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.

24. Act 2, Chapter 10

Another morning had come in Warfang.

Ricin got up bright and early; he grumbled internally as he made his way down the corridor. He was dressed rather sloppily, despite his best attempts to get freshened up; he wanted to look presentable… at least by his standards. He probably should have gotten better-dressed… but he was just feeling a little down lately.

Ricin took a deep breath as he stopped at the doorway to the master bedroom. He nervously knocked on the door and fell back on his haunches as he waited for the master of the house to emerge. Sure enough, he heard irritable grumblings as the door unlocked, and a red eye gazed down at him.

"G… Good morning, Master." Ricin nervously bowed his head. "H-How are you today?"

A frustrated groan came from behind the door. "Were it any other day, I'd make you fly laps around the manor for making me up so soon."

"S-Sorry, Master…" Ricin sheepishly lowered his head.

"But like I said, today's a special day." The drake yawned. He then eye the young dragon's outfit and balked. "And is that any way to present yourself to your mentor?"

"Uhh…" Ricin grimaced down at his ruffled clothes. "N-No?"

"Oh, go tidy up." The drake snapped. "I need to wake my wife. Be ready by the time we head downstairs."

"Okay…" Ricin bowed his head. "Yes, Master Albanion."

Albanion watched Ricin walk off down the corridor to his room. The poison drake frowned a bit; Ricin hadn't quite been the same since the incident with Cyrus. Albanion considered finding a way to try and cheer him up… but before that, he had to wake his wife.

Prior to Albanion waking up to answer the door, Elza had been curled up on their mattress and mumbling in her sleep. Albanion approached the bed and leaned down to nuzzle Elza on the forehead; she wasn't about to snooze the day away. Not on THIS day. Elza gave an irritated grumble as her eyes opened up. Albanion flinched just a bit from the way she cast him a deathly glare, but soon he was back to smiling at her.

"You'd better think of a good reason why I shouldn't beat you within an inch of your life." The tired dragoness growled.

Albanion cast the dragoness a sly smirk. "Because then you won't get your presents."

Elza balked. She shifted to cast a glance over at the far wall. There it was on the calendar, circled three times by the leader of the Deep Shadows himself (besides a little caricature of a smiling dragon drawn by Ricin). The wind dragoness looked back at him in surprise.

"Th-That was today?" She asked incredulously.

Albanion could barely contain his laughter; oh, she was just too precious. He leaned down and planted a loving nuzzle on her forehead. "Happy Hatchday, my love."

A blush creased Elza's face in just the right way that made her look like the cutest thing in the whole realms. Albanion couldn't help but hug her tightly against his body as he nuzzled the crook of her neck. Elza gave a light gasp as she embraced him.

"You're certainly a lot more loving than you used to be." Elza chuckled.

"I have to make up for lost time," Albanion said as he nuzzled her again. "You don't want me to be as miserable as I was after The Hive fell, do you?"

"Certainly not." Elza mused. She shut her eyes and allowed the poison drake to shower her with a few more kisses. But once she'd had her fill, she lightly nudged him away. "Alright, where are my presents?"

"You'll get them soon enough." Albanion laughed. He let go of the dragoness and returned to his full height.

As Albanion walked across the room, he gazed about at the interior. It was nice and spacious, with all the furniture trappings that an adult dragon needed, he supposed. But what made him happy to be in here were the little imperfections. Bumps on the wall from where he'd hit his head. Little nasty holes burned into the sides from accidental magical spills. And to top it all off, the comically-large post of the Guardians that hid a secret tunnel out whenever he'd been grounded. Albanion swelled with pride; he wasn't sure how this room survived occupation by the Order of Culmubrae. But he thanked the ancestors that it did.

Albanion made his way over to a dresser and pulled open the door. It revealed two sets of dark grey robes; the Deep Shadows' attire. He pulled his robes out of the drawer and quickly twirled them about himself. At once, the magical fabrics broke apart and turned into mist about his body. After a few moments of shivering in discomfort, Albanion looked down to find himself neatly dressed for the day.

"All these years, and I still never get used to that." Albanion snorted.

"Still, it's much more efficient than standing around for an hour trying to get dressed." Elza snorted. She slowly made her way over to put on her robes. She fell back onto her haunches and shivered as the hood materialized over her head. Once her transformation was done, she stood back up and looked down at her rotund belly.

Albanion followed her gaze and sighed; she was getting so close to the day she laid her eggs. He just couldn't help himself; he stepped over and draped a wing over her back once again to hold her as close as he could. And as he looked over Elza, the sunlight shined through the window in just the right way to make her mane radiant, and her eyes glowing. Albanion shut his eyes and cried; there were days like this that made Albanion feel as though he didn't deserve to have a dragoness as beautiful as her as his wife.

"Al, what's gotten into you?" Elza asked curiously.

"Oh, you know me…" Albanion pulled back and looked her up and down. "I always get teary-eyed when I think about how I'm going to be a father soon."

"Heh…" Elza smirked. "Does looking after Ricin not count?"

Albanion raised an eye ridge at that. "That's… complicated. He can be a good kid when he wants to be… but he certainly drives me to tears with those… artworks."

The poison drake grimaced, which made Elza laugh and shake her head. "Well, you'll probably be crying for different reasons when it's time to learn to change diapers."

"Oh, of course, I won't." Albanion wiped his eyes and smirked. "You didn't forget about what Elenar's boys were like when they were dragonlings, did you?"

"Forget? Never." Elza laughed. "If anything, I have them to thank for getting me to put off letting you put buns in my oven for so long."

Albanion and Elza laughed together and hugged once more. It was good that they could laugh today after they'd gotten so livid yesterday. It wasn't too long ago when Cyrus was a bright-eyed little youngling, always eager to impress the grown-ups with his magical antics. They were so blindsided when Chalice and Ricin came to them about what Cyrus said to them. And to turn that corner, and hear that same prince ranting and raving so viciously, was just horrendous. Elza had half a mind to bend Cyrus over against a wall and paint his rump red… but she restrained herself just long enough to let Elenar do it instead.

What's gotten into that prince lately? Elza sighed.

After a while, Albanion finally relaxed again, and he held Elza close as he smirked at her.

"Now, for starters, present number one…" Albanion gave her a wink. "Close your eyes and count to a hundred."

Elza just snorted before doing as he asked. Albanion turned around to grasp the bottommost drawer's handle. But as he was halfway through opening it, he spotted Elza's reflection gradually opening her left eye.

"Hey, no peeking." Albanion scolded. "That's an order from your superior Deep Shadow."

Elza gave an overly-dramatic moan. "As you command, Salve-master."

Albanion scrunched up his face to keep from laughing. He turned back around and fully opened the drawer. There was the gift as plain as day, but Albanion made a show of rummaging through the drawer's other contents. He even went so far as to stick his tongue out and pretend to mutter in frustration. In the mirror, Elza was shifting on her forepaws indignantly; she was never one to handle suspense very well.

Once he'd had his fun of toying around, Albanion finally grasped the Serenity Gem firmly in his talons. He pulled it out, slammed the drawer shut, and turned to present it lovingly before Elza.

"…Ninety-eight… Ninety-nine… One Hundred." Elza peeked an eye open. "Can I look now?"

"By all means…" Albanion winked.

When Elza opened her eyes, she gasped immediately upon seeing the gem's perfect surface. She delicately put her fingers on the gold chain and held it up into the light, where it cast golden rays about the room.

"It's beautiful!" She exclaimed. "Where'd you find this?"

"Oh, I… bought it a while ago," Albanion said with only a slight bit of caution. "Do you like it?"

"I love it, Al!" Elza pulled her husband close and planted a kiss on his muzzle. "Thank you!"

Albanion smiled and kissed her back. "Anything for you. Now, let's go join our pupil in the kitchen."

The kitchen was just a short distance away, on the first floor. It was a quaint little nook, with cabinets, a window over the sink, and three plain cushions around a table. Ricin had spent the last few minutes putting the finishing touches on breakfast: freshly cooked steaks, with platters of sliced apples and blueberries. There was an art easel on the table, with the canvas facing the wall and partially covered in plain cloth.

Elza sighed happily as washed up at the sink; she shut her eyes and took in the heavenly scents of the food.

"Wonderfully done today, Ricin." She nodded in approval.

"Th-Thank you, Lady Elza." The indigo drake bowed his head before sitting down.

After all three dragons had cleaned off, they sat down at the table to begin eating. During the meal, Elza glanced at the art easel with suspicion.

"Do I dare ask what's on the other side of that, Ricin?" She raised an eye ridge.

"It's n-nothing vulgar… I hope." Ricin said uneasily. He very carefully removed the cloth and turned the easel around to reveal the canvas

The poison drake had mostly finished his depiction of Albanion and Elza together. They were in a bedroom that was crudely drawn around them, though the dragons themselves were finely detailed. The bottom-left corner was left blank, with Ricin's name halfway written on it.

"Oh my…" Elza's eyes went wide.

"H-Happy Hatchday, Lady Elza." Ricin nervously bowed his head. "I… I hope you like it."

The dragoness gave a soft chuckle; she reached over to pat Ricin on the head. "It's very lovely, Ricin. Thank you."

"I wanted to make it better…" Ricin said with a slight blush. "I was hoping that Cyrus could… uhh… help me touch it up."

Elza pursed her lips, and she sighed. "Well, that can't be helped. And I'm sorry that the boy's been cruel to you lately. I don't know what's gotten into him."

Ricin's ear frills drooped. "I… I never meant to be too clingy."

"Every dragon deserves a bit of personal space," Albanion said. "But… Cyrus took things too far. We'll see to it that he never treats you so harshly again."

"Th-thanks, Master…" Ricin said with a sad expression. "I… just wish I could I could do something to make him feel better." He bent his head and frowned. "Cyrus can be so… sad, sometimes."

Albanion and Elza exchanged glances; they frowned at their ward, and the dragoness lightly nudged him on the shoulder.

"Cheer up, Ricin." She said calmly. "It's admirable that you care so much for the prince. That's a fine trait for a future Deep Shadow.

"Th-thank you." Ricin looked up at her timidly.

"Indeed…" Albanion nodded as he picked up a knife. "Now, let's halt the chatter for a few minutes; we can't let this meal go to waste."

Ricin and Elza nodded, and the three of them resumed eating.

~~…~~

It was time once again for the many students of Warfang to head to classes. Many dragons made their way to the front gates of the Dragon Spire, forming lines and heading inside bit by bit.

