on. She'd just barely managed to remember that Wraith mentioned that Bergan was responsible for the destruction of the Hurricos Hearth. Could… could he have been responsible for the destruction spreading throughout Warfang? No… No, that couldn't have been his doing. Bergan never planned like that before… but…

"Elenar!" Urobos shouted, drawing her attention. "We need to rally the dragons!"

"R-Right!" Elenar exclaimed. The queen flew about in the air to face the Deep Shadows directly.

"Get all of the children to safety!" Elenar roared. "Draconic children are to be sent to The Nexus with the white dragons! And all non-draconic children needed to be sent to the lower rungs of the Dragon Spire! Rose, you're going to defend the draconic children with a battalion of soldiers! And Apella, you'll do the same for the non-draconic ones!"

"Yes, My Queen!" The two said in unison.

"The rest of you: Go and do everything in your power to stop those fire!" The high queen beat her wings harder. "Go, NOW!"

One by one, the Deep Shadows howled in agreement. They then took off across the skies in different directions. And as Elenar watched them go, she came to a sudden and worrying realization: Elza wasn't among the group.

"Urobos, have you seen Elza?" Elenar asked him.

"N-Not since this morning." Urobos grumbled. "Do you want me to go find her?"

"Hmm…" Elenar tapped her chin. "She mentioned wanting to see if Cyrus had calmed down enough to spend time with her. I'll go see if Cyrus has seen her. Search the Dragon Spire for her, just in case they're not together."

"Very well…" Urobos took a deep breath. "Be safe today, Elenar."

And with that, Urobos glided down toward the base of the Dragon Spire, while Elenar channeled her shadow magic to teleport…

~~…~~

"I haven't seen her today." Cyrus said with a snort. "In fact, I haven't seen her since she screamed my ear frills off."

Elenar wanted to scold her son for his terrible behavior, but this just wasn't the right time. If he hadn't seen Elza than that meant she never made it to his room. And if she never made it to his room… where did she go? What kept her? Oh, this just wasn't the time for pondering this thought; not when Warfang was on fire.

Without even skipping a beat, Elenar grabbed her son and channeled her shadow magic to teleport. Naturally, the prince protested, but he quickly stopped when he realized he was standing on the courtyard of The Nexus. Cyrus took some fresh breaths as he twirled about… only to stop and gasp in horror upon seeing the smoke rising from the city streets.

Meanwhile, Elenar was preoccupied with looking around at the courtyard itself. Plenty of soldiers were standing at attention, just as they should have been. And already Elenar could see a whole host of younglings taking to the skies; they were guided by even more soldiers. Elenar and Cyrus stood to watch as the younglings were quickly rushed through the doors of the fortress to find refuge in the safety of the lower chamber. And across the chapel, Rose stood tall before the altar. She nodded toward the queen, and then returned her attention to the children to direct them toward the lower chamber. Everything was under control.

Just breathe, Elenar… She told herself. They'll be fine.

"Mom, what's going on?" The prince demanded. He looked out uneasily at the city's burning skyline. "Who started these fires?"

"We don't know, Cyrus." Elenar answered. "But we're doing our best to put them out." She nudged him off toward the doorway. "Now come on; we need to get you with the other children."

Elenar started walking with Cyrus… only for the prince to come to a stop.

"Hold on…" He glowered. "Am I just being stashed away with the rest of these kids? Am I just not allowed to do anything to help?"

Oh by the ancestors, you have to be kidding me… Elenar took a deep breath to keep her composure. "Cyrus, this is neither the time nor the place. You're still in trouble for that tantrum you through the other-"

"Tantrum?!" Cyrus shouted defensively.

Elenar sucked in another breath before trying to nudge him forward. "Now is seriously not the time, Cyrus. Get moving."

The queen managed to get the prince through the doors, though he quickly came to a stop and stamped his forepaw in frustration, much to the queen's own growing anger.

"I'm tired of being brushed to the side, Mom!" Cyrus shouted. A few of the other younglings gasped at his outburst. "You could at least have me go help the Deep Shadows put out those fires! I'm a black dragon! What do you think I've been mastering the elements for if I can't use them to help out?!"

"Cyrus…" Elenar said bitterly.

"And so what if these situations are dangerous?!" Cyrus snapped. "What's the point of all my physical and magic training if I'm not supposed to get involved with danger?!" He grabbed his convexity crystal and held it up. "I was more than capable of fending off that group of thugs!"

"One of them was your SISTER!" Elenar screamed back at him.

"Yeah, who ATTACKED ME!" Cyrus screamed even louder.

The queen flinched as more of the younglings around them gasped at the sight. Even Rose stopped to look in their direction. Elenar took a deep, cautious breath before scowling at her son.

"Cyrus… just get to the lower chamber already." The queen pushed the doors open with her tail. "We're wasting too much time with your petty grievances."

