Hi, guys! Sorry for the long wait, college is keeping me very busy. I decided to focus on Ember for this chapter, so please enjoy!
Ember could not believe it. After all their struggles, after all that blood, sweat and tears...the feeble plan had fallen apart. Kirk had risen, and while stiff and struggling to keep up with the small group, he was racked with confusion and had not said a word. It was almost as if he were a lamb being led to his own slaughter-blind, deaf and dumb. Whatever he had seen on the other side had indeed scarred his soul.
She could tell even though no one had said a word. Their faith was broken. Spyro was still cold and dead. He had never stirred from death. Their hope was shattered.
Ember's head had hung low to the ground, the pink dragoness struggling to fight back the tears that had threatened to fall. Her dear friend was dead. Her childhood crush was dead. Spyro was dead. And it was all his fault.
Because of him, Spyro was dead. Spyro, the dragon that she had oh, so dearly admired. The kind, amiable young male she had grown up with, and the caring father she had watched him turn into. And now, Arias and Seraphina were orphans, and the latter's whereabouts were unknown. Spyro would never get to see if his children were safe. Would never get to see them grow, or learn their elements, or learn to fly or fall in love and have children of their own- hopefully.
It was because of him the race of dragons were as good as dead. He-whom she had once proudly called her friend-had given his life away in selfishness. Ember found herself scoffing at the fact that she had once concerned herself with the man's much shorter life, worrying herself sick over him. A damn human. She thought he was different from the others, but he had shown her wrong. Her once human friend was just as greedy as the others-seeking glory and honor as a means of a legacy. But life never came back to Spyro. With that, the knight had failed. And despite how much Ember tried not to, she could not help feeling the slightly sense of...sadism? Satisfaction upon knowing the man did not fully die with a true cause? And all because he had too much faith. He had been such a fool.
Ember's cerulean eyes lay upon the worm man upon his horse, Carl staring upon his calloused hands which were stained with the blood of his son. He did not move. He did not speak. He just looked upon the seemingly unfamiliar hands that had robbed the life of his only son. It was as if the man did not recognize himself anymore. Regretted ramming the steel through muscle and bone. Regretted not being in the right frame of mind to volunteer himself as the grave consequences of the matter had struck him. His line was dead. His only son, the only heir with his blood now lay dead, heart silent.
Vivica appeared no better, the woman slow in her stride to gently shepherd Kirk. Her shoulders were rounded and slouched, posture weak. There was no hope. And it was not fair. Her daughter did not deserve this fate, this fate of destruction and death. And Rorek had-for all
his faults-and for whatever he had become had tried to change their fate. Yet, despite all his knowledge and wisdom, he had failed. Just like they all had failed. Vivica herself may have deserved this fate, yet her daughter did not. No innocent deserved a fate at the hands of Malefor. And perhaps the thing that hurt the woman the most was that she would fail to protect her daughter once more.
Not wanting to look upon them any longer, Ember's eyes fell downward upon the ground. Her heart began to lurch and pain wracked her chest, and slowly her anger and blame subsided to guilt and sorrow. Her friends were dead. Spyro and Silas were dead.
A new wave of emotion flooded the pink dragoness, cold, iron fear wracking her body and chilling her core as she realized something: she would never see Silas again. Not in this life or the next. Human souls did not travel the same paths as dragon souls. She had remembered, once, for it was a conversation that had both frightened her, yet encouraged her to love her human friends more.
Ember sat under a tree, watching the once puffy clouds of white turn pink as the sun slowly set. The breeze gently blew and caressed her scales, slowly moving the clouds and rustling the leaves above her and the grass below her. It was a moments that was peaceful, and during this time that simple hour of the sun fading seemed to last an eternity. The sky was filled with fires of reds, oranges, pinks and purples that reflected and contrasted with her sapphire orbs.
"Beautiful, is it not?"
Ember's gaze snapped from the skies above, head swiveling towards the voice. She did not know how long the man stood there, nor when he approached. Yet there he was, looking at the sky, same as she. The dragoness smiled at the knight before fixing her gaze upon the falling sun.
"Yes, it is. I love watching the sun set behind the mountains and turn the sky pretty colors. It feels like each sunset lasts for an eternity." Ember spoke softly, as if in a stupor of admiration for the spectacle of nature.
The man beside her chuckled, canines showing, seeming to gleam against the fading rays, "It is only an hour, Ember."
Once more her gaze fell to the man briefly before flickering towards the sky, "Oh, I know, but it just feels like that, you know?"
"No, I fear I do not. It is only an hour, Ember." Silas replied, eyes being cast towards the village, the peasants hustling to and fro to get the day's chores done, "I have seen you here at every sunset, so I thought you would like companionship." Silas continued, the dragoness nodding.
"I come here every evening to watch the sun go down. Do you watch the sunset too?" Ember asked, turning towards the man whose gaze was upon the clouds.