But up on a balcony, above the garden, three wind dragonesses were coming to a swift landing. Two of them were adults; the former was dressed in the official armor of the Army of Warfang. The other dragoness was dressed in civilian garb, and between them flew their daughter Brisa.

Brisa was the first to come to a landing; she struck a little pose and chuckled to herself as her parents landed beside her. Both dragonesses leaned down to nudge their daughter on the shoulder.

"You know the way from here, right?" The soldier asked.

"Of course, Mom." Brisa chuckled. "You know I never get lost."

"I just want to be sure." The dragoness frowned a bit. "Things have been rather nasty in the city lately."

"I'll be fine; I promise," Brisa said.

"Just make sure you don't break another instrument." The other dragoness pointed a talon at her satchel. "I nearly lost it when you brought me those bagpipes."

"Hey, that wasn't my fault, Mama." Brisa pouted. "We were running to get away from those psychos."

"I know, I know…" She huffed and backed up. "Just… Just take of yourself today, alright?"

"I will." Brisa nodded. "You can count on me!"

The two adult dragoness lightly nuzzled their daughter, making her blush. They then took off into the sky with little wind bursts, leaving their daughter behind to start her day.

But just as those two were flying off… three icy dragonesses were flying toward the platform. The three of them were nearly identical, save for differences in horns, mane length… and the fact that the one in the center was missing part of her tail.

Brisa backed up a bit as the left and right dragonesses came to a stop, and they waited as their sister shakily flopped down from the sky. Holly shook her head, and then stretched out her back as her sisters stepped up close.

"Will you be alright, Sis?" The left dragoness asked.

"I'll be fine, Lumi." Holly took a step forward.

"Are you sure?" The right dragoness frowned.

"Natasha, who do you think you're talking to?" Holly spun around and playfully flapped her wings. She chuckled as she swayed her head from side to side. "They didn't make me an apprentice for nothing."

"Well, Mom and Dad don't want us to let you out of our sight." Lumi frowned. "And, that's not even considering…"

"Girls…" Holly just sighed. She stepped up and hugged her sisters with her wings. "I'll be just fine. Just head to your classes, while I head to mine."

Lumi and Natasha hugged Holly back with patient smiles. Holly's sisters then spread their wings to glide down to join the student body. She then trotted up to Brisa, shaking her satchel all the way.

Brisa couldn't help but chuckle. "I wish I had sisters like you; being an only child stinks."

"Well…" Holly smiled at the wind dragoness. "I like to think of you as my third sister."

"Oh, thanks." Brisa laughed and nudged Holly on the shoulder.

While the two dragonesses were laughing, more dragons were descending from the sky; it was Ozul and his mother. The dragoness kept a stern look on her son as they landed across from the two girls. Ozul just yawned and scratched at his bandages when his paws touched the stone floor.

"Ozul, make sure you come right home after school." His mother said with a scolding gesture. "I'm giving you this one chance to get let off the hook."

"I understand, Mom." Ozul looked up at her wearily. "I'll head straight home; I promise."

"Good…" She looked over at Brisa and Holly, who awkwardly waved to her. The dragoness sighed, and then patted her son on her head. "I love you; don't forget that."

"I.. Love you too, Mom." Ozul very briefly hugged her.

The dragoness then stepped back and opened up her shadow to dive into it. From there, her shadow slid over the balcony and vanished from sight. Ozul just fell back onto his haunches and sighed as he looked down at the student body. His eye twitched, and he flapped his wings uneasily as he watched the other students filing into the Dragon Spire. Ozul's tail twitched every so subtly as his talons grasped the wall.

Holly frowned, and she trotted up to sit beside the crimson drake. "What's wrong, Ozie?"

"I… I just feel so nervous." He said. "Like… something really bad is going to happen."

"What do you mean?" Holly frowned. She motioned with a wing for Brisa to get closer. The wind dragoness stepped forward to sit down on Ozul's other side, before giving him a sly look.

"Can… Can I trust you, girls, with a secret?" Ozul asked.

Brisa and Holly exchanged curious glances, and then they scooted in close. Brisa snickered as she tilted her head playfully. "That depends on what the secret is, Ozie."

"I'm trying to be serious, Brisa." Ozul gave her a dour look.

"Alright, alright…" She lightly nudged him. "No need to feel uneasy. If you've got something on your chest, spill it."

"Okay…" Ozul shut his eyes and took a deep breath. He then turned around, leaned his head in, and used his wings to form a barrier as he brought his voice to a whisper.

"Some time ago, when I was trying to get to sleep late at night… I saw someone in my family's garden. I snuck after them in the shadows to take back a flower they stole, and… I wound up finding Bergan."

Holly and Brisa gasped, making Ozul wince. They all looked around to make sure nobody heard them, and then the dragonesses brought their heads down.

"You serious?" Brisa asked quietly. "That purple guy showed up?"

"He told all of the gang members… well, I think they were that gang…" Ozul shrugged. "Anyway, the point is that he gave them a place to hide. And then, after the gang ran off…" He shivered. "…Bergan looked at ME."

Holly gasped. "He saw you?"

"Yeah." Ozul shivered again. "He looked right at me, even when I was hiding in the shadows… and he just told me to leave." The crimson dragon gulped. "I… I haven't seen him since, but I'm worried he may show up again."

"Why didn't you tell anyone you saw Bergan?" Holly frowned.

"Because, well…" Ozul bit his lip. "Because of those rumors. You know the ones; that Bergan knows everything that's going to happen. So… If I were to try something to get him caught…" Ozul looked over his shoulder several times to make sure nobody was in hiding. He then shivered again and shook his head. "I just… didn't want to risk anything. So I've been keeping quiet, hoping that Bergan doesn't try to… silence me."

The dragonesses exchanged uneasy glances again. Brisa shrugged her shoulders, while Holly pursed her lips.

"Well, I don't know anything about those rumors." Holly stood up and flapped her wings. "But, maybe you should tell the queen or some of our teachers. They've been trying to catch Bergan for a while, and if you know anything else about that night, it could really help them.

"But anything could happen to stop me." Ozul felt sick to his stomach. "And besides, even if Bergan leaves me be… my mom would tan my hide if she found out I was breaking curfew AND stalking about dangerous dragons."

"Oh, lighten up." Brisa lightly nudged his shoulder again. "Getting in trouble with your Mama would be the least of your problems."

"But…" Ozul's ear frills drooped.

"Trust me, Ozie." The wind dragoness gave him a grin. "Don't wait around keeping a secret like this: it's better to tell the adults yourself, rather than them finding out later on that you pulled a fast one and tried to hide it."

Ozul's face turned green. "I just feel so nervous thinking about it."

"Well…"

Before Brisa could finish, there came a rattling from the knob on the doors on the back wall. The three of them turned to see Ricin poking his head out. He was joined by Albanion, Elza, and Apella. There was one other dragon behind them, though she kept herself hidden from view to Ozul's curiosity.

Ozul, Holly, and Brisa stepped forward to bow their heads to their teachers, while Ricin moved to join them at the end.

"Good morning, Masters." They said in unison.

"Good morning." Albanion declared. "You'll be learning with Lady Apella today."

"We are?" Brisa blinked in surprise. "But… weren't we supposed to train with Lady Rose?"

"Sorry; she's not back from her assignment." Apella pursed her lips. "You'll just have to face the needle and spend the day with me…" She gave a brief grin. "…though not before you wish your teacher Elza a proper greeting."

At once the four apprentices bowed to Elza specifically. "Happy Hatchday."

"Very nice…" Elza chuckled. She turned around and nodded to Rose. "We'll leave you to it, then. Albanion and I have some… important business to attend to."

Albanion snickered, and he followed Elza into the Dragon Spire. Apella simply cleared her throat, and then stood up taller to get the apprentices' attention.

"Alright, listen up, apprentices." Apella gave a sight. "I managed to organize things so that you'll have the day to help me with something."

"What do you mean?" Holly asked curiously.

"What indeed…" Apella turned to the side and motioned with a wing. "Say hello, Helianne."

The four apprentices watched as the flora dragoness finally stepped into view. The princess nervously glanced at them all, though she was slightly relieved to see Holly and Brisa. But then the flora dragoness placed a wing over a sword scabbard on her waist, and her unease returned.

"What's going on?" Ozul asked.

"I need you all to accompany me to the training arena," Apella said. "I need to begin my niece's basic combat training… and I'd like the lot of you to join her for the day."

The four apprentices exchanged dubious glances.

"Uhh…" Holly scratched her head with a wing thumb. "I mean no offense, lady Apella, but we're not exactly regular students in sword training."

"Well, then it'll be a good learning experience for the lot of you." Apella mused. "There may be times when you'll have to rely on something other than your talons to defend yourselves."

Ricin's eyes lit up excitedly. "Does that mean you're going to teach us to shoot magical lasers out of swords?"

The other apprentices looked at him incredulously, while Helianne held a paw over her muzzle to try not to giggle. Apella, meanwhile, just blinked and shook her head.

"N-No." She said flatly. "That's Solar magic, Ricin."

"Oh…" He frowned, but then he perked up again with hope. "Can I learn to fill my sword with poison?"

"I… I literally can't teach you how to do that." The dragoness shook her head. "Let's… Let's just get up and get move on to the arena."

Apella and Helianne turned around to push open the double doors, while the apprentices stood up to follow her. Ricin kept muttering about the possibility of making poison lasers, while Brisa and Holly just giggled at the thought.

Ozul strayed behind and took a moment to look down at the courtyard once again. He briefly scanned his eyes over the various shades of students; red, blue, green, yellow, grey… gold.

Ozul blinked in surprise. A singular golden dragon was down in the crowd. It wasn't Prince Lantel; this drake was too lanky. He casually walked forward with a confident stride, sliding between other students without as much as a nudge. The dragon slowly came to a stop… and then looked up at the balcony. His eyes locked on Ozul… and grinned.

Ozul flinched, and he hurriedly rose a forepaw in the air. "L-Lady Apella!"

"Huh?" She turned around and frowned. "What is it, Ozul?"

"D-Do you happen to have any solar dragon students?" Ozul asked.

"At the moment… I have none." Apella snorted. "Why do you ask?"

Ozul hurriedly pointed down at the courtyard. "Th-There's a solar dragon lurking around the student body."

"What?" Apella rushed over to the balcony to gaze down. She looked all around and wrinkled her nostrils. "Where are they? I don't see them."

