Chapter One: A New Ally
"You fool!" The voice said again, more adamantly. Stupidly, Balian looked around, keeping his left eye shut to avoid blood rushing into it.
"Who's there?"
"I am here," the voice answered coyly.
"And who is behind the voice?"
"I have several names, but none that you could ever hope to pronounce without shaming yourself.
"Then what are you?"
"Ah, a question more easily answered. I am one you know somewhat, but I know you very, very well," it answered. "I am the spirit within your armor. I am the Dragon imbued with the elemental power of Darkness."
"The Dragoon Spirit?" Balian exclaimed.
"Yes, none other," the spirit said.
"Why have you never spoken to me before?" Balian asked.
"I may not have spoken to you, but I have communicated, boy. When I was excited, sorrowful, angry, you knew, because you felt it too," the Dragon said.
"That does not answer my question," Balian said.
"True. I did not speak with you because I simply could not. There have been times that I wished I could scream until your ears bled, but only until now have I been able to even give you the faintest of whispers," the Dragon answered.
"Why now?" Balian asked.
"Open your left eye," the Dragon said. Balian nearly objected, but decided to comply. He opened it, and sight rushed into his head, unbelievably acute, yet tinted slightly indigo. He could see everything in the night around him now.
"What did you do?" Balian exclaimed through his shock.
"I saved you. You know how quickly the infection takes over a human's body after being bitten or scratched by a werewolf. Without my help you would be snarling and burying your snout into the bosom of some unlucky villager until the sun came up," the Dragon said. Then, he slipped in a "You're welcome."
"Thank you, but why are you so obviously displeased with me then?" Balian inquired.
"Because, my salvation is only temporary. I have only slowed the infection. Soon you will feel different, you will feel the sickness within you. I cannot totally save you, only slow your fate."
Balian threw his hands into the air, and yelled, "Then what was the point!"
He heard the Dragon grow agitated. "I helped you because you are not beyond help. The infection is great, and I cannot cure you. I doubt even the White Silver Dragoon would be able to do anything for you. However, there is one being capable of helping you, and his power is an unfortunate necessity in these dark times."
"Who can help me if you can't?" Balian asked.
"The most powerful Dragon that ever existed. The Divine Dragon. He was slain by your father, and your predecessor, and used to save the world from Melbu Frahma a second time," The Darkness Dragon said.
"My father?" Balian exclaimed again.
"Yes, I have been aware of your ignorance of your father's journey. I will enlighten you on the important details now."
"Eleven thousand years ago, the Winglies were the dominant species of Endiness. They enslaved the humans and used them for construction, and servants. Living was in itself a burden that most humans totally scorned. Yet death was no better an option. Very few humans pleased their masters enough to escape the Inferno. The Wingly city Mayfil contained a sort of Hell for human souls when they passed away. Eternal torture was what most humans had to look forward to. Yet no human could overpower his master, for as you know, the ancient Winglies were powerful, cunning, and ruthless."
"Yet, among the crowd of seemingly mindless cattle, there were some leaders beginning to make their stands. The most powerful and moving of which was a man by the name of Dias, finally convinced the humans of another way, and broke an entire nation free from Wingly rule. Establishing himself as emperor, he then prepared for the impending war."
"There were very few forces on this planet capable of even stirring fear in any Wingly heart. Some of these forces would not agree to fight alongside humankind. However, we, the Dragons believed in your species' potential for greatness. Dias persuaded one great Dragon from every element to give its life for the cause of the war, and to give their power to a human warrior of its own choosing."
"You were one of those Dragons?" Balian asked.
"Yes, and I gave myself to a human woman named Rose. Rose was the lover of your grandfather, the first Fire Dragoon. An incredibly powerful man named Zieg."
"My grandfather?" Balian asked.
"Yes, your grandfather, I will explain. Some other, weaker Dragons put themselves forward and fought alongside the Dragoons, and the humans prepared their own weapons, and weak, weak magic. The first battle was incredible. The Winglies had no idea that the humans and the Dragons had united. We destroyed their forces with our power, and the Winglies left us all be for several years. However, what we had mistaken to be freedom, was in fact borrowed time. The Winglies used their years to develop a subspecies of monsters called Virages. The Virages, large beasts, like a Dragon, only deformed, and without an elemental weakness, attacked with them, and the war turned sour."
"At one point, it seemed certain that we would lose, as the new dictator of the Winglies, Melbu Frahma, was also a military genius, and a magic marvel. He developed two powerful weapons, which he named the Dragon Buster and Dragon Block Staff. The Dragon Buster was a blade that by some form of magic could cut through Dragon scales - and thus, Dragoon armor- like butter. The Dragon Block Staff was a jewel that caused Dragons a great deal of discomfort, and even illness, should they be exposed to it. He used these weapons against us and nearly wiped out the human resistance. However, a large section of Winglies were displeased with the treatment of humans, and joined their cause. The humans got back up on their feet, and in one gargantuan battle, met the confident Winglies."
