Chapter 48-Nightmares from the Past
Where am I?
A sudden breeze makes Tronay Nekita open her eyes. She lays in a bed in the castle. She remembers fainting while riding with her brother, Tamli Nekita, and then she waking up here.
You are awake!
A sudden telepathic thought causes her to raise her head. It feels heavy, as if she was weighted down by drugs to suppress her powers.
"Who are you?" Tronay questions.
A subtitle laugh bounds from all around Tronay, in the pitch-blackness of the area.
"Show yourself!" Tronay screams.
Another round of laughing answers her question. The laughing quiets down after a few minutes.
Welcome, young Tronay, a voice hisses.
Tronay jolts upright, recognizing the voice of that of the Great Leviathan. He was destroyed when the Orichalcos was destroyed, wasn't he?
To anssswer your quessstion, yesss that weakling wasss dessstroyed but in the processssss I wasss ssset free from my hossst. Kesssar. Thusss dessstroying the Great Leviathan for I had been him through Kesssar, the voice explains.
"You knew what I was about to say . . ."
I did, the voice mutters.
The voice seems to carry a richness that Tronay almost can't pick up on. It's as if this voice is from that of when the Protectors lived in the Dominion of the Beasts.
I have lived in the Dominion of the Beassstsss, the voice snarls. But that changed when I essscaped the Great Flood that threatened to kill my people. My mother, my father, and my sssissster died from the flood and for what? The humor of the Guardiansss to think of now!
Tronay almost feels sorry for this dragon that has yet to show itself to her.
You quessstion who I am, correct? My name is Nira and I am the ssson of the Great Protector Mhetra, the voice snaps.
I have heard of a dragon by the name of Nira before, Tronay thinks. But I never thought that I would be talking to him.
A low and mournful growl echoes from Nira's throat as he circles Tronay.
You humansss never learn from the past, he growls.
Uria and Makiar curl up beside each other, their body heat keeping the two warm. The two huddle closer together as a bitter wind from the Northern Ridge's winter season enter their cave. A small fire lays before them almost about to go out. Uria lifts his head and blows a small stream of flames onto the smothering fire, hoping to warm up the cave. After seeing that the fire is now sufficient, Uria closes his jaws and lowers his head back down to rest on Makiar's neck.
Three months pass and soon the two feel that the time is sufficient for them to finally begin to move around once more. Uria slowly stands and heads toward the opening of the cave. He halts at the cave's entrance and turns to look at Makiar.
Want something? He questions.
A deer would be nice, Makiar answers softly as she wraps her tail around her exposed, tender underbelly.
Uria nods at her request and flies out to look for food. Makiar, meanwhile, curls her tail tighter around herself and lays her head on the end of it. A small trickle of smoke floats out her nostrils as she sighs. Uria has been a rather good mate, much like Eon once was, but he has been bound to a human and yet she never has.
I believe that it would be best if I could somehow separate him from his human and allow him to choose whether or not he wanted to temporarily forget his time with his human partner, Makiar growls.Of course Uria has the final say so I'm not sure what he might think about this idea . . .
Her thoughts are interrupted by Uria's return. He comes bearing two deer. One clasped between his front paws and the other between his jaws. He lays the one that was in his jaws by Makiar's side and moves away so that they can eat in peace. After the meal has been completed, Uria walks over to Makiar and lays down by her side.
Uria? Makiar questions.
Yes? Uria asks.
Would you like it if I found a way to separate you from your human partner and temporarily remove your memories of them, until you need those memories, would that work? Makiar suggests.
Uria remains silent for a few minutes, thinking about the outcome of what might happen.
I accept your offer, my mate, he growls as his eyes light up at the suggested plan. I will do this to be with you.
With Uria's permission, Makiar begins work on a spell that could allow her to be with Uria fully, not just as a female wanting a mate. The process goes slowly since Makiar must word the spell correctly. One wrong move and Uria's memory could be gone forever. Finally the spell is complete and Makiar casts it. Most dragons can use magic, however, some choose not to.
Something wrong Makiar? Uria questions as he sees her lack of concentration.
Nothing is wrong, Makiar quickly mutters as she is drawn from her thoughts on why some dragons don't use magic.
Uria doesn't quite believe her but he goes along with what she said.
Very well, he mutters.
Makiar sighs and lays down beside the entrance to their cave. Uria follows his mate and does the same thing. The two lay together for quite some time, remembering their different pasts and what brought them together. Makiar finally ends up drifting off the sleep.
{Makiar -narrator}
A long spiraling tower stands before me. As I gaze at it a long serpent-like shadow rises from it and comes toward me. I growl and stand my ground. The shadow rushes through me and I wince in pain. Normal shadows don't do that so what's going on?
Come to me . . . A distant voice mutters.
This voice . . . it sounds like Uria, but how?
Who is out there? I ask, using my telepathic powers to make my question echo.
The tower suddenly glows white and I am pulled toward it. I shriek and strain against the force that is trying to pull me in. My strength soon fades and I am pulled into the tower. I gaze down at the image before me. Two dragons . . . one black and one red. The black dragon's left eye looks like it was injured at one point. The red dragon growls in anger and I strain myself to hear their thoughts.
Did you ever wonder why you felt so good when you used the Orichalcos? The black dragon asks.
The red dragon doesn't reply.
It's because of the fact that you are its heir! The black dragon comments.
The red dragon stares back in horror as it realizes who the black dragon is.
Nira? The red dragon questions.
Correct, my son, Nira hums as he gazes at the red dragon.
That red dragon with black eyes . . . It can't be! Uria can't be the son of Nira and the heir to the power of the Orichalcos!
