Chapter 44-Tamli's Wrath: Birth of Darkness
Tamli sits on his knees as his Guardian's life withers away. His pain now radiates throughout his whole body, not just his heart. The newborn dragon crawls over to him and places a scaled paw on his leg. Guilt rushes over him like a river as Tamli remembers just what Finca went through on her journey through life. Her pain, her sorrow, and even her despair.
All of these emotions rush through Tamli now as he kneels in the room where Finca, his Guardian Dragon and Guardian of Shadows, drew her final breath.
Finca . . . Finca . . . you left me, Tamli mutters as another wave of pain and guilt ram into him like a train. You left me . . . left me before I could truly make it up to you for all the times you've saved me. Why? Why did you have to die? WHY?
Tamli sinks back down into another wave of emotions that seem to come from his broken heart. His dragon, his Guardian dragon, is now dead. The newborn dragon tilts his head toward Tamli, as it it can sense the pain that is flowing through him.
A sudden footstep makes Tamli bring himself out of his pain for a moment, looking around for the source of the noise. He finds it to be Vera, who stand at the entrance of the room.
I'm sorry, I didn't know . . . She begins.
Tamli's eyes blaze as a streak of his light aura runs toward Vera. The purple dragoness screams as the light smashes into her chest.
Leave me alone, Tamli growls as his purple eyes gleam with a much darkner undertone.
Vera pauses at the room's entrance for a moment just to make sure.
I said LEAVE! Tamli roars as light pours from him and covers the whole room in a violent display of his power.
Vera flees, scared to death at Tamli's actions. As she leaves, Tamli crumbles once more to the pain of losing his dragon. The newborn tries to get Tamli to do someting other than just sit there. It pulls at his white cloak with its small, white teeth. Tamli merely pushes it away.
The dragonet tries again.
Stop it Geer, Tamli says as he pushes the dragon away again.
Without knowing it, Tamli had come up with a name for the hatchling. Geer hums at the sound of his name, as if forging it in his memory forever. Tamli struggles against the tears that begin to form in his eyes, but is unable to control the actions of his body anymore. His grief now has taken hold of him. Tamli cries out for his Guardian to come back.
Finca, please, hear me. I don't want to be alone. I want you to come back! Finca, please, come back to me, Tamli cries out as he collapses to the floor.
While Tamli was engulfed in his grief over losing Finca, Mirage and Santerous were unconscious. Mhetra had struck them faster than almost light itself. It was as if he wasn't even truly a dragon. In his haste to flee after both dragon and human were unconscious, Mhetra had teleported Makiar to another place.
Makiar awakens to find herself in a desert.
Where am I? She wonders as she looks around.
In the distance, Makiar spots a cave that is embedded with a covering of sandstone that shields the interior from view.
Maybe I'll find shelter there, Makiar thinks as she crawls to it.
When she enters, Makiar finds that it is empty but there are signs that someone has lived or is living there.
I'll take a quick rest and then be on my way, Makiar thinks as she lays down in the shadowy part of the cave and falls asleep.
{Makiar-narration}
My sleep is broken by the growling of another dragon. I wearily open my eyes and raise my head and look up at the dragon. It's red like I am, I'm guessing it's female, and its eyes are yellow like mine, in short it looks almost the same as I do, only smaller.
Who are you? The red dragoness asks.
My name is . . .
It takes me a moment to remember.
Makiar, I finish as the red dragoness watches me.
Makiar huh, my name's Ruby. Pleasure to meet you, the now identified she-dragon growls.
I nod and struggle to remain conscious long enough to speak some more with Ruby, but my tired body won't allow it. I soon fall back asleep and begin to dream.
. . . A long, spiral tower, located in a dense ocean. Nearby, underwater, are the remains of a sunken city. The tower begins to glow with an eerily green light. The top of the tower begins to crack and finally it falls off as a large, black beast soars out of the now open top. The beast breaks through the ocean and vanishes into the clouds that rest over the water's surface as the tower continues to glow. What does it mean? What shall happen to life as creatures of the Dominion of the Beast and earth know it? Why does that green light look familiar? . . .