"It was mayhem, and most of the Dragoons lost their lives to destroy the new super Virages, Rose survived, only to watch the colossal duel between her husband, Zieg, and Frahma. Frahma had the Dragon Buster, but Zieg was an unparalleled swordsman. With that skill, Zieg delt a death blow to Melbu, and it appeared for a moment that the war was over. Yet Melbu cast a petrification spell on Zieg, who fell from the sky. Melbu inserted his spirit into the Fire Dragoon Spirit, and began his long wait. Rose, in the meantime, learned of the Moon That Never Sets' purpose. It housed the embryo for a being more powerful than anything had ever dreamt of, waiting to be merged with the soul of a 'moon child' human. She learned that a moon child is born every one hundred and eight years."
"With that information, she quickly decided her fate. Her friends and lover were all dead, so she felt obligated to protect the world from this being, which was supposedly fated to destroy it. She had a magical choker cast for her to keep her from aging as long as she wore it, and would travel the world, waiting for the moon child to be born. Over time the rumors were contorted, and the humans misinterpreted the moon child to be a blessing, and celebrated the birth of one. Rose's murder of a moon child and the cult-like people around her in my armor earned her the name 'the Black Monste'."
"For eleven thousand years she held this course, until finally, she made a mistake, and killed the wrong child of a pair of twins. So, the moon child grew to the age of eighteen. She met your father, and fell in love with him."
"My mother was the moon child?" Balian asked.
"Yes, together they, along with the other new Dragoons reunited Serdio, saved Tiberoa, and eventually the world. You see, Zieg didn't die when he fell from the sky. He stayed a simple statue for eleven thousand years, until the spell finally wore off. He figured that obviously all his friends and family were long gone, so he started over. He bore Dart, and raised him happily until the day the Black Monster attacked their city. Zieg attempted to use his power to help the town. Yet when he activated the spirit, Melbu struck, and possessed Zieg, and fled to begin his vengeful plot to end the world."
"He wanted to use the Virage Embryo to destroy the world. He disguised himself as Emperor Dias, reincarnated, and convinced a gullible, yet powerful warrior named Lloyd to destroy the barriers to the moon, which finally set, and Frahma possessed the beast, rather than letting Shana follow through with her own destiny. Then, using the Divine Dragon, Dart and the rest of the Dragoons managed to destroy the embryo in its early stages, thus saving the world."
"In that battle, the Red Eyed Dragon was given back to Zieg. He and Rose gave their lives to deal the final blow, and the explosion vaporized everything within the chamber, except our two spirits. After that, some time passed, as we lie next to each other, speaking with each other, as two spirits can when they are near each other. Dart found us, and once again became the Fire Dragoon. We learned of the Divine Dragoon Spirit's imprisonment, and watched as the Blood Moon began its strange revolution, and caused the wildlife to go berserk every time it was full. We saw your birth, where I witnessed your potential for my element, rather than the Fire Dragoon which still considered Dart its ideal owner. We watched you grow with Albert's son, and saw Dart's pain when the family was slain. The rest of the story you have probably learned for yourself."
"Incredible, I had no idea how many dangerous times this continent has been through," Balian said.
"Yes, but as is obvious, dangerous times have yet to come as well, you must continue your family's legacy," The Dragon said.
"I left home to break away from being known only as 'Dart's Son'," Balian argued.
"And you returned to find that being Dart's son is no trophy name, you are from a strong bloodline that has not had the chance to be thinned by time. Serdio and Tiberoa are in the grips of crooked politicians, and soon the entire continent will be ravaged by werewolves. You want your own name in history? It is a selfish dream, but a plausible one, you have potential still, you are needed," The Dragon said.
"But what of my disease?" Balian asked.
"We must find the Divine Dragoon Spirit, perhaps it can overcome the infection that will be slowly growing within you. That is no doubt your prime objective, we must hurry, there is no telling how long the measures I have taken will keep you human. Luckily, it will be another several weeks before the next full moon. Keep a sense on how you feel. Now, I advise you rest somewhere safe, and in the morning we will fly west, to find someone who knows of the fortress," the Dragon said.
Balian's eyes moved around as he searched his feelings for what to say next. After a moment, only two words had come to his mind. "Very well…" he said. He flew to a hill, and lit a fire for warmth. He let his armor dissipate, and felt his face, to find a menacing looking mask over the scar, not welded, but tied by a leather strap around the back of his head. He lifted it off, and felt the wound. It felt as though the wound had been cauterized immediately after they had been torn open. He felt his eye, and in shock searched for the spirit that had been on a necklace around his neck all his life.
It was gone.
He felt his left eye again, and felt a shudder run down his spine. The way that the Dragon had been speaking with him was because it had imbedded itself where his left eye had been before the battle…
Author's Note: Sorry about the wait everybody. Life wont stop being hectic. But I hope you handled this chapter well, its really just a recap of EVERYTHING that's happened. Now we know the mission, but will Balian pull through like his father did? See where this is all going, next chapter. Please review, tell me what you think, ciao!