Act 2, Chapter 10
It was almost noon in the Aechos Valley.
All across the valley, the many Moles, Cats and dragons of the scattered villages went about their daily routines. The many birds sang a barrage of lovely tunes. The many forest-dwelling animals darted across their land, allowing instinct to guide them on their way. The wind blew a gentle breeze across the Valley, dragging leaves along with it. Scores of rivers flowed along their path, most of them opening up to the Western edge of the Ocean. Everything was peaceful. All was calm..
If only someone had been able to warn the citizens of the Valley before it was too late. If only they knew that their lives were in great danger. If only they had the time to pack their belongings and flee to the East.
But alas, fate had different plans….
On one of the many forest paths of the Valley, a trio of Moles was walking along, humming to themselves. One of the Moles was pushing an empty red cart, while the other two were working together to carry a step ladder.
The forest around the moles was humming with the subtle yet noticeable noises of the many animals that lived within it. Squirrels chittered and chattered in the treetops. Tiny bugs buzzed allover the place. Birds cawed at random, communicating with others of their kind.
The moles came to a stop in front of a short Apple tree. Most of the trees in the forest were too tall for the small creatures to harvest fruit from, except for the Apple trees. And even then, Extra equipment was required to reach the titular fruit.
The two moles carrying the ladder set it up before the tree. One of the moles then proceeded to climb up the ladder to reach the Apples, while the other mole held the ladder in place. The first mole proceeded to pick Apples free of the tree and hand them to the second mole, who handed them to the third mole, who placed it in the cart.
The three moles went about their business, not paying attention to their surroundings. Little did they realize that danger lurking just beyond the thicket.
Suddenly, without warning, a great White beast leapt out of the forest thicket, going right over the moles' heads, and came to a hard landing a few feet away. The beast then quickly spun around and glared down at the moles, who were shocked and terrified at the monster's sudden appearance.
The beast leaned its head down and stared directly at the moles, grinning evilly. It said a single word.
"Boo."
The three moles stayed where they were, frozen in fear. The White monster frowned in annoyance.
"Hmmm, maybe I should try this again…" it said.
The White beast inhaled a massive amount of air. It then exhaled with a mighty Roar.
The beast's bellow sounded far louder than normally possible. The three moles were forced backwards, the one on the ladder falling to the ground, its ears bleeding profusely. Soon, the other two moles followed suit.
The White beast glared down at the helpless moles, a look of unsatisfaction on his face.
"Oh, screw this!" He exclaimed. The White beast opened its mouth and fired a blast of Purple energy onto the three screaming moles. Soon, they were dissolved into nothing...
Throughout this whole event, Nellie was riding atop Runefor's back. The White dragon had her ride on top of him to keep her from dragging him behind during his little excursion.
The dragoness got down from Runefor's back as the Great White dragon inspected the smoldering remains of the moles' bodies.
"Why did you do that to them?" Nellie demanded.
"I was hoping that the sight of a 'big scary White dragon' would send them running for the hills." Runefor said, still annoyed. "Well, it turns out that moles are too stupid to run in terror when given the hint. So, I took them out of their misery."
"Misery?" Nellie exclaimed. "They weren't doing anything to bother you!"
"They ruined my fun. THAT'S how they bothered me!" The White dragon snapped. "But in any case, that attempt to get excitement was a dud, so we might as well get moving."
The White dragon spread his wings and took to flight. Nellie followed behind him, being forced to by the necklaces.
...
It was the middle of the day.
The Western edge of the Aechos Valley was absolutely serene. The sun was shining brightly, with only a few clouds in the sky. A massive docking area stretched along the Valley's Western coast. Many boats were lined along the wooden docks, with a multitude of dragons, Cats and Moles running about their business.
None could have imagined the devastation that was about to begin.
As many of the dock workers went about their routines, a faint sound began filling the air. They all looked around, trying to discern the source of the noise.
Over time, the noise grew louder. And soon, it started to sound less incomprehensible, and more like shrieking and hissing in the distance.
And then, several of the dock workers saw it.
Off to the Northwest, fast approaching the docks, was a massive swarm of Crepsculi, led by a Giant White dragon. The monsters were flying straight for the Valley, hissing and shrieking with rage…
…
A good distance from the docks, Runefor and Nellie were floating high up in the air. The larger dragon was looking down at the land below him, deep in thought.
