The Legend of Rune: Forsaken Blood

by Deeth Irteen

Four years have passed since the Malefor Ordeal has ended. Rune is enjoying life in his new home. However, things are not peaceful; new conflics have arisen across the dragon realms. The largest of which is Bergan, a purple dragon, and his daughter Tyrrany, a mysterious white dragoness. Rated M for mature themes and violence.

3. Act 1, Chapter 2

On the same day, in the city of Warfang.

The history of dragon kind has gone on for thousands of years. So many elements, with so many powerful dragons wielding them… shaping the world however they see fit.

"Rune?"

But of all the great dragons who carved their destiny, none were more fearsome, in any age, than the purples. Each one sought a purpose for themselves, with consequences that would shape the entire world time and time again.

Tap-tap.

Many were lost to time; their world-shaping and deeds falling into obscurity. But no matter who comes and goes, their spirits are never truly wiped away. They are out there… in the trees, the rivers, and the winds. And so long as magic is a part of our world, so too shall they be a part of us. We will never lose our connection to our ancestors… to our lord, Ma-

The book was blown clean out of Rune's forepaws. He gasped as he watched it get blown around aggressively by a gust of wind. He reached out to grab it, only for it to fly right out of reach… and into the waiting paw of his brother.

"Cyrus?!" Rune yelled indignantly. "What was that for!"

"To get your attention." Cyrus snorted as he stepped forward. "Do you how any idea how hard it is to pull you out of those books?"

Cyrus held out the book for Rune, who snatched it away and cradled it against his chest. "I can't help it; you know how much I love history."

"Well, now that I've finally returned you safely back to the dragon realms…" Cyrus laughed as he flapped his wings. "Care for a flight before class?"

Rune raised an eye ridge, and then looked up at the morning sky. It was clear, sunny, and warm; the perfect day for flying. With a shrug, Rune put his book in his satchel and stretched out his back.

"Sure thing, Cy." Rune stood up tall and smiled. "Lead the way."

Cyrus smiled back, and then fanned out his wings before taking off in a running start. He leaped forward over the side of the garden… and then whisked upwards to take to the skies. Rune smirked as he charged forward to mimic the motion. And soon, the two princes were chasing each other through the air, over the Palace of Kings.

Rune and Cyrus flew together around the perimeter of the Dragon Spire… their home for the last four years. It was always the home of their family line… but they'd never really had a chance to be together there up until the Malefor Ordeal ended. But now, here they were… flying through the clear skies, and basking in the cool breeze.

Rune and Cyrus were both seventeen now. Rune had gotten taller and become bulkier in build; however, he was still years away from the muscular frame his father Baneth had. All six of his horns had gotten thicker, and his mane was neatly trimmed. Cyrus was taller as well but was still shorter than his brother. He was also much leaner than Rune; his frame was slender, almost feminine. His four dark horns and magenta talons were polished to a sheen, and a dark purple crystal hung around his neck on a small chain. This had some… unfortunate side effects when out amongst others.

Rune was having such a wonderful morning flight, that he didn't realize that he'd left his satchel partially open. And as he was doing a summersault with his brother, one of his loose scrolls slipped through the fabric and plummeted down toward the gardens down below...

And down, in the center of that garden, was a lone dragon. He had a hide of golden scales and kept his gaze focused on the ground as he spread out to do exercises.

"Ninety-five… Ninety-six… Ninety-seven…" He panted as he lifted himself up and down. He just wanted to do a full set of 100, before calling it a morning. His body ached, but he refused to stop until he was done.

"Ninety-eight…" He pushed down and lifted back up slower than before. "Ninety… Nine…"

Bap!

The scroll clonked the dragon on the top of the head, and he collapsed with a yelp into the grass. He got a rather distasteful mouthful of grass, which he spat out indignantly. The scroll unfurled and covered his eyes and snout, making him snort angrily.

"What in the…?" He stood up with a groan, making the scroll fall onto the ground before him. The drake grasped the scroll, read its contents… and scowled. He turned his head skyward and immediately spotted the two black dragons as they flew about the air. The dragon narrowed his eyes and growled, crushing the scroll in his forepaw in the process.

"Rune."

~~...~~

After completing a lap and a half, the princes turned downward to fly toward one of the rooftop gardens on one of the adjacent buildings beside the Dragon Spire. A group of students was gathering in rows of seats; one of the first classes of the day. Rune and Cyrus spiraled around a bit to slow their descent, before shifting to land delicately a short distance from the other students.

"It's the princes!" One of the younger dark dragons cried.

Rune couldn't help but wave as everyone looked at him and his brother. Cyrus gave a confident smirk and spun about in place with a flashy show of his wings.

"Good morning, Apprentices." He gave a wink and struck a pose. Rune just rolled his eyes at his brother's antics.

"Yes, Yes, Good morning, you two…" Said a slightly-annoyed voice. Rune turned around to see a cloud of smoke forming on the floor across from a chalkboard. Sure enough, a large figure emerged, who looked down at the two with his poison-green eyes.

"Hiya, Wraith," Cyrus said nonchalantly as he waved his paw.

Wraith's appearance had hardly changed in the last few years, save for the small stubble of green hair upon his chin. He was still as skinny as ever, albeit slightly more muscular now. But the most important change was the little silver ring he wore on his talon.

"That's Master Wraith." The crimson drake raised an eye ridge. "When classes are started, then you're to treat me as you would any of your teachers."

"Well, Teach…" Cyrus gestured over toward a distant clock tower. "Class doesn't officially start for about thirty seconds."

"Very funny." Wraith snorted as he pointed at two empty seats. "Just go sit down with your classmates already."

"We're not assisting today?" Rune asked.

"Not today you're not…" Said a new voice from behind. "Granddad told me to fill in for the day."

Rune and Cyrus backed up and watched as a cart was wheeled out through an open doorway connected to a stairwell. The cart was being pushed by a grey-scaled dragon, who looked at the two with a chilled expression.

"Ah…" Cyrus bit his lower lip. "Hi there… Chal."

Chal, short for Chalice, was the grandchild of General Grail. At nineteen years old, Chalice was the oldest of all the apprentices and had advanced their training to the point where they could assist in the training of others. They had a silver hide and a bronze underbelly, and their build was toned and lean. Chalice had four grey horns; two large ones behind their eyes, and two smaller ones behind the lower jaw. Their crimson mane was styled short, and they never went anywhere without wearing a black bandana around their neck.

"I've got those books you wanted, Master Wraith." Chalice said as they wheeled their cart over to the chalkboard.

"Ah, thanks." Wraith raised an eyebrow as he looked over the cart's contents. Chalice nodded before stepping back a bit to get into position beside the chalkboard.

Rune and Cyrus went to sit down in their seats, while the other students settled in as well. Wraith cleared his throat to quiet everyone down.

"Alright, time to make sure everyone's here today…" Wraith said as he picked up a clipboard and looked over. "Okay, the groups were a bit shuffled today to make sure all the apprentices are here. So I'm going to call out a name, and each of you…"

Zzzzzzz…

Rune and Cyrus exchanged glances, and then looked across the way at one of the shadow dragons on the side of the room. Soon, all eyes were upon a rather disheveled young dragon which was slumped over behind a pile of scrolls.

The boy had crimson scales and was about one year younger than Rune and Cyrus. He had a messy mane of orange, and two sets of ram-like horns. There were bags under his eyes, and he drooled slightly on one of his books.

Wraith raised an eye ridge and walked right on up to the boy's desk. The Deep Shadow held up his clipboard and casually slammed it down on the desk. Immediately the boy sat up with a yelp.

"THE PYTHAGOREAN THEOREM!" He yelled out. The students around him laughed, and he shook his head around before rubbing his crimson eyes. "H-Huh?"

"Good morning, Ozul," Wraith said with amusement. "Feel like attending class today?"

"Oh… Uh…" Ozul slumped down in his seat and blushed. "I'm sorry, Mr. Wraith."

"Master Wraith, Ozul." Wraith picked up his clipboard. "So, what's got you sleeping in class again today, hmm?"

"Please go easy on him, Mr. Wraith." Said a blue dragoness to Ozul's right. "He's been busy."

Wraith frowned at her. "Busy with what, Holly?"

Holly was roughly Ozul's age. She had two icy-blue horns that resembled Agate gemstones. Her light-blue mane flopped over her matching eyes as she opened her satchel to pull out a little cup. She created a small layer of icy mist before her maw, which solidified into little frosty chunks. She gathered the ice in the cup and placed it by Ozul's paw.

"He was up all night working on our group project," Holly said.

"The group project?" Wraith repeated curiously.

"Y-Yes, Sir…" Ozul rubbed his eyes again. As he picked up the cup. "I… wanted to make sure it was finished on time."

"Ozul, it's not due until the end of the month." Wraith pursed his lips.

"That's what I said, Mr. Wraith." Holly shrugged. "But he insisted we get it done as soon as we could."

"Master Wraith, Holly." Wraith rolled his eyes and took a breath. "Honestly, we go through every day."

