Chapter 67-Reawakening
It wasn't long until Geer stopped at a small hole in the rock formation around them and Narssia suspected this was where she would be held until the dragons had their say of what to do with her. She wasn't scared of their punishment but she was unnerved by how no scale-flier had made an attempt to kill her yet. After what she had done, she expected there were quite a few who would enjoy ripping her apart. Shuddering, she shied away from the blind dragon and sat down a few feet away, curling her tail against her right hind leg.
"Narssia," Geer began, his unnaturally calming voice soothing her worry, "do you know why I took you under my protection? I wanted you because of something I felt in you the moment I sensed you were about to be killed by Jormundur. There was such repentance within your mind, buried under all the darkness of Arxa and Corruption. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I knew I had to make a way for you to get a second chance at life. If I didn't try my hardest to make that happen then nothing would be complete . . ."
"Is this where you're going to put me until my fate is decided?" Narssia asked meekly, lowering her head as the thought of impending exile echoed through her mind.
Geer snorted, lifting a foreleg as he turned to face her. "Leave you? Narssia, I would never do that to you. You are under my watch now and I won't let anything bad happen to you."
Narssia felt her breath catch in her throat as Geer lowered his foretaloned limb back onto the ground before walking over to her and giving her a gentle nuzzle. The contact with the blind dragon reminded her so much of Mirage and Raxmon that she snorted in surprise and twisted away angrily. Letting a low snarl ripple free, she stood and turned away from him as he retreated a step in confusion over her behavior to his kind gesture.
"I'm sorry . . . The last dragon that did that to me had his neck ripped out minutes later by me as Corruption took hold and formed Arxa to become what I never could. My empathy made me relate to others but she cared little for the gift and tossed it aside like it was worthless . . ."
She wasn't aware that she was crying until she noticed the small drops of water splashing against the rock under her as Geer warily approached her and draped a wing over her frame. As much as she wanted to push him away, Narssia felt deep inside that she couldn't. Something was keeping her where she was, a presence who made itself known with a soft hum.
'This is for your own benefit, lost one,' the presence whispered as Narssia felt a stirring within her mind that informed her it was the spirit of Finca who had seen fit to intrude on her time with Geer.
"Geer, do you-?" Narssia started to inquire but Finca softly hushed her, informing her that, while they talked, time would not move around them and that she had come only to speak with Narssia herself.
'My control over the magic of time allows for this interaction to take place without my son being aware of it,' Finca answered in response to a question Narssia was just barely forming over how she could manipulate time itself. 'I've known your distress for some time, Narssia. It was I who put in motion Geer finding you and saving your life . . .'
"You were barely dead by that point, Finca. Why come and help me? I am nothing but a discarded shell of who I used to be," Narssia snapped back bitterly, sliding free of Geer's contact with her and scraping at the floor under her with a taloned forelimb.
'We both know that isn't true. You had the strength to stand up to Arxa and Corruption, even unleashing your control over the shadows to end Amia's twisted fantasy . . . The inner courage you displayed is overwhelming, Narssia. No matter what happens, trust that I will be watching from the shadows . . .'
"While I appreciate the concern you have for me, can I ask you something? It's just been troubling me recently and Arxa was little help . . ."
'What plagues your weary mind?' Finca hummed, the softness in her voice reminding Narssia of how Ryta used to address her before Corruption had taken hold and destroyed their relationship.
"My mother . . . Who was she? I never have heard any dragon speak of her and prior to Corruption controlling me, I heard others whisper phrases like Nira's forsaken offspring whenever I would walk past. Do you know anything?"
Finca's hesitation to answer the question worried Narssia at first but eventually the spirit muttered, 'I know little about her, actually. Tamli would know more than I do about that but I can at least provide you with a name.' Narssia growled softly in confirmation, wanting any information Finca might possibly be able to give her. 'Alright. Her name was Ilena, a she-dragon gifted with the element of shadow-welding . . .'
"Like yourself! So that confirms that my base element was never supposed to be-"
'Narssia, you were blessed to have a mixture of the two. You gained fire from the lineage of Nira, your ancestor and one of the Dark Dragons, while the craftiness of shadow came from your mother. These two elements blended together to form the blackened, shadowy fire that was your initial gift. Few dragons ever awaken their element within days of their hatching, as it usually takes months for them to unlock the gift inside, but you came from two powerful elemental lines . . .'
