Author's notes:

This is my entry to a writer's challenge on a Discord server I'm a part of.

The prompt is pretty simple, really: "If you were writing ANB, how would you have started it?"

Naturally, my entry will tie into my fanfiction Aimless. If you're coming here hoping to see Bianca from Classic/Reignited, think again. Bianca in Aimless is the apprentice that the antagonist in Year of the Dragon had always wanted. She is far more powerful than her canon counterpart and does not have the morality problems that Canon Bianca struggled with.

IF YOU'RE FOLLOWING AIMLESS AND YOU DO NOT WANT SPOILERS OF ANY SORT IN THE MAIN STORY, DO NOT READ THIS ONESHOT.

If you don't care about spoilers, or if you're not following my story, then go ahead! Happy reading!

Timestamp key for Aimless readers: "D" for days, "W" for weeks, "M" for months, "Y" for years, "EM" for early morning, "LM" for late morning, "EA" for early afternoon, "LA" for late afternoon, "EE" for early evening, "LN" for late night, and "AD" for all day. Note that the Dragon Realms follow the sexagesimal system for keeping time, just like Earth. (In other words, 60 seconds per minute and 60 minutes per hour.) The time is relative to Joshua's arrival in the Dragon Realms.


Turn of the Wheel

"There are affairs in life where third parties, no matter who they are, should not be let in at all."

~ Nelson Mandela


[-19Y/LN]


Far above the mushroom swamp in Central Markazia, Bianca appeared in the night sky. The twin moons of the Dragon Realms shone bright enough to overpower the flash of beige brilliance that came with dispersing her high-speed, magic-powered flight.

The harsh winds of the planet billowed around the protective cocoon of force enveloping her as she stared at the swampland below, spotting stone structures nestled in vines, roots, and Brobdingnagian mushrooms large enough to house her under their shades.

The domed buildings coexisting quietly with nature were on fire. From her vantage point, Bianca noticed swarms of ant-sized creatures writhing on one end. Streaks of the four traditional elements occasionally rained down on them before being snuffed out of existence. The thunderous cracking of hard, enchanted stone could be heard even from up here, caused by the siege weapons tossing massive boulders from a great distance.

The Apes had finally mounted a major attack on one of the most heavily defended places in the Allied Territories of Warfang. Bianca had no idea how they made it possible—she noted Gaul, the self-proclaimed Ape King, had bananas for brains when she had met him on diplomatic terms—but it was happening, and she had some business inside.

She entered freefall, the wind pushing back the hood of her black robes to reveal her beige fur and her large, floppy ears. As though used to the lurching sensation of gravity in the pit of her stomach, the rabbit sorceress made a few somatic gestures, waving her hands until ethereal feathers blossomed into existence around her. The Featherfall spell slowed her descent down to a more manageable speed. While useless in most situations, it truly showed its value in quiet infiltrations like tonight.

As she descended elegantly to the mushroom forest, she brought out a polished sheet of stone, on which the runes were inscribed. Bianca poured a little bit of mana into it, triggering the spell.

Instantly she fell into a trance. A vision appeared in her mind, showing the reptilian visage of her mistress as she stared into a mirror. "Bianca," she said imperiously, "My spies in the Well of Souls alerted me to an imminent attack on the dragons' swamp temple in Central Markazia, where they've hidden away recently-ovipositioned eggs from the Dark Armies. Head to the Galerina Bog and enter the temple. Get to the hatcheries before the Apes do and take some eggs—at least five of each element if you can! Kill anyone who opposes you. Castle Shadowstone is a neutral party to this war and I'll be damned if we get pulled into this!"

Her mistress snorted. "Would've been nice to set up a pocket world like those two, but my capabilities fall far short of a Portal Master's…"

The memory cut off at that point, returning Bianca to the real world. Only a few seconds had elapsed since she had triggered the stone sheet. The rabbit gathered mana on her fingertips and swept its smooth, glossy surface, wiping away the runes and preparing it for her own use. A bejeweled ring in her left hand lit up, sucking in the item into its transparent gemstone.

A minute later, Bianca settled down near the front lines where most of the conflict was happening. She could see—could hear the brutal fighting, and the yelling of the monkeys. The dragons were steadily losing ground, having already given up the bridge that connected the temple to the road.

Before she began in earnest, Bianca gathered mana into her hand and performed another spell, causing a light to fan out like a ring in all directions. She held it out, palm open, staring at the golden mote of light hovering directly above.

She waited a full minute.

Nothing.

Bianca smiled to herself. That was a great sign. No gravitational distortions within a few minutes' flight around the Temple. No signs suggesting the emergence of a portal. Neither the Skylanders nor the Doomraiders are here.

"Hey, what's this we got here‽"

Bianca whipped her head up. One of the Fighters had spotted her. He pointed in her direction, holding a scimitar as long as she was tall. "There's a suspicious figure lurking about, brothers! Looks like a, a mage! I bet it's come to reinforce the lizards!"

Bianca opened her mouth to introduce herself, hopefully prevent a fight, only for another Ape Fighter to charge in. "That's not happening if I can help it!"

The sorceress snorted derisively. "Fools." Bianca curled her paws into fists, flooding them with mana and slamming them together. Golden runes lit up on her arms and engulfed her body in a golden glow, shining partly through her thick robes. She charged straight at them, much to the idiot's surprise.