"Sorry…" She pouted and slumped back in her seat.

"Well, anyway…" Wraith held up the board. "On to the next-"

WHOOSH!

Papers went flying everywhere, much to Wraith's annoyance. He called his clipboard back to himself and turned toward the other side of the class… which now had one additional student seated in the chairs. One of the dragonesses tried to look nonchalant as she wracked her talons on her desk.

"Nice try." Wraith raised an eye ridge. "But you left quite the conspicuous trail, little miss."

The dragoness had dark green scales, and her reddish eyes deliberately looked away from Wraith. Four jade horns crowned her head, which all bent backward like lightning bolts. She had her red mane trimmed short and wore a few baubles in it here and there.

Wraith walked up to the dragoness's desk and tapped it to get her attention. "Why were you late, Brisa?"

"Late? Me?" She put on an innocent smile. "But I've been right here the whole time."

Wraith gave her a dour expression, and then he glanced over at the one other empty desk. "Looks like your partner in crime is missing, too. Care to explain?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Brisa shrugged her shoulders. "Apprentice's honor."

"Yeah, sure…" Wraith turned around. "Show up late one more time, and you're getting a write-up, little miss."

Brisa pouted at him but said nothing. She just continued tapping her talons as the Deep Shadow proceeded to list off names.

Rune wasn't sure what to make of all these apprentices. Apparently, they were always living in The Hive, even if he never met them when he was a cub. Each of them was chosen by one of the Deep Shadows to undergo training, much like how the Guardians picked their successors. Cyrus knew them for much longer, having grown up around them. Nevertheless, Rune spent the last four years learning alongside these dark dragons… and they were certainly an interesting bunch at times.

Soon enough, everyone was accounted for, save for the one last missing student. Wraith scoffed and wrote down a note on his clipboard.

"Well, seeing as our dear friend couldn't get to class, I'll just have to mark him as absent…" Wraith walked over to the chalkboard and grasped the side to flip it over. "Okay, now today we're going to…"

All at once, the students gasped upon seeing the other side of the chalkboard. Rune and Cyrus winced, while Chalice gulped and tugged their bandana.

"What?" Wraith asked in bewilderment. "What's wrong?"

"Uh, M-Master Wraith…" Rune cautiously pointed at the chalkboard. Wraith quizzically looked at the board… and his pupils constricted.

Upon that board was… well, it certainly wasn't Wraith's lessons for the day. Instead, it was… well, it was a crude drawing of Wraith and his husband in a rather… compromising position. All of the students balked in horror at the sight; Holly in particular covered her eyes, while Ozul hid behind his books. And somewhere in the background… a young dragon could be heard snickering and laughing.

"Well…" Wraith said through gritted fangs. "That… would… be…" He slammed his forepaw on the chalkboard. "RICIN."

Wraith created a pool of shadowy mist upon the chalkboard and stuck his paw inside. There were sounds of a struggle as Wraith pulled something through the mist. Suddenly, a young dragon toppled head-over-heels out of the mist and onto the grass before the chalkboard.

Ricin was the youngest of the apprentices, but certainly not the smallest. He had a chubby build, with a pudgy face that normally always had a smirk plastered against it. His scales had a shade that, if Rune were to guess, was indigo. The boy's ragged mane and underbelly were an even darker shade. But in contrast to that were the dazzling yellow eyes the boy sported. He had three horns of a matching color; one small horn grew between his eyes, while two larger horns were behind the eyes, and pointed forward. It was a familiar look… almost unnerving…

Before Ricin could say or do anything, Wraith grabbed him by the ear frill and forced him up onto all fours.

"Hey, come on!" Ricin struggled. "Let go, Teach!"

"You're getting written up for this, you little brat." Wraith snapped. "Your mentor's going to be hearing all about this, that's for certain!"

"Oh, come ON!" Ricin yelled. "It's just a gag!"

Wraith's eye twitched. "Oh, sure. Very funny. Disrupting the class and wasting everyone's time with your stupid drawings so. Damn. HILARIOUS!" Wraith smacked his face and wiped it down. "Ricin, how many times are you going to piss me off with your-?!"

KA-BOOM!

The entire rooftop suddenly shook, making everyone yelp in surprise. Wraith stumbled backward, letting Ricin go on accident. Rune and Cyrus winced and sprang up onto their feet while the other students cried out in alarm. Ozul's books fell over and toppled onto him, while Holly and Brisa clung onto their chairs.

"What in the realms was THAT?!" Wraith exclaimed.

A clue soon came… in the form of a smoke cloud. Everyone stood up and looked toward the south. A few city blocks away, sounds of a struggle could be heard, alongside crashing and smashing.

"What in the…?" Chalice turned and stepped up to the edge of the garden to get a better look. They then soon gasp and turned back toward Wraith. "Uh… Master Wraith...?"

"What is it?" Wraith ran to the edge to get a lookout. Rune and Cyrus couldn't help but join him over there. And soon, all four of them could see more smoke clouds rising in the general area.

From what Rune could tell, several carriages had been knocked over; they were just barely visible across the streets and around the corner. Many of the nearby civilians were crying out in fear as they fled the area… while several dragons clad in what looked like bronze armor were descending on the area.

Wraith's eyes constricted once again. "Oh, no…"

"Wh-What's happening?" Brisa asked worriedly.

"Everyone, just… Just stay calm." Wraith quickly turned around and held a forepaw out. "Nobody do anything to draw attention to yourself. Everyone just… just…"

"What's going on?!" Holly exclaimed.

"Is Warfang under attack?!" Ozul asked, finally fully awake.

"What do we do?!" Brisa shouted.

The students were growing more frightened by the second; some looked ready to get up and make a break for it into the sky. Wraith tugged on his collar and gulped. He quickly glanced at Chalice and motioned with a forepaw. "Hey, Assistant! Do the thing, do the thing!"

"Okay, coming up!" Chalice exclaimed. They stepped forward, took a deep breath, and reached into their core to call upon their magic. A dark-red aura began to form about their bodies, which flowed into their talons.

"Everyone… just take it easy." Chalice said soothingly as their magic flew forward in a wave.

The wave spread from student to student, washing over them like a splash from the ocean. One by one, they stopped panicking and focused on Chalice.

"Just take deep, slow breaths…" Chalice continued with a soft smile. "Everyone stand up, and form a single file down into the stairwell like we were taught to do for fire drills."

While the students focused on Chalice's voice, the only ones not joining in were Rune and Cyrus. Rune in particular felt a foreboding aura coming from the carnage; something bad was going to happen. It was as real as the itch on his back. The sounds of the class soon died down, and all that Rune could think of was the danger…

So, are you going to just sit back and watch?

Rune gnashed his fangs. He spread his wings out and called upon gusts of wind to push himself upward into the air. He most certainly would NOT sit back.

"Rune, what are you doing?" Wraith exclaimed.

"I can't just sit around!" Rune lifted himself higher. "I'm going to help!"

Wraith watched with a slack jaw as Rune took off over the rooftops toward the disaster. He was stunned into silence for a moment… until he spotted Cyrus about to do the same thing.

Chalice's eyes widened. "Cyrus, what are you thinking?!"

"I can't just leave him to tackle this alone." Cyrus spread his wings and leaped over the side of the garden, only to appear in the sky seconds later. "Just leave it to the black dragons!"

"Oh no, you-"Wraith began saying before Cyrus flew off at high speed to catch up with his brother. "…Don't."

The crimson drake smacked his face and grumbled, before looking back at Chalice. "Guide the other apprentices down to the safe zone. I've got to warn the other Deep Shadows that our princes are idiots."

"Got it…" Chalice saluted and nodded. "You can count on me, Master Wraith."

"Uh-huh…" Wraith held his talons before himself…

~~…~~

It didn't take Rune very long to arrive at the scene. The pillars of smoke were rising from several carriages, all of which had been set ablaze and knocked onto their sides. Nearby water dragons were in a panic as they struggled to douse the flames with their magic. A few other dragons were struggling to free their friends who had been trapped beneath the wreckage in various spots.

Rune gasped, and then pushed himself to move even faster. Before long, he'd landed on the street with a thud and stood up tall. The very first thing he thought to do was unleash his own torrents of water to help put out the nearby flames. The citizens cheered, though Rune didn't stop there. He rushed over and used earth magic to boost his strength just enough so that he could lift the shattered parts of the closest carriage. Finally, the water dragons were able to pull their injured friend out from beneath.

"Thank you!" They exclaimed as Rune put the carriage down. "Thank you so much!"

Rune nodded, but didn't have time to speak; there were still quite a few carriages to deal with. Luckily he didn't have to start right away on the next one; Cyrus had flown down and was already halfway through putting out another fire.

"We'll get you out of there!" Cyrus called to a trapped mole. "You can count on us!"

Rune smiled at his brother and then worked to help other citizens. Together, the two princes dashed about to put out as many fires as they could until other help arrived. But even when the worst of the work was finished, the air still felt rather grim.

"Ancestors, this is some serious destruction…" Cyrus winced as he rushed over to his brother to help him lift a larger carriage. "Who could have done all of this?"

