Chapter 24: Out with the Truth
Many Years Ago...
Malefor awoke to a bright sunrise as the events of last night replayed in his head, he then remembered he was still snuggling with Synthia on the lakeside, he was thankful that she was in front of him, so he shielded her from the sun with his wings in hopes she could rest longer.
"She deserves it." He smiled and laid his head on Synthia's, allowing her to rest longer while he stared at the nature they were surrounded by. The birds chirped while the natural gems gleamed in the ground, he smiled at the peace, and then looked down at Synthia's resting form, their tails still coiled. The Shadow Dragoness mumbled in her sleep and seemed to form a smile on her face, she was certainly dreaming of something pleasant. Synthia snuggled up closer to him, turning to face him and wrapping her arms around Malefor's sides. He blushed when the Dragoness nuzzled him in her sleep, seeming to know her position and enjoying it.
"She's absolutely perfect." Malefor watched the birds, two of which seemed to share a similar situation with the Dragons in that they were cuddling with each other. Unfortunately, his time with Synthia was interrupted when none other than Hazan walked up to him.
"So...how was your night?" He asked rather calmly while Malefor blushed in embarrassment.
"It was...fine." He did his best to speak while not disturbing the Dragoness who rested in his arms. "Look, Hazan, I'm sorry. I was going to tell you, but I was scared because of what the scrolls sa-" Malefor was cut off by Hazan chuckling.
"I'm not mad, Malefor, I'm proud of you. You found love, something that rarely any Purple Dragon could ever do because of their untimely deaths before being able to find someone in the course of establishing peace. But you found love far before you'll be called to defend the world, as for the scrolls: relationships between Primary Dragons and Secondary Dragons are rare, not forebidden." Hazan explained to the Purple Drake, who became less tense.
"So...you're not mad?" Malefor asked the elder Dragon, who shook his head.
"Of course not, and I must say from what I've seen of Synthia: you chose well." He replied as Malefor looked at Synthia, who was still peacefully resting in his arms.
"Well, we were very close, we had to be if we were going to win the duo sparring matches. She recognized my desire to not hurt anyone, and appreciated it. Not to mention she was my first friend." The Purple Dragon told Hazan, who smiled compassionately.
"Synthia is many things, but she definitely wasn't a fan of everyone at this Temple hitting on her, most of the times, she'd hit back...in a much more physical way." The Elder Dragon joked. "Just take care of her, Malefor, I can tell that she's finally truly happy." He told Malefor, who nodded, after a brief silence, the Purple Dragon looked at Hazan.
"So, is there any other reason you came here? Or did you just want to check up on us?" Malefor asked, causing Hazan to shake his head.
"No, there is another reason: Ignitus and Breeze have both told me that Froststorm is acting strange, he says he's seeing things in his dreams. Specifically one symbol, I was wondering if you could check up on him when you have the time, I still need to prepare our next session of lessons, so you have plenty of time." The Elder Dragon informed him, then he prepared to leave, but turned one last time to say. "Take care of Synthia." Before leaving them to themselves, unfortunately, not long after this, Synthia stirred from her slumber and wearily opened her eyes.
"Good morning, my Sapphire, how did you sleep?" Malefor asked upon seeing her eyes.
"It was the best sleep I've had in ages." Synthia replied as they laid there, with Synthia leaning against Malefor's chest, while the Purple Drake looked down at her in a loving manner.
"Hazan was just here." His next statement made Synthia nervous.
"What did he say about...us?" She asked.
"He wasn't mad, he was quite the opposite in fact...he was proud of us." Malefor's response surprised the Dragoness, who still had the rose in between her horns.
"Well, that makes things easier for us, I suppose." Synthia figured and the Dragons remained for a few more minutes before standing upwards. "I guess I'll see you at breakfast." She smiled at Malefor, who coiled his tail around hers.
"Are you sure you don't want to go together?" He inquired, to which she nodded.
"Yeah, I need to deal with some personal things first...but, I will keep this rose on for the day." Her response made the Purple Dragon smile.