"Huh?" Ozul blinked and pointed down at the spot. "What do you mean? He's right over…"

Ozul looked down… and the dragon wasn't there. He looked left and right, and then even up at the sky… but there were no signs of golden-scaled dragons in the courtyard. Ozul's jaw fell to the ground; where did they go? Had they rushed inside the moment they noticed Ozul looking at them?

"Ozul, are you feeling alright?" Apella pursed her lips. "Are you still not getting enough sleep?"

"I… I'm fine." Ozul rubbed his eyes and grumbled. "It's just… I could have sworn I saw a solar dragon."

"Hmm…" Apella pursed her lips. "Well, if someone's sneaking around the Dragon Spire, I'll send some guards to try and seek them out… just in case." She patted Ozul on the shoulder. "But try to take it easy regardless; I've heard from your friends that you tend to work yourself to death sometimes."

"I… I guess I do…" Ozul frowned. "I'm sorry, Lady Apella."

"It's alright." She nudged him forward. "Come along; your friends are waiting for you inside."

Apella and Ozul walked forward through the double doors. Apella signaled for some guards to approach, and she sent them off to search the lower floors of the Dragon Spire for anything amiss. Ozul took a sigh, and held his head low; he really hoped he was just seeing things. He didn't want to think that someone was down below… watching him…

~~…~~

Albanion and Elza made their way casually down the corridors and stairwells of the Dragon Spire. Elza wore the Serenity Gem around her neck and beamed with pride. Along the way, many students stopped to wish the wind dragoness a happy birthday. That would have been fine enough, but then some of the dragon guards on duty found the need to comment positively about her.

"You're looking radiant today, Lady Elza." A wind dragon said with a bow of his head.

"Thank you," Elza smirked. "But not quite as radiant as my husband, eh?"

The guard looked over… and found Albanion scowling his deepest scowl at him. The guard yelped and immediately rose to a militant stance and faced forward with chattering fangs.

"Uh… I d-didn't mean any attempts to woo the Lady Elza, Sir!" The guard exclaimed. "I'm definitely not chasing after married dragonesses, Sir!"

Albanion blew a bit of smoke from his nostrils. "See that you're not."

The Deep Shadow strode forward down the hall, with Elza following just behind him. Albanion shook his head and snorted.

Albanion and Elza strode into the throne room with heads held high… and then they beheld the dour look on the queen's face as she leaned back on her throne. Wraith and Urobos were in the room with her with similar expressions. Immediately Albanion's smile was gone. Something was wrong: Even after being disgusted with Prince Cyrus's recent behavior, the High Queen shouldn't have been in such a terrible mood. Albanion rose to his full height and marched forward to come to the aid of his queen. Elza was much the same in reaction; she even growled a bit in anticipation of dealing with whoever caused Elenar any harm.

"Your Highness!" Albanion exclaimed as he approached the throne. "What's wrong?"

"Wow, good timing, Al," Wraith said incredulously. "I was just about to bring you to Elenar myself."

"Hmm?" Albanion blinked. He looked up at the queen. "You needed me?"

Elenar sighed. She descended from her throne and stepped up to Albanion and Elza.

"First things first…" Elenar stepped up to Elza and bumped their foreheads together before moving to hug her with a wing. "Happy Hatchday, Sister."

"Erm… thank you." Elza grimaced. She wanted to accept the hug, Albanion could tell, but Elza lightly pushed Elenar back and frowned at her. "But tell us; what's wrong? What did you need Albanion for?"

"I need you to join Wraith in investigating a crime scene," Elenar said, still dour.

"Crime scene?" Albanion tensed up. "Where? What's happened?"

"Well…" Elenar's lip began to quiver. She took a deep breath and sat back on her haunches. "The Hurricos Hearth has been… burned down."

Albanion's eyes lit up in shock; he felt as though a knife had been run through his stomach.

"Albanion?" Elza shook his shoulder. "AL, what's wrong?"

"We were just over there last night." Albanion stamped his forepaw. "Everything was fine! And you're telling me that it just… BURNED DOWN?"

"Well, that's what the bar's owner told us." Wraith shrugged his shoulders.

"The owner?" Albanion asked incredulously.

"Sam the bartender." Elenar declared. "He came to us just an hour ago and claimed that he saw several dragons break into his establishment while he was away. And then…" The queen clapped her forepaws and extended them to simulate a little explosion. Albanion grimaced as he tapped his talons on the floor.

"I'll investigate the Hurricos Hearth immediately!" Albanion declared. He turned cautiously toward Elza. "I'm very sorry, love. But the stuff I planned for our day together will have to wait."

"I understand…" Elza sighed. "If I wasn't carrying eggs, I'd do the same thing."

Wraith stepped up and placed a forepaw on Albanion's shoulder. "Alright, without further ado…"

The crimson drake snapped his talons, and he and Albanion vanished in a puff of smoke. Elza frowned as she watched the smoke disappear. She looked over at Elenar, who seemed even more miserable than she.

"I feel like this is my fault somehow." Elenar sighed.

"Oh, don't say that." Elza sat down beside the queen and draped a wing over her back. "Sam has been loyal to you for years." She tapped her talons on the floor. "I'll bet it was those damn Sons of Culmubrae again who wrecked your favorite bar."

"I feel bad for Sam, sure…" The queen sighed. "But that's not what I meant: I didn't want anything to happen to distract Albanion from celebrating your hatchday."

"Well, it couldn't be helped." Elza sighed as well. "Albanion is still a Deep Shadow: when he has a job to do, it's got to be done."

"Right…" Elenar stood up a bit taller. "The real kicker is: that's not the only thing that's wrong today." She glanced over at the aged drake to her side. "Tell her what you told me."

"Aye…" Urobos took a deep breath.

"What's happened, Lord Urobos?" Elza frowned.

Urobos took a moment to repeat the events of the horrible visions he'd seen during his mediation. As he described them, Elza's expression became more and more uneasy. She could just barely imagine evil-looking yellow eyes glaring down at her from all sides.

"That's the same face I had when I learned of it." Elenar tilted her head at the way her sister looked sickly. "We've tried to message Dona to try and increase security around Rune…"

"But we've had no luck," Urobos said with a shiver.

"By the ancestors…" Elza bit her lower lip. "Well… is there a possibility that it was just the incense messing with your imagination, my lord?"

"No… No, it seemed too real to be a trick of the mind." Urobos gulped. "Something very bad is going to happen soon, and I don't know how to prevent it."

Elza fell back onto her haunches and shivered a bit; she didn't want to imagine something so wretched coming true. There were some nights when she had trouble getting over the horrible events of the last Night of Eternal Darkness. It was just too much…

Elenar took note of her sister's unease, so she took a deep breath and put on a smile.

"Once all of this is resolved, I'll work double-time to make things up to you." Elenar stood up to her full height. "I already scheduled an elaborate dinner in your honor tonight. Perhaps I can work to make it even better."

"That's… more than enough for me, Sister," Elza said with a brief sigh.

"Hmm…" Urobos tapped his chin. "Maybe I can try not to worry too much, for at least one day. I wouldn't want to ruin your hatchday, Elza." He stood up and fanned his wings. "In any case, I'm going to go about my daily tasks."

"And I have to settle a few disputes amongst some quarreling civilians," Elenar added. "The sooner I get through it all, the sooner I can celebrate your hatchday with you, Elza."

"Well, in the meantime, I'm going to check in on Cyrus." Elza snorted.

Elenar raised her eye ridge. "Off to give him another round of lecturing?"

"Not quite." Elza shook her head. "I want to see if he's learned any lessons since being locked up. Maybe then, I'll allow him the privilege of spending time with his favorite aunt for a while… not that I plan to bring an end to his punishment, of course."

"As you wish…" Elenar bowed her head. "Just be safe, Elza."

"I'm in the heart of the Dragon Spire: What could possibly happen to hurt me here?" Elza laughed.

Elza stepped out of the main chamber and made her way down the corridors.

As Elza walked through the Dragon Spire, she watched as the many students made their way up and down its halls. The wind dragoness smiled; it brought back memories of when she was studying with other wind and shadow dragons in the Erebus long ago.

Elza came to a stop, fell back on her haunches, and sighed as she leaned against a stone column. She placed a forepaw on her belly and tapped her talons against it. Even now, she could feel her three little ones shifting about.

"Someday, you little ones will be running up and down these halls." She said quietly. "You're going to be a real hassle for your aunt Elenar, I can tell…" Elza bit her lower lip. "Now, what kind of influence Ricin is going to be… that's what I'm most afraid of."

The wind dragoness sat back and sighed with a wag of her tail… when a familiar voice spoke out to her nearby.

"Ah, Elza… You'll make for a wonderful mother."

Elza flinched. She immediately sprang onto all fours and filled her maw with wind magic. "Show yourself!"

"Temper, temper… or should I say, Tempest, Tempest?" The voice said with a chortle; there was a figure hidden in the shade of the column. "Is that any way to speak to an old friend?"

Elza growled as the purple dragon emerged from the shadows. He came to a stop and put on a seemingly-friendly smile as he brushed his mane behind his horns.

"Bergan!" Elza snarled angrily. She turned her head down both sides of the corridor. "Guards! GUARDS!"

"Well, I find that rather rude." Bergan snorted.

"You're in for a world of trouble, you bastard!" Elza snarled at him; she still threatened to strike him with her magic.

"You really shouldn't get so angry; the stress could be a real strain on your un-laid eggs." Bergan scolded. "I think you should just take a deep breath, and spell out your grievances in a calm and sociable-"

Elza swiped at the purple dragon with her talons. But a second later her talons scratched against the side of the column. She howled in pain and pulled back her forepaw; several of the talons were scratched and bent. The wind dragoness held her injured paw against her chest and looked all around; where had the bastard gone?

"Calm down. Seriously." Bergan declared behind her. "I didn't come looking for a fight, old friend."

"We are NOT friends." Elza scowled. She backed up and snarled at him again. "Anyone who hurts Elenar is no friend of mine."

"Hurt Elenar?" Bergan tilted his head. He just scoffed and rolled his eyes. "That's ancient history. I'm here on some different business."

"What are you talking about?" Elza snapped. Her eyes darted left and right; where were those guards she called for?

"I must say; you look very lovely with that Serenity Gem around your neck." Bergan nodded in approval. "Your husband has great taste in jewelry. I should know: I sold it to him."

"What?" Elza balked.

"But that's neither here nor there." Bergan snorted. "What matters is: what those Serenity Gems can do with the proper training."

"What are you going on about, Bergan?" Elza scowled.

"Well, my dear Elza…" Bergan held his forepaw before himself. "Just see what happens when I do this."