Rune opened his maw to speak… only for the sounds of metal clanging to cut him off. He turned around and heard the sound get louder… until he saw what it was, and hurriedly shook Cyrus's shoulder.

"We've got trouble…" Rune said as he spread out his limbs for a fighting stance. Cyrus's wear frills wriggled, and he whirled around to see what it was. And it most certainly WAS trouble.

Half a dozen dragons emerged from one of the side streets, much to the panic of the remaining citizens. The dragons wore bronze armor, and their muzzles were creased with furious scowls. And the most unnerving thing about them was all of the BLOOD plastered across their armor and talons.

"Uh-oh…" Rune backed up a bit.

"You…" One of the lightning dragons snarled as he stepped forward; electricity danced across his scales and armor as he prepared to attack. "You… MONSTERS!"

Rune ducked out of the way as a lightning bolt flew right where his head was, striking the carriage and destroying the windows. Cyrus dashed over to his brother and blocked him with a wing.

"Kill them!" An earth dragon bellowed as he struck the ground. "Kill the sons of the Tyrant!"

An earth bomb was sent hurtling toward the two princes. Rune's first instinct was to create his aura of earth magic to cushion the blow. But Cyrus had a different tactic in mind; he grasped Rune's side, and a wave of weird magic radiated from Cyrus's body. Rune winced as everything around him became tinted blue, and slowed down to a near stop.

Time magic.

Cyrus grasped Rune's shoulder and motioned for him to follow his brother out of view across the street, behind one of the doused carriages. The two princes rushed over, and managed to get behind cover just as the slowdown wore off…

BOOM!

The ground shook, nearly sending Rune sprawling over. Cyrus worked to keep Rune steady, but he nearly crumpled under his brother's weight.

"I can bring the magic up again if we need time to make a plan." Cyrus prodded his brother. "How do you want to deal with these guys?"

"I don't know…" Rune stood himself up and grimaced. Hey didn't like the looks of those bloody talons. "Maybe we should retreat."

"After we made a dramatic entrance?" Cyrus protested. "Do you want us to look like cowards?"

Rune sneered; it wasn't about bravado, but about doing the right thing. Though looking around, it seemed that the assailants were putting all of their attention on the two princes, rather than attacking any more civilians. But despite that, a few of the citizens were straggling behind and limping; they were too injured to get away. Rune took a deep breath; so long as he could escape, he could distract them further into staying away from the injured.

Rune slowly stood up and paced a short distance out of danger to draw the assailants' ire. He spread out his wings, sucked in a breath, and prepared for the worst. Cyrus was soon at his side, though with a more menacing and confident grin than before.

"Alrighty…" Cyrus let waves of red magic dance across his scales. "Let's show these punks what the Twin Princes can do!"

The attacks charged forward, and Rune and Cyrus psyched themselves up…

Just then, a dragoness roared from across the way. "HALT!"

The attackers all flinched at the declaration and turned around. Rune and Cyrus gasped and turned to look down the adjacent street. They sighed in relief; backup had arrived, and quite a lot of it.

A large group of dragons in silver armor had flown down from the sky, from the Dragon Spire's direction. At the helm of this group were three other dragons, all dressed in dark grey robes. Two of them were easily recognizable: Grail and Rose. They came to a landing to the left and right, as the third dragon landed in the center.

The dragoness had scales of shining gold and a mane of dark hair that was pulled back from her eyes. She gazed angrily at the bronze-clad dragons as she dug her talons into the ground as a show of force.

One of the attackers, a fire dragon, narrowed his eyes at the dragoness.

"Guardian Apella…" He said bitterly. "You have a lot of nerve to show your face, traitor!"

The dragoness reached for a sword scabbard affixed to her flank. She grasped the hilt of the sword and pulled it free, before taking a feral stance as the other two Deep Shadows and their soldiers prepared for a fight.

"You're outnumbered!" Grail hissed. "Surrender now, or be pummeled into submission!"

The red drake hissed. He glared down at Rune and Cyrus and charged forward to attack them… only for time to slow down once more. Cyrus wasted no time grabbing Rune and pulling him out of the way. But Rune was only barely halfway back onto his paws before time returned to normal; he yelped as the drake's red talons nearly tore into him.

"Uh-oh…" Cyrus struggled to call upon his Time magic again, but it barely lasted a second. "Not good!"

Rune ducked another swipe from the attacker and scrambled to get out of the way. The attacker made to swipe again… but by that point, a powerful gust of wind blew in from the side and sent the drake sprawling backward. Rune followed the gust's path and soon noticed Rose making her way over to them.

"Get out of the combat zone!" She ordered. "Get to safety!"

"Got it…" Rune tugged on Cyrus to get him to follow behind.

The two princes dashed out of the area as the assailants did battle with the Deep Shadows' forces. It wasn't a long battle; Warfang's soldiers were quick to cover most of the street and force the enemy into a bottleneck. Then, it took Grail and Apella little time to incapacitate them one by one.

Soon, only one assailant was left; the lead fire dragon. Apella snarled at him and held her sword at the ready.

"You've lost." She hissed.

"You may have taken down my allies…" The assailant growled. "You may even defeat me. But you won't stop the Sons of Culmubrae, traitor!"

Apella barred her fangs and charged forward as the assailant did the same. She opened her maw wide… unleashing a burst of golden light. The assailant cried out as he was blinded instantly. And with a slash of blades, the enemy's forelegs were rendered useless.

With a slash of blades and a burst of magic, the assailant's forelegs were rendered useless. The drake howled as he collapsed to the ground, and Apella forcibly pinned him down. That's when her soldiers stepped up to lock the assailant in chains and muzzle him.

"Take all of them to the dungeons!" Apella ordered. "No killing; the High Queen wants them alive for trial."

"Yes, ma'am." The soldier saluted. He then signaled those orders to the rest of the dark dragons. With the enemies rendered pacified, Apella put her sword back in its scabbard.

At first, Rune sighed in relief; he fell back on his haunches on the sidewalk and relaxed as the carnage was finally dying down. Cyrus shared the sentiment; he stretched out his back and flapped his wings to get kinks out. But before the two could think up congratulatory words for the Deep Shadows… they realized that all three of them were sneering at the princes.

"Oh no…" Cyrus sheepishly shifted into a standing position, as did Rune. "They don't look too pleased."

The two princes held still as all three Deep Shadows approached them. Grail in particular looked ready to tan their hides.

"What are you two doing here?!" Grail demanded, his single eye pulsing with anger. "Did you have a death wish?!"

"We weren't going after the assailants!" Cyrus exclaimed. "We were trying to help the citizens with the fires!"

"It's not your job to help." Rose snapped. "Dealing with disasters is the Deep Shadows' job; yours is to remain safe and educated."

"I couldn't just sit around and cower," Rune said as he shook his head.

"This wasn't some random freak accident; it was a planned attack." Apella stamped her paw. "For all we know, that attack was just a diversion to draw you out so the Sons of Culmubrae could kill you."

"We could have fought them off." Cyrus beat his wings. "We've got the skill, and we've got the magic; we're black dragons, after all."

Grail groaned and rolled his eye. "Your skill is irrelevant: you're still BOYS in my gaze. And as such, you're to stay as far away from the battles with these Sons of Culmubrae as possible." He stamped his paw. "As General, I order you both to return to the Dragon Spire."

Rune balked. "But-"

"GO!" Grail roared. Rune stammered for a bit, and ultimately just sighed and turned around.

"If you say so, General…" Rune extended his wings. "Come on, Cy."

"Yeah, yeah…" Cyrus unfurled his wings with a grumble.

The two black dragons took off into the sky and went north toward the central district. Rune supposed they could have just shadow-jumped there… but where was the fun in that? He liked flying through the sky much better; from way up there, everything looked so peaceful… smoke stacks from the attacks notwithstanding.

Rune sighed as he thought about the carnage; maybe General Grail had a point.

This wasn't the first time that surprise attacks were launched on the streets of Warfang. Though the Order of Culmubrae's highest members were officially locked deep in the bowels of the dungeons, their influence was still spread out across the lands. Groups of hateful dragons rose to avenge the former Pappas Richteriel. They called themselves the Sons of Culmubrae, and would stop at nothing to wreak havoc for dark dragon kind until their dying breaths… and their greatest target had been Rune's immediate family.

"Hey Rune, I'll race you home!" Cyrus called from behind. Rune was about to stop and agree to the race… only to be knocked out of his flight pattern as his brother took off at high speed. Rune gasped as he struggled to regain himself, and then snarled in frustration.

"You cheater!" Rune yelled. "You're using wind magic again!"

Cyrus only laughed as he made for the center of Warfang. Rune put a bit of wind magic into his wings and chased after his brother. Bit by bit, Rune's anger subsided, and he relaxed as he flew along with Cyrus toward home…

Back on the ground, the three Deep Shadows watched as the princes left the area. Grail's anger died down, and he stretched his back out to get the kinks out.