"Hmmm." Runefor began. "I wonder how I'll destroy this place." The White dragon glanced over at the dragoness.
"Any ideas, Nellie?" He chided.
"What makes you think that I'd help you destroy all the innocent people that live here?" Nellie asked angrily.
"Because it'd bet you back onto my good side." Runefor answered, grinning.
"Well forget it." The dragoness said coldly. The White dragon snarled.
"Well then, I'll just have to-"
Suddenly, a great loud noise rose up across the Valley.
"What the..?" Runefor asked, alarmed.
Both dragons looked over to the West, where the sound was coming from. Nellie gasped in shock, while Runefor smirked.
A massive black wave of monsters splashed across the Valley. Hundreds of Crepsculi were swarming the land, attacking every being they say in massive droves. The air was filled with hundreds of lives screaming in agony as they were torn limb from limb.
"By the ancestors…" Nellie said, absolutely horrified.
"It looks like Great Granddad's decided to drop in and do some of my dirty work for me." Runefor remarked. The White dragon chuckled.
"What are you laughing about?" the dragoness asked.
"I think I'll pay him a visit, and show him how much I've grown since our last meeting."
Immediately, Runefor flew downwards towards the approaching storm, Nellie dragged behind him.
As the great White dragon dove at the approaching swarm of Crepsculi, countless numbers of the monsters immediately charged at him, intending to kill. Runefor summoned his purple sword and proceeded to slice through the Crepsculi.
He decapitated and dismembered scores of the beasts. Their body parts dissolved into nothingness as they were separated from their bodies.
As the White dragon slaughtered the beasts, several of them chased after Nellie, trying to claw and bite her. The dragoness fought back by attacking with her Ice breath, but she could only do so much. Soon, the monsters were overpowering Nellie, and clawing at her limbs and wings.
"Help!" She screamed, trying to push the Crepsculi away in vain. Runefor groaned.
"You're pathetic!" He shouted.
The White dragon killed the offending Crepsculi, grabbed Nellie by the waist, and proceeded to carry her around like dead weight.
"You owe me for this, Nellie!" Runefor sneered.
The dragoness shut her eyes, embarrassed.
After Runefor had killed more Crepsculi than he cared to count, he started flying towards the docks.
"I wonder where Great Granddad could be.." Runefor wondered out loud.
A moment later, another Giant White dragon suddenly flew into view and punched Runefor across the face, knocking him off balance. The younger White dragon accidentally dropped Nellie in the process, and the dragoness ended up spiraling around in the air. Luckily, Runefor was able to right himself, and by extension Nellie.
"You again!" Runileon bellowed.
"Greetings, Great Granddad!" Runefor replied, grinning. "How've you been?"
The Larger White dragon snarled at the shorter one, while Nellie hid behind Runefor's back.
"As you can plainly see, Great Granddad, I've grown since we last met!" Runefor chided. "I'll bet that I'm powerful than YOU are, now!"
"Nonsense!" Runileon bellowed.
"Are you sure about that, Great Granddad?" Runefor asked, smirking. "After all, you practically guaranteed that I'd be far more powerful than YOU ever were!"
"SILENCE!"
Runileon immediately attacked with a Convexity blast. Runefor dodged out of the was, Nellie getting dragged along with him. The smaller White dragon swung around and tried to slice Runileon's head off with his sword, but Runileon managed to teleport a short distance away.
"Ah, resorting to dirty tactics, eh?" Runefor remarked.
"I grow tired of you meddling, boy!" Runileon snapped.
"Then try to make me stop, old man!" The smaller White dragon shouted, pointing his sword at Runileon.
Immediately, the two White dragons lunged at each other, intending to kill.
…
Zevron walked out of the cloud of purple smoke and looked around. He was standing in a place called the "Aechos Valley". The Valley, as well as all the citizens within it, were being torn to pieces by tens of hundreds of disgusting black creatures.
"Those must be the Crepsculi that father spoke of." Zevron deduced.
The entire Valley was filled with the sounds of screams of agony, the shrieks of monsters, and oddly enough, the explosion of magic somewhere in the distance.
"What could that be?" The Black dragon wondered.