"In that case, it'll make it easier for me to go and see Froststorm, apparently he's been acting weird lately." He informed the Shadow Dragoness as they parted ways until Breakfast, Malefor made his way to Froststorm's quarters, seeing that the door was shut, he knocked. "Hello?" He said, and heard shuffling coming from inside, along with sounds of presumably broken glass or pottery. When the door was opened, he saw that Froststorm looked like a zombie. He had heavy dark circles under his eyes, and his eyes looked bloodshot.
"Hey Malefor, come in, come in." He yanked the Purple Drake inside and slammed the door shut.
"So...what're you up to...?" Malefor asked while looking at his walls, they were covered in random pictures that were all connected by pins and string, tape was also keeping them from falling. Just above his bed was a strange symbol: a circle with a vertical line jutting through the middle, it seemed as though Froststorm had carved it into the wall.
"Oh, you know, just been busy questioning the fabric of reality. No one else would believe me...but I know I'm onto something, so it's a good thing you showed up, Malefor." He paused and took a big gulp of Coffee from a pitcher, then he set it down and started explaining. "This symbol has been showing up in my dreams a lot, and now, I think I've finally figured out what it means: this one symbol has been showing up in various locations on the planet, no one knows what it means. But I know I'm onto something." Froststorm repeated himself and climbed onto his dresser.
"This! This right here! You know the Time Crystal that's been stored in Warfang for a millennia?" He asked Malefor, who nodded in concern for the Ice Dragon. "This Crystal has the exact same symbol...they're connected! So I did some digging and have come to the conclusion that this is a cosmic being of great power...Malefor." Froststorm took another huge drink of Coffee.
"We're not the only universe out there." He made a bold decleration, surprising Malefor.
"Froststorm, that's a pretty big theory." The Purple Dragon replied, causing Froststorm to laugh crazily.
"It's not a Theory! It's the truth! I can't explain it, but I know this through the dreams I've been having. This voice speaks to me, he calls himself: Guardian #42. I can't get it out of my head!" He began scribbling incoherent letters on a piece of paper for no reason.
"Froststorm...you really need to get some sleep." Malefor told him, but the Ice Dragon laughed again.
"Oh, I try, but then the visions come back...and I can't sleep." Froststorm explained, causing the Purple Dragon to be more distressed than before.
"Froststorm, I'm serious, you need rest, I mean: Other universes, Guardians, Time Crystals. Are you sure you're thinking rationally?" Malefor wondered, which made Froststorm a little irritated.
"I am thinking more clearly than you realize, Malefor. *Heh heh* I know what I'm seeing...if you're not here to help me, then you can leave." Froststorm sent Malefor out of his quarters, slamming the door shut. Well, that had gotten him nowhere, Ignitus was right: Froststorm seemed to be going crazy. Now that his objective was finished, his next one was to go and meet Synthia for Breakfast and explain the situation involving Froststorm.
Upon arriving at the Cafe, Malefor caught sight of Synthia sitting with Terrador and Ignitus, when she saw him, she waved at him, and he walked over and sat with them.
"Sorry I took so long, Hazan had me speak with Froststorm..." As soon as he said the Ice Dragon's name, Terrador and Ignitus seemed concerned.
"Why? What's wrong with him?" Synthia wasn't aware of the situation unlike the boys.
"He's officially lost his mind, he's talking about things like alternate universes, a mythical being named Guardian #42, and this one symbol of the Guardian popping up everywhere...in short, he's crazy." Malefor gave a short version of the story to his lover, who now was also concerned about Froststorm.
"Oh my...have you told Hazan any of this?" She asked him, and he shook his head.
"I just came from Froststorm's quarters, Ignitus only told Hazan that he was acting "Weird". Seeming to miss out the stuff with deities and a Multiverse." Malefor responded, causing Synthia to glare at Ignitus.
"What!? I just told Hazan what I observed, I wasn't aware that Froststorm was this obsessed." Ignitus tried to defend himself, but Synthia seemed irritated all the while.
"Nevertheless, this doesn't seem like a pure coincidence. Froststorm is a quiet and skilled warrior, the fact that he's getting visions about something and going crazy about them seems to hint at something greater." Terrador pointed out as Synthia agreed.
"Yeah...Malefor, you have to tell Hazan about this." She told him, who nodded and grabbed the menu.
"So, have you guys ordered yet?" Malefor opted to change the subject, Ignitus shook his head as an answer for all of them.