"Look at them." He said with a grunt. "So full of life and vigor. It makes me feel all the more aged and decrepit just watching them."

"You don't seem that old to me." Apella shrugged. "Err, if it's any consolation."

"Hmph." Grail snorted. "I'll take it as a compliment, Guardian."

"Deep Shadow." She corrected. "I'm one of you now."

Apella was once the Guardian of Sunlight, of the Prime Temple to the west. She and another Guardian, a water drake named Cerulean, were given the offer to become Deep Shadows after the Malefor ordeal ended. Elenar had hoped to further diversify the ranks of the Deep Shadows as a sign to the people of Warfang that light and dark dragons could come together in unity once again. While this made sense to several other Deep Shadows, Grail found it difficult to place his trust in a former Guardian.

"Enough dawdle." The General declared. "We can't leave these dangerous criminals out and about for anyone to gawk at them."

"Right…" Rose and Apella nodded in agreement. The three Deep Shadows turned to give orders to their soldiers, who in turn dragged the Sons of Culmubrae off to the dungeons…

~~…~~

It wasn't a very long flight back toward the Dragon Spire; it was so short that Rune felt tempted to fly another lap around the whole thing before returning to class.

The Dragon Spire was still the biggest tower in all of Warfang, with the Palace of Kings seated atop it. Nobody was allowed to fly on up to the Palace of Kings all willy-nilly, so the princes had to glide down toward the garden surrounding the Spire to climb up that way. As they made their descent from the sky, some of the citizens spotted them. A few of the younger dragons even waved to the princes. Rune put on a soft smile and waved back… while Cyrus spun donuts in the air around his brother. Cyrus did somersaults, barrel rolls, and a whole host of maneuvers on his way down.

At first, Rune and Cyrus were going to return to the rooftop garden, only to find that nobody was there. Then they remembered; the class was told to head to the safe zone, like during one of the fire drills. So, they shifted direction and made to glide down into the other garden that sat at the base of the dragon spire. Many dragons and non-dragons were gathered down there and were doing their best to keep calm.

As the princes came to a landing in the garden, Rune grimaced as Cyrus extended his wings with dramatic flair and put on a big grin.

"Good day, Warfang!" Cyrus declared. "The princes have arrived, none the worse for wear!"

A few of the younger dragons nearby applauded, while Rune just rolled his eyes and walked forward into the garden to reach the front stoop of the Spire.

Ever since Elenar became the high queen of Warfang, the royal family had officially moved into the Dragon Spire. The building as a whole was used mostly as a place of worship and learning for dragons that weren't able to make the journey to the Prime Temple. Young dragons, both light and dark, lived and studied there under the Deep Shadows. Rune and Cyrus attended some of the same classes as the other students; Elenar felt that the princes should spend time with their future subjects, for the good of all.

Before Rune could put his forepaws on the front doors of the Dragon Spire, Cyrus rushed past him and shoved it open. He then turned around and grinned smugly.

"I win!" Cyrus declared with a flourish of his wings.

"Only because you cheated... again," Rune said indignantly.

"Oh, what?" Cyrus snapped. "Just because I'm better at wind magic than you?"

"YES," Rune said flatly. He walked around his brother and entered the building.

"But if I remember right…" Cyrus said as he trotted alongside Rune. "you can shadow-jump clear across the city."

"But I didn't." Rune snorted.

"You never said we couldn't use magic, Rune." Cyrus grinned.

"Well, just once I'd like to have a competition handled solely with endurance," Rune grumbled. "There's no point if we just cheat our way through with magic."

"Our magic's a gift." Cyrus fanned his wings out in a little show. "We've got it, so we might as well-"

"Are you two completely out of your minds?!"

While the princes were stunned in place, a cloud of smoke emerged between them and separated them. As the smoke vanished, who else but Wraith appeared, with frustration boiling in his eyes.

"H-Heya, Wraith." Rune grimaced.

The drake paced around the princes and fanned out his wings in anger.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to go racing off toward carnage like that?!" He yelled; several students around them winced and backed away. "You're supposed to stay with the class, no matter how far along you think you are!" He stamped his paw and flashed his fangs. "What's the matter with you boys?!"

"Alright Wraith, we get it…" Cyrus grimaced as he grasped his ear frills. "You don't have to yell; Grail and the others already drilled into us for"

Wraith tugged on Cyrus's ear frill. Rune grimaced and shrank back with his shoulders slumped.

"Every single Deep Shadow has the right to tell you off for being STUPID!" Wraith continued as he dragged Cyrus forward. "Never do something like that again, you bit, stupid, dumb… stupid idiots!"

"Understood, understood!" Rune yelped when Wraith threatened to grab his ear frill. "We won't do it again!"

"See that you don't!" Wraith let go of Cyrus, who rubbed his ear frill in pain. The Deep Shadow pointed at the front doors and gritted his fangs. "Get. Your. Arses. INSIDE."

The princes exchanged uneasy glances and shrugged. They walked deeper into the Dragon Spire, with their tutor following close behind.

The interior temple was hustling and bustling with dragons and non-dragons. Word was beginning to spread about the attack, so everyone was curious to learn more. Wraith led the princes through the crowd and toward a small chapel off to the side. After peacetime started, Elenar had the chapel refurbished so that people could offer up respects to Lord Spyro and Lade Cynder together. And seated in the chapel in a big group were the students of Wraith's class.

Chalice was at the back of the chapel, speaking to everyone in a warm, pleasing tone. Their magic had worn off, and now Chalice was working to keep them all calm.

"..It won't be long now, guys." Chalice put a smile on. "See? Master Wraith is back already."

The students perked up as Wraith walked in with Rune and Cyrus. Right away the younger dragons cheered and applauded upon their arrival. Rune stammered for a bit; he held his paw up and waved, while Cyrus smirked and basked happily in the attention.

"Ah, back before our adoring crowd…" Cyrus chuckled as he nudged Rune. "Isn't it great to"

BONK!

Wraith struck Cyrus atop the head, making him wince. Rune grimaced and flinched his head down while the Deep Shadow pointed a talon at the other prince.

"Now cut that out." Wraith snapped. "No showboating in the chapel, you dumb-dumb."

A few of the students laughed, making Cyrus growl. He was about to say something when the chapel doors opened up behind them.

"Sheesh, what happened today?"

Rune and Cyrus looked back and saw a familiar face emerging through the doorway. It was a dark-yellow dragoness, who leaned against the wall with a raised eye ridge.

"Were you two sticking your necks out in danger again?" She asked sardonically. "Without inviting me?"

Rune grimaced, while Cyrus simply sighed. "Sorry, Tina."

Tina had been one of Cyrus's closest friends in their childhood, and that remained the same to this day. She'd become more muscular as she got older, and she gained a few new scars on her forelegs from her years of roughhousing. Her dark mane was as wild as ever, and one of her bronze horns was slightly chipped at the tip.

Wraith turned around and gave Tina the stink-eye. "What are you doing out of your class?"

"Dad asked me to come to give you a package, Master Wraith…" Tina stepped past the princes and held up something wrapped in brown string. "You weren't at your scheduled location, so I had to go looking for ya."

"Uh-huh…" Wraith took the package and looked it up and down. "Thanks. You can go back to class now."

"But Mr. Wraith," said the voice of Holly from across the way, "didn't you say that the queen canceled all the period's classes for the drill?"

Wraith balked, and then smacked his muzzle. He then looked down at Tina, who gave him a playful grin.

"Do you need some help keeping the younger apprentices calm?" She asked. "I'm always willing to lend a paw."

"No, no… Chalice is my assistant for the day." Wraith declared as he leaned against the wall. "Just… Just make yourself comfortable, until we can head back to classes, I guess."

"Ah, sure thing…" Tina said. She lightly brushed against Cyrus, before walking over to sit down with a few of the other dragonesses. "Talk to you later, Shorty."

"Sure…" Cyrus said with a snort.

Rune and Cyrus made head over to the boys' side of the chapel. They looked for spots to sit down but found that the only open ones were near the back. There was a lone bench with only two young dragons sitting there; Ozul and Ricin. The former was leaning against a wall and trying not to fall asleep again, while the latter sat with a miserable expression on his face as he read over a big, boring-looking scroll.

"Hey there, you two," Rune said as he sat down next to Ricin.

"Hi…" Ozul said as he blinked his eyes wearily. Ricin, meanwhile, barely even looked at Rune as he tried to read over the contents of the scroll and muttered to himself.

"Stupid Wraith, making me do stuff I don't wanna…" The poison dragon stuck his tongue out. "And he ruined my drawing."

Rune raised an eye ridge. "You mean that… art piece on the chalkboard today?"

"NO, not the chalkboard." Ricin harrumphed. "I was talking about my journal; he took it while I was in the middle of something!"

"And when were you drawing in that journal?" Cyrus asked curiously.

Ozul woke up a bit more and looked at the princes. "When Master Wraith was lecturing us after you two left."

Ricin shot Ozul a nasty glare, and then just indignantly stuck his muzzle in his scroll. Rune tried not to laugh as he patted Ricin on the shoulder with his wing.