"W-w-what the‽ Mages are supposed to run—

"I am not a mere witch," Bianca sneered. She did not bother to raise her arms and block her opponent's sword as he instinctively swung it down to cleave her in half from the neck down. From the way his eyes dilated, he had been expecting the blade to sink into her flesh and render the rabbit into chunks of meat.

Not for it to shatter noisily into pieces.

"H-how—

A dead beast had no use for mere trivia concerning the Brightsteel Gold arts.

Bianca slammed her fist into the shocked ape, plowing it straight through his body. It easily crushed and penetrated the leather armor. She swept her eyes and saw her enemy's friends coming to avenge the monkey.

Fools, the whole lot of them.

Bianca poured mana into her fingertips and drew several identical runes in the air. Each one exploded and seemed to dissipate harmlessly, only for invisible objects to slam the entire group. The sorceress finished off the survivors with a stomp to the head, the golden aura shining through her boots fading after she slew the last of the ape fighters that had assailed her.

She weighed her options—a concealment spell was a given, but should she infiltrate through one of the balconies or should she come in through the front lines?

Her magic would merely refract light away from her, not completely hide her presence. The dragons had keen senses and she couldn't risk discovery until she was absolutely sure where the hatcheries were, and which of those held eggs lain by dragons of noble lineage. Going with the Dark Armies, on the other paw, meant limiting the time she had before they followed her in and started smashing eggs before she could get enouoh for her own lair.

"Hmm, decisions, decisions…" Bianca muttered to herself as she observed the fighting in the distance.

In the end, she decided to rush in from the front. Archmage Cauldra didn't need that many. The mistress only required just enough raw materials to fuel her upcoming expedition into the Space Between Worlds. Bianca, however…

She needed to gain more power if she ever hoped to survive the mistress's trials.

Bianca encapsulated herself in the light refraction spell and sprinted towards the battle ahead. The wide bridge leading from the road to the main archways of the swamp temple was packed with apes rushing in. Carrying various handcrafted weapons and shields, they swarmed in. Arrows and spears flew in the air, striking at dragon knights swooping in low to unleash elemental breaths on the mob. Most bounced off their armors, but there were still many that struck unprotected areas and helplessly grounded the reptile.

Bianca chose to sprint across the railing, her natural dexterity keeping her balanced. The apes scrambled over a multitude of corpses, nearly all their own. Atop one pile was a massive and towering Ape Commander, clad in magicked armor and equipped with a glowing two-handed axe. Even Bianca would have a difficult time fighting him with just the Brightsteel Gold magic art.

"Attack, my brothers!" He roared. "Go forth and attack! Don't falter. Don't let up! Swim if you have to! We will crush this temple by sunset!"

Shrill screams shattered the air.

"For King Gaul!"

"For the Ape King!"

"Yes, Commander Radux!"

Bianca noticed several apes who had heeded Commander Radux and went ino the murky waters to swim beneath or beside the bridge. Several ice dragons flew in and made their best attempt to freeze them over without completely expending their mana or exposing themselves to the Apes' projectiles.

An explosion occurred in front of Bianca, prompting her to stop in her tracks. Halfway through.

Two Ape Fighters emerged from the smoke, one with a bow and the other a spear. Both had swords upon their backs. The spearbearer had his long tail wrapped around its weapon of choice, his eyes concentrated on a fire dragon high in the air and quickly swooping down on them. It was clad in an intimidating set of armor, as though denoting a higher rank than the rest Bianca had seen tonight.

Bianca decided to wait until the dragon had slain them both.

"Raden, get out of the way!" cried the bowman. "I have a shot on him!"

"Arrows won't punch through the bastard's armor, Jayce! Let me handle it!"

Before Jayce could say anything else, Raden crouched and leaped into the air. He pirouetted and—Jayce let an arrow loose, forcing the fire dragon to bank in one direction, right into his comrade's line of fire.

The spear flew straight and impaled the dragon through his jaw. Even Bianca grimaced as he plummeted to the bridge and crashed as a gurgling heap. The other ape fighters swarmed him like ants and punched holes in the knight's body until he was dead.

Jayce unsheathed his two swords and yelled, "Their captain is dead!"

Raden let out a cheer and rushed ahead, clashing with the blockade of earth dragons in front of the bridge.

Bianca made it all the way to the end without a problem, slipping past the blockade and sprinting across the rest of the bridge behind their lines. She had only just taken a few moments to catch her breath when a loud noise and agonized screams drew her attention back to the fighting.

A catapult had struck one of the dragons down, and the distraction its projectile had caused gave the assailants enough room to close the distance and clash directly, with Raden swinging his weapons on a tough-looking dragon. Commander Radux himself was charging in, his steps booming louder and louder as he closed in on the group with his enchanted axe.

Bianca grimaced. She didn't have much time to spare. She hurriedly entered the swamp temple, casting off her concealment as soon as the bridge was out of view.

Made for adult dragons, the interior of the swamp temple was wide and spacious. A corridor that could fit four dragons side by side was wide enough to fit about eight to ten rows of bipeds like Bianca. Columns lined the walls, topped with luminescent crystals. They cast a dim and gloomy white upon the halls and it would've given the whole place a solemn air if it wasn't for the commotion happening outside.

