The House of Malion

In the tunnel before them, there was no light save for Lucidia. "I know what to do," she said with a giggle as she flew about. She cupped her hands before her, blew, and a brilliant white light appeared, "Put out your hand," she said, still laughing to herself. Arion put his hand out and she placed the light in his hand. It then grew more intense and the passageway was filled with light. Only the place where he stood was finished off, the stone below his feet was smoothed out and walls carved. Before him, though, was a deep tunnel, the end of which could not be seen. This did not bother Lucidia at all, "Let us get going," she said giggling more and more, and she danced about as she flew into the deep cave.

"You seem a little too eager to enter the unknown," Arion said as he cautiously followed, "I do not remember all of what is down here."

"I know," she chirped still playing in the air, "but this feels like home. I feel that I am back with Zeon, and…" she paused for a moment, "Esonia." She fluttered more flowingly as she daydreamed about her time with Esonia. She giggled to herself, almost uncontrollably at times.

Arion looked about at the cave walls; to him it was somewhat cramped, he could tell this was more for single file travel than group. Even so, as he looked about he felt the warmth of his mother, and could almost hear her voice. "Come to think about it," he said, Lucidia still dancing about in her own world, "a cave would be a nice place to live." Those words stuck out to Lucidia, and half of her came back to the real world as she flew over to Arion.

Flying up she landed lightly on his head and bent over so her face met his, "We could have it just like when I lived with your mother." She laughed as she dove down and flew beneath him. He turned to follow her, but she stayed hidden behind him. Turning about, he could not keep up with the faerie; so then he stopped, but she did not and he caught her in his hands. He opened them slightly and smiled warmly at her. She smiled back and began to laugh, so did he. Finally he let her go and she dashed away, he chased after. Neither realized that two days had passed before they had reached the end of the tunnel.

Again Arion stood upon a finished hall, and before him, there was only a wall. He was pulled back to reality, as was Lucidia. Neither knew how to get out, and furthermore neither knew where exactly "out" would be; all they knew was that they were in Tolathorn. As Arion approached the wall, he could feel a warm, calming presence, but it was fading. Behind the door Arion could hear cries of pain; they seemed to almost be a squawking sound. Gently he placed his ear to the wall so he could hear more clearly.

"Where is he?" a man demanded, and then there was a light crashing sound. "I grow tired of asking. You were seen with Arion, now where is he?" There was still no other sound, "Fine then, if you will not talk, you will die. Kill the bird."

"It is Noira," Arion cried, "they are going to kill him. We must get in there." He looked frantically about, looking for any kind of handle, switch, anything that might open the door. "How does this open?" he yelled, slamming his fist into the stone wall. From the force of the hit, the wall moved slightly out, and then back. "That is it." He remembered how to open it. He pressed against the wall, using all of his strength, and the wall pushed out, and then quickly lifted up. He was behind the throne in the hall he had seen in his dream. However the hall was mostly empty. There were only two soldiers, they both wore the symbol of Malion; one was turned and held something, Arion could feel it, it was Noira. A lavishly dressed elf sat in the throne.

Arion readied an arrow and fired it at the turned soldier; deftly he readied another and fired it at the second soldier. They both fell to the ground, Noira was released, but he could hardly fly. He weakly flapped his wings, but fell slowly to the ground. "No," Arion whispered to himself and ran to his companion's aid. The falcon lay on the ground, he did not move; he looked as if he had been tossed about and beaten. "How could you do this?" He turned to the man on the throne, however it was not who he had expected. "What are you doing there?"

The lavishly clothed elf stood and dropped his cloak, exposing a shirt bearing the gryphon of Malion. The shirt covered a mail of mythril, the same as Arion's. "I began to think you were not coming," the man said with a sinister grin, "but I can see you are a man of your word." It was the man from his dream, the man he called Tesino. "I am sure you are wondering why I am in the king's throne. Well, while he is off fighting his silly war, he left me in charge. With the army gone, the house of Malion was the only sizable force in the kingdom; he needed me to keep order." He took another step closer, "You know I began to think you would be late, it is your birthday after all. It will be quite a task scaling Mt. Shena by sunset, but it can be done. Now hand over the pendant, and you and pet will be spared." Arion looked to Noira who was moving slightly, he was breathing. Lucidia had made her way over to him, and hovered above him.

"Why do you want this?" Arion asked holding his pendent, turning back to Tesino.