"Maybe next time you should listen to the Deep Shadow when he's talking to you," Rune said. "No teacher likes being ignored."

"But he's so… UGH." Ricin shook Rune's wing away. "I can't stand him."

"Hey, relax…" Cyrus said with a nod. "He's not that bad... at least when compared to Grail."

Ozul's eyes widened, and he shivered in place. "G-General Grail's coming?"

"No, No, he's not coming…" Cyrus shook his head. "Calm down, Ozie."

"Ohh…" Ozul took a deep breath and then slumped back to settle into his seat. "Okay…"

Ozul almost fell asleep again… but then Ricin leaned over and made a popping noise with his muzzle. Ozul winced, and nearly fell asleep again, but then Ricin made even more noises.

"Ricin, quit it." Ozul protested as he rubbed his ear frills. "That's driving me crazy."

"If I have to suffer, so do you." Ricin stuck his tongue out at him. Ozul sneered and rubbed his eyes as he tried to ignore Ricin's antics. Rune looked between the two incredulously.

"You two are something else…" He snorted. That's when Cyrus leaned in and smirked at him.

"Kind of reminds me a bit of when we were little."

A few minutes later, the chapel's doors were pushed open. Several more students from another class started filing in. At the head of the group was a trio of dragonesses in lavish clothing. Two of them were water dragons… but the third one in the center immediately caught Rune's attention. And when she saw him, she couldn't help but smile. She stepped out of her group of friends and walked up to the boys' side with a playful expression.

"Hiya, Rune…" She said sweetly.

Rune blushed as he looked at back at her, though he tried to hide it. "Uh… H-Hiya, Helianne."

Helianne was a Flora dragoness; she had bright green scales that were patterned like fresh leaves. She was graced with four blue horns that resembled antlers atop her head. She walked with grace and dignity that few dragons could replicate. Helianne wore an elegant cape of gold that covered her wings, and jewelry of equal radiance decorated her talons. And her tail tip ended had a spine that resembled another leaf, all of which served to make Helianne look like a spirit of nature itself.

As Helianne walked by with her graceful steps, the surrounding students made to bow their heads or get out of the way. After all, she wasn't just any dragoness; she was a princess! The daughter of King Horus, to be exact. And she was sure to make sure everyone knew it… especially Rune.

"Nice to see you back safe and sound," Helianne said as she sat down beside Rune. "After word spread around that you took off for danger again, the rest of the girls were getting worried."

"Well…" Rune began. "There's no need to-"

"There's nothing to be worried about!" Cyrus suddenly blurted out. He abruptly stepped around to side at Helianne's side, making her balk. "Rune and I saw more dangerous stuff when we were kids!"

Helianne flinched and stepped back a bit, a forepaw raised instinctively from Cyrus's sudden action. She then groaned and rolled her eyes. "Yes, I get the point, Prince Cyrus. Good for you."

"Hey." Cyrus scowled a bit. "I was just saying that."

Suddenly someone grabbed Cyrus's tail and pulled him back. Chalice had made their way through the chapel just to deal with the commotion.

"Chal, what's the big idea?!" Cyrus protested.

"You might want to cool it, Skippy." Chalice scolded as they put Cyrus in another seat. "Don't get in the way of the magic."

A few of the nearby students couldn't help but giggle. While Cyrus glowered and pouted, Rune tried to keep a straight face as Helianne got a bit closer to him.

"You're going to make it to the study session, right?" She asked playfully as she nudged his flank. "There's quite a bit of work that we need to study up on."

"Of course, Helianne…" Rune's face flushed bright pink. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Rune felt compelled to lift his wing and drape it over Helianne's back, which she happily accepted. A few of the nearby students started gossiping right away; it wasn't the first time. Rune almost managed to ignore all of it, and he was about to lean in to talk with Helianne a bit more privately… right up until a gruff voice spoke behind his ear frill.

"Let go of my sister, Rune!"

Rune and Helianne gasped, and they turned around to see the newcomer. A large, muscular dragon with golden scales was looming behind them, and he had quite the furious scowl on his muzzle. Rune sheepishly took the empty seat to his right, giving room for the golden dragon to step forward and put himself between them like a gilded wall.

"Ugh!" Helianne groaned. "Thanks a lot, Lantel."

Puberty was indignantly kind to Prince Lantel; he was one of the larger dragon students in the Dragon Spire. His two horns were broad and blue, and his long black mane was neatly trimmed. Despite his regal gaunt, he had slight bitterness in his azure eyes. His outfit was lavish, like his sister's, with the primary feature being his silvery-white cloak. Said cloak was emblazoned with a large golden sun.

Lantel glared at Rune for the entire time he adjusted himself to sit down. He stuck a forepaw into his satchel and kept it there, ignoring the glare from his sister.

"Why were you just lurking in the shadows, Lantel?" Helianne demanded. "Spying on me again?"

"I'm just keeping an eye on you." Lantel pointed his muzzle in the air. "You know what Dad said: we need to keep out of trouble while attending school here. And that means making sure YOU…" Lantel poked his sister in her beak-like muzzle. "Don't do anything rash."

"And what's so rash about spending time with the future High King?" Helianne asked smugly. She leaned forward and deliberately fluttered her eyes in Rune's direction. This of course made him flush all the redder. "We'll be seeing a lot of him for the rest of our lives, so we might as well be on good terms with him."

"Being on good terms…" Lantel repeated with a snort. "Yeah. Sure…"

The golden prince turned to glare at Rune, and he finally pulled something out of his satchel. "I think I have something that belongs to you."

"Huh?" Rune flinched in confusion.

Lantel proceeded to produce a crumpled scroll, which he held up for anyone nearby to see. Rune tried to take it from Lantel at first, but then the golden drake made to stand up and clear his throat. Several more dragons stopped to listen in on what the drake was doing.

"May I have your attention, please?" Lantel asked, making the chapel quiet down. He stepped out of the row of seats and walked down the center aisle. "I'd like to take a moment to read something to you."

Rune looked at Lantel in confusion, while his friends perked up to pay attention.

"What's he going on about?" Ricin nudged Cyrus in the flank. The prince simply shrugged and sat on his haunches to listen.

Once Lantel was at the front of the chapel, and all eyes were upon him, the golden prince held the scroll up for everyone to see it. He then fell back on his haunches, cleared his throat, and held it aloft to begin reading…

Your hair is like a sonnet,

Your breath is like the storm,

You help me keep my wits aloft,

While I'm relaxing in my dorm.

I could sink into your eyes,

And I melt before your smile,

My magic pales before yours,

You Mistress of Beguile.

I swear that I'll protect you,

Way past Midnight and through Noon.

I love you, Princess Helianne.

Signed, your beloved; Prince Rune.

Rune's jaw hit the floor as laughter filled the chapel. His face turned as red as a tomato, and he shrank down into a pool of shadows as many dragons cast their glances his way. He barely had the nerve to look over at Helianne. The flora dragoness kept a forepaw over her muzzle, and she looked over at him with a blush. Rune tugged on his ear frills as he tried to make sense of what was happening.

"Wow…" Ricin said with a snicker as he nudged Cyrus. "You never told me your bro was a poet!"

"Uh-huh…" Cyrus grimaced. "I… I never knew either."

Rune stammered and shuddered; something wasn't right. He didn't write that mushy stuff, did he? In any case, he couldn't stand to let this keep going on; he sank into a pool of shadows and rapidly relocated to appear at the back of the chapel beside Lantel.

"This isn't funny, Lantel!" Rune snapped as he stood up beside the golden prince.

"Ah, how nice…" Lantel scowled at Rune. "We agree on something."

Rune snatched the scroll from Lantel and held it up to investigate it… and his blood turned to ice. It… It was his penmanship. Every word, every letter, was by his hand. But Rune didn't write it! He couldn't have written it… could he? There was no explanation, unless… unless…

"Alright, alright, that's enough!" Wraith's voice shouted over the crowd. He appeared in a cloud of smoke and separated Rune and Lantel. "This is a chapel, not a poetry hall; save it for AFTER class!"

"But Mr. Wraith…" Holly started to say from across the room.

"You know what I mean, Holly." The crimson drake grumbled. He grabbed the two princes and shoved them toward the aisles. "You two, sit down and shut it."

Rune just sighed and stuffed the poem into his satchel. He then made to return to his seat, whilst trying to ignore the glares Lantel shot him.

An hour later, word was sent to the chapel that the crisis had been resolved; everyone was free to head to their regularly-scheduled classes for the time period. Rune and Cyrus decided to wait for most of the regular students to go first, just so they could have a bit more peace and quiet.

Among the last of the students to leave were Helianne and her group. She paused long enough to lean over and gently nuzzle Rune's cheek.

"Thanks for the poem, Rune." She said playfully. "I really liked it."

"Uh… Y-You're welcome." He said; his feelings were quite mixed. Still, he couldn't deny that he liked the attention… not so much the furious glare that Lantel cast him on the way out. Helianne broke the hug and walked over to stand beside her brother, and the two of them left together.