Bianca jogged along the halls, cursing to herself how the temple administrators of past and present never bothered with signs. She passed large cavernous rooms showcasing gargantuan statues of notable dragons in their species' millennia-long history. Of note was a sculpture of Malefor, the Dark Master himself.

From here the path split into two directions. Surely one of the hatcheries was—

A shout interrupted her thoughts. "Halt! Who are you?"

Bianca jolted. Two dragon knights had emerged from one of the nearby hallways—earth and electricity, judging by their scale colors. It wasn't perfectly accurate by any means, but the heuristic served well on the field.

Electricity chuckled, plodding towards the rabbit. "Awfully puny for an ape, I say. Let's kill him."

"Do that," Bianca replied, "and the apes will be the least of your problems." She took off her hood, revealing her face. She shook her head, letting her floppy ears loose. Her whiskers twitched at the influx of air around her head. Blue eyes stared coldly back at the dragons. "As you can see, I am not one of them."

Both knights remained alert. Electricity wanted to speak, but Earth cut him off. "Let her speak."

"I am Bianca, apprentice sorceress from Castle Shadowstone," she introduced herself. "Mistress Cauldra had received word of the Dark Armies' assault and sent me here to assist your forces the best way I can." The dragons glared at her, but made no move. Their expressions didn't change. So far, so good. "Where are the Guardians? They are here, aren't they? I seek an immediate audience."

"Spring of Fortune shines upon us!" Electricity cried. "I'm glad you're here. Ignitus is in Hatchery Valorem securing the eggs while the others—

"Wait a minute!" hollered Earth. "Castle Shadowstone, you say? I heard about you lot. You're, y-you're one of those 'Magus' people, aren't you?"

Electricity whipped his snout at Earth. "What's wrong with that? That's just a fancy-sounding term for a mage—

"Azeroth the Infinite, it's not!" Earth shot back. "My older brother's from Uzali. He says anyone from Shadowstone is a Magus, and the Magi can't be trusted." He crouched, preparing to pounce. Bianca could sense the knight gathering his earth mana beneath his paws. "Speak, witch! Why are you really here?"

"You are not qualified to know that, dragon. Bring me to Ignitus. I will strike a deal with him."

Earth laughed. "Not qualified‽" he repeated, almost incredulous. "I am a knight of Talonpoint Keep! I have every right to check your intentions. Now speak, or else we'll force it out of you."

Everyone became tense. The two dragons curled their forepaws, tails going still. They already anticipated a hostile answer from the rabbit.

She may as well give it to them. "Complete annihilation of the apes in exchange for one of your hatcheries."

Earth's eyes dilated. "Vulcan's Flames! No dragon in their right mind will ever accept that."

"Unless they're desperate," Bianca sneered.

Electricity charged, quickly dashing towards her. "You heartless witch!" He shone brightly, encasing himself in lightning. Bianca stepped aside and barely eluded the attack.

"We will use you as a bargaining chip instead!" Earth declared. He reared up and swiped at the air, summoning several spheres from the ground and launching them at her.

Bianca slammed her fists together to activate the Brightsteel Gold runes. She leaped at Earth, whipping her shining arm at one of the oncoming rocks. It was deflected, rather than destroyed. Bianca snarled. He had put more mana in his attacks than expected.

No matter. It was not as though she was helpless against these dragons. Earth jumped out of the way as Bianca landed, driving her fist in the ground. A hole formed due to her magically-enhanced strength, but she was not yet done.

Electricity yelled out in surprise. "Ancestors! Is she really a spellcaster‽"

"I am a Magus!" Her spatial ring glowed an ominous white before a wand appeared in her left hand. Drawing mana from her core, the rabbit sorceress concentrated on the manifestation she sought and summoned seven ethereal blades above her head.

The conjured arsenal circled her as she went on the offensive, lunging once again at Earth, who rolled and snaked out of harm's way. Proving too fast for her physical prowess, Bianca pulled the mental trigger and launched four of the floating swords at the dragon—three missed and struck the floor; one pierced his shoulder. He growled and spun, forming a menacingly long rod of stone on his tail.

At the same time, Electricity spat a golden orb at Bianca, hoping to catch her with a fierce attack from the side. The sorceress whirled around and stretched out her left hand, aiming the wand at the Electric Orb.

A wall of force sprouted to existence, barring the lethal attack and causing it to explode in a net of golden lightning.

Unfortunately, neither of her opponents had realized the true threat posed by her sword magic. The three blades that had missed suddenly freed themselves from the ground and shot at the lightning dragon, who'd been too surprised to dodge.

"By the Lifebringer, no!"

As they impaled him, Bianca launched the remaining three ethereal lances at Earth, who she'd been keeping track of when she showed her back at him. He evaded all three in a solid demonstration of his experience and training. He even got away with minor nicks and bruises from the swords that had extracted themselves from his comrade-in-arms and shot out at him from afar…

Only to fall right into Bianca's range of attack. Even armor enchanted by the wizarding gnorcs of Talonpoint Keep could not hold for long under repeated assault by the Brightsteel Gold arts. A few seconds was all it took for her to bury the metal into Earth's scales and subsequently subdue the knight.