"Petty?!" Cyrus snarled. "I keep getting treated like I'm an afterthought! Nobody ever wants me around!"

A growl rose in Elenar's throat, making Cyrus stop and flinch. The queen stomped forward and forcibly grabbed Cyrus by one of his horns.

"Hey!" He screamed. He tried to sink into his shadow to get away, but Elenar used her own shadowy magic to pull him right back out. "Let me go!"

"STOP WASTING TIME!" Elenar screamed as loud as she could as she dragged the prince forward. "WARFANG IS BURNING! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!"

"I JUST WANT TO HELP!" Cyrus screamed as loud as he could.

Elenar was about to scream again… when an idea popped into her head. She took a deep breath and looked Cyrus right in the eyes.

"You want to help? You REALLY want to help?" She asked accusingly. She fanned her wing out toward a group of younglings as they passed by. "Then help THEM."

"Wh-What?" Cyrus blinked.

"Go down to the lower chamber and stand guard." Elenar continued.

"But you just said-"

"Cyrus, you are a black dragon, like you're so keen to remind me." The queen snapped. "And one of the tasks of a black dragon is to defend the people of Warfang; especially their subjects. Does that ring a bell?"

"Err… I guess so…" Cyrus grimaced.

"Look around you, Cyrus." Elenar exclaimed. "Look at all of these children. They are your fellow students and your future subjects! They may not realize it now, but they look up to you! Especially the white dragonlings!"

"Uh…" Cyrus stammered.

"If you want their respect and admiration, then EARN it!" Elenar exclaimed. "If anyone breaks into the fortress, and if they somehow managed to push past all of the guards and even the Deep Shadows, then all that will remain is YOU! YOU are the very last line of defense!" The queen stamped her forepaw. "Now stop complaining, get your arse down there, and start working on redeeming yourself for your terrible behavior! PROTECT THE CHILDREN, CYRUS!"

The queen pointed toward the doorway that led to the stairwell, while Cyrus was stunned into silence. He tried to find something to say but just kept his jaws shut and turned to march forward. The other students stepped out of the way of the prince; perhaps word had spread around of how Cyrus had smacked students around during his meltdown. Rose cast a glare at the prince as he vanished out of view, and then looked worriedly in the queen's direction.

"Will you be joining him down below, Your Grace?" She asked.

"I can't…" Elenar shook her head. "I have to go."

Elenar didn't care if she bruised Cyrus's ego or built it up. Nor could the queen stay to be a part of that last line of defense, no matter how badly she wanted to. Elenar was still the high queen: She had more pressing matters to attend to. So it was with a heavy heart that she marched her way back out of the chapel and out into the courtyard. The guards sealed the doors and saluted the high queen, as she stood tall to channel her magic.

Please… be safe, Cyrus.

~~…~~

Cyrus struggled to concentrate in the overly-crowded chamber. Nearly a hundred or so younglings were crammed into the room. Dark dragon younglings of natural and artificial creation huddled together worriedly. The light dragon students struggled to keep calm. And the white-hided dragonlings were gathered together in the very center, shivering and crying.

And here Cyrus stood, at the very front beside the doorways. He stood in his battle-stance with his wings fanned out and deep breaths in his throat.

There were faint rumbling noises coming from the other side of those doors; sounds of a struggle. There was even a crash that was loud enough to make many of the surrounding students cry out in fear. Something was definitely coming for them; Cyrus could feel it in his scales. A fight was coming, and he was the last line of defense.

"Stay calm… all of you." Argos said across the way.

"Don't be scared, little ones." Icarox said as she sat on the floor beside the dragonlings. "Everything will be alright. Cynder will protect you."

Cyrus just sighed and rolled his eyes at that; he hadn't seen too many examples of Cynder saving the dragonlings during the last few weeks here in Warfang. A shiver ran down his spine when he heard another crashing sound ring through his ear frills.

Stay focused, Cyrus… He told himself. You can do this. You can prove once and for all that you're just as much of a black dragon as Rune is.

Cyrus didn't want to admit it… but maybe his mother had the right idea. Maybe all of the students here would have to stop and stare in awe, should whoever's attacking Warfang came bursting in. It could have been anyone: The extremists, the Sons of Culmubrae… maybe even more of Prince Johnny's goons. Whoever it was, Cyrus would smack them around but good! Everyone would finally see how powerful Cyrus really was! This would be HIS MOMENT!

But as Cyrus was psyching himself up, he heard several sets of footfalls coming from behind and to the side. Cyrus turned around to see three of the older students approaching: Tina, Chalice, and Lantel. The former might have made Cyrus smile if the latter two didn't get his blood boiling. As the trio approached, Cyrus whirled around and fanned out his wings.

"What do you guys want?" Cyrus demanded. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Well geez…" Tina grimaced. "Is it wrong to check in on you after not talking to you in so long?"

