Chapter 8: An awakening Power
Getting closer to the great building, Darkstalker prepares himself mentally for what is to come. Seeing the burnt surface below him, surprise is shown all over him as he stares at the mark that has been left when that merciless power forced him to crash. Sensing the change in the nightwing she holds, the great dragoness maintains her strong stance as she flies right to the top of great ones' house.
Landing on the room, Akhanta lays down the young one and approaches the two giant dragons waiting for her. Arranged around the center where resides the enormous beacon, the green and blue scales of the dragoness on the left has made it very clear it is Ayirn, and a quick dive into her mind by the seer confirms that.
The one on the right however, bears vivid red and orange scales, suggesting unconsciously the image of blood and fire. While Ayirn stays neutral if not for her regret in a small corner of her mind, that dragon is genuinely surprised and curious to see Darkstalker for the first time. Watching his mind, the young one learns he is the one out of the four with the weakest interest for his potential powers. But stranger is how strong the great dragon's instincts are for a being like him. Despite his appearance, he seems to think of the now more than anyone else.
Staying close to Akhanta's side, the young dragon keeps his mouth shut and watches with utter focus the scene unfold.
- "Ayirn, Azykan, Darkstalker surh nestoq yth oje ythe hute kasarh. Ikul surh asrunte, thotias kumista kes xenfuit surh ysren kes olieos."
Azykan is the first to reply, showing interest in the nightwing he now compares to a hatchling or a very young dragonet more than ever.
- "Cuxt heij ythe pyteya ghyt? Oij