Bianca slammed the dragon's head on the ground, driving his snout into the floor. It took only two hits for his nose to crack. He writhed, snarling in agony, wings flapping about. "M-mercy. Mercy! I'll, I-I'll tell you where Master Ignitus is."

"You had your chance. Too bad for you, I don't need your cooperation." She thrust her wand at the dragon's head and muttered the incantation for a certain mind magic—the kind that invaded the target's psyche and ruffled through their mind to find the information she desired. The spell would lobotomize the target if their mental fortitude was not strong enough, which was almost always the case.

It certainly was with this poor knight. His pleading turned into shrieks as Bianca ripped out the layout of the swamp temple and the events that had led to the moment they met.

She saw the Four Guardians marveling over a scarlet egg that turned purple after a full lunar cycle of Adrano the Red since its oviposition. Moments in the past when this Talonpoint Knight stepped up to the egg to admire the spectacle, his mind clouded with thoughts of seeing the Purple Dragon of Legend. Ignitus was particularly excited for some reason; there was rife speculation among the guards that he had a familial relationship to the whelp within.

Bianca saw how the invasion had begun. The Dark Army seemingly appeared out of nowhere, emerging from the canopies of the swamplands as if they had somehow snuck past all the forts that ran along the roads going here. Volteer, Terrador, and Cyril all flew to manage their borders while Ignitus personally took charge of securing the temple's depths.

It had the smell of third party interference all over it, for the Apes were not known for their stealth and King Gaul was loath to employ "cowardly" tactics.

Sorceress Bianca felt her heart quicken for the first time since she entered the fray. This did not bode well for her mission.

Rowdy shouts echoed from behind her, accompanying wild fits of laughter. Innumerable footsteps drove away the solemn air. The rabbit, pulled out of her trance, let out a snarl of irritation before a black shadowstone appeared in her right hand.

She gestured at it with her wand, drawing runes in the air and touching the gem's surface as soon as it let off a white glow at the tip. A foreboding purple appeared within—the Soul Trap was ready.

Conjuring blades of mana, Bianca severed the listless Talonpoint Knight by the neck. Black tendrils snaked from the body and into the magicked shadowstone. When no more emerged, the sorceress slipped her mana into her ring and drew both bodies, the soul stone, and the wand into its pocket space. A green bottle appeared in her left hand, which she drank with gusto to replenish a portion of her mana.

The apes rushed in not long after Bianca had magically lifted some of the blood that had been spilled during her fight and scattered it about the passage she knew led to one of the prime hatcheries, which were named after the Ancestors that the dragons used to name the days after.

As long as it wasn't the prime hatchery she was headed to, then she could care less what the apes did.

The ape fighter known as Raden was the first to enter the chamber, tail clutching a bloodied spear. His eyes passed over Bianca—who was hidden by the light refraction spell—and widened in awe at the great and massive statue in the center. "Whoa. Glad we didn't fight something like that."

The other apes filed out from behind him. They chattered amongst themselves, wondering where to go. "Where to?" one asked.

Another fighter pointed at the passage that Bianca intended to take. "Look! There's a path over there!"

"And another over here!" cried out a third.

"Which way? Which way?"

"Maybe we just split up?"

Jayce's voice cut across the din, drawing eyes to an ape approaching the second passage. "Raden! We should go the other way!"

"What'd you find, Jayce?" Raden asked, following his lead.

The ape in question pointed at the bloodstains Bianca haphazardly splattered all over the corridor minutes ago. "Blood. Someone must've tried to run away."

"And fetch reinforcements from inside." Raden smirked. He scampered past Jayce and beckoned the others over. "Come, let's kill 'em all!"

Most of the apes followed their lead, while a few others remained behind to loiter. Chances were high they would enter the other passage after more authoritative figures of the invaders followed in after them. Bianca left the scene, going straight to Hatchery Virith, which was located opposite Hatchery Valorem and the furthest away from Ignitus and the Purple Dragon's egg.

The rabbit sorceress did not encounter many guards along the way. She slipped past every one she could, slaying them only when her scent or the swishing of her robes gave her away. She didn't understand why there were so few. According to the knight's memories, the temple had plenty of defenders, and all of them were dragons. It didn't make sense.

Hatchery Virith was a large and grandiose chamber with multiple pedestals inside. Each pedestal had about five eggs clumped together, packed in soft, velvety textiles woven by the bipedal species. Runes lined the sides, glowing, perhaps providing the optimal conditions necessary for the eventual hatching of a healthy whelp.

A shard of pity rose in Bianca's heart as she thought of all the primates scrambling to get to this place and crush even these helpless and innocent babies.

"Don't forget your purpose, Bianca," the sorceress told herself, quickly suppressing the emotion. She was an aspiring Magus, hoping to someday learn if not discover the secrets of the multiverse. Her only concern should be gathering power, so that she could get out of the castle—get out of Devil's Reach—and truly seek the truth of all things. "Everything else is irrelevant."

Her resolve intact, Sorceress Bianca proceeded to harvest as many eggs as she could. Injecting mana into her spatial ring, she bumped each egg with her fist to mark it with her spiritual signature and draw it into the pocket space within its glowing jewel. She smirked to herself. "The perks of being number one."