Cyrus frowned a bit; he didn't want to snap at Tina. If anything, he would have been more than happy to talk to her. But he just couldn't be in a good mood; not with those two OTHER pains in the arse standing right there.

Chalice had a slightly-worried expression, while Lantel appeared frustrated. He shot Chalice a glare and a shake of his head, as if what Cyrus said was confirming something. But Chalice simply stamped their foot and groaned before stepping a bit closer.

"Cyrus, we're going to help you defend the other students." Chalice said matter-of-factly. They moved to stand on Cyrus's side, but the black-hided prince snapped at them. "Wh-What are you doing?"

"I don't need help." Cyrus snapped. "And even if I did, I wouldn't want it from a back-stabber, OR a pompous windbag!"

"Backstabber?" Chalice repeated incredulously.

Lantel's eyes narrowed. "Windbag?"

"You know EXACTLY what I'm talking about." Cyrus pointed an accusing talon at Lantel's snout. The black-hided prince then moved his talon to prod Chalice in the face. "And YOU know exactly what you did!"

"What are you going on about?" Tina demanded. "What did Chal do?"

"What indeed?" Lantel snorted. "Does it have anything to do with you calling my sister a slut?"

Cyrus gnashed his fangs. "Maybe."

Cyrus and Lantel growled at each other, much to Tina and Chalice's indignation. The dark-yellow dragoness stepped forward and spread her wings to block the two off.

"Save your feud for later!" Tina declared. "Whatever you're going on about, this isn't the time!"

"She's right." Chalice stood at her side. "If anyone breaks in, we have to do what we can to save the younger kids!"

A loud CRASH sounded throughout the chamber as the doors were partially broken open. Many of the younger students gasped in fright, while a jolt ran along Cyrus's scales. He'd gotten so heated that he'd almost forgotten to stand at his post! Immediately he whirled around and spread out his limbs in a fighting stance, as he let his magic dance wildly across his scales.

No more time to argue… Cyrus snorted as he psyched himself up. I've gotta focus on MY MOMENT.

With one more thundering crash, the air was suddenly quiet. The doorknob rattled, making Cyrus flinch. He called upon a bit of his magic as he waited to see what would come stepping through that doorway. The door was pulled outward, and two figures stood in the darkness of the corridor beyond. Cyrus prepared to launch an attack…

When something glinted out in the hall before flying through the air. The next thing Cyrus knew, he'd been struck in the forehead by something sharp.

"Cyrus!" Tina cried in surprise.

Cyrus grunted as he stumbled backward. He reached up to his forehead to grasp at what had struck him; some kind of thin needle. Cyrus immediately pulled the needle out and tossed it onto the floor with a scoff.

"What, is that it? A needle?" Cyrus snorted. "My healing magic is already tending to the… light…" his head suddenly felt heavier, and his vision became blurry. "…wound?"

With every step Cyrus took, the dizzier he felt. He stumbled this way and that as he struggled to keep his balance. But before long, the prince finally lost control as he stumbled over to the side and collapsed onto his side upon the floor. He swung his legs; he was losing feeling in his limbs, and his hearing was becoming distorted.

Wh… What's happening? Cyrus thought. He looked up; the blurry visages of Tina and Chalice scrambled to get to his sides. He couldn't hear what they were saying; everything was becoming so… so scrambled and weird.

I… I can't get up… Cyrus thought. So… So tired…

And after that, everything went black…

~~…~~

"Cyrus!" Tina cried out. She struggled to pull the prince out of the direct view of the doorway, while Chalice provided some shielding with their wings. Lantel, meanwhile, stood off to the side of the doors and growled in anger. He watched as many of the younglings scrambled to stand to either the left or right of the insurgents' field of view.

"Quit wasting time worrying about the prat and get ready to fight!" Lantel yelled. He turned down toward the two elderly dragons as they stood amongst the shivering children. "And you know, some help from YOU TWO would be very much appreciated!"

"We're doing our best!" Argos exclaimed. He struggled to get past the little dragonlings as he made his way toward the side of the chamber.

"Would you have us leave the little ones without emotional support?" Icarox demanded as she shielded a few of the hatchlings with her body.

Lantel just scoffed as he stood at the ready; fire and rage were burning in his maw. The arrogant black drake might have gotten himself taken out like a fool early on, but Lantel wouldn't give these insurgents another shot. The moment one of them stepped through, he'd blast them with a raging inferno. He'd show all of these dark dragons what a REAL prince was like. HE'D save them from the insurgents…

…But it sure was taking a while for the insurgents to continue their attack. What was taking them so long? Lantel couldn't make the first move; he'd only give himself away. But they weren't even trying to shoot any more of those dart-things on through…

Something was coming out of the doorway; a sound of some kind. It started off very low… but gradually got louder. It was… singing? Who could be singing at a time like this?