As Bergan snapped his talons, there was a spark of dark-tinted lightning inside the surface of the gem. The spark grew louder and louder, alerting Elza that something was wrong. She immediately reached for the gem to rip it off her neck… only for her talons to stop short inches from the gem's surface. Elza held herself in place for a considerable amount of time, barely moving an inch as all of her anger was washed away.

"Hmm…" Bergan scratched his beard. "Did it work?"

He delicately grasped Elza's chin and tilted it forward. Elza had a blank expression. Her eyes were glazed over, and her breath was almost silent.

"Step forward," Bergan commanded. Elza didn't budge. Bergan grimaced; He waved his forepaw around before her eyes to try and get her attention.

"Hmm…" Bergan tapped his talons on the floor. "Step forward, please."

The dragoness took one step forward and then stopped. The purple dragon couldn't help but laugh.

"Ah, perhaps it worked too well." Bergan wiped a few tears from his eyes. "My mistake…"

Elza looked back at him with that blank face for the entire time he laughed. Bergan slowed his laughter until he awkwardly ended. He fell back onto his haunches with a snort.

"Hmm, I must admit: I liked you better when you talked back." Bergan shook his head. "Well, this is only temporary. I'll give you back your free will soon…" A grin spread across his muzzle. He grasped the Serenity Gem and casually tucked it down into the collar of Elza's robes.

"But first, there's something I need you to do for me. Please."

~~…~~

When Wraith and Albanion appeared on the street corner, it didn't take long to see the smoke rising from the remains of the Hurricos Hearth. The worst of the flames were extinguished hours ago, but the damage is still as clear as day. The civilians living in the surrounding buildings were evacuated by the city guard, while mole firefighters assessed the damage.

"By the ancestors…" Wraith looked around in horror. "What happened out here?"

"That's what we're here to find out." Albanion snorted. "Come on."

"Well, I knew that…" Wraith said defensively. "It's just… Ugh, Nevermind."

Wraith and Albanion quickly dashed down the street to get to the remains of the bar. Already on the scene was Cerulean. The water drake stood tall as he had several cheetahs carefully extracting the bodies of various dragons from the ruins. The very sight of the charred bodies, coupled with the horrible smell, was more than enough to compel Wraith to heave upon the pavement. Albanion grimaced and stepped away, while Cerulean's ear frills twitched at the noise.

"Oh… hmph." Cerulean sighed. "I should have expected some company."

"Did the queen dispatch you before us?" Albanion asked.

"Not quite." The blue dragon looked about at the carnage. "When I heard that there was a fire, I thought I could arrive on time to save anyone who was critically injured…" He grimaced as he draped a tarp over one of the bodies. "But alas, they were all very much dead by the time I arrived."

"Wonderful…" Wraith said; his face had turned partially green as he looked around. "Oh by the Ancestors, get those bodies to the morgue. I think I'm going to lose my last three lunches at once."

"Wraith, you need to keep your composure." Albanion scolded. "We're in public, and on the job. A Deep Shadow shouldn't show weakness."

"Give me a break, Albanion!" Wraith snapped at the poison drake. "You weren't in the worst of it during those fires in The Hive! You never had to push one of your friends' destroyed bodies off of your BACK to get to safety!"

Albanion flinched, and his eye twitched. He almost growled at Wraith for arguing with him in public… but after another glance at the carnage, it was definitely beginning to look a lot like that fateful night. Albanion just took a breath and stepped back.

"Fine…" Albanion took a deep breath. "But just try to keep some composure. Remember: You're still a Deep Shadow."

Wraith just rolled his eyes. He snapped his talons and channeled a bit of magic to lift one of the bodies into the air, much to the partial relief of a few cheetahs. Meanwhile, Albanion focused on Cerulean as the doctor continued his work.

"Cerulean, did any eyewitnesses see anything strange about the bar yesterday?" Albanion demanded.

Cerulean shrugged. "Well, from what some have said, there was a panic concerning a white dragon."

"A white dr-?!" Wraith was halfway through shouting before Albanion slammed his forepaw upon his muzzle. The sudden shock nearly dropped the body he was levitating.

"Keep it down." Albanion sneered at the crimson drake. "We don't need a panic to spread about a white dragon. Not after the incident regarding the queen's daughter."

"S-sorry…" Wraith whispered back. When Albanion let go of his face, the crimson drake sighed. "So, what happened to this… dragon?"

"The few witnesses who got a good look said it was a big burly white drake in thick robes." Cerulean continued. "Everyone fled out of the bar, and a bunch of dark dragons ran in to deal with it…" He looked around and grimaced. "Perhaps a scuffle started, which led to the bar going up in flames."

Wraith's eye twitched; didn't he recall seeing a dragon in thick robes at some point?

"Nobody's sure if they saw the white dragon leave the bar or not," Cerulean said as he looked around. "All I can tell you is that we're still prying bodies out of the ruins. If we find a white dragon, then there you go."

"Then I guess we'd better get to investigating." Albanion nodded.

Albanion and Wraith stepped further into the remains of the bar. Just about everything was burned to a crispy back. Ash was all over the place. There was still some smoke floating about. As the moles shifted the wreckage out of the way of the roof, another body was exposed to the air. Wraith put a forepaw over his muzzle and forced himself to look away.

Wraith felt uneasy; as he took in the wreckage of the bar again, he couldn't help but feel like something didn't match up. The damage done to the support beams and pillars, coupled with the patterns of the soot and ash. It all felt… symmetrical. Planned, even. And white dragons weren't stereotyped as being good planners.

"Something's definitely not adding up, Al." Wraith snorted.

"Oh?" Albanion raised an eye ridge.

Wraith whirled around to face his husband. "Cerulean, have the moles spotted any flammable materials lying around?"

"Well, we haven't found any such materials." Cerulean shrugged. "Doesn't mean there aren't any hidden somewhere. They could be here for all I know; I'm a doctor, not a detective."

"Thanks, Cerulean…" Wraith sighed. Holding in a breath, the crimson drake made his way over to the remains of the counter. He put on a glove and ran his talon along the counter to collect a bit of soot. He ran some of the soot between his index and thumb talons; he shut one eye and widened the other one to inspect every fine detail.

"Did any of the eye-witnesses say what the color of the flames was?" Wraith asked.

"Some said they were green," Cerulean said.

Wraith flinched. He took the glove off and cautiously turned around. "Well, then we have a bit of a problem."

"I'd say that several dead dragons are more than a bit." Cerulean declared.

"I'm talking about the fire," Wraith said with a nod. "It wasn't started by a fire dragon. Fire drakes can't make green flames, even with every last drop of their magic." Wraith tapped his talons on the counter. "And if there's anything white dragons are known for, it's spewing convexity out of their faces. And convexity is PURPLE."

He turned around and held a serious face. "I hypothesize that this arson was started by someone with access to alchemical demolitions."

"So, this was a pre-planned, artificial fire?" Albanion asked curiously.

"Possibly." Wraith looked around. "We'll need to investigate further."

"Are you suggesting that somebody attempted to frame a white dragon for arson?" Cerulean asked as he scratched his chin.

"No, no…" Wraith looked around. "More like… the supposed white dragon set up the explosion all on their own…" He gave a low growl as he wracked his brain. "But why would a fully grown white dragon bother with alchemy when they can simply spew convexity out of their face…?"

He came to a stop at the end of the counter and looked down. There was some kind of burned residue smeared upon the destroyed wood. It was hard to see amongst the ash and soot, but it was there. Wraith put on another glove and ran his finger through the residue. He held his forepaw up to the light and shut one eye again.

"Hmm…" Wraith sneered.

"What is it?" Albanion asked.

"I'm not sure…" The crimson drake snorted. "But it smells like the other bit of soot. Looks like our white dragon friend made a rather distinct mess."

"Distinct, eh?" Cerulean raised an eye ridge.

"Yes…" Wraith glanced around at the wreckage, where the bar originally was. "The fire didn't go off right away; there was a delay. Looks like the pre-planning was considerably pre-planned. Almost like… it was left to start burning until a certain time… after the dark dragons ran into-"

Suddenly, two of the nearby cheetahs gasped in surprise. As the three Deep Shadows turned to look in their direction, they saw the cheetahs reaching down for something. A faint moaning filled the air as a burned, scaly foreleg was pulled up from a hole in the ground.

"A survivor?" Cerulean gasped.

Quickly the three Deep Shadows ran over to lend their aid. Wraith used his magic to lift the rest of the burned dragon out of the hole. And when they saw the dragon's face… well, it almost wasn't a face anymore. Wraith nearly lost his lunch yet again at the way most of the scales were turned a deep charcoal black. The left eye was completely destroyed. And most of the rest of the dragon's body didn't fare much better, either. Wraith almost wondered how this dragon could have possibly survived until the answer came from his allies.

"He's a poison dragon!" Cerulean declared. He immediately began calling upon a bit of healing magic. "He must have whipped up some herbal-based magic to keep his life going after the explosion!"

"Indeed…" Albanion gave quite a serious growl. "I taught a lot of the poison dragons how to make such salves."

"Eh? You know him?" Cerulean asked curiously.

"Of course I do…" Albanion gnashed his fangs. "His name is Marcus."

"Who?" Wraith asked.

"He used to be part of Grail's division…" Albanion growled again. "Before he deserted the military after Elenar became High Queen."

The burned drake held a scowl as he beheld Albanion and Wraith with his one good eye. He took as deep of a breath as he could and spoke slowly and calmly.

"Bergan did this." He whispered in a raspy voice. That was plenty enough to leave the two dark dragons alarmed, but then the dying drake went further. "He fucked the queen, and spawned a white dragon."

And with that, the dragon collapsed onto the floor. Albanion held a scowl, while Wraith bit his lower lip. They might have left that dragon there on the floor, but Cerulean pushed past them and set to work placing his talons upon the un-burned parts of the drake's body.

"You're not dying on my watch." Cerulean declared as his healing magic spread through the dragon's body. He signaled for the cheetahs to help him pull the drake out of the basement.

"You do realize he's a criminal," Albanion said. "He's one of the extremists: he's helped other dark dragons try to kill several hatchlings."

"Even so, I have an oath to follow." The water drake snapped as he signaled for a gurney. "Arrest, try, and convict him as you wish when he's recovered, but don't interfere with my job, Albanion."

"Fair enough…" Albanion sighed. "We have bigger fish to fry anyway."

"Nice choice of words…" Wraith said with a grimace.

"We need to head for the Faeshrine caravan immediately!" Albanion declared. "If Bergan's responsible for the destruction of this bar, then we finally have a reason to detain him and bring him before the queen!"