Zevron turned towards the source of the commotion and flew off towards it. When he finally saw what was causing the explosions, he gaped in awe.
Two White-hided dragons were locked in grueling combat. The larger one was attacking with a massive number of blasts of Convexity energy, while the shorter one attacked with a Golden-bladed longsword. A small Water dragoness was, for unknown reasons, flying close by the shorter White dragon.
"Those two must be Rune and Runileon." Zevron said to himself. "Though I wonder: Which is which?"
As the battle commenced, Zevron stood on the sidelines, hidden from view. Several chunks of the land around the Two White dragons was being destroyed by the stray blasts of Convexity from the larger one. The shorter dragon was attempting to either stab or dismember his opponent, with no success.
"Father warned me not to go after the one called Rune just yet, as he is more powerful." The Black dragon stated. "But, how can I heed his warning when I don't even know which one he is?"
The Black dragon sat in thought as the duel raged on. After a short while, he decided.
"I will slay the larger one." He announced. "He seems to be older than the other one, and he attacks in a random, spontaneous pattern. He will be the easier target."
So, with his mind made up, Zevron teleported, waiting for an open opportunity to make a killing blow…
…
"Come on, you old fart!" Runefor shouted. "Show me your true power! Stop holding back before I DO!"
The Larger White dragon bellowed in rage.
"HOW DARE YOU INSULT ME!" Runileon screamed in rage.
"Oh, don't tell me you WEREN'T holding back!" Runefor chided. "That's just embarrassing!"
The two dragons continued their attempts to murder each other, neither one making much progress. As they battled, they were slowly moving backwards towards the port, and the Western edge of the Ocean beyond.
As Runileon continued to fire several blasts of Convexity energy at Runefor, the latter White dragon started employing a new tactic: He used his sword as a shield to block the blasts. However, the blasts weren't deflected away this time: They were absorbed into the sword.
"WHAT?" Runileon bellowed in surprise.
"Neat little trick, isn't it?" Runefor chided. "I really should have started using it earlier."
The shorter White dragon spun the sword around in his forepaw for a bit, just to show off. Afterwards, he swung the sword outwards towards Runileon, sending a Convexity blast flying out of it at record speed at Runileon.
The Older White dragon teleported to the side, letting the attack continue onwards into the distance. Runileon snarled.
"I've had it with your games, boy!" He sneered.
"Aw, but games are so much fun!" Runefor replied smugly. "In fact, I've got another game I'd like to play: Convexity Chicken!"
"Convexity WHAT?" Runileon asked incredulously.
Runefor and Nellie suddenly teleported about fifty yards backwards to the East. The shorter White dragon started to glow Purple.
"Let's see if you can charge up a Fury first, old fuck!"
The younger White dragon started charging his Convexity energy, having it mix with the energy in his sword. As this happened, Runileon started charging his own energy, preparing a Fury.
As the two White dragons started charging their energy, both dragons created a barrier of Convexity around themselves, which both grew larger and outwards. But while Runileon stood in place, Runefor prepared to charge forwards.
All the while, Zevron watched the spectacle from high above in the sky.
Their power is incredible, he thought to himself. It's good that they're against each other, otherwise they'd be nigh unstoppable.
Meanwhile, down below, Runefor was almost finished charging his Convexity Fury.
"Better hold onto something, Nellie." He said, grinning.
The Blue water dragoness wrapped her wings around Runefor's neck, holding on for dear life. As she did this, Runefor suddenly charged forwards, his sword pointed at Runileon's neck.
Within a short span of seconds, Runefor had darted across the Valley at record speed, too fast for the normal eye to see. However, Runileon's eyes weren't normal. Just before Runefor managed to impale Runileon, the Older White dragon unleashed his Convexity Fury.
The Purple energy exploded outwards at the speed of Light, annihilating everything in its path in all direction. Everything in the area was dissolved into nothingness: The plants, the wildlife, the trees, the dying citizens, even the Crepsculi were utterly destroyed. The Fury's span was so great, Zevron had to fly up even higher to avoid being damaged indirectly.
So THIS is the power of a White dragon? Zevron thought, astonished. Unbelievable…
Soon, all that remained in a great radius around Runileon was a giant, smoldering crater in the earth. Since the radius covered part of the Port as well, Ocean water started flowing into the cater, filling it partially. The Great White dragon flew upwards to avoid getting wet.