Bianca had quietly emptied two "nests" of its contents when, before she could move on, the sounds of rapid footsteps, yelling, and elemental fire all fluttered into the room without forewarning.

The sorceress grimaced and summoned her wand. To think the apes had caught up with her already! She didn't know how that happened after misdirecting the whole group. They should've been focused on smashing the other hatcheries right now.

Regardless, Hatchery Virith was hers. They could smash the other eggs for all she cared, as long as Castle Shadowstone had the quantity it needed. She turned around, raised her wand, and—

"By Akasha!" Bianca dove out of the way to avoid a column of red-orange dragon fire. She glanced back at her enemy, ready to retaliate, only to find the lone opposing dragon distracted by the parties behind it.

Multiple green bipeds a third shorter than her were chasing after the dragon, their white, glowing eyes narrowed from intent. They held circular blades in both hands, puffing in and out of existence during their pursuit.

They were working together with another, but smaller group of bipeds, clad in dark purple robes, their faces magically obscured in shadow.

Bianca scowled. Skylanders. What were they doing here? How did they get here? Her diagnostic spells didn't reveal traces of a portal's creation. Her vigilance grew when, after some quick thinking, she realized the two groups represented two distinct factions in the hidden empire. "Eon and Kaos working together?" she muttered to herself. "That's not good. Why?"

The answer easily revealed itself when the dragon briefly craned his neck back to spit out several fireballs at the group of stealth elves and nightshades. A sling bag flashed into view, its bulging contents nearly too big for it.

A single egg.

The egg of the Purple Dragon!

Carried by who could only be Master Ignitus, the appointed Guardian of Fire.

Bianca decided to intervene immediately. The Skylands Empire must not have the Purple Dragon! She raised her wand and, with an exaggerated somatic gesture, conjured seven spectral blades above her head. Then she clashed both fists together to ignite her mana and wrap her entire body with the aura of the Brightsteel Gold arts.

Ignitus watched the display of power with shock and awe before glaring down at Bianca, ready for another fight. Little did he realize that the sorceress had drawn runes not to launch an attack at him, but at his pursuers instead.

Bolts of lightning shot out at the Skylanders behind Ignitus. They saw this and scattered, like the veteran soldiers they were. Bianca immediately jumped into the fray, leaping at one of the stealth elves and whipping her shining arm at the biped faster than they could react.

They were sent flying into one of the raised nests, smushing several eggs in their wake before lying dead. Another one—a female, judging by its long ponytail—appeared beside the sorceress with their weapons outstretched, not knowing her sword formation had a self-defense component built into it. Two of her spectral blades shot out. The elf instantly retreated, but failed to escape unscathed.

Her escape surprised Bianca. She had glimpsed how the elf had parried one of the conjured swords. That should've been impossible unless… "Tch. Those chakrams are enchanted."

Movement stirred in her periphery. Three swords shot out, but failed to connect. The rabbit sorceress reflexively ducked, avoiding a fist enveloped in black wisps. She drove her glowing head into the Nightshade's stomach—hearing several bones break—and sent them flying into more eggs. The fragile things squelched loudly as they fractured.

Bianca sensed the last of her two conjurations launching themselves at an enemy in her blind spot. They penetrated what appeared to be a shadow clone, which dissipated on hit. Two elves rushed at her, ignoring Ignitus to address the greater threat. She managed to deflect one strike—the blade nicking her fur and actually slicing past her protective aura—while firing off a ball of beige mana at the other.

A stream of fire tore at the entire group. Bianca saw it coming and jumped back. She did not get a chance to breathe and chug another mana potion for Ignitus pounced at her with his claws out.

The rabbit raised her wand and erected a translucent beige barrier in the nick of time. The Guardian's claws raked across her magic shield, followed by his tail. "I'm on your side, you fool!"

"While bearing Cauldra's marks on your robe?" Ignitus scoffed, staring at a near-invisible insignia that had been sown onto the black fabric. He had impeccable eyesight. "Seldoot's horns, I can't trust my back to you!"

"That doesn't matter. We at least respect the World Will." Bianca's wand shone brightly before she swept it, sending large arcs of mana hurtling at the Skylanders. Ignitus's glare seemed to worsen when her attacks noisily scrunched more unhatched eggs and the sorceress herself didn't bother giving the misshapen corpses even a single glance. "I will not do anything to the Purple Dragon per se. Everything else, though…"

"Hmph. Name your price, Magus."

Bianca grinned, visibly impressed. People who knew what separated the Magi from mere dabblers of the arcane were extremely rare. "All the eggs I can salvage from Hatchery Virith."

Ignitus snarled menacingly. He recoiled backwards, tightening his clasp on the Purple Egg as though Bianca would betray their unspoken ceasefire at any given time. A wise decision in any other circumstance; most Magi would have attacked him—herself included, if Mistress Cauldra hadn't stressed to her multiple times how dangerous it was to get involved with the Purple Dragon.

Massive tremors suddenly coursed through the temple, violently shuddering the ground to the point cracks formed on the stone. The Skylanders stumbled, flopping back to the ground. Two of the stealth elves, however, leaped to the air, blinking in and out of visibility until finally appearing high in the air. Sorceress Bianca's eyes widened when she saw tiny scrolls in front of them. Damn it, they brought summoning scrolls!