"I guess you're right about that…" Wraith stepped up to the poison drake. "But it's not going to be easy to catch a dragon like him."

"We're Deep Shadows; we never get easy jobs." Albanion snorted.

"Heh, heh, heh…" Wraith looked over at Cerulean. "We'll catch you later, Blue."

Wraith snapped his talons, and the two of them teleported across Warfang quick as a flash. Cerulean just sighed, and he resumed his work tending to the dying Marcus.

Meanwhile, across the city, Albanion and Wraith appeared atop some damp grass in the marketplace. They looked down the line of carriages and took in the quiet ambiance.

"Hmm…" Albanion scratched his chin. "Something feels… wrong."

Wraith looked around and shrugged. "Are you sure? Seems pretty normal to me."

"Listen. Really listen…" Albanion gestured around at the caravan. "There are no sounds of anyone preparing to sell… and it's midday."

"Huh…" Wraith took a step forward. "I guess it's a little strange that-"

An explosion sounded, knocking Wraith backward.

At the far end of the caravan, a carriage had suddenly erupted into green flames. The crimson drake cursed as he landed on his flank. Albanion reached down to grasp him to pull him up when the next carriage across from the last exploded the same way.

"By the Ancestors!" Albanion screamed.

A third carriage erupted into flames, sounding even louder. Then a fourth… then a firth… by the time Wraith was back on his feet, the eighth carriage had erupted into horrific green flames. The crimson drake wasted no time grabbing Albanion and teleporting away to a rooftop across from the marketplace. The two then covered their muzzles and tried not to breathe in smoke, as they beheld the smoldering remains of the caravan. Already citizens in nearby buildings fled out onto the streets as a panic spread.

"What the fuck…?" Wraith's jaws fell open as he beheld the carnage. Everything from his mane to his tail tip writhed at the sight. "What… the… FUCK?!"

"Get back to the Dragon Spire!" Albanion yelled.

"Wh-What about the civilians?!" Wraith exclaimed.

"I'll organize the people!" Albanion snapped. "Report back to Elenar! That's an order!"

"R-Right…" Wraith stood up and grabbed Albanion again. He snapped his fingers several times; his forepaw had become shaky. Eventually, he finally regained composure enough to teleport away. Albanion then turned to face the burning caravan; he took a deep breath and spread his wings to glide down to start quelling the fears of the populace.

But that wasn't the only place in Warfang that was burning.

~~…~~

Ricin stumbled backward and crashed onto the floor. He dropped a wooden stick from his jaws and grumbled in irritation. Brisa stood across from him and smirked around the stick in her own hands.

"That the best you can do?" Brisa asked smugly.

"Very funny…" Ricin rumbled as he stood up picking his stick up off the floor.

The two had been sparring in the middle of the arena; Apella decided that they should practice with each other while the less experienced apprentices went over the basics.

Across from them were Ozul, Holly, and Helianne; the trio was standing before wooden dummies that stayed motionless with blank expressions. Holly made to strike the dummy with her stick, though it took her a bit of time to wind up before striking. Helianne took even more time to strike; every blow seemed to knock the wind out of her for a moment.

As for Ozul, he barely had the nerve to swing his stick. Not for lack of trying; he'd made a go of attacking the dummy once or twice. But his mind just wasn't in the right place. The guards hadn't returned with any reports of anything out of the ordinary; whether they were still looking or not, Ozul didn't know. But he just couldn't get over his bad feeling; that things just weren't right in the Dragon Spire.

"Focus, students," Apella called from across the way. She pointed at Helianne and motioned with her talon. "Make sure you swing your whole head when striking."

"Okay…" Helianne frowned as she backed up to get another swing in. She tilted her head as her stick swung around again. She smacked into the dummy and shook in place for a moment; she nearly dropped her stick as she backed up.

"I… I'm not very good at this." Helianne said sadly.

"Hey, don't feel bad." Holly smiled at her. "They say practice makes perfect, Helianne. You'll get it in time."

The flora dragoness just sighed and focused on the dummy again. Meanwhile, Brisa and Ricin slammed their sticks together a few more times, before Ricin's was comically knocked from his grasp and onto the floor. Brisa then turned to poke her stick at his forehead.

"You are deaded." She snickered.

Ricin pouted. "That's not a word."

"Well, it should be." She winked. The poison dragon rolled his eyes before leaning down to pick his stick up once more.

"Why are we using sticks, anyway?" Ricin asked. "Weren't we supposed to be practicing with swords?"

"These sticks are close in weight to real swords for practicing," Apella said. "Once you've all gotten the hang of fighting with them, then we can move on to proper form and technique with real weapons… under heavy supervision, obviously."

"I don't think Ricin should be trusted with a sword anyway." Brisa declared as she lightly nudged him in the side. "I remember this one time when he ran around with a knife in his jaws."

"It was just a butter knife." Ricin protested. "I was on my way to butter some toast!"

"Well, you nearly buttered Master Albanion's face." Brisa stuck her tongue out at him.

"I'll butter YOUR face!" Ricin declared; he hefted up his stick and made to battle with her with a bit more dramatic flair. Brisa simply laughed as they clashed again. Holly and Helianne couldn't help but watch him with slight chuckles.

But through it all, Ozul just wasn't in the mood to watch; he barely had any interest in his training dummy. He turned his attention over to the other side of the room, where rows of armor were on display behind glass cases. Most of the suits were pretty basic in design, but the one in the center drew his attention, for many obvious reasons. It was Lantel's armor, polished and pristine as if it had just come out of a blacksmith's forge. The helmet sat atop a blank face, and the prince's golden sword was held in the mannequin's jaws.

"Ozul." Apella scolded. "Focus on your training."

"Sorry…" He blinked and leaned down to pick up his stick. "It's just… I couldn't help but wonder something."

"Questions can wait until after training, young dragon." The dragoness wagged a talon in the air.

"I just wanted to know something really quickly…" Ozul turned toward a dummy and halfheartedly smacked it. "Why is-?"

Suddenly, there came a commotion from out in the hallway. The apprentices stopped what they were doing and turned toward the doorway. Apella was about to scold them when suddenly the doors were pulled open. It was Deep Shadow Rose, with a panicked expression.

"Get out!" Rose yelled. "Everyone out of the arena!"

Immediately, Helianne the apprentices stopped what they were doing and gasped. Apella swiftly made her way across the arena with a perplexed expression.

"What's wrong?" Apella demanded.

"Orders from the High Queen!" Rose declared. "All dragon students are to report to The Nexus immediately!"

"Wh-What's happened?" Helianne asked worriedly.

Apella bit her lower lip. She put on a brave face and turned to address the apprentices.

"All of you, keep a level head." She ordered. "Drop your training tools and follow after us single-file. Come!"

At once the young dragons did as they were told; they followed after Apella as she made to lead the way out into the hallway. Ricin and Brisa wondered what was going on, while Ozul and Helianne shivered. The shadow dragon felt a pit form in his stomach; he just knew that something bad was going to happen today.

Soon, the Deep Shadows led the young dragons to join the others to vacate the Dragon Spire, and the hallway gradually grew quieter as everyone left… it was the perfect opportunity for a golden dragon to emerge from hiding.

He looked down both ends of the hallway to make sure nobody saw him. He then snuck into the combat arena and walked along the rows of armor on display.

"Well, isn't this a lovely little spread…" He snickered. His eyes fell upon the ram armor and golden sword, and his eyes dazzled. "Hoo hoo hoo, what a pretty little display."

The golden drake picked up one of the training sticks, and faced the glass…

~~…~~

Elenar flew through the sky, with the Deep Shadows trailing just behind her.

From the moment Wraith told the high queen what was happening, she rallied everyone she could to survey the chaos. Elenar looked down in horror at the flames that spread throughout the various districts. Urobos followed just behind; the elderly drake panted as he struggled to keep up with the others.

The streets that surrounded the marketplace had erupted into chaos. Many moles, cheetahs, and avians scrambled to put out the fires as they spread out onto the other buildings.

"It's a state of emergency!" Grail exclaimed. "Queen Elenar, what should we do?!"

Elenar bit her lower lip. Her mind raced as she struggled to put together what was going on. She'd just barely managed to remember that Wraith mentioned that Bergan was responsible for the destruction of the Hurricos Hearth. Could… could he have been responsible for the destruction spreading throughout Warfang? No… No, that couldn't have been his doing. Bergan never planned like that before… but…

"Elenar!" Urobos shouted, drawing her attention. "We need to rally the dragons!"

"R-Right!" Elenar exclaimed. The queen flew about in the air to face the Deep Shadows directly.

"Get all of the children to safety!" Elenar roared. "Draconic children are to be sent to The Nexus with the white dragons! And all non-draconic children needed to be sent to the lower rungs of the Dragon Spire! I want Rose to aid Lilith in defending the draconic children with a battalion of soldiers! Grail and Aegis, I want you to do the same for the non-draconic children!"

"Yes, My Queen!" The dragons all said in unison.

"The rest of you: Go and do everything in your power to stop those fires!" The high queen beat her wings harder. "Go, NOW!"

One by one, the Deep Shadows howled in agreement. They then took off across the skies in different directions. And as Elenar watched them go, she came to a sudden and worrying realization: Elza wasn't among the group.

"Urobos, have you seen Elza?" Elenar asked him.

"N-Not since this morning," Urobos grumbled. "Do you want me to go find her?"

"Hmm…" Elenar tapped her chin. "She mentioned wanting to see if Cyrus had calmed down enough to spend time with her. I'll go see if Cyrus has seen her. Search the Dragon Spire for her, just in case they're not together."

"Very well…" Urobos took a deep breath. "Be safe today, Elenar."

And with that, Urobos glided down toward the base of the Dragon Spire, while Elenar channeled her shadow magic to teleport…

~~…~~

Cyrus was staring at the ceiling for a while. His window had been enchanted with a ward to prevent magic from going through. His doorway had several shadow dragon guards on standby, in case he'd tried to slip through the crack in the door. He was filled with anger and frustration from the moment he was tossed in. His meals were delivered via small trays, and he was denied anything remotely exciting in his room.

Cyrus didn't have long to think about his situation, as he heard the sounds of teleporting outside his door. The guards stood at attention, and the locks were removed. Cyrus shivered as he made to stand up; he cast his gaze at the floor as the door opened up. Right away he could tell it was his mother; he could even still feel the anger radiating off her body as she approached him. He held his tongue and prepared for more furious ranting…

"Cyrus, have you seen your Aunt today?" Elenar demanded.