Runileon looked around. Runefor and the Blue dragoness were nowhere to be found. He grinned triumphantly.
"He's finally dead!" He stated.
"Think again!"
Suddenly, Runefor appeared to Runileon's side. The younger White dragon stuck the Older one's neck with a free forepaw, causing him to gag.
Runefor then grabbed Runileon's mane with his other forepaw and proceeded to land several blows on the older White dragon's face. Runileon tried to fight back, but Runefor managed to strike him in the leg joints, causing him crippling pain.
As this happened, Zevron gasped.
Now's my chance!
The Black dragon immediately dive-bombed out of the sky towards the two White dragons.
Meanwhile, Runefor had managed to break Runileon's lower jaw and bruise both of his eyes. Soon, the older White dragon was bleeding profusely allover his face.
"Damn…. You…" He sneered. The younger White dragon summoned his sword into his forepaw and prepared to impale his opponent.
"You lose, Great Granddad." He said malevolently. He pulled his sword back, ready to make the kill…
Suddenly, Nellie gasped in shock from her place on Runefor's back.
"Lookout!"
"What?" Runefor shouted, surprised.
Zevron flew down directly over Runefor, catching him completely by surprise. Before the younger White dragon could do anything, the Black dragon blasted his face with a Convexity beam, sending him and Nellie flying backwards.
As Runefor cried out in pain, Runileon slipped out of his grip. Zevron then spun around in the air and blasted the older White dragon square in the chest with another Convexity blast, sending him hurtling down into the flooded Crater. Runileon roared in pain as this happened.
"This power that Father granted me is amazing." Zevron commented, turning his gaze towards Runefor.
Once Runefor and Nellie had finally regained their balance, the younger White dragon turned towards the Black dragon.
"Who the fuck are YOU supposed to be?" Runefor demanded, snarling. "Any who you think you are interfering in this?"
"My name is Zevron." Zevron stated coldly. "And it is you who is interfering."
"EXCUSE ME?" Runefor snarled. He summoned his sword into his forepaw again. "I don't think you realize what kind of trouble you've just gotten yourself into!"
In an instant, Runefor and Nellie disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke, only to reappear just above Zevron. The White dragon tried to decapitate his Black-hided opponent, but he managed to dodge out of the way, as if he knew where Runefor was going to appear.
Zevron spun around in the air and glared right at Runefor, his eyes glowing red. The White dragon tried to charge at the Black dragon in rage, but suddenly found himself stopping in midair.
"What the….?" He shouted, alarmed. "I can't move!"
"There." Zevron stated. "That should hold you while I deal with the larger one."
Runefor struggled in vain to move, but he was stuck in place, hovering over the world. Meanwhile, Zevron flew down to Runileon, who was struggling to heal his wounds.
"You life ends here!" Zevron proclaimed, his eyes glowing again.
"What?" Runileon shouted weakly. "Who in the dragon realms are YOU?"
"I am the firstborn son of Malefor." Zevron proclaimed. "And your executioner."
"MALEFOR?" Runileon exclaimed.
Before the Older White dragon could do anything else, he suddenly found himself twitching violently.
"WHAT?" He shouted in confusion. "What's happening to me?"
"You're dying." Zevron answered.
Suddenly, Runileon lifted his forepaws up to his neck and started clawing at it. He screamed in agony as he tore his own throat out. All the while, Runefor and Nellie watched from above.
"Runileon's killing himself?" The dragoness asked in disbelief.
"That son of a bitch…" Runefor said, becoming enraged.
Soon, Runileon's scales were stained with his own blood. His gags and roars of pain soon came to an end. The Great White dragon toppled over and landed face down into the watery pool.
Runileon the Wicked was dead once again.
"You bastard…." Runefor said, shaking with rage. "You cock-blocking BASTARD!"
Immediately, Runefor became so furious that he managed to break free of the strange spell that was placed on him.
"YOU STOLE MY KILL!" He roared in rage, flying towards Zevron at top speed. He tried to stab Zevron through the chest with his sword, but the Black dragon dodged out of the way again.
Instead of stabbing Zevron, Runefor ended up stabbing Runileon's body through the back. The White dragon was surprised by this, but knew it was good.