With that, Narssia felt Finca leave and she hesitantly looked over at Geer to find his attention was focused on her. The words from the dead dragoness kept repeating in her mind as she stood up and slid out from under his wing, averting her gaze from the blind dragon as he got to his feet and folded the leathery appendage against his body. Despite what had been said about her courage, she still doubted herself and wondered why she even wanted to break free of Corruption in the first place. It had been so much stronger than her . . . so much so that Arxa seemed like a gift from the ancients at first until the real reason had made itself known to her. Even with all that she knew now, part of her still wanted to be back under the protection of the malicious spirit.
"Narssia, talk to me. Tell me what's on your mind," Geer softly growled as Narssia moved her tail to rest against her right hind leg.
"Why don't you just pry the information out?" She bitterly snapped back, turning her head to see him reluctantly sitting down on the floor. "I'm sure the fellow dragons down here wouldn't mind getting to see me hurt."
Geer snarled at her comment and Narssia snorted in amusement, turning her focus to her front claws as she silently felt the conflict within him over how best to respond to her truthful admittance of how she knew the other dragons viewed her. When he still had not replied after several minutes, she glanced back at him to see him carving into the rock under him with his claws. For some reason, the action soothed her and calmed her erratic fears over how she would be treated now with Corruption forced from her body.
"While others may enjoy torturing you, I can honestly say that if I was given the chance, I wouldn't enjoy it," Geer admitted quietly as Narssia lifted her tail and found her gaze and attention captured by him once again. "You don't understand what it's like for me to go every single day without sight but, then again, I know how broken you are, Narssia. Nearly losing everything to the darkness . . . I can honestly relate to knowing that feeling. It is that connection, that understanding, that binds us together and I know you feel it inside just like I do. That pain and guilt you feel is a reminder of what has happened to you but you don't have to let it consume you. You're stronger than that, I know it."
"Geer, I-" Narssia found herself at a loss for words as she listened to him speak about everything that had been weighing her down since she had awoken to find that Arxa no longer had control over her.
'Weakling,' the low raspy growl of Arxa rose within her mind, its sheer darkness, although not as powerful as it had been only days before, clouding her senses as Narssia trembled. 'You can't even defend yourself against the same blackness you thought you defeated. Even with your control over Corruption's magic, you're still no match for me. I only pretended to entertain the idea of us working together just so we could get close to Jormundur, although you know how that worked out. . .'
"She's back . . ." Narssia whispered in disbelief. "I don't understand how . . . I thought I killed her once I unleashed the might of Corruption upon the battlefield, destroying the clone army in the process as I channeled my emotions into a single feeling to take back what was mine . . ."
Geer growled softly, concerned for her as he started to walk over but was stopped with a low hiss as Narssia lowered her head, quivering as bits of stone broke free from the floor and began to levitate in the air around her. Wisps of shadowy blackness rolled from her frame as she closed her eyes, feeling the fury of the one she thought she had defeated wash over her and battle against the frail defenses she had formed since her freedom from Corruption's influence only two days prior.
"Stay back, Geer. I-I'm not sure what will happen. She's so much stronger than I thought she would be . . . It's all my fault for not destroying her while I could-"
'Yes,' Arxa growled menacingly, cackling softly within their joined mind as Narssia's resolve began to fade. 'All of this occurred because you were weak . . . Everyone knows it, why not accept the truth? I could help you be free of the guilt, able to live a life worthy of what your rider would have wanted . . .'
A snarl rose from her throat at hearing the mention of Vanz, her thoughts going back to how he had taught her to control the blackness within her, and Narssia opened her eyes. "Your power is nothing but deceit and lies, Arxa," she snarled. "Vanz showed me how to harness the black magic within myself and cast out your wicked shadows. I don't need you trying to take back control over me to prove why I can overcome the darkness!"
'You consider destroying those abominations a path to your personal freedom? How pitiful,' Arxa scoffed, snorting as Narssia growled softly in defeat and the floating rocks began to swirl around her.