"You know as well as I what that does. You knew the plan, first we take Benathor's command away from him and exile him to nowhere, and then you use that pendent to wish for the blade of Torian the Dragon slayer. With that, you would be able to pierce the skin of any dragon, even the hide of a fire dragon. With that you could easily kill any fire dragon, and to drink the blood of one would make you immortal. I was to rule with you by my side, but you no longer wished to kill dragons, you did not feel they were a threat anymore. You said they were scattered about after Zeon the Father's death. You said you had killed them to a point which they could never reorganize. That is why I hired assassins to kill you; you were going to destroy that pendant. Too bad Zeon was not still alive, then maybe he could kill your father too, wherever he is. Then maybe you could complete your mission."

A fire erupted in Arion, a rage greater than any he had ever known, "Zeon was my father," he shouted drawing his sword and charging Tesino. Tesino drew a sword of his own, much the same as Arion's, and deflected the blow easily. The fight ensued; Tesino dueled just as skillfully as Arion. No one seemed to have the advantage, it remained a draw for some time, but then there was a call of a falcon. Noira flew fiercely at Tesino and dug his talons into the side of his neck and shoulder. Lucidia had healed Noira. Tesino reached for him, but Noira had already flown away. This left Tesino wide open, Arion struck at his side; the mythril prevented any cut, but Tesino was far from uninjured.

Tesino fell to the ground, his neck badly wounded, and his side badly bruised. Arion raised his sword to his neck and proclaimed, "Now it is your turn to die, but do not worry, the rest of the house of Malion will soon join you." He raised his sword to strike, but was interrupted by a crashing at the door. In charged a minotaur, the same as before, followed by Decsio and several members of the house of Malion. This was not a fight he could win, but he readied himself nonetheless.

"Arion," Noira said, "remember, remember what I told you."

He knew exactly what Noira meant, and shouted, "Felino Malion," as loud as he could. In the distance there was a loud cry of an eagle. The minotaur had reached Arion and swung his axe at the elf. Arion easily dodged it, and the axe crashed into the floor throwing up bits of rock and marble. Just as the soldiers of Malion reached Arion, there was another eagle cry, this time much closer. There was a loud crash, and a nearby window shattered; the minotaur was suddenly on the ground. On top of it was a creature with the head and wings of an eagle, but the body of a lion. It was larger and much stronger than the minotaur, and easily pinned it to the ground.

It was a gryphon, the symbol of the house of Malion. It turned its head toward the soldiers and shrieked again. It raised a paw and mauled a nearby soldier, who was thrown back into another. As it dropped its paw back onto the minotaur, it tore into its flesh; it then bucked its hind leg knocking out two more soldiers. There were only two soldiers and Decsio left standing. The gryphon turned to Arion, "Hurry, climb on," he demanded. Arion promptly jumped onto the gryphon, "Hold tight," he said as he pressed down into the minotaur flapping his great wings. Soon he lifted off the ground and proceeded out the window that he had come through. Lucidia and Noira followed close behind.

They flew out of the window and right into a dense forest. The gryphon did not hesitate or slow, he skillfully wove his way through the branches and made his way out. Arion did get a look at the city below; most of the buildings were made on the trees, but did not harm them in any way. It was almost as if the trees molded themselves to fit the elven designs. The building they flew out of was the only one different; it was made of stone, a fortress concealed by the dense overgrowth. A castle made for king Tasya; a beautiful piece of architecture, yet from afar it could not be seen, even if you knew where to look.

Soon the gryphon had flown above the forest, the tunnel had taken them many miles from the mountain where they needed to be. The gryphon knew exactly where he needed to go, and swiftly proceeded. "Arion," he said finally, "it is good to see you again. I thought you had lost all use for me, or maybe even forgotten about me."

"Unfortunately," Arion explained, "I have forgotten you, I had forgotten everything, and have just recently regained some memories." Lucidia had trouble keeping up with the powerful gryphon, but after much struggling she had made it and landed in Arion's lap.

"Hello again Ciezer," she giggled.

"Hello my dear faerie," the gryphon responded. "Have you brought him back to me?" he asked, but all she did was giggle more. "Lucidia had watched over you for many years while Benathor cared for you, but it became too dangerous for her. Benathor may not have been able to seen her, but he had creatures in his service that could. So she came to me. I was a pet of Benathor's, the pet he cherished most of all. I became the symbol of his house, but he did not corrupt me like he did so many others. Lucidia got to me first. She told me to watch over you, told me who you were, and I did."