Soon, pretty much everyone had left… save for the usual suspects among the apprentices. They formed a little group and came over to sit beside Rune and Cyrus.

Before Tina could leave the chapel, Chalice stepped up and whispered into her ear frill. Chalice then backed up a bit and spoke just loud enough for Cyrus to hear.

"So Tina," Chalice lightly nudged her shoulder. "How's about heading out for a tour of the city sometime?"

"Whatever for?" The dark-yellow dragoness replied playfully.

"A little food, a little sightseeing..." The grey dragon shrugged. "I know this lovely spot over by the park for a nice little picnic. So what do you say?"

"Hmm..." Tina tapped her chin. "Maybe, maybe not…"

Cyrus grumbled upon hearing this exchange and loudly cleared his throat to cut in. Tina and Chalice looked over at him curiously… and then burst into snickers.

"I told you that would get him riled." Chalice stuck her tongue out.

"That's not funny…" Cyrus said bitterly as he flapped his wings indignantly.

"Oh, relax, Shorty." Tina gave a grin. "You know we're just messing around with you."

"Well, you're too good at it." The prince tapped his talons and looked away. "If you two won't take me seriously, then who will?"

"I take you seriously, Cy." Rune frowned.

"You don't count: you're my brother," Cyrus said flatly. Rune glowered at that, but Tina flapped her wing to keep him from replying. She winked at Rune, and then quietly crept up to Cyrus.

"Well then, if you want to be taken seriously…" She said, arching her back like a feral cat. "Then let's see how you WRESTLE!"

Before Cyrus could react, Tina tackled him to the floor. Right away, the other apprentices heard the commotion and stepped up to watch. Holly and Ozul were shocked, while Brisa and Ricin looked in with eager eyes.

"Wait, no!" Cyrus pleaded. "Not in front of them!"

"Show me how big and tough a black dragon is, Shorty." Tina stuck her tongue out at him. Cyrus squirmed around, trying to get free of her grip, while everyone else watched in bemusement.

"I… don't think this is appropriate for the chapel," Ozul said with a grimace.

"Gotcha, Shorty." Tina declared with a chuckle. Cyrus squirmed around, trying to get free of her grip, while Rune and Chalice stood over them in bemusement. Across the way, Wraith heard the commotion and stared wide-eyed.

"I just can't believe this…" Wraith rubbed his temples as he shut his eyes.

"Tina, get off!" Cyrus demanded. He struggled in vain to push her to the side.

"Come on, Cy." Tina pouted. "Show me your serious face and push me off."

Cyrus pushed with all his might; he even filled his muscles with a bit of earth magic for a boost. But despite even that, he still couldn't get Tina to budge. The apprentices laughed. Rune had to admit that it was a bit satisfying, after being told he didn't count.

"It's amazing, Cyrus" Rune chuckled. "All this time, and you still get beaten up by girls!"

Tina immediately stopped and glared at Rune, as did everyone else. Rune gulped as he looked at the way Holly and Brisa glared at him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Brisa yelled as she pointed a talon at him.

"Uh..." The prince stammered.

Brisa stamped the ground and lunged forward to tackle Rune. With a yelp, the prince vanished into his own shadow and disappeared, leaving Brisa to collapse onto the cold floor. She then immediately sprang up and looked around angrily. Across the way, Rune reappeared from another shadow and rose to his feet.

"Cheater!" Brisa pouted.

"Hey, you started it," Rune said… just before having to dodge away as the wind dragoness tried tackling him yet again.

Across the way, Tina finally got up from Cyrus and helped him back onto his feet. He then took a breath and glanced over at Chalice, who'd been leaning against the wall for a moment. The shorter prince stepped around his friend to address Chalice directly.

"What was that you said about a park?" Cyrus asked.

"Yeah, that park several blocks down from the Dragon Spire." Chalice turned toward Cyrus and shrugged. "What about it?"

"If this park is as nice as you say, then maybe I'll go check it out myself." Cyrus declared. "If Tina's going there, I'm going there."

"Fine by me." Chalice shrugged. "All you have to do is go up to her, and-"

"AHEM."

There was a cloud of smoke, and suddenly all of the students were separated. Wraith looked around at all of them with an incredulous expression.

"What in the world's gotten into all of you?" He demanded. "What makes you think it's okay to just waste time dilly-dallying around in a CHAPEL of all places?!"

"Oh, can't you just lighten up already?!" Cyrus demanded. "Your class has ended for the day! You should just-!"

Wraith teleported to Cyrus's side and bonked him on the head.

"Hey!" Cyrus rubbed his head with a wing-thumb.

"That's for wasting more time." Wraith snorted. "And in the interest of fairness…." The Deep Shadow teleported to Rune's side and bonked him on the head in the same manner.

Rune glowered as he rubbed his head as well. "What was that for?"

"For being more like Cyrus than you think." Wraith snapped. "Now, if you're all done, messing around, we need to get going. You're teenagers, not cubs. Start acting like it."

"There's nothing wrong with having some fun, Wraith," Rune replied. "We're busy almost all of the time; can't we get a moment to relax and joke around?"

"Not when the QUEEN is breathing down my neck all the time because of your joking around." Wraith sarcastically motioned with his talons.

"They may be older than they once were," A new voice interjected, catching everyone off-guard. "But they're still in their youth."

The teenagers turned to look behind Wraith as two dragons stepped into the chapel. One was a dark grey dragon and the other was a green dragoness, both of whom wore the same robes as Wraith. It was Albanion and Elza.

"You're a bit too forgiving these days, Elza," Wraith said to the dragoness.

Albanion and Elza were now the top bodyguards and advisors to the High Queen. They were also officially mates now, with Elza considerably gravid. She took slow, careful steps as she came to a stop at the back of the aisle of seats. The princes walked around Wraith to dote on their aunt post haste. Meanwhile, the apprentices all stood at attention to bow their heads to the Deep Shadows… except for Ricin, who sheepishly hid behind Chalice's back.

"Heya, Aunt Elza." Cyrus smiled as he hugged her.

"Are you doing okay?" Rune asked.

"I'm alright, boys," Elza said with a smile. She was about to make small talk, but Albanion forcefully cleared his throat to get the princes' attention.

"The High Queen wishes to speak with you two." He said in a serious tone. "Wraith, why did you let them out of your sight today?"

"G-hey! Don't give me that." Wraith snapped and stamped his paw indignantly. "They up and made a run for it to go traipsing into danger!"

"And you couldn't go after them yourself?" Albanion's glare deepened, which made the crimson drake falter. "You're supposed to be able to keep a close watch on them wherever they go."

"Err…" Wraith cleared his throat. "I also had to keep an eye on these other students."

"Do you not have an assistant for that?" Albanion pointed at Chalice, making them flinch. "After delegating tasks to your assistant, the princes are your HIGHEST priority!"

"Alright, alright!" Wraith gulped. "I'll do better next time."

"See that you do." Albanion sneered. Rune and Cyrus exchanged uneasy glances; this wasn't the first time that their running about had gotten the crimson drake in trouble.

"In any case…" Albanion took a deep breath and looked down at the princes. "Once the trial is over your mother wishes to speak to you two."

"Trial?" Cyrus queried. Elza frowned and nodded yes.

"Yes, there's another one going on." Elza sighed. She glanced over at the apprentices. "It's best not to give the details around them."

The young dragons looked at each other uneasily. Rune and Cyrus, however, tried to stand tall.

"You can tell me what happened," Rune said as he pushed the chapel doors open to head out. "I can handle it, Uncle."

"We'll see if you can…" Albanion said. He followed Rune toward a stairwell, though took his time so that Elza could keep a brisk pace behind him. Cyrus was the last to ascend the stairs, though he looked back at Wraith with a grimace.

"I, uh, I guess we won't need you to escort us to Mom." Cyrus chuckled nervously. "Sorry, Wraith."

"Yeah, yeah…" Wraith rolled his eyes.

Cyrus glanced over at Chalice and Tina. "We'll see you later I guess. Bye."

Tina frowned at him. "You don't mind if we head to the park without you, do you?"

"Uh… no, not at all." Cyrus shrugged. "There's nothing wrong with two friends heading off together. See you later."

Cyrus turned and rushed up the stairs quick as a flash. Rune sighed and hurried to chase after his brother. Meanwhile, Chalice and Tina turned to head off down the other hallway toward the doors. As that happened, Wraith turned to look at all of the apprentices. He ran his talons through his mane and took a deep breath.

"Okay…" Wraith looked at them all in turn. "It's about time you all get going. Make sure you study well; we'll be doing both today's lesson and tomorrow's together, to save time. Understood?"

"Yes, Master Wraith." The apprentices said in unison.

"Oh, and Ricin?" Wraith put on a sardonic grin. "I'm still telling Albanion all about your antics today."

Ricin gulped and kept his head low, while Brisa and Holly looked at him in mild pity. With that done, Wraith snapped his talons and soon appeared behind Albanion and Elza as they followed the princes up the stairs.

"Times sure have changed quite a bit over the years," Elza said.