With a series of mental commands, all seven swords shot themselves back into a circle formation above her. Six twisted in the air and aimed their points at the two elves before flying out.

She was too late.

The elves' chakrams ripped the paper into pieces a split second before the ethereal blades skewered their bodies. Space itself began to waver—to distort, destabilizing as the summoning scrolls performed their magic.

At this time, Bianca turned to Ignitus and snapped, "Make your decision now, before I take that egg and leave you here!"

Six biped golems materialized in midair before the dragon could reply. They landed on a few nests, their mass crushing both the eggs and the containers that held them. Four were magma incarnate, solid, near-indestructible rock. The cracks running across their bodies glowed an eerie orange, radiating so much heat that even Bianca felt her paws sweat. The other two were blue, if crystalline, seemingly sucking the warmth and life from the hatchery. It didn't take much to figure what element they represent.

Of the three stealth elves that remained, one pointed a finger at both Ignitus and Sorceress Bianca. "Eruptors, kill them!"

Another earthquake rumbled the temple. Ignitus gnashed his teeth, muttering what sounded like a name. Pinching tears out of his eyes, he twisted on his paws and, with a flap of his wings, fled. "By Azeroth, fine! Do as you wish."

The Guardian had not even taken a few steps when one of the nightshades appeared next to him, swinging a mace at the dragon's head. One of Bianca's spectral swords smashed into it, knocking the mabu off balance.

She raised her wand to finish the Skylander off with a mana bullet, only for another elf to suddenly appear in front of her with a chakram soaring for her neck. Knowing its blade could cut through the Brightsteel Gold aura, the sorceress backpedaled while shooting another sword from her formation.

The elf jerked their head out of harm's way and advanced, striking out, unaware it slew the nightshade who had tried to kill Ignitus. She raised her wand to block—Snap!

A third sword flung itself to the side, nearly decapitating the penultimate elf trying to sneak up on her. Bianca rolled out of the way of the other elf's kick before her fourth blade separated them. She came up to one of the eruptors. It swung its fists at her.

Trusting in the Brightsteel Gold arts, Bianca parried the swing and slapped the arm away. She winced, feeling the melting heat penetrate her armored robe. To think Skiaclipse hide merely blunts the heat! Moving quickly, she clenched her other fist and slammed the golem's head, taking care not to have her fur touch its blazing stoneskin.

What would've bludgeoned dragon scales merely sent the golem stumbling, a testament to a Portal Master's craftsmanship. But she wasn't after destruction, no. She needed an opening, and the golem unwittingly gave her one. She launched herself off of the construct and, drawing another rune, sent several icicles flying in the other Skylanders' direction to prevent her from being outflanked.

The ice eruptor leaped in harm's way and endured her magic, sparing her targets from certain death. Bianca summoned another mana potion from her spatial ring and swallowed its contents, only to realize Diminishing Absorption had begun to take effect.

She scattered the three remaining swords circling above her at her opponents. Bianca smiled in satisfaction when she realized Ignitus had taken the chance to escape when all the Skylanders had focused their attention on her.

One of the nightshades phased into existence before her. "Leave, Sorceress!" spoke the mabu. "We know who you are. Submaster Kaos has spoken highly of you. You can have these eggs as long as you let us pass."

Even as he uttered those words, all six eruptors lumbered slowly towards her. Their heads, their limbs, brimmed with the elements of ice and fire.

Bianca's seven-sword formation reappeared, but they did not give her any security. She had to take this more seriously if she wanted to kill the intruders without letting a single one escape.

Decisively, she shook her sleeve; a sword slipped into her right hand. Its blade was as night. Two shrunken dragon wings jingled together beside her wrist, complementing the draconic likeness of its guard. "And take the Purple Dragon for yourselves?" The rabbit growled. "Don't any of you understand what that will do?" She got into a fighting stance, spatial ring glinting in the dim light of Hatchery Virith as a comically oversized handbell appeared in her left hand.

Both the nightshades and the stealth elves flinched upon seeing the two artifacts. They tensed up. The mabu in front of her tried to bargain, "L-look here, Sorceress. Submaster Kaos will reward you handsomely! He might even induct you into the Doomraiders Unit himself—

"Azeroth's Wheel must turn!" Bianca cut him off. "Do what you must for your Empire, but I swear on my Path, none of you are leaving alive!"

Flames suddenly sprung around the rabbit. Then she vanished, reappearing directly beside another nightshade in a burst of searing fire. "C-comet Dash‽ But how—

Bianca sliced them in half. Standing in the middle of the entire group, she sneered at them, lifting her sword as a blizzard bloomed beneath her boots and shrouded everything in hail, ice, and snow.

The Skylanders were hurtled about, assailed by frigid shards of ice and brain-numbing winds that had sprung out of nowhere. She swung her black sword at the blazing eruptors, each slice shooting out large, magic-infused snowballs at the golems—each detonating in a powerful explosion.

The attacks crushed a horrifying number of dragon eggs in Hatchery Virith, enough to have any dragon faint at the sloppy noises of every child being robbed of the chance to live. Bianca poured her own mana into the blade and lit up the tip. Constructing the magic circle with mind and focus alone, she stabbed at the air, summoning numerous firebolts and firing them at the ice eruptors.