Suddenly Noira spoke up, "There are riders coming from the forest, they are heading to the mountain. They must intend to stop us." Arion turned, and just as Noira said, he saw with his keen vision, given to him by his father, fifty or so riders quickly heading to the mountain range. They would get to the base just as Ciezer got him to the top. With the path that climbed the mountain, it would take them just under three hours to scale it.

"We have time," Ciezer said. Just then a rush of fire climbed toward them. The gryphon dodged it just in time. Arion looked, it was Gexion. The dragon had found him again.

"You will not get what you seek," the green dragon called. On his back was his human favorite, she twirled her staff about and created a translucent green barrier before Ciezer. He tried to pass around it, but it was too large; he had to slow down. Lucidia jumped up and flew to the barrier, placed her hands on it, and it shattered; the energy dispersed. She turned to Floria, the favorite, and stuck her tongue out before returning to Arion. Floria tried again, but the gryphon flew faster and passed by where the barrier was placed. Again she tried, but it was now too late, Ciezer had reached the peak of the mountain.

The top of Mt. Shena was flat, almost perfectly smooth. There were many statues depicting battles, they were all of an elf against a man; each had the human with the advantage. In the center was what seemed to be an alter. The mountain had snow below its peak, but there was none at the top, and as a matter of fact, it was quite warm. Arion could feel a strong magic throughout the mountain's peak.

"There," Ciezer said, "you must stand on the alter." Arion jumped from his back and ran to the large stone table, but before he made it, Gexion was there. Arion stopped suddenly and the dragon gave out a tremendous roar. Floria jumped from his back and pointed her staff at Arion.

"I shall take your life," Gexion bellowed, "for all lives you have taken of my brethren." Floria chanted something Arion did not understand, but after he could not move from where he stood. The dragon opened wide his mouth and dropped it to take a bite out of Arion.

"Stop," Lucidia screamed, "he is the son of Zeon the Father. His mother was his favorite." She flew before Arion, and the dragon stopped suddenly. "You must believe me, if you kill him, you kill your own."

"Why should I trust you, faerie?" the dragon asked.

"You know I tell the truth," she answered. "I know you can feel it within me. Please, just let him stand on the alter, and you will see for yourself."

"You wish me to allow him to wish for the blade of the Great Killer? The only man to ever kill more dragons than he?"

"It is not to make his wish," Lucidia said, "that he cannot do until the sun falls below the mountain this day. After the sun has fully set, he no longer can make his wish. So please, let him stand there. He can help you if you do this. He can help you defend against anyone else who wishes to destroy your kind, for he is your kind."

Gexion could sense her honesty. He thought for some time. Regardless of his intentions now, that did not forgive him of what he did in the past. However, if Gexion did kill Arion, he would be no better; killing his own kind, he could not do it. He hesitantly stepped off of the alter, and Floria released him from the spell. Arion walked passed the dragon, passed the favorite, and began to climb onto the alter.

Just as he pulled himself on a man shouted, "Stop him." The soldiers of the house of Malion had arrived. The foremost soldiers readied arrows, but before they could fire Lucidia flew to Arion and hid him in an illusion. It now looked as if nothing were there. Decsio led, with Tesino and the minotaur Fedics right behind him. Tesino had received some quick medical attention and looked well enough to fight. The rest were well prepared and anxious to attack. Because of the narrow path, only five soldiers could enter at a time, but each was very eager to take on the gryphon, and much more eager to take on the dragon. Noira stayed back with Arion, not being of much help here, but Ciezer, Gexion and Floria all attacked. Floria stayed back a way to cast her spells; the dragon breathed fire, biting and clawing at his enemies; Ciezer flew about mauling, and snapping his beak at the soldiers.

Arion paid no attention to the ensuing battle; he was far more interested in what was before him. He saw his father in the sky some distance away, flying toward him. It was only a spirit, but it was still him. He landed and said, "My son, I am glad you have made it here. I am glad to see you again, and that you know the truth. I will grant you my power, on the condition that you atone for what you have done. You are my son, and I forgive you, but your brothers will not forgive you so easily, nor will they accept you. You know what you must do."

"Yes, father," Arion said filled with a great joy and honor, "I know what I must do and I will. I promise." Zeon nodded and gently blew a blue flame at Arion. The flame was cool as it surrounded him. It entered into his body and filled him; he had a sense of wholeness like he had never known before, he never knew could exist. The fire entered into his muscles, and he felt a great strength and feeling of control over his abilities; he could feel the magic of the ages give him wisdom and abilities he could never have otherwise learned; he could feel what it was to be a dragon, and his eyes reflected it, his pupil was now only a slit.