Cyrus blinked; he looked up at Elenar uneasily, as if it were some sort of trick question. "Wh-What?"

"Elza." Elenar insisted. "Has she been to see you at all today?"

"N-No, I haven't seen her today," Cyrus said with a snort. "I haven't seen her since she screamed my ear frills off."

Elenar wanted to scold her son for his terrible behavior, but this just wasn't the right time. If he hadn't seen Elza then that meant she never made it to his room. And if she never made it to his room… where did she go? What kept her? Oh, this just wasn't the time for pondering this thought; not when Warfang was on fire.

Without even skipping a beat, Elenar grabbed her son and channeled her shadow magic to teleport. Naturally, the prince protested, but he quickly stopped when he realized he was standing in the courtyard of The Nexus. Cyrus took some fresh breaths as he twirled about… only to stop and gasp in horror upon seeing the smoke rising from the city streets.

"B-B-By the Ancestors…" Cyrus stumbled onto his haunches as his body shivered.

Meanwhile, Elenar was preoccupied with looking around at the courtyard itself. Plenty of soldiers were standing at attention, just as they should have been. And already Elenar could see a whole host of younglings taking to the skies; they were guided by even more soldiers. Elenar and Cyrus stood to watch as the younglings quickly rushed through the doors of the fortress to find refuge in the safety of the lower chamber.

Rose and Apella were before the entrance to the chapel; a group of young dragons had followed Apella out of the air and made to enter the chapel. The two Deep Shadows spoke quietly to the children, and then Apella saluted Rose. The golden dragoness then took to the skies, while Rose looked across the way at the high queen. She bowed her head toward Elenar and then turned to speak with the young dragons. Soon, the young dragons were venturing down the doorway that led to the lower chambers of the fortress. Everything was under control.

Just breathe, Elenar… She told herself. They'll be fine.

"Your Majesty!" Called two voices.

Elenar turned to see Chalice and Tina coming to a landing. They'd scrambled to approach the queen and bow their heads. Cyrus briefly smiled at Tina, but she blocked him with a wing as she focused on the queen.

"My Grandfather sent us here as soon as he could." Chalice said with a salute.

"We're reporting for duty!" Tina declared. "What do you need us to do?"

"Hmm…" Elenar bit her lower lip. "Chalice, Tina… I need you two to go find Argos and Icarox and assist them in protecting the white dragonlings; do whatever it is they need of you."

"Yes, Your Grace." Both of them saluted again. At once they took off for the chapel, swiftly vanishing from view. Cyrus briefly wished he'd had a chance to say something to Tina… but the smell of smoke reminded him of the danger.

"Mom, what's going on?!" The prince demanded. He looked out uneasily at the city's burning skyline. "Who started these fires?!"

"We don't know, Cyrus," Elenar answered. "But we're doing our best to put them out." She nudged him off toward the doorway. "Now come on; we need to get you with the other children."

Elenar started walking with Cyrus… only for the prince to come to a stop.

"Hold on…" He glowered. "Am I just being stashed away with the rest of these kids? Am I just not allowed to do anything to help?"

Oh by the ancestors, you have to be kidding me… Elenar took a deep breath to keep her composure. "Cyrus, this is neither the time nor the place. You're still in trouble for that tantrum you threw the other-"

"Tantrum?!" Cyrus shouted defensively.

Elenar sucked in another breath before trying to nudge him forward. "Now is seriously not the time, Cyrus. Get moving."

The queen managed to get the prince through the doors, though he quickly came to a stop and stamped his forepaw in frustration, much to the queen's growing anger.

"I'm tired of being brushed to the side, Mom!" Cyrus shouted. A few of the other younglings gasped at his outburst. "You could at least have me go help the Deep Shadows put out those fires! I'm a black dragon! What do you think I've been mastering the elements for if I can't use them to help out?!"

"Cyrus…" Elenar said bitterly.

"And so what if these situations are dangerous?!" Cyrus snapped. "What's the point of all my physical and magic training if I'm not supposed to get involved with danger?!" He grabbed his convexity crystal and held it up. "I was more than capable of fending off that group of thugs!"

"One of them was your sister!" Elenar said angrily.

"Yeah, my sister that attacked me!" Cyrus yelled even louder as he pointed at his wing. "I was stabbed by one of her goons! Are we just going to pretend that didn't happen?!"

The queen flinched as more of the younglings around them gasped at the sight. Even Rose stopped to look in their direction. Elenar took a deep, cautious breath before scowling at her son.

"Cyrus… just get to the lower chamber already." The Queen pushed the doors open with her tail. "We're wasting too much time with your petty grievances."

"Petty?!" Cyrus snarled. "I keep getting treated like I'm an afterthought! Nobody ever wants me around!"

A growl rose in Elenar's throat, making Cyrus stop and flinch. The queen stomped forward and forcibly grabbed Cyrus by one of his horns.

"Hey!" He shouted. He tried to sink into his shadow to get away, but Elenar used her own shadowy magic to pull him right back out. "Let me go!"

"STOP WASTING TIME!" Elenar screamed as loud as she could.

The queen's words echoed throughout the chapel. Everyone within hearing range froze in place. Even Cyrus was stunned into silence; he looked up worriedly as the high queen shook with rage.

"Warfang is BURNING!" Elenar continued as she pointed a talon across the horizon. "The people are in DANGER! I don't have time for your... your… WHINING!"

Cyrus's eyes flew wide. Elenar dragged him forward, and he nervously moved with her toward the stairway.

"I…" The prince stammered. "I just want to help."

Elenar took a deep breath to try and get her anger under control. And that's when an idea popped into her head. She took another deep breath and looked Cyrus right in the eyes.

"You want to help? You REALLY want to help?" She asked accusingly. She fanned her wing out toward a group of younglings as they passed by. "Then help THEM."

"Wh-What?" Cyrus blinked.

"Go down to the lower chamber." Elenar continued. "Stand guard, along with the apprentices."

"But you just said-"

"Cyrus, you are a black dragon, like you're so keen to remind me." The queen snapped. "And one of the tasks of a black dragon is to defend the people of Warfang. Does that ring a bell?"

"Err… I guess so…" Cyrus grimaced.

"Look around you, Cyrus," Elenar exclaimed. "Look at all of these terrified children. They are your fellow students and your future subjects! They may not realize it now, but they look up to you! Especially the white dragonlings!"

"Uh…" Cyrus stuttered.

"And most importantly, the apprentices look up to you." Elenar continued. "You have needlessly cruel to them, and it's high time you make it up to them, by standing at their side to defend the other children." She flapped her wings. "If you want respect and admiration, then EARN it!

"If anyone breaks into the fortress, and if they somehow managed to push past all of the guards and even the Deep Shadows, then all that will remain is YOU! YOU are the very last line of defense!" The queen stamped her forepaw. "Now stop complaining, get down there, and start working on redeeming yourself for your terrible behavior! PROTECT THE CHILDREN, CYRUS!"

The queen pointed toward the doorway that led to the stairwell, while Cyrus was stunned into silence. He tried to find something to say but just kept his jaws shut and turned to march forward. The other students stepped out of the way of the prince; perhaps word had spread around of how Cyrus had smacked students around during his meltdown. Rose cast a glare at the prince as he vanished out of view, and then looked worriedly in the queen's direction.

"Will you be joining him down below, Your Grace?" She asked.

"I can't…" Elenar shook her head. "I have to go."

Elenar didn't care if she bruised Cyrus's ego or built it up. Nor could the queen stay to be a part of that last line of defense, no matter how badly she wanted to. Elenar was still the high queen: She had more pressing matters to attend to. So it was with a heavy heart that she marched her way back out of the chapel and out into the courtyard. The guards sealed the doors and saluted the high queen, as she stood tall to channel her magic.

Please… be safe, Cyrus.

~~…~~

Cyrus stood front and center before the doorway into the chamber. He struggled to concentrate despite all the worrying muttering.

Nearly two hundred or so young dragons were crammed into the chamber. Dark dragon younglings of natural and artificial creation huddled together worriedly. The light dragon students struggled to keep calm. And the white-hided dragonlings were gathered together in the very center, shivering and crying.

Cyrus had donned a suit of armor. It was training gear; that's all that they had on short notice in the chapel. But it didn't matter; he stood as regally and proud as he could before the doors.

He wasn't the only one wearing training armor. Just behind him, the apprentices stepped up to stand at attention. Ozul was the first to get ready; he nervously shook as he made to get into formation. Brisa and Holly were just behind him, though the both of them were too uneasy to look directly at the prince. And just behind them, Ricin kept his eyes focused on the floor as he shook in place.

Cyrus took a harsh breath and stood in his battle stance. He fanned out his wings and had deep rumbles in his throat.

"Are… Are all of you ready?" Holly asked the other apprentices.

"About as ready I can be," Brisa said.

There were faint rumbling noises coming from the other side of those doors; sounds of a struggle. There was even a crash that was loud enough to make many of the surrounding students cry out in fear. Something was definitely coming for them; Cyrus could feel it in his scales. A fight was coming, and they… no, he was the last line of defense.

Ozul's limbs shook as the rumbling continued; he looked ready to sink into his shadow to hide. Holly saw this draped a wing over his back to comfort him.

"You're not alone." She said soothingly. "We're all in this together."

Across the chamber, Argos and Icarox stood tall in the center beside the white dragonlings.

"Stay calm, all of you," Argos said.

"Don't be scared, little ones," Icarox said as she sat on the floor beside the dragonlings. "Everything will be alright. Cynder will protect you."

Cyrus just sighed and rolled his eyes at that; he hadn't seen too many examples of Cynder saving the dragonlings during the last few weeks here in Warfang. A shiver ran down his spine when he heard another crashing sound ring through his ear frills.

"That sounded close." Brisa gulped. She nudged Ricin to get him to stand up. "Be ready."

"I know, I know…" Ricin said worriedly as he lifted his head. He glanced discreetly at Cyrus, who just snorted and focused on the doorway.

Stay focused, Cyrus… He told himself. You can do this. You can prove once and for all that you're just as much of a black dragon as Rune is.

Cyrus didn't want to admit it… but maybe his mother had the right idea. Maybe all of the students here would have to stop and stare in awe, should whoever's attacking Warfang come bursting in. It could have been anyone: The extremists, the Sons of Culmubrae… maybe even more of Prince Johnny's goons. Whoever it was, Cyrus would smack them around but good! Everyone would finally see how powerful Cyrus really was! This would be HIS MOMENT!