"As have the princes." Albanion gave a soft smile.

"Yeah…" Wraith sneered. "They respect the two of you so much more than they do me lately."

"Well, we're their aunt and uncle, Wraith," Elza replied. "Plus, you're quite younger than us; I'd wager that the princes see you as more of a sibling than a mentor."

Wraith sighed; he wasn't sure how he wanted to tackle that argument.

"You didn't take offense to that, did you?" Elza frowned. "I'm sorry."

"No, no, don't worry about it." Wraith sighed. "So, what else did the queen want from me?"

"Ahh…" Albanion stopped to look at him. "She only wanted me to fetch the princes; she didn't necessarily say you needed to be there."

Wraith flinched, and then sighed; so much for all of that.

"Well then… I've got some things to do." Wraith grumbled. "If you're busy, I'll tell you about Ricin's antics later."

"Mhm…" Albanion raised an eye ridge.

"For now, I guess I've got a curriculum to sort out… Bye." With a snap of his talons, Wraith vanished in a puff of smoke. Albanion and Elza just sighed.

"We'd best pick up the pace ourselves, my love," Albanion said. "You have an appointment with Cerulean."

"Right." The wind dragoness smiled. With that said, they walked together in relative silence.

~~…~~

The trial was well underway by the time the princes arrived.

Many dragons were gathered in the secondary throne room on the lower half of the Dragon Spire. The walls were carved out of red stone, and a great number of small orbs of magical fire illuminated the entirety of the room. Several rows of wooden bleachers served as seats for the onlookers, all of whom kept quiet as they watched the proceedings.

High atop a pedestal was a golden throne. And upon that throne sat a dragoness with grey scales: High Queen Elenar.

Elenar held a stoic expression as she beheld the throne room from her perch. A dark cloak fell on her back, and her horns and ankles were decorated with silver jewelry. She also wore a silver choker, upon which was a small purple gem. An elegant, white crown sat between Elenar's horns; The Ivory Crown of the High Monarch.

Two dragons sat to the left and right of Elenar's perch. To one side was a dark grey dragoness in darker robes: Dona. To the other side, also in robes, was an aged black dragon: Elder Urobos. They were to serve as the High Queen's advisors during the trial. They glared intently at the dragon on trial; a muscular wind dragon named Vordus.

Vordus was locked in chains and wore a thick muzzle upon his face. He never looked away from Elenar as he sat on his haunches. The dragon wouldn't dare try anything; not with the half a dozen silver-clad soldiers standing by along the nearby columns.

Elenar glanced across the way at a pair of dragons seated in bleachers, both of whom were struggling to keep their composure. It was a couple: a male lightning dragon and a female wind dragoness. The drake held his lover with a wing as she shook with grief. Elenar shut her eyes and sighed; she felt nothing but pity for those poor souls… but she couldn't give her weakness. She had to be strong.

"Vordus of Wind…" Elenar said with an intimidating voice. "You stand accused of the murder of the child of Salem and his mate Angelina."

The very word sent a murmur of unease throughout the crowd.

"No less than SIX witnesses have stated that, as soon as you saw the child riding atop her mother's back, you blasted Angelina with your magic and wrestled the hatchling away." Disgust grew with every word Elenar said. "Once you had the hatchling, you strangled her to death with your bare forepaws." Elenar lowered her head and scowled. "Do you DARE to deny this?"

The wind dragon looked the High Queen right in the eyes. "Of course not, your grace. If anything, I'm proud of myself."

The declaration left many dragons taken aback, especially the mother of the child. Elenar, however, had to hold back her swelling anger.

"Proud?" She repeated. "PROUD? And what in the dragon realms possesses you to be proud of strangling a hatchling?!"

"For one thing, the all-important detail that's been neglected from the witnesses' testimony." Vordus declared.

"And what would THAT be?" Urobos demanded with a snarl.

"You of all dragons would know, Elder Urobos," Vordus said flatly. "That was no hatchling; it was a beast."

The crowd murmured again.

"Excuse me?" Elenar snapped.

"I'll say this nice and clear, for all to hear…" Vordus took a deep breath and rose his voice. "Its. Scales. Were. WHITE!"

A murmur rose through the crowd yet again. Elenar held back a growl, and she fell back on her throne. Down below, however, she could hear Dona doing all the growling for the queen; quite justifiable, given the circumstances.

"What did you say, Vordus?" Elenar demanded.

"You heard me well enough, your grace," Vordus answered. "The dragons Salem and Angelina conceived a WHITE DRAGON." He struggled in his chains. "This is what happens when dark and light drakes breed together, your grace. And any dragon of YOUR lineage knows what happens when a white dragon is allowed reach maturity."

Elenar's face darkened.

"The moment I laid eyes on that… that THING, I knew I had to act!" Vordus exclaimed. "It needed to die before it grew up to kill us all instead!"

"STOP!" Angelina shrieked from across the way, tears in her eyes. "Stop talking about my baby like that, you bastard!"

"That dragoness is out of her mind, my queen," Vordus said, never even glancing in the grieving mother's direction. "She should have known better when she laid her egg. No dragoness alive has ever managed to tame a white dragon."

"SHUT UP!" Angelina screamed. She sprang away from her mate and charged toward Vordus with a furious gait. However, before she could strike with her talons or magic, a few soldiers descended upon the dragoness to restrain her. Angelina fought and growled as she did her best to reach the murderer. But before long, Angelina was taken back to her husband as she wailed miserably. All Elenar could think to do was look upon the poor dragoness with sympathy.

"So…" Elenar looked back at Vordus. "What do you expect to come of our deed, Vordus? Do you think you deserve to be rewarded for killing a white hatchling?"

"All I really want is to be commended." The wind drake replied. "Who else but you could understand the dangers of a white dragon; you are a descendant of Runileon the Wicked, after all."

Yet another murmur rose through the crowd. Elenar had had her fill of this dragon for a lifetime.

"Very well." The high queen said coldly.

"What?!" Angelina and Salem shouted incredulously.

"Vordus of wind…" Elenar stood up tall and scowled at the drake. "As a 'reward' for the murder of an innocent child, I hereby sentence you to life imprisonment and mandatory castration."

"WHAT?!" Vordus screamed. He struggled in his shackles as the guards descended upon him. "Have you gone mad?!"

"You heard the queen!" Urobos declared. "Take him to the dungeons immediately!"

Vordus fought with all of his might against the guards as they dragged him to the far side of the throne room. He grew so desperate that it took a dozen guards all tugging on his chains to subdue him.

"This isn't right!" Vordus screamed. "I'm a hero! I saved you all! You can't do this to me!"

Elenar gave the wind dragon a cold, hateful glare as he was taken out of view. Across the way, Rune and Cyrus watched as the dragon was led away. The princes were in the upper bleachers to avoid intermingling with most of the crowd. They felt chills down their backs as they glanced at the anger on their mother's face; it was rare to see her in such a state.

Once the dragon was gone, Elenar looked across at Salem and Angelina. "Step forward."

The dragoness had finally calmed down as her mate led her forward. They came to a stop and looked upon the queen uneasily.

"Let it be known that you have my unending sympathy for your loss." The high queen frowned. "However, I would be remiss if I didn't scold you for being careless."

"Careless?" Salem grimaced. Elenar looked directly at Angela, who shrank back from the queen's gaze.

"You were warned." The queen whispered. "I told you that taking your hatchling out in public was a grave mistake. You should know how dark drakes feel about white dragons. And yet you didn't even disguise your daughter with a shroud?"

"I…" Angelina shook with grief. "I'd thought our people had finally changed. I…" She lowered her head and cried again. "I didn't think… there were still some who…"

Elenar rose to her full height and sighed. "If you ever have another white-hided child with your husband, keep it hidden away, like the others. It's for the best that they remain hidden, for now. Is that understood?"

"Y...Yes, my queen." The dragoness bowed her head. Salem soon bowed as well.

"Good…" Elenar sighed. "You may leave now. And once again, you have my condolences for your loss."

"Mine as well," Urobos said. "I'm sure that Lady Cynder is guiding your daughter's spirit through the afterlife as we speak."

"Th-Thank you, Elder Urobos," Angelina said dubiously.

Salem and Angelina made their way out of the throne room. Elenar watched them go with a sigh. She made a silent prayer, hoping that this would be the last time they'd lose a child.

During the last four years, light and dark dragons integrated with each other within the walls of Warfang. Many of them found love. This spurred on the anger of hate-filled dragons, who would go on to found the Sons of Culmubrae in protest… but the union of light and dark had another problem altogether: the conception of white dragons.

White dragons were rare; born only from a union of light and dark dragons. Their power was strange and unstable, at least according to records and legend. And the last time a white dragon had reached full power? Well, Elenar wasn't born yet. However, that dragon's presence would be forever known to the shadow dragon royal family…

Rune and Cyrus waited until all the civilian dragons had cleared out of the throne room. They then glided down to the floor and trotted up carefully to the throne.

"Hi, Mom," Rune said cautiously.