I am pulled from my dream by Uria.
What's wrong? He asks. You won't move and your body was tensed up. What's going on?
If I told him of what I saw he would never believe me.
I had a bad nightmare, I answer, which is partially true.
Uria nods at my words and curls his tail around me, easing me back into sleep.
You need to rest Makiar, he hums as I find it difficult to keep my eyes open.
I soon find myself drifting off to sleep . . .
{Uria-narrator}
As soon as Makiar is asleep I leave the cave. I need a chance to clear my mind. I fly up to a higher mountain peak and perch on top. The cool night air swirls around me as I recall a fond moment from my past with Tronay.
She and I are watching the sunset. Her hand rests on my scaley shoulder.
Will our life always be like this? She asks me as I sigh.
I suppose it will change over time, I reply.
Tronay slides her ruby-incrusted sword out of its sheath and lays it on her lap.
This sword means everything to me. It bares Uria's crest and through it, I can use Uria's magic, she mutters as I hear her thoughts through our mental bond.
This sword binds us together as much as our mind link does, I growl as Tronay sighs.
The memory fades away suddenly and I blink. It faded away so suddenly, so quickly. Most don't do that. I suddenly tense up and bare my gleaming white teeth. A familiar darkness is near, a darkness that I thought Tronay had destroyed. The magic of the Orichalcos.
This is unreal, I mutter to myself. The darkness should have vanished once Tronay destroyed the amulet, unless . . .
It couldn't be! That pendent couldn't have been just a fragment of the ancient dark magic's power, could it?
A sudden flash of light nearly blinds me. When the light recedes, I open my eyes to find myself surrounded by endless areas of white. A growl from the east sends me turning my head to see who it is. I step back in shock when I discover that it is Makiar.
What are you doing here? I question my mate who answers with a sharp growl, her way of saying that she doesn't know.
A sudden flash of greenish light fades into an image. At first I don't remember it but then it hits me, this is from my past!
A tall reddened dragon stands its ground against a slightly taller black serpent.
Destroy him! A human says from behind the serpent's body.
The red dragon growls as it moves over to shield a tall woman that is her twenties at least.
Tronay, I mutter as I continue to watch the scene unfold.
The serpent hisses with anger and rage as it nears the reddened dragon. The dragon stands its ground, growling softly as the serpent approaches. Behind the serpent a tall man stands. His unnatural green hair and mismatched eyes, one green and one yellow, glare at the female that is protected by the reddened dragon. The woman's silver hair and icy blue eyes hold back her fear as the giant snake nears ever closer.
Destroy them both! The green-haired male growls as the serpent halts.
The serpent opens its mouth to reveal two gleaming white fangs dripping with black poison.
I can't watch this, I mutter to myself as my mind recalls what happened next.
The reddened dragon roars and slams into the serpent. The serpent realizes the chance and so it stabs the dragon with its fangs. The dragon screams in pain as the serpent pulls its fangs out and two marks are left.
Uria! The woman screams.
The younger Uria eyes glaze over a gleaming black and it turns around to face the woman.
It must be done! He roars before opening his jaws and letting loose a torrent of flames at the woman.
The woman holds out a single hand and the fire vanishes before it can touch her. The reddened dragon growls and the woman narrows her eyes.
Forgive me, she mutters before she sends the younger Uria flying into a nearby pile of rocks.
I shake in fear as the image fades.
How could I? I nearly killed Tronay when I was younger, I moan as I begin to collapse to the floor when I am caught by something.
I turn my head to see what it is and am stunned when I discover that it is Makiar, my mate.
Sorry, I mutter as I get to my feet and quickly control my quivering limbs.
You may have done horrible things in the past but that is now behind you, Makiar hums as she rubs against my cheek.
That may be true . . .
I am stopped by another vision.
A tall, red female dragon stands over a smaller black male.
Get up Szar! The female snaps.
Why should I? The younger Szar questions.
Because I said so! The female roars as she flips the younger Szar over onto his back.
Fine, the younger Szar mutters as he gets to his feet.
Good then, let us duel, the redden female growls.
Duel? I wonder. Who is that female dragon? She seems familiar.
This isn't real, I hear my mate mutter under her breathe.
Could that red female be Makiar?
After a long duel the younger Szar has only 500 life points left while the younger Makiar has 2400 left.
She is going to win, I think in horror.
The younger Makiar hisses as she plays a face-down card.
Go my mate's power! I use the magic of the Orichalcos to trap us until one loses the duel, the younger Makiar hisses evilly as that familiar ring of green light surrounds them.
I stare in horror, Makiar never told me about this! I glance over at her and find that tears are streaming down her face.
Make it go away, she cries. Just make it go away!
I honestly want it to go away as well but it isn't. I turn my attention back to the scene.
Younger Makiar hovers over her now beaten son.
You failed and lost this duel and thus your memory shall be erased, she hisses.
Stop this, Makiar roars. Please just stop this!
Young Makiar chuckles as the younger Szar falls to the ground.
Now to seal him inside the Twilight Pendent, she mutters as she grabs him and throws him on her back.
The image fades and I turn to look at Makiar. To my surprise, she is laying down on the floor, tears streaming from her eyes.
I . . . I . . . I . . . She stammers.
I can only feel compassion for her as I witness her in this moment of uncertainty for her.
Are you okay . . .
Don't speak to me! Makiar roars before I can finish. You wouldn't want to talk with a dragon that uses that . . . that evil magic.
I jump back at her bitter tone, she really is upset over that memory isn't she? I would be as well, knowing that you erased your offspring's memory with an ancient dark power such as the Orichalcos.