The golems dealt with, the sorceress casually strolled to each Skylander and finished them off, thrusting her blade into their necks. They leered at her as she approached. An elf sneered at her, glaring up at the witch with his pallid eyes. "Go ahead, Sorceress Bianca. Kill us! I promise you, Master Eon will find out about this."

"You and Archmage Cauldra will see what it means to cross another Magus," added a mabu. "Mark our words."

The rabbit executed the soldiers one by one, ignoring their last words. She held her handbell tightly, staying vigilant the entire time, expecting anything—anyone—to materialize in the air and ambush her the second she relaxed. Bianca stayed alert even as she gathered the corpses together and, with a wave of her personal blade, conjured a pyre of fire on top of them.

It was not until she had found a fresh cluster of green spirit gems and destroyed it did the sorceress finally feel safe.

Watching the black sword draw in mana into its guard, Bianca returned the massive clapper into her spatial ring. She felt immense relief, for she had not been forced to use the Bergebrech Bell even once.

The sorceress went around what was left of Hatchery Virith. Only five eggs had survived the fight, no more, no less. She harvested them all, packing each one into her spatial ring just before she heard the raucous and barbaric bellowing of apekind.

She once again cast her light refraction spell to conceal herself and waited beside the entrance. Countless ape fighters and several captains flooded in, weapons drawn and ready to quarter anyone who barred their path.

"H-hey! This place's a wreck!"

"I thought the other groups hadn't gone this way yet!"

"No matter! Sweep the hatchery and shatter everything into even smaller pieces! Pulverize those puny bones if you must!"

With a rallying cry, the apes surged forward and spread out all throughout Hatchery Virith. They smashed everything, wreaking havoc and destruction. What Bianca and her encounter with the Skylanders hadn't already demolished were annihilated with gusto. They went further than the initial group she had seen, tearing down the drapes, slamming weapons and bodies on the pedestals, chopping down even the tiny, lifeless bodies littering the floor.

A few nasty individuals picked up the dead, half-formed embryos before the other apes stomped on it. A disgusted shudder coursed through Bianca as she watched one close to her slurp an embryo into their mouths with relish, smacking their lips. "Nothing like dragon meat!"

The Magus was so reviled by their satisfaction that she once again felt the urge to kill off this entire group. Apes were truly a tasteless and vulgar species to their core, she thought to herself. She could only hope the Mistress wouldn't send her off to visit them even as an envoy.

Bianca wrenched her gaze away from the barbarous revelry and slipped out, rushing back towards one of several exits—specifically, the one on the opposite side of the Temple. Along the way, she saw the damage left behind by the Dark Armies.

It was tragic.

Millennia of history and culture had been razed down tonight. The statues were broken. Feces and urine were smeared everywhere. Clusters of Spirit Gems had been broken off at the root, presumably to feed whatever contraption King Gaul was using to harness the dragon's natural magic. She passed the butchered corpses of dragon knights who had been overwhelmed by the invaders, walking past several groups where they must have tried to put up a last stand, if not buy time for those behind them.

The exit she was looking for was practically a secluded side entrance that connected to a walkway, which then led around back towards the main bridge. There were stairs leading down to the swamp, of course, but she had no intentions of using that.

Bianca, however, hid herself behind the doorway when she saw an ape loitering in the cloister in front of her, trailing far behind the rest of their platoon. She recognized their features. It was Jayce.

The Sorceress took a deep breath, readying herself to kill this ape fighter and dedicate his death to the insidious, graceless massacre that he and his kind had performed that night.

Her fingertips glowed.

She drew runes in the air and—

Bianca aborted her spell mid-cast. Her insides lurched from the slight backlash, but she did not regret it. Her cerulean eyes dilated at the intact dragon egg Jayce had just fished out from his satchel.

A fire dragon's egg.

Turned away from the departing brigade, the ape fighter stared down at it, his gaze forlorn. "I didn't join the armies to slaughter unborn children. I can't kill you. Even if you are a dragon." Jayce hugged the egg before holding it up, ogling it as if it was a ruby rather than a living thing.

Bianca watched various emotions pass through the ape's snout. Even she could not associate any of his expressions with the frenzied hate she had seen on the others. He stayed there, admiring the dragon egg while sneaking glances at the group outside, shuffling back just to barely keep up.

Was he… seriously going to take the egg with him? Even Bianca couldn't imagine an ape trying to raise a dragon in the Well of Souls.

Minutes passed. Bianca noticed another ape appear at the steps leading down to the swamp. He hollered at Jayce, but his voice was inaudible from this distance.

The ape he was talking to was so focused on the egg he didn't even hear the shout. Thankfully, Jayce seemed to have come to a decision on his own and scurried off to the side. There, he laid down the dragon egg and hid it behind broken debris, taking the time to make sure no one would see it until they cleaned up the mess.

At that moment, a yell echoed through the chamber. "Jayce!"

The ape was startled so fiercely that he spun around without thinking. Bianca recognized his partner Raden as he marched towards the kind and gentle primate with an incredulously annoyed mien. "What the hell are you doing back here‽ We're going to leave you behind!"

Jayce couldn't help but yelp. "S-sorry! I—uh… got distracted." He gestured at the various shrubbery planted in the cloister. "Thought I saw something in the bushes, but it was, uh…"

Raden stepped closer, his interest piqued. "Oh yeah? Like what?"