"Heya, Granddad." Cyrus grinned over at the aged black drake. "And hiya, Dona."

"Hmph." Dona stood up tall.

Elenar gave a soft sigh as she extended her wings out from her cloak. She carefully flapped them as she descended to the floor to land between her sons. She put on another serious face as she looked down at them.

"I really wish you two would have waited until AFTER the trial, instead of witnessing it," Elenar said gravely. "Murder is never a good subject to be spoken about around dragons your age."

"It's alright, Mom." Rune grimaced. "We know that things in Warfang aren't exactly smiles and roses."

"Yeah…" Cyrus scratched his head with a wing-thumb. "But in any case, we're here now. So, what did you want to talk to us about, Mom?"

"Well, for starters…" Elenar shot Cyrus a slight glare. "Wraith tells me that you've been showing off your magical abilities in front of the students here at the Spire... again."

Cyrus balked and stepped back nervously. "Hey, I wasn't 'showing off,' so much as 'showing them what I can do.'"

"That's the same thing, Cyrus," Urobos said sternly. "You need to learn some humility."

"It's not like I'm trying to lord over the other students." Cyrus flapped his wings indignantly.

"Well, you still need to exert some self-control." Urobos continued. "Other dragons your age might come to think that you consider yourself superior to them. Your duty is to lift others up, not put them down." The aged dragon stamped his paw. "Is that clear, Cyrus?"

"Yes, Granddad…" Cyrus sighed in defeat. Rune frowned and draped a wing over his brother's back to hug him.

"As for you, Rune…" Elenar said. Immediately Rune tensed up and looked up at his mother; was she going to bring up how he fled out to danger? Or would it be about the disruption caused by that poem? It turned out to be neither, as a quick smile formed on the queen's muzzle.

"A scroll arrived from Glenhaven today." She said.

Rune blinked in surprise. "It did?"

"Yes." Elenar smiled. "Guardians Hontus and Voden will be arriving in Warfang within a fortnight."

Rune's eyes lit up. He'd been waiting for a response from Glenhaven for a couple of weeks now. He could barely contain his excitement; his talons wracked the floor as he struggled to keep from skipping about.

"Are all of your belongings packed up?" Urobos asked.

"I've got a set of supplies prepared for when Hontus gets here," Rune said. "It's all under control."

"Good." Elenar lowered her head to her son and smiled "Are you leaving your sword here, or are you going to bring it with you?"

Rune blinked in surprise. Immediately his smile faded and he twiddled his talons. "Uh…"

The sword in question was the weapon that the prince's father, King Baneth, used to wield in battle. The sword's blade was silver in color and decorated with gold patterns. The hilt was completely black, with the image of a blue hourglass etched into each side of the guard. A large garnet gemstone was emblazoned on the sword's pommel.

The sword was a gift from Baneth to Rune before the former willingly cast himself away into the core of the world. And since then, Rune had been uneasy about wielding it. But everyone was always so insistent on him learning to fight.

"I'm not sure." Rune finally said. "I guess I'll decide by the time Hontus gets here."

"Alright, then," Elenar replied. "Rune, Cyrus, you two can leave now. I've got other business to attend to."

"Alright, Mom." The princes said. Elenar spread her wings and gave her sons a big hug.

"Mooom…" Cyrus said with a flush of embarrassment.

"D-Don't you think this is going on for too long?" Rune added. "We're not cubs."

Elenar let go of her sons and smiled. "You'll always be my cubs, boys."

She let go and sent the two princes on their way. Rune said his goodbyes to Urobos and Dona, and then turned to march off. Cyrus wasn't too far behind, though with a slight glower.

"That could have gone better…" He whispered as stretched out his back.

"It could have been worse, too," Rune whispered back. "I thought for sure she'd grill into us for heading out into that street."

"Let's get a move on, then, before she remembers." Cyrus picked up the pace until he was practically skipping out of the chamber. Rune bit his lip and pushed himself to keep up.

After the princes had left, Elenar let out a long, solemn sigh. She then turned toward Dona, who'd remained in silent contemplation the whole time.

"Are you alright, Dona?" She asked.

"Voden…" Dona said. Urobos looked upon the dragoness as she leaned back a bit. "He's coming, too?"

"Yes." Elenar nodded. "It's been quite a while since you've seen him, hasn't it? I would have hoped that the news would make you happy."

"I… I am…" Dona said uneasily. She then scowled at Elenar and flapped her wings indignantly. "I'll deal with the news in my own time."

"Indeed." Urobos smiled. "I'm sure you'll have a lot to talk about."

"Hmph." Dona flapped her wings again. "Maybe we will, maybe we won't. Either way, it's none of your concern." She rose from her throne. "I need to be going: my daughter needs me."

"Ah, yes…" The old drake nodded as he stood up. "How has your daughter been? It's been a while since we've seen her."

Dona gritted her fangs. "Riven is doing just fine; there's nothing to be concerned about, Urobos."

"Well, there's no need to be antagonistic." Urobos frowned. "We're just concerned for her safety: attacks against white dragons have only increased these days, and we want to be sure that Riven is safe."

"That's very kind of you," Dona said, somewhat halfheartedly. She stood up from her throne and walked around the queen. "I just wonder, though: What would Baneth think right now?"

"About what?" Elenar demanded.

"Well, you're doing everything you can to protect the young white dragon hatchlings and cubs here in Warfang…" Dona looked Elenar in the eyes. "Yet you still haven't gone to see yours."

Elenar balked… and then glared. "It's not for lack of trying, Dona!"

"Right, sure…" Dona nodded back. "But I distinctly remember a certain black dragon king insisting that you go to see her. Yet you never did." Dona tilted her head. "So, what's stopping you now?"

Elenar growled and opened her mouth to snap at Dona… but she faltered again. She couldn't think of a response. That only gave Dona a smug grin.

"Well, no more time to waste. Ta-ta!" With that said Dona opened up her shadow and sank into it. It sealed up behind her, and she was gone; off to other parts of the Dragon Spire. Urobos watched her shadows with a snort, while Elenar just fell back onto her haunches and sighed.

"This day has been one of the longest I've had to endure in a while now…" Elenar sighed. "I wonder if it would be unbecoming for a High Queen to have a stiff drink from the wine cellar."

Urobos frowned at the queen. He stepped a bit closer and draped a fat wing over her back. The dragoness sighed and slumped against her father-in-law; her crown nearly fell from her head, but she steadied it quickly.

"Do you think Baneth would be pleased with how I've led his people?" Elenar asked.

"My dear, Baneth worshipped the ground you walked on." Urobos stepped up to her and patted her forepaw. "You could decree that all dragons must stick their heads in the mud for six hours a day, and he'd STILL stand by your decision."

Elenar chuckled a little. "I suppose that's true…" Her smile faded, and she sighed. "But Dona's right: I need to reach out to Bergan."

"Are you sure?" Urobos grimaced. "Tensions are fierce here in Warfang. It may not be the best idea to reveal to the people of Warfang that you-"

"It doesn't have to be immediately announced to the whole world." Elenar continued. "We'll start small… ease our way up to revealing the biggest secrets."

Elenar rose from beneath Urobos's wing and paced about in a circle. Her eyes darted this way and that as she tried to organize her thoughts.

"There's so much planning to do…" Elenar said. "I've sent so many letters to Faeshrine asking to speak with her. But Bergan has never replied directly; it's either that Vice President or any other number of his associates." Elenar lowered her head to the floor and glowered. "Maybe I should just have Wraith teleport me right into the middle of Bergan's office."

"That won't work: you know that." Urobos scolded. "Some horrid contingency plan would keep you out of there. And besides; the High Queen can't just up and leave Warfang without warning anyone."

"You're right…" Elenar fell back onto her haunches and frowned again. "But I have to do something…" She turned her head toward the skylight up above. "I just want to see him again…" Tears threatened to fall from her eyes. "…I want him to forgive me."

Urobos could only frown at Elenar as she sat before him. Before long, the both of them got to thinking about how different things were back then… back when Elenar, Bergan, and Baneth were all children.

~~…~~

Greetings, friends and loved ones.

The opening parts of this re-edited chapter were a lot of fun. You may have noticed quite a few new minor characters here. I call them the Deep Shadows' apprentices. I figured; the Guardians train young dragons to one day become their successors. So why wouldn't the Deep Shadows do the same? I'm hoping that their inclusion flows naturally into the story, rather than cause any issues.

The next big change I wanted to do was alter the characters of Lantel and Sandra… now renamed Helianne. The change is for two reasons. One: I wanted to make use of the elements of Solar and Flora in a big way, rather than just using fire. Two: because after I'd started writing this story originally, I wound up getting a work associate at my job… named Sandra. It felt rather weird to then start writing a character with that name, so I wanted to change it to something else. I went with "Helianne" because of its relation to Sunflowers, and this princess is a Flora dragoness of the kingdom of Sunlight. Sun + Flower. That makes sense, right?

In any case, I hope you've enjoyed the story so far, and are excited for what comes next!

Tenebra ecce Veritas.