Immediately, he started absorbing the Convexity energy out of Runileon's body, through the sword, and into himself. As this happened, Runefor started growing larger in size.
Zevron was amazed.
"What are you doing?" He asked.
"Something you didn't expect, I take it!" The White dragon answered.
Once Runefor had absorbed every last ounce of Convexity, he was almost as tall as Runileon was. The White dragon turned to face Zevron, grinning evilly.
"Let's see you use that fancy trick to freeze in place NOW!" Runefor bellowed.
The White dragon began charging up energy, preparing a Convexity Fury. Zevron just stood before him, a stoic look on his face. Runefor became irritated by this.
"What?" He asked, annoyed. "You're not going to try and flee or attack while I'm 'vulnerable'?"
"I don't have to." Zevron replied.
"Excuse me?" Runefor exclaimed.
"I have presumably killed the one named Runileon. My task is complete, for now."
At this point, Runileon was glowing a deep Purple, and lightning cackled across his body.
"It doesn't matter, pal!" Runefor chided. "You're FUCKED!"
As soon as the White dragon bellowed that last word, his Convexity Fury blasted out of him at full force.
The Purple energy's blast radius was even greater in scale than Runileon's. The land beyond the giant crater was wiped from existence. The mountains at the Northern end crumbled. The forests were blasted into oblivion. All of the water, from the rivers to the pools of Ocean water, were disintegrated into vapor.
Almost the entire Valley was utterly devastated.
At the center of the now even larger crater, Runefor was floating above the rapidly-rising layer of water. Nellie was still lying upon his back, protected from the Fury's harm by the White dragon's magic.
Runefor was not grinning triumphantly. Instead, he was glaring.
He had hoped that he had caught Zevron off-guard with the Fury's sudden activation. Instead, the Black dragon had instantly teleported just a split-second before the Energy could rip through him.
"Where are you, you little shit?" Runefor demanded, irritated.
"Right here."
Suddenly, Zevron appeared right in front of Runefor's face. The Black dragon slashed his talons across the White dragon's face, slicing part of it open.
Runefor grabbed his face and roared in pain.
"You son of a bitch!" He yelled, using his magic to heal his wounds.
"THAT is just a small prelude to what I will do to you, once I've been given permission from my master." Zevron declared. "Until then, farewell."
And with that said, the Black dragon teleported away. He was gone.
Runefor stayed where he was in the air, breathing heavily. Nellie became frightened.
"Runefor….?" She asked.
The White dragon roared at the top of his voice, seething with absolute rage.
He then proceeded to fire a barrage of Convexity blasts in random directions. The blasts destroyed everything they came in contact with.
"YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" He bellowed.
The White dragon snapped his talons, and he and Nellie teleported away.
…
Runefor and Nellie appeared in their cave in a cloud of smoke. As soon as they did, the black necklaces vanished. Nellie stepped away from Runefor in fear. The White dragon was still very enraged.
"HOW DARE HE!" Runefor snarled. "How DARE that Black-hided bastard swoop in and STEAL MY THUNDER!"
The Great White dragon banged his balled-up forepaw against the side of the wall, making it crack. He then roared in rage, his anger still unending.
"Can't you let it go?" Nellie asked, frightened. "I mean, you were still able to absorb what was left of Runileon's Convexity into you, and you managed to do what you wanted: destroy the Aechos Valley."
Nellie couldn't believe she was saying these things: They disgusted her. However, the last thing she wanted was for Runefor to be enraged. So, she tried to calm him down.
Alas, it was to no avail.
"SHUT UP!" The White dragon roared, causing Nellie to back away in fear. "That son of a bitch ruined my enjoyment! Runileon's death was supposed to be by my paws! MINE!"
As the blue dragoness sat down on the other side of the cave, Runefor paced back and forth, fuming and snarling.
"You'll pay for this, Zevron! Mark my words!" The White dragon roared. "I'm so pissed off, I don't even know how I'm going to calm down! I'm so FURIOUS, I could…. I could…" Runefor glanced over at Nellie. He grinned: He had just gotten and idea.
The dragoness gulped.
"What..?" She asked.