"Not as much as I should, no." Silas replied, shaking his head. Ember cocked her head in question.
"Why?"
"Because an hour is such a short window to get tasks completed. I do not have enough time to look at my surroundings sometimes. But today I do." Silas replied, Ember still looking upon him quizzically.
"I can get a lot done in an hour. That's plenty of time." Ember replied, Silas now looking upon her.
"And, pray tell, what do you get accomplished in an hour?" Silas asked, Ember brightening upon the question.
"I spend time with the children, I fly, I talk to others, I look at the trinkets in the market, I hunt and fish, I swim. I can do many things in an hour." Ember replied, smiling.
"You know what I get done in an hour? Either tending to the horses or tending to the crops. Or whatever I find in need of work for the day."
"But you get things done."
"Yes, but I cannot complete any of those tasks in an hour-not fully. There is much that needs to be done with tending horses or crops. Even hunting can take a good portion of the day." Silas retorted, "It is just an hour, Ember."
Ember looked upon the human with confusion. She did not understand. The day seemed to go by so slowly for her, and even an hour seemed to last an eternity, yet the way the knight was speaking, he was making it sound as if an hour was gone in seconds. How was that possible? Then, a thought occurred to the dragoness. She had no idea how long humans lived. They may have had a shorter lifespan, but how much shorter could that lifespan be? Certainly not by much! The cheetahs that had once been numerous have lived to almost a century. Surely humans could be no different, for they shared many similarities to the feline race.
"Silas," Ember called the man to attention once more, "How long do humans live?"
The man turned towards her, as if looking upon her with interest, "And what made you think of this?"
"I...just realized that I do not know." Ember replied, Silas nodding his head, as if in understanding.
"I see. Well, that is a bit difficult to answer. The oldest I have seen a man was when he was….I would say...in his fifties, sixties, even. But, around here? I have never seen a man live to see his sixtieth winter. Around here, at least, many do not live to see fifty." The knight answered, Ember feeling a chill fall upon her as her heart skipped a beat.
'Forty? By the Ancestors, that's not even half a century!' Ember thought, now looking upon the man as if he were in danger of dropping dead any second.
"Ember? Are you okay?" Silas asked slowly, as if not to startle the pink dragoness, who shook her head to regain her thoughts.
"...Yes, I am….it's just-Ancestors. You humans live such short lives! I can't imagine-! Is that why an hour goes so fast for you?" Ember asked, Silas shrugging.
"I suppose so. Sometimes it goes slowly, but most of the time is just seems to….slip away, I guess. Like the sunset. You just do not notice it because you are so busy."
"Busy doing what?" Ember asked.
"Chores, duties, whatever needs to be done. It may not be important to you, but we need to work constantly to assure we have enough food for ourselves and animals for the winter, as well as supplies. The winters are harsh here, and no one likes the cold." Silas replied, Ember looking upon the man with almost sorrow.
"So you work all your lives just to die?"
"Everyone dies, Ember. What will make my death different from yours?"
"I will have lived hundreds of years, and you-not even a century." Ember replied sullenly, the man looking upon her.
"And? That does not change death. The length of life has nothing to do with the fact that we shall all die. Yes, I will never live as long as you, but that does not matter, for I have lived. You have lived-and shall continue after I die, yet you will die, just as I did before you. What we do with our lives is up to us-how we live them. I do not see why you pity me. Death brings every creature together as one."
"That is not true," Ember shook her head, "You told me that when humans die, they can either go to Heaven, or go to Hell. That does not sound like everyone is together when they go to two different places."
"It all depends on what you believe. What of the ancient Greeks? In Hades, every spirit that crossed the river Styx was equal with hundreds of others. You have told me when a dragon dies, their spirit returns to nature. Does that make all dragons equal regardless of their accomplishments during life?" Silas asked, Ember shaking her head.
"Not entirely, no. Dragons...when we die, we do go back to nature, but eventually our souls merge into one with nature so much that we become a part of new life. It is like…..our souls are reborn into the body of a hatchling, yet a part of who we were in the previous life stays with nature, forever preserving a part of our soul with the world, while another part helps a new life grow. Our souls are….always connected with the dragons from our previous lives, and we are always destined to meet. Just like in another life, Spyro and Cynder will be together, because their souls are connected, and Cynder's soul will remain in nature guiding Spyro until he passes, and their the cycle will begin in a new generation of dragons-hopefully. Even if it is a thousand years from now, their souls will find each other, somehow. That is….why we listen and learn things from our dreams. Sometimes, in our time of need, our Ancestors appear. These Ancestors, well I think they me in past lives, and family members that have not yet been reborn. Everyone dies, but even then if we are lost, our souls will always find each other." Ember tried to explain, the man listening intently beside her.
"So basically you are speaking of reincarnation." Silas stated, Ember nodding.