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of the largest ape Bianca had seen that night. The same one she had seen on the bridge, shouting out commands like there was no tomorrow. "Duskjackal! Bladelizard!" His bellows caused the very air to shake. "Do I have to drag your scrawny behinds back to the boats myself‽ Keep up and quit dragging your feet!"

Raden groaned. "Damn, he saw me." He poked his finger at Jayce's chest, glaring angrily. "This is your fault. If he makes us scrub rusty saucepans for weeks, I'm blaming you."

Jayce merely shrugged. The Ape Commander had already turned his back on the two to lead the march back into the swamp. Raden trudged after him. "Let's go, slacker," he said over his shoulder. "Move your legs or I'll move them for you."

Jayce stumbled after him. His hands reached shakily for his satchel. He slipped his hand in and then, for a brief moment, glanced back at the wall—at the place he left the dragon egg in. Bianca would not forget the worry, regret, and relief etched on ape's face, even after he and Raden vanished beneath the stairs.

Just as the rays of dawn began to shine through the exit, the rabbit strolled up to the hiding place and got a look at the egg Jayce Bladelizard left behind.

Bianca mulled over the idea of raising the dragon herself. After all, who knew how long it had before the forces of the Allied Territories arrived and scoured the entire swamp temple for survivors and intact eggs? She discarded the notion quickly—she'd just be tempted to process the poor thing herself, like the others currently stored away in her spatial ring.

Any other Magi would have seized the egg for themselves and added it to their collection. Not Bianca, though. She didn't have much sympathy for these unborn children, but neither was she someone who could watch an ape—a kind ape—put much effort into ensuring even just a single life escaped this massacre, and undo all that without a shred of compassion in her soul.

Bianca might have been a Magus, but treating everyone else like they were stepping stones to her pursuit of power—of knowledge—was not a part of her Path of Truth. With that in mind, she bit her thumb to the point teeth broke the skin. The rabbit smeared her blood on the egg and poured her mana over it, chanting a few spells.

Spells made to enhance its durability, to conceal its presence even further from prying eyes…

As well as a spell to mark the unborn child's soul and tie it to Bianca's. For all she knew, Jayce could have taken this egg from the prime hatcheries. The whelp within might have people of authority for their parents.

People whose assistance Bianca might need in the distant future.

There was no better way to guarantee this than to ensure the whelp would feel a sense of familiarity, of safety, whenever they just so much as gazed upon her.

The Magi bartered only with benefits and knowledge, and Sorceress Bianca was no different. This arrangement ensured all parties were satisfied—Jayce's efforts would not go to waste, the child's parents would be happy the egg survived the genocide, and she would have an eager helper in the event Mistress Cauldra sent her on a mission into Warfang.

When the spells were finished, Bianca herself strolled out into the open. The twin moons had vanished from the sky and the morning sun was in full force. She clad herself in beige light and rose to the air. As she gained altitude, she brought her gaze down on the Temple as it receded further away. The witch spotted Ignitus' form on a nearby river, flowing deeper into the swamps, away from the apes' boats. If she had magically enhanced her vision, she might have actually seen the Purple Egg floating down the waters, its destiny seemingly uncertain to all but a select few.

Bianca knew the Great War would soon come to an end, for the turn of the wheel had come, with the World deciding to birth another Purple Dragon into existence. Such machinations spelled the demise of the Dark Master, who still languished in his otherworldly prison today, trapped between this dimension and the Space Between Worlds.

Her concerns rested not on the Purple Dragon, but on the events to come after they fulfilled the role ordained upon them by the World Will. The foreigners she had slain were all citizens of the Skylands Empire, a world power that had hidden itself away when the Great War erupted. How many more agents have they sent out into the Dragon Realms? How many lurked in the shadows, gathering supplies? Data? Even influence?

They were preparing for a resurgence.

If Bianca had to guess, they only had about fifteen years before this intergenerational calamity came to an end.

Fifteen years before the Skylands Empire returned.

Unbroken.

Unchallenged.

Supported with the full might of the Portal Masters—Magi of such terrifying power and ability that their every action literally moved and shook the world.

High in the sky, where the innumerable stars were visible, Bianca surged forth, soaring away from the Allied Territories of Warfang in a comet of light and mana. The rabbit sped back towards Castle Shadowstone, in the northernmost reaches of the continent, her mission complete and with a harrowing message for her mistress.

That she had interceded for the World.

That her actions drew the ire of Magi greater than either of them.

That they only had fifteen years to prepare…


Author's notes:

Noticed that Jayce Bladelizard and Raden Duskjackal were featured here? Wondering who they are? Go and read Firelight by Riverstyxx! It's one of the best Spyro fanfiction to date, featuring a cast full of OCs. Don't let that deter you though. She wrote an awesome story.

They are present here since Jayce is present in Aimless as a cameo with a fully-developed AU backstory. River herself had given me her thumbs up on this alternate route and also helped me figure out the fates of Firelight's main cast in the scenario that Jayce didn't take Charla's egg.

And an FYI to Aimless readers: if this story was featured in the story proper as an actual chapter, this would be given the "BTW" (Beyond the Wall) tag.