But as Cyrus was psyching himself up, he heard several sets of footfalls coming from behind and to the side. Cyrus and the others turned around to see three of the older students approaching: Tina, Chalice, and Lantel. The former might have made Cyrus smile if the latter two didn't get his blood boiling.

Holly, Brisa, and Ricin stepped out of the way so Tina and Chalice could get into formation on either side of Cyrus. The prince struggled to keep his composure. He heard someone step up even closer, and he beat his wings irritably.

"What?" Cyrus demanded. "Can't you see I'm busy?!"

"Wee, geez." Tina grimaced and stepped back. "Is it wrong to check in on you after not talking to you in so long?"

Cyrus balked, and he scolded himself; of all the dragons to snap at, he had to go and do it to Tina. He shook his head and smacked his cheek. "Sorry…"

Lantel blew golden smoke from his nostrils. "Do you EVER think before you yell at people?!"

And once again, Cyrus was furious again. He sucked in a breath and forced himself to try avoiding even thinking about the golden prince behind him. Out of the corner of his eye, Cyrus saw Lantel shoot Chalice a glare and shake his head; evidently, Cyrus did something that confirmed Lantel's suspicions. Despite all of this, Chalice cleared their throat and turned around to address the apprentices.

"Everyone, remember that this isn't like our training." Chalice said. "Whoever's behind that door isn't going to exercise restraint."

"We know that Chalice," Brisa said with a groan. "Those jerks in the marketplace didn't exactly go easy on us."

"Just be prepared, and work as a team." Chalice continued. "There's a hallway right out those doors, and there's eight of us up front; that should be more than enough to force them into a bottleneck so they can't overwhelm us."

The apprentices voiced their agreement one by one, while Cyrus snorted and focused on the doors. But the longer Chalice talked, the more annoyed the prince became.

"We can do this." Chalice gave a reassuring thumbs-up. "We're all part of a team. Nobody has to face this threat alone. We can-"

"Oh, will you shut up?"! Cyrus yelled.

The younger dragons gasped, while Chalice's eyes widened in shock. The prince whirled around to scowl at the grey dragon as they looked at him incredulously.

"I'm just trying to keep morale up." Chalice said.

"Well, you're being obnoxious!" Cyrus shouted. "What are you going to say next?! Are you going to announce the virtues of togetherness?! Are you going to say that friendship is magic?!"

"I…" Chalice began, only for Cyrus to point a talon at their snap.

"I don't need anyone's yammering for motivation." Cyrus snapped. "And even if I did, I wouldn't want it from a backstabber!"

"Backstabber?" Chalice repeated incredulously. "What are you-?"

"You know EXACTLY what I'm talking about." Cyrus pointed an accusing talon at Chalice's snout, who flinched back. Tina stepped up and forcibly pushed his paw down. "Hey!"

"What are you going on about?" Tina demanded. "What did Chal do?"

"I can tell you what they did…" Lantel declared.

Cyrus looked over to see the golden prince step up and scowl at the black prince. "Chalice reported you to the Deep Shadows after you called my sister a slut."

Chalice grimaced. "That wasn't it. I was just trying to-"

"Oh, who cares what you think it was?" Cyrus scowled at them. "The result was the same…" He turned to sneer at Lantel. "As for your sister; don't think I'm going to apologize after she got my brother in trouble. She never should have invited him to her room so late at night, if she didn't want to look like a-"

"Don't say it!" Lantel's nostrils flared. "My sister didn't do anything remotely nasty that night!"

"Then what DID she do?" Cyrus demanded.

"I don't know; she won't tell me!"

Cyrus's eyes gleamed. "Well, she's not doing a very job of not looking like a-"

SMACK!

Cyrus has nearly knocked off his paws; his face flared with pain. He put a forepaw on his cheek to use healing magic as he looked up to see… a very angry Tina.

"Will you just STOP?!"

Chalice and the apprentices all gasped at the sight. Even Lantel was caught off-guard. Cyrus just blinked in surprise as he steadily stood up to face the dark-yellow dragoness.

"T-Tina?" He asked incredulously.

"I didn't want to believe it," Tina yelled. "I didn't want to think you'd become such a prick lately… And yet here you are, trying to say that nasty accusation right in front of me!"

Cyrus winced as he put his paw down. "Tina…"

"Get your head out of your rear and act like a PRINCE for once!" Tina gnashed her fangs at him. "Stop complaining about not getting attention, stop picking fights with the solar royals, stop insulting your friends… stop being SHITTY!"

Cyrus's eyes constricted and he fell backward onto his rear. The apprentices all gasped as they looked at the way Tina fumed. She turned to look at Lantel, who'd stood dumbfounded.

"Look, you…" She pointed a talon at him next. "If you want to be pissed off at Cyrus, save it for later. Right now, we need to protect these students!"

"Uh…" Lantel gulped a bit. "R-Right."

Lantel and the apprentices made to get back into position. Cyrus kept his jaws clamped shut, and his back shivered as the other dragons resumed their battle stances on all sides. Cyrus's eye twitched; of all the dragons in the entire world to lecture him, why did it have to be Tina?

A loud CRASH sounded throughout the chamber as the doors were partially broken open. Many of the younger students gasped in fright, while a jolt ran along Cyrus's scales. He reached within himself to call upon his magic. Ice and wind danced along his scales, while his throat rumbled with waves of fear. Shadowy pools formed under his paws, and poison splashed against his fangs. The prince pushed back all thoughts, tuned out the outside world, and cleared his mind. The world paused for a brief moment and then resumed again. Good; his time magic was fully prepared.

No more time to argue… Cyrus snorted as he psyched himself up. I've gotta focus on MY MOMENT.

With one more thundering crash, the air was suddenly quiet. The doorknob rattled, making Cyrus flinch. He called upon a bit of his magic as he waited to see what would come stepping through that doorway. A whole host of elemental noises came from all around him as the apprentices prepared to attack. Maybe Chalice had been right about one thing; holding off the invaders should be simple.

The door was pulled outward, and two figures stood in the darkness of the corridor beyond. Cyrus prepared to launch an attack…

When something glinted out in the hall before flying through the air. The next thing Cyrus knew, he'd been struck right on the muzzle by something sharp.

"Cyrus!" Ricin cried in surprise.

Cyrus grunted as he stumbled backward. He reached up to his muzzle to grasp at what had struck him; some kind of thin needle. Cyrus immediately pulled the needle out and tossed it onto the floor with a scoff.

"What is that it? A needle?" Cyrus snorted. "My healing magic is already tending to the… light…" his head suddenly felt heavier, and his vision became blurry. "…wound?"

With every step, Cyrus took, the dizzier he felt. He stumbled this way and that as he struggled to keep his balance. But before long, the prince finally lost control as he stumbled over to the side and collapsed onto his side upon the floor. He swung his legs; he was losing feeling in his limbs, and his hearing was becoming distorted.

Wh… What's happening? Cyrus thought. He looked up; the blurry visages of Tina and Chalice scrambled to get to his sides. He couldn't hear what they were saying; everything was becoming so… so scrambled and weird.

I… I can't get up… Cyrus thought. So… So tired…

And after that, everything went black…

~~…~~

"Cyrus!" Tina cried out. She struggled to pull the prince out of the direct view of the doorway, while Chalice provided some shielding with their wings.

Holly, Brisa, and Ricin unleashed bursts of magic at the doorway to keep whoever had attacked at bay. Ozul, meanwhile, had dipped into his shadows to sneak off to get out of view. The ice and wind struck against the figures in the corridor, while the poison splashed at their paws.

Lantel, meanwhile, stood off to the side of the doors and growled in anger. He watched as many of the younglings scrambled to stand to either the left or right of the insurgents' field of view.

"Quit wasting time worrying about the prat and get ready to fight!" Lantel yelled. He turned down toward the two elderly dragons as they stood amongst the shivering children. "And you know, some help from YOU TWO would be very much appreciated!"

"We're doing our best!" Argos exclaimed. He struggled to get past the little dragonlings as he made his way toward the side of the chamber.

"Would you have us leave the little ones without emotional support?" Icarox demanded as she shielded a few of the hatchlings with her body.

Lantel just scoffed as he stood at the ready; fire and rage were burning in his maw. The arrogant black drake might have gotten himself taken out like a fool early on, but Lantel wouldn't give these insurgents another shot. The moment one of them stepped through, he'd blast them with waves of gold. He'd show all of these dark dragons what a REAL prince was like. HE'D save them from the insurgents…

…But it sure was taking a while for the insurgents to continue their attack. What was taking them so long? Lantel couldn't make the first move; he'd only give himself away. But they weren't even trying to shoot any more of those dart-things on through…

Something was coming out of the doorway; a sound of some kind. It started very low… but gradually got louder. It was… singing? Who could be singing at a time like this?

"My… My head feels kinda funny." Tina said across the way. She gave a low yawn and stuck her wing thumb behind her ear frill. "What's that music?"

"Music? What…?" Chalice began to say, only to give their own yawn. "Music…?"

Brisa gasped, and covered her ear frills.

"Don't listen to it!" She called out. "It's an enchantment!"

But the others were a bit slow to figure out it: Ricin and Ozul had already passed out. Holly swayed uneasily on her paws; Brisa tried to support her by sitting on her haunches, but the icy dragoness eventually slumped over on her.

"I… I feel funny…" Holly moaned as her weight forced Brisa down. Brisa's forepaws fell from her ear frills, and she gasped.

"No… no…" She struggled to cover the singing, but she too began to yawn. "S… Sorry, guys…"

Even Lantel was starting to feel strange; his limbs ached, and his head felt heavy. But he shook his head and growled; no, he wasn't about to go out so easily. He stood his ground and growled as he heard someone get close to the doors. And as they were pulled fully open, the singing reached its peak volume… and the Deep Shadow named Elza stepped through.

"Elza?" Icarox asked across the way.

"What are you doing here?" Argos asked.

But Elza didn't answer them; she just focused on singing her song. Argos flinched as he looked toward the Deep Shadow. He moved to approach her… only to groan and collapse onto the floor. The children around him yelped in fright… only to gradually pass out as well.

"Argos, no… no…" Icarox gave a hearty yawn before slumping over just like her brother. And the hatchlings beside her went to sleep as well. Over time, almost all of the children in the room had passed out, all while Elza sang her endless song.

"Lady Elza… what's wrong with you…?" Tina asked between yawns. She stepped forward toward the Deep Shadow, only to collapse. Chalice tried to stay standing, but soon they collapsed on the floor in turn.