"Yes, a bit. It's hard to explain, but I think that's what the Ancestors are. They are….everywhere." She mumbled, pausing slightly, "Are you afraid to die?"
"No." Silas replied swiftly, "I do not fear death. I pity death."
"You...pity death? Why?" Ember asked, confused.
"Because death is weak. Death does not take the strong, but takes the young, the old, the weak, the ill, the injured. Death itself is weak, and thus must be pitied, for death itself shall die." The young knight replied, Ember will looking upon the man with uncertainty.
"How can death die?"
"There shall come a time, Ember, when no one shall die." Silas explained.
The pink wyrm only nodded slowly in response, not completely understanding.
"What of you? Do you fear death?" Silas asked, Ember pausing in thought.
"I don't know. I…..don't fear dying, I mean, I don't even think about it. But, I do, if I really think about it. Just the feeling of dying, you know? Like what it will feel like. Though, I guess it's silly, because of the Ancestors I have." She answered, laughing slightly, as if in nervousness.
"Yes, well I assume you subconsciously know how that feels." Silas replied, chuckling.
"Yes, I think I do." Ember agreed, giggling, "I don't want you to die, Silas."
"I think no one wants to die, not truly. But you shall see me die, in time." He replied matter of factly, Ember's posture faltering with meekness.
"I don't want to see that."
"Why? It is inevitable." Silas asked, raising a brow in curiousity.
"Because this is the only lifetime I'll ever get with you. If what you say is true, and humans either go to Heaven or Hell, I'll never see you again. My soul will be able to find Flame, Spyro and Cynder and all my other friends, but not yours because your soul will be somewhere dragon souls can't go. It makes me sad, and….I feel bad." Ember whispered, voice laden with sorrow.
The man frowned, shaking his head, "Do not pity me. You will forget me, in time, in life, and that is it. Do not fret about the future, but live in the present, and take whatever may come."
Ember remained silent, digesting his words before smiling, "Yeah. You're right. I mean, we can still enjoy the sunset and-"
"Ember?"
"Yes?" The dragoness asked, falling silent.
"The sun is gone." Silas replied, Ember's eyes widening before looking around. She did not even realize that the moon and many stars had come out, the wind becoming chill.
"Oh…" Ember looked around, a bit baffled. Strange, the conversation seemed so swift, yet she did not realize the passing of time whereas Silas had. Perhaps time did pass differently for both?
"I'm sorry, if I kept you from going home." Ember apologized, grinning awkwardly, almost sheepishly.
Silas chuckled once more, "That is all right. We could always watch tomorrow's sunset. Or sunrise."
"Hey, you were just telling me not to look into the future, but to the present." Ember replied, mocking wrath as the man paused, as if in thought.
"...yes, yes I did, did I not? Clever girl." The man grinned, Ember's tail wagging in play, "Well, I think this calls for some stargazing, does it not?" Silas asked, Ember nodding, eyes sparkling.
"I want to try to find the stars!" Ember chirped, the knight laughing.
"Very well. I will tell you if you are wrong." Silas replied, Ember glowing in radiance as she looked towards the darkened sky, connecting the lights in the heavens. It did not matter how fast or slow time flowed, nor that would one perrish long before the other. What mattered was that they were enjoying the precious moments that were slowly slipping through their grasp.
Ember sighed at the memory, once more fighting tears. It wasn't fair that she wouldn't see some of her dear friends again. It just wasn't.
A brief flicker of light had caught the dragoness' eyes, Ember having to look twice until she saw two faint balls of light bouncing around each other, as if playing. One was purple, and the other was black. And they sparkling, dancing with one another, gently floating and traveling with the group-though it appeared something only Ember could see.
Warmth had now flooded Ember's being, for she now knew the plan did not fail as they had thought. Spyro was still there-watching over them-as was Cynder. It would appear that hope was not as bleak as they had thought. Ember could feel it now. The dragons wanted to see their friends succeed, and they wanted to see their children safe. They wanted to try and help.
Thank you for reading! Sorry for the slow updates. What little time I do have I've been trying to put most of it in To Make a Dead Heart Beat, which will be updated in about a month. I also had a dream that would make a good short story(at least a humorous one). It was about Sparx randomly falling in love with a human woman(who was at first freaking out over a talking dragonfly-and was already taken). The human characters were from Oblivion(TES), but if you guys are intrested in seeing that just let me know. I've been focusing on stories from my dreams lately, and they come out much easier(Flesh and Soul and To Make a Dead Heart Beat, for example). There is also Blood Payment, which is an AU of Dishonored. I like BP much better, even though it is not far into the story. I get to toy with more relationships and it's everything that could have happened oppositely of Dishonored. Either way, enough of my ranting. Thank you for reading/favoriting/following and reviewing! This story has gotten well over thirteen thousand views(which I thought impossible)! Thank you so much!