"You are my only living son," Zeon said, "You will one day lead them. Only after you have atoned for your mistakes will they accept you. You must bring order to our kind; you must help us to thrive again."

The image of his father soon disappeared, and he stood still absorbing the new feelings he had, the new power he had acquired. He saw that evening was approaching; the sun would soon be level with the mountain top. The battle still raged behind him, he was not sure how much time had passed, but more than half of the soldiers lay dead and the ones that remained fought even harder. The dragon had been circled, the favorite was tired and weakened, and the gryphon had been forced to land. They had all been badly injured, but yet they still fought waiting for Arion. He knew this. Reaching deep within him, he felt his father's presence, he felt the form of the dragon that lay dorment and soon he could feel a pressure on his back. The mythril mail snapped apart and his shirt ripped and his weapons fell to the ground as two dragon-like green wings formed from his back. With a couple quick beats of his wings, Arion was airborne and he flew to the gryphon who was in the most need. A soldier had readied a blow for Ciezer's neck, but Arion tackled the soldier before the attack. There were two other soldiers attacking the gryphon. Arion felt a great heat surging inside of him; reaching out with both of his hands, one to each soldier, a flame grew on his hand. The fire continued to strengthen and shot out in a stream toward the soldiers, both of whom became engulfed in flame. Dropping to their knees, they had to throw down their weapons as they become red hot from the fire, but soon they began to burn alive within their armor, they tore the plate and mail off revealing burns and blistered flesh.

Arion called back the flames and set his sights elsewhere, several archers were preparing to fire at Floria. Arion again took flight grabbing the soldier's still red-hot sword, he could not explain it, but Arion was not hurt from touching it. Diving forward, he slashed out several times with the sword severing the hands of the archers.

Arion then looked to Gexion, two soldiers were at the dragon's belly, trying to remove a large jewel that shielded his soft flesh. Tesino, Descio and Fedics all waited for their opportunity to strike. Arion flew underneath Gexion and crashed into the two soldiers who were knocked off the mountain face. He then flew back to Gexion, landing at his feet, "Brother."

The great earth dragon looked down to him, seeing the wings that sprout from his back, "You have saved me." He smiled, "Brother."

"Tesino," Arion called, but he realized the dark feeling of Tesino's presence was gone and as he turned from the dragon he saw that Tesino was no where in sight, however Decsio and Fedics remained. The dragon roared and jumped to attack Decsio and the minotaur. "No, Gexion," Arion demanded, "they are hired; they have nothing to do with this." Gexion promptly landed, and nodded.

"Thank you, Arion," Fedics said.

"Yes, thank you. We shall not forget you," Decsio added. He bowed as he began his descent down the mountain.

"Arion," Gexion said regaining the elf's attention, "while you have proven yourself to me, the rest of the dragons will not be so easily swayed. You had hunted us down to the brink of extinction, I will help however I can to renew your name among out kind, but it will not be easy and it will not be quick."

"I know," Arion replied solemnly, "but I must do this on my own. I assure you, as long as I have breath, I will work to strengthen our kind." Gexion smiled, Floria climbed on his back and with a leap off the mountain they were gone into the distance.

As the draon left, the sun came level with the mountaintop and a bright flash of light entered the area. The pendent that hung on Arion's neck shot a beam of energy through the light, and created a path through the light that Arion alone could see. He walked along the path that led off the mountain, but somehow he was able to continue without falling. In the distance he could hear singing, the most beautiful voice he had ever heard. His body was overwhelmed with a safe and warm feeling; he said only one word, "Mother."

It was her, in the distance, Esonia's spirit waited; singing the same song he had heard as a child, the same song that Lucidia sang for him. "My son," she said, but still somehow the music continued, "This is my true gift to you. Serving a dragon, I knew my fate long before you were born, so with Zeon's help, I crafted that pendant so you could meet me someday. I may also grant you any one thing that you wish. You need not say anything, for I already know what it is you wish." She leaned over and whispered into his ear three words. She told him his name, his true name, and with that a rush of memories came over him. He could remember everything, all the memories that he had lost, all the events that made him the person he was.

The song ended and he found himself still standing on the mountaintop. The light soon faded, and they all saw him standing there, smiling. They knew immediately what had happened. When they asked what he wished for, he said nothing. He reached deep within himself and called on the power that his father had given him. Suddenly his body shrunk, and he became a faerie. He flew over to Lucidia and said, "I love you, I love you as my mother did."

She giggled and kissed him. She whispered in his ear, "Xaon the Son." They smiled at each other as they fluttered off together.

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