"My… My head feels kinda funny." Tina said across the way. She gave a low yawn and stuck her wing-thumb behind her ear frill. "What's that music?"

"Music? What…?" Chalice began to say, only to give their own yawn. "Music…?"

Even Lantel was starting to feel strange; his limbs ached, and his head felt heavy. But he shook his head and growled; no, he wasn't about to go out so easily. He stood his ground and growled as he heard someone get close to the doors. And as they were pulled fully open, the singing reached its peak volume… and the Deep Shadow named Elza stepped through.

"Elza?" Icarox asked across the way.

"What are you doing here?" Argos asked.

But Elza didn't answer them; she just focused on singing her song. Argos flinched as he looked toward the Deep Shadow. He moved to approach her… only to groan and collapse onto the floor. The children around him yelped in fright… only to gradually pass out as well.

"Argos, no… no…" Icarox gave a hearty yawn before slumping over just like her brother. And the hatchlings beside her went to sleep as well. Over time, almost all of the children in the room had passed out, all while Elza sang her endless song.

"Lady Elza… what's wrong with you…" Tina asked between yawns. She stepped forward toward the Deep Shadow, only to collapse. Chalice tried to stay standing, but soon they were collapsed on the floor too

Prince Lantel looked around at the chamber; everyone else was asleep. Even Sandra was passed out, still surrounded by her friends. His limbs ached, and his vision was blurring; he couldn't stay standing for long.

But just before he collapsed onto the floor, he saw Elza turning to face him… and she had a cold, empty stare. Some kind of jewel glistened on a necklace she wore… but that was all he could see before he fell over. Soon, his eyes shut tight, and the singing began to fade. But there a few final things he heard before he truly passed out. First, was a rather pompous voice.

"Good work, Elza." The stranger chuckled. "Now, it's time to get these kids somewhere safer."

After that came the sounds of multiple footfalls. A crowd of blurry visages made their way into the main chamber… and all of them had blank, white faces. Lantel couldn't make sense of them, before finally passing out on the floor with all the others…

~~…~~

An hour had gone by. Elenar and the Deep Shadows ventured across all corners of Warfang. It was tiring work, but Elenar couldn't sit idly by while there was still chaos erupting throughout her city.

Unfortunately, she was still a mortal dragon and had to come to a stop eventually. So, with Wraith's assistance, she managed to arrive at the gardens before the Dragon Spire, along with all of the Deep Shadows and Urobos. They came to a stop on the grass, while some of the citizens nearby continued to keep the fires under control.

"Okay…" Elenar panted as she fell back onto her haunches. "Someone give me a report. Does anyone know who was starting all of these fires?"

It didn't take long for a series of dragons to step forward to try and describe the situation… however, before the queen could learn much information, she was caught off-guard by the sudden appearance of three clouds of darkness on the street across from her. With a yelp, Elenar stepped over to investigate; she knew shadow-based magic when she saw it. She came to a stop before the three dragons that appeared on the ground… and gasped.

The Elders Argos and Icarox, as well as the Deep Shadow Rose, were passed out on the ground.

"What?!" Elenar exclaimed. She stepped up and shook Rose in an attempt to stir her awake, but it was all for naught. And that was only the beginning of her worries; for all around her, several more pools of darkness were forming at random all across the street. They were all dragon soldiers; the very same soldiers who were assigned to guard the children on The Nexus!

Elenar's blood turned pale. What was happening? Why were all of her soldiers suddenly appearing on the ground?! And why were they all unconscious?!

"Your Majesty!" Apella screamed from across the way. Elenar whirled around to see what the matter was and saw the red dragoness pointing into the sky. Several more dragons pointed upward as well, all while screaming in horror.

Elenar's blood turned cold as she cast her eyes skyward… no, no, it couldn't be!

"What…?" Urobos's jaw fell open.

A great, black sphere of dark energy had erupted into existence around the entirety of The Nexus. The shadows swirled and shimmered, casting an ominous presence over the city. And before long, many dragons and non-dragons gazed up in horror at the dark sphere; shouts and cries of terror rang out among the streets.

"No…" Grail said quietly. The General took a step forward, then another one. His wings twitched as his forepaws tore the ground. "Chalice…"

"Who did this…?" Albanion clawed the ground. "WHO DID THIS?!"

All around Elenar, dragons cried out in agony. Their children were gone. The Nexus, once a seat of power for their beloved King Baneth… was gone. Smoke still struck the sky as fires raged.

And there Elenar was, powerless to prevent it.

~~…~~

Greetings, friends, and loved ones.

This is certainly a horrifying turn of events, isn't it? A certain purple dragon has infiltrated The Nexus and has teleported it away somehow. But where has it gone? What could that rascally amethyst be up to? Nothing good, I'd wager!

Tenebra ecce Veritas