"No, we were waiting on you." He informed the Purple Drake, who wanted the French Toast with Milk.
"Well. I know what I want." Malefor licked his lips and set the menu down while Synthia and the others grabbed their menus to get their orders ready, when the waiter came, each ordered the following:
Synthia wanted Chocolate Chip Pancakes with sugar power and Maple Syrup with orange juice, obviously the most nutritious meal ever.
Ignitus wanted an Sausage and cheese omelette with Hot Chocolate.
Malefor wanted as stated before: French Toast and Milk.
Terrador wanted plain and simple Scrambled Eggs with Water.
"Terrador, you love getting bland stuff." Synthia joked while the Earth Dragon raised an eyebrow.
"Well, I for one enjoy staying in shape and eating healthy, something the three of you should consider." He retorted, causing slight laughter among them.
"Is that so, old friend?" Ignitus inquired doing a mocking form of slightly dramatic speech, ironically the type of speech he would use in his later years.
"Well, you two can bicker, but me and Malefor are just going to watch." Synthia smirked and leaned against Malefor, who accepted and draped his wing over her.
"Ah yes, Ignitus told me about both of you: congratulations." Terrador gave them a nod and smile of approval, the latter of which he rarely did, so it meant that their relationship was definitely okay with him.
"Here you are." The waiter placed their food down on the table, and Malefor thanked him, passing the waiter a tip for his service.
"And here you are." He replied and put the tip into the Waiter's paw, who showed his gratitude and walked away.
"Malefor...you didn't need to do that." Ignitus told him, but the Purple Dragon shrugged.
"But I wanted to, he deserves it, waiters and waitresses are underappreciated in this world." Malefor responded, causing Synthia to smile lovingly.
"Another reason I love you: Your selflessness and wanting to help others." She kissed his cheek and they began to eat their Breakfast. With Malefor eating mercilessly. "Someone was hungry." Synthia joked while the Purple Drake continued eating roughly. Eventually they had finished their meals, and parted, with Synthia walking with Malefor.
"So, did my Sapphire enjoy her meal?" He asked her, in response, she nodded and nuzzled him. "If you're okay with it, I'd like to go to the gardens." Malefor requested, and Synthia willingly complied, allowing the two of them to go to the garden.
"I always love it here, so serene..." Malefor sighed, at peace and walked among the flowers.
"You're one of the most perplexing Dragons I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, on one side, you're the Purple Dragon whose destined to bring a new age of peace through conflict. But on the other hand: You're a pacifist." Synthia commented while Malefor picked a baby Sunflower from it's spot and looked at Synthia.
"War is an unnecessary violence, it disgusts me...all I want is a life for us, beyond Hazan, beyond these Ape revolts, beyond all this blood and death. I want us to live together in peace, can you do this with me?" Malefor asked and handed the Sunflower to Synthia, she smiled.
"Of course..." She and Malefor kissed and remained for some time before pulling back and continuing their stroll through the garden. Coming across other Dragons and caretakers of the garden.
"I just remembered that you still have the rose." Malefor referenced the rose in between Synthia's horns, and she blushed.
"Well, what can I say? You picked well." She replied as their tails coiled and eventually, they left the gardens.
"I needed that, especially after all that drama with Froststorm. Thank you, Synthia." Malefor and the Dragoness embraced for a moment before parting.
"I'll see you at lunch, then?" He asked her, who nodded in response, Malefor figured he'd go back to the Lakeside and clean up the sight of their anniversary. Upon arriving, he used his magic to lift the Champagne bottles as well as the candles and make carrying things easier, he folded up the blanket and hung the basket he made on his arm.
"All right, let's go." He said in thought and moved in the direction of his quarters, staying hyper-focused on the task at hand and finally reaching his quarters. Once he opened the door and put everything away, he collapsed on the bed: waiting for when he could see his love again.
Hello there (General Kenobi), apologies for the shorter chapter, but I figured some wholesome content could be used before Malefor's evil Endgame is put into place. Seriously, man, I am having a ball writing about Malefor's past, it's exciting since I can explain how certain things happened and see how other references made in the present are showcased, like when Malefor mentioned Hazan all the way back in like, Chapter 8...man that was a long time ago, anyways, peace out.