Geer, oblivious to the situation Narssia found herself in, growled softly out of concern for the black she-dragon. "Narssia, is something going on? Why is there silence between us? Have I done something to offend you?"
"That's not it, Geer. I-"
'She's distracted right now,' Arxa remarked, cutting off Narssia as she projected the words into the blind's dragons mind.
The sharp growl that rose from Geer worried Narssia as she silently fretted over what Arxa had said to the dragon. Even with her senses tuned to the darkness of Corruption, she had no way of knowing what had been exchanged between the sightless scale-flier and her dark mind-invader. It worried her to think she would be abandoned by the one creature who had seen good in her since her reawakening following the collapse of the clone army.
"Geer?" She asked quietly, noticing for the first time the rocks swirling around her. "Say something, please. Trust me when I say I never intended for her to come back . . ."
Glancing at the blind dragon, Narssia realized Geer had turned his head away from her and she growled softly, fearing rejection. Minutes passed before the blue scale-flier finally looked her way but she closed her eyes, hearing more destructive taunts from Arxa as shadows enveloped her claws.
"Narssia, I hate to admit this but you are no longer safe with me. Despite my best efforts, Corruption still has a hold on you." Geer paused, walking over to her. "I have heard that Nethial asked a dragon to come from the isle of Tel-var to join us in hopes of healing the wounded quicker. Since this is out of my level of understanding, I believe it would be wise for this newcomer to look you over. Is that agreeable?"
"I don't have a choice. Something has to be done to protect those that survived. Geer, you don't know how much I loathe myself for not having the strength to defend my mind and body from the blackness of Arxa . . ."
'Yes . . . that's it. Wallow in your miserable self-pity. See if Geer cares for you when you tell him how it makes you feel to know you're standing right next to the dragon that killed your son,' Arxa snickered as Narssia flared her wings and closed her eyes, lifting herself off the ground with a few powerful wingbeats.
Geer unfolded a wing to shield himself from the gusts of wind, his snout lifting to face her as a low growl rose from his throat. "Narssia, stop! You can fight her off as you did before-"
"There's no point!" Narssia snapped back, snarling as a thin shadowy mist rose from within her body to surround her frame. "I became weak after so long without having control. She knows that and no amount of resistance on my part is going to change it."
"There's still hope though. Please, keep fighting. If not for me then for all those that are still recovering from the conflict."
Narssia hesitated, the shadows thickening around her body as she weighted the possible outcomes. Was Geer finally admitting that he felt something for her? She growled softly, opening her eyes slowly to see him being battered by the wind gusts she kept sending down. Even with his face shielded from the strong breeze, he still was focused on her and wanted to help her in any way he could.
A shrill shriek tore from her throat, her body convulsing as Narssia felt every part of Arxa's essence ram into her. Despite her limited control over the darkness, the amount she was confronted with was beyond her expectations. The dark presence was back with a vengeance, wanting nothing but revenge for what she had tried to do to remove its influence from her permanently.
Her body flailing about wildly, Narssia knew instantly she was falling back onto the ground but she could do nothing to fold in her wings and protect them from the impact. The area between her shoulders met the stone floor first, followed by her left wing which twisted painfully as the rest of her frame collapsed onto the cold surface. Barely conscious, Narssia heard Geer advancing towards her but tried desperately to make him stop. Between Arxa's revenge on her and her still convulsing frame, she knew if he approached then he might get injured because of her.
"Narssia, I can't get any closer. I'm going to find the new dragon and see if he had be of any help," Geer growled, the sound of his voice seeming far away as Narssia struggled to remain conscious.
Every part of her throbbed painfully as she lay there waiting for Geer to return after he had left to get help. She could sense the convulsions were slowly easing up but it made the experience no less horrible for her to endure. Any control she thought she had was gone while her body quivered and seized up, the sensation reminding her of how it had felt to be a prisoner in her own body once Arxa had taken over. Narssia was surprised though that the dark presence hadn't spoken up about the events, having expected a sharp remark about her new feelings for Geer.
Despite her attempts to stay conscious until Geer had returned, Narssia succumbed to the extent of her new wounds and exhausted body and faded into blissful unawareness . . .