Prince Lantel looked around at the chamber; everyone else was asleep. Even Helianne was passed out, still surrounded by her friends. His limbs ached, and his vision was blurring; he couldn't stay standing for long.

But just before he collapsed onto the floor, he saw Elza turning to face him… and she had a cold, empty stare. Some kind of jewel glistened on a necklace she wore… but that was all he could see before he fell over. Soon, his eyes shut tight, and the singing began to fade.

Lantel fought with all of his willpower to repel the enchantment. He forced his eyes open and he glared at the corridor as several footfalls approached. There were sounds of clanking as someone strode into the chamber in a suit of armor.

"Good work, sweetheart." Chuckled a rather cocky voice. "That's some fine singing magic you've got."

Lantel looked up… and couldn't believe his eyes. He saw… his Ram armor: or rather, someone wearing his armor. It was a golden dragon, that barely fit into the pieces of gear. Their face was covered by blank, white mask.

"Ohh? What's this?" The dragon turned to look at Lantel. They chuckled as they stepped forward to get a better look. "This one's still awake."

"You…" Lantel's eyes shut, but he forced them open again and tried to yell through a yawn. "You thief… take off my armor."

"Your armor?" The drake tilted his head. He then tilted his head back and laughed. "Finder's keepers, loser."

The drake brought a wooden dart of some kind to his lips… and immediately shot a needle through it and struck Lantel on the forehead. Lantel's body began to go numb, and he collapsed in a heap on the floor. His eyes glazed over, and he gradually passed out as the masked drake stepped over him.

"Sweet dreams, Princy-poo." The drake cackled. He turned and motioned with a forepaw for more dragons to step into the room. "Gather them up. Bergan wants these kiddies tucked away somewhere…" He flashed a toothy grind. "…safe."

~~…~~

A soldier collapsed on the spot. They were followed by another… and another.

Bergan sighed as he reloaded his blow dart. He didn't want to have to clear a path this way; if only they would have just listened to reason. Of course, they'd never want to go against their high queen; it was commendable in a way. But still, the soldiers were standing in Bergan's way; and he just couldn't have that.

The infiltration of the fortress was simple enough; with time magic, the soldiers barely saw a blink. Bergan froze time, and shot several darts at as many dragons as he could, before quickly reloading and resuming time. He then made his way into the bowels of The Nexus; he ventured down corridors and stairwells to go as deep as he could.

Finally, Bergan arrived at his destination; a conspicuously locked door at the end of a corridor. Two more soldiers were standing guard, but they were quickly dealt with before they even saw him go around the corner. Once they were sleeping, Bergan stepped up to the doorway and looked it up and down. The door was made of metal, and sealed with one simple keyhole…. As well as several enchantments. Bergan could just barely hear a mechanical rumbling coming from behind the doorway… with a slight aura of run-off magic.

This is the place, Bergan mused.

Removing the enchantments might have frustrated many other dragons, but he was well versed in their construction. Bergan placed his forepaw on the door and worked his magic. One by one, the wards fell, and he was free to slide his silver key into the hole. With a simple turn, the door was opened; it creaked and groaned as it widened to allow the purple drake to venture inside. The mechanical noises became quite loud, and the distinct scent of burning magic assailed Bergan's mind.

Within was a very small chamber, with a big, glowing machine; the magical generator. It resembled a big metal cylinder, with hundreds of pipes snaking out of it to stretch across the inner workings of the fortress. There were gauges, thermostats, and all sorts of wires that did about a dozen different jobs. And within the generator was a great, magical aura. Lights of varying colors shined through the openings on the generator, filling Bergan's vision with a rainbow of colors. The generator was also surrounded by piles upon piles of gem clusters, mined from all corners of the realms to keep the magic going.

I've found it. Bergan covered his muzzle as he took a breath. He reached into his cloak and retrieved the Lilac Grimoire, and turned it to a specific page.

Upon that page, was a schematic of the generator; it was crude, but the details matched almost exactly. Bergan traced a talon along the center of the generator, where a distinct slit was designed in the center upon a circular glyph. Upon scanning the real generator, Bergan spotted a similar design.

Ah… Bergan nodded in approval after putting the tome away. Time to see if this really works…

Bergan held his forepaw out before himself and took a deep breath. He concentrated on his paw, and soon an aura of dark mist began to form. He shifted his forepaw into a grasping gesture. He could almost feel something forming in his grasp…

Before he heard something hurtling toward him from behind.

Bergan spun around and quickly surrounded himself with a magical barrier, just before a powerful cyclone slammed into it. The purple drake grunted as he kept the barrier going until the cyclone died away. With the magic gone, he looked down the hallway; Rose of the Deep Shadows was charging toward him.

"Ah, Rose…" Bergan said casually as he stepped forward. "I… suppose there's no chance of us talking this out?"

The dragoness unleashed another cyclone at Bergan. He hurriedly created another barrier and stepped forward toward the door. She snarled as she charged forward faster and faster thanks to her wind magic. Bergan quickly froze time around the world and charged forward to grab the door. He slammed it shut and locked it, but didn't quite know how to restore the enchantments. When time returned to normal, there was a loud CLANG, followed by Rose pounding furiously on the door.

"Open this door!" She roared. "Get out of there, Bergan!"

"I'm going to have to decline…" Bergan stepped back from the door and panted. "I'm in the middle of something, Rose."

The purple drake turned back around and resumed gesturing with his forepaw. The dark aura surrounded his paw, and he could once again feel the object forming. He couldn't freeze time again; not without interrupting his summoning. And yet it was becoming increasingly difficult to concentrate with the constant banging behind him.

"Damnit, Bergan" Rose hissed. "What are you going to do to the generator!"

"Nothing bad, I assure you," Bergan said as his magic grew stronger. He nearly dropped it thanks to the constant banging, but he couldn't lose focus now; he was so close…

Soon, Bergan could grasp the cold metal of a sword hilt in the darkness. He grasped it and pulled it out until the entirety of the blade swung free. Bergan then fell back onto his haunches, and delicately held the white-hilted sword with both forepaws.

"Finally…" He declared with a grin as he looked at the generator's slot. "It's time to put this blade to good use."

Bergan turned the sword around so that it faced the generator. He then slid the blade through the slot vertically, until it was embedded within all the way to the hilt. The blade slid across metal and gemstones but didn't pierce anything. Once the sword could go no further, Bergan walked around to grasp the hilt to rotate the sword. Everything rumbled as the blade rotated to lay flat, and a loud click sounded.

"Bergan!" Rose shouted again. "What did you do?!"

Bergan grinned… as the chamber began to rotate around him. He turned toward the door and cleared his throat. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

The gems in the generator began to radiate brighter and more vibrantly. The rainbow of colors melted together and became a solid shade of purple. The floor beneath Bergan's paws grew hotter, and everything rumbled and shook.

Bergan unlocked the door and then froze time. When it unfroze, Rose threw the door open… and was hit on the muzzle with a blow dart. She hissed and slashed at Bergan, but the purple drake simply side-stepped her attacks as she stumbled around.

"Damn you…" Rose blinked her eyes as she tried attacking him again. "I'll… avenge… Baneth for… what you…"

The dragoness collapsed… right into Bergan's waiting grasp. He sighed as he gently sat her down on the floor. The purple drake patted her on the head as he turned her away.

"I really wish things could have gone differently…" Bergan whispered. "But alas… I have work to do."

Bergan held his forepaw out to Rose and began chanting… while the entire hallway rumbled and groaned. The purple light of the generator grew stronger and stronger, and dark tendrils emerged to spread their way down the corridor…

~~…~~

An hour had gone by. Elenar and the Deep Shadows ventured across all corners of Warfang. It was tiring work, but Elenar couldn't sit idly by while there was still chaos erupting throughout her city.

Unfortunately, she was still a mortal dragon and had to come to a stop eventually. So, with Wraith's assistance, she managed to arrive at the gardens before the Dragon Spire, along with all of the Deep Shadows and Urobos. They came to a stop on the grass, while some of the citizens nearby continued to keep the fires under control.

"Okay…" Elenar panted as she fell back onto her haunches. "Someone give me a report. Does anyone know who was starting all of these fires?"

It didn't take long for a series of dragons to step forward to try and describe the situation… however before the queen could learn much information, she was caught off-guard by the sudden appearance of three clouds of darkness on the street across from her. With a yelp, Elenar stepped over to investigate; she knew shadow-based magic when she saw it. She came to a stop before the three dragons that appeared on the ground… and gasped.

The Elders Argos and Icarox, as well as the Deep Shadow Rose, was passed out on the ground.

"What?!" Elenar exclaimed. She stepped up and shook Rose in an attempt to stir her awake, but it was all for naught. And that was only the beginning of her worries; for all around her, several more pools of darkness were forming at random all across the street. They were all dragon soldiers; the very same soldiers who were assigned to guard the children on The Nexus!

Elenar's face turned pale. What was happening? Why were all of her soldiers suddenly appearing on the ground?! And why were they all unconscious?!

"Your Majesty!" Apella screamed from across the way. Elenar whirled around to see what the matter was and saw the red dragoness pointing into the sky. Several more dragons pointed upward as well, all while screaming in horror.

Elenar's blood turned cold as she cast her eyes skyward… no, no, it couldn't be!

"What…?" Urobos's jaw fell open.

A great, black sphere of dark energy had erupted into existence around the entirety of The Nexus. The shadows swirled and shimmered, casting an ominous presence over the city. And before long, many dragons and non-dragons gazed up in horror at the dark sphere…

And then, it was gone. In the blink of an eye, all that remained of the fortress was a cloud of smoke.

Shouts and cries of terror rang out among the streets.

"No…" Grail said quietly. The General took a step forward, then another one. His wings twitched as his forepaws tore the ground. "Chalice…"

"Who did this…?" Albanion clawed the ground. "WHO DID THIS?!"

All around Elenar, dragons cried out in agony. Their children were gone. The Nexus, once a seat of power for their beloved King Baneth… was gone. Smoke still struck the sky as fires raged.

And there Elenar was, powerless to prevent it.

~~…~~

Greetings, friends, and loved ones.

Once again, I've wound up adding so much stuff that a chapter got very long; I wound up missing a day of updating as a result. But no matter; I don't regret the expansion of the scenes.

This has become a horrifying turn of events, isn't it? Bergan and the Crazy Aces have infiltrated The Nexus and have teleported it away somehow. But where has it gone? What could that rascally amethyst be up to? Nothing good, I'd wager!

Tenebra ecce Veritas