The White dragon immediately turned towards Nellie and approached her. Before she could flee, Runefor grabbed her by the torso and lifted her into the air. He then lied down on his back, his upper torso lying against the wall.
"Time to let off some steam!" He shouted.
"No!" Nellie protested.
"YES!" Runefor exclaimed.
Runefor plopped Nellie down on the area between his hind legs. He then immediately drove himself up into her as far as he could. The dragoness gasped in pain as Runefor began his business.
As the event commenced, Runefor proceeded to roar in delight. He dug his fore talons deep into Nellie's hide, tearing away at her scales. Nellie shrieked in pain.
"Stop it!" She cried out, tearing up.
"Oh, SHUT UP!" Runefor bellowed in rage.
The White dragon bent his neck down and gripped one of Nellie's wings with his teeth.
"What are you-?" She began ask.
Suddenly, Runefor started pulling hard against Nellie's wing membrane, causing her pain. After a moment, part of the membrane was ripped away. The dragoness shrieked in agony. Runefor didn't care: He only proceeded to chew and swallow the bit of the membrane he bit off.
"Still as delicious as ever." He laughed gleefully.
Nellie's crying became even faster and harder. She couldn't stand to listen to Runefor's horrible laughter.
"Shut up!" She shouted.
Nellie used her talons to stab Runefor's underbelly, causing him to shout in pain. The dragoness, now in a rage, started clawing at the White dragon's underbelly as fast as she could.
This was a mistake.
"YOU LITTLE BLUE BITCH!" Runefor bellowed.
The White dragon grabbed Nellie's neck and lifted her into the air, choking her in the process. Runefor then swung his forearm rapidly to the side, slamming Nellie hard against the wall. Next, Runefor swung his arm around, letting go of the dragoness mid-swing. Nellie went flying across the air, slamming against the far wall.
The dragoness then fell to the floor, choking, crying, and bleeding profusely.
Runefor got onto all fours and approached Nellie, his eyes filled with rage once again. He looked down at the barely-moving dragoness with disgust.
"You just lost the privilege of seeing Rune, Nellie." He sneered. "You ALSO lost the privilege of living."
Nellie weakly gasped in horror.
NOOO! Rune screamed in Runefor's head. DON'T KILL HER!
"I'm sorry…." Nellie struggled to choke out.
"Oh, don't waste your breath, what little you have!" The White dragon snarled. "I've had it with you misbehaving! So, I'm going to go replace you!"
"What?"
"What, you didn't hear me? I'm going to find someone ELSE to be my mate! Someone who isn't an obnoxious little twat who disobeys me whenever she wants!"
"I'm sorry." Nellie repeated, sobbing. "I won't do it again!"
"Oh, you bet your ASS you won't do it again! You won't be alive to do it!"
Nellie gasped in horror.
"No…"
Runefor turned and faced away from the dragoness.
"I'll let you live until I come back." He said coldly. "When I return with your replacement, then I'll decide what to do with you. Goodbye, Nellie."
And with that said, the White dragon vanished in a cloud of Purple smoke.
Nellie laid there on the cold floor, crying a river of tears and crying out in pain. She struggled to calm down to the point when she could use her Water magic to heal herself.
This can't be happening! She thought. Why did I fight back? Why did I try to calm him down? Now he's sick of me! He's going to KILL me!
Nellie covered her face with her forepaws.
Oh, Rune.. All I want is to be with you. I want to save you from Runefor's control. All this time, I was hoping that I would get a chance to separate you from that White-hided Beast, body, mind and soul. But how can I do that now? When he returns, he's going to kill me, I just know it. And he's going to force you to watch, too. And I just know that you're going to blame yourself for it. You always do…
After that, Nellie thought of all the time she had spent with Rune, from the day they first met, to the day Rune became possessed, and all the years in-between. The years that they were boyfriend and girlfriend were the happiest years of her life. She loved her family, and she loved her friends, but Rune was the one dragon she would do anything for.
The Water dragoness curled up in a ball, awaiting Runefor's return. She didn't care anymore what he did to her. If Nellie couldn't be with Rune, she had no reason to live…
…
First off, I'd like to apologize for taking so long to upload. A lot has happened recently, and I've found myself hitting a major writer's block. Luckilly, I finally managed to get back onto my game. Here's hoping I'll be able to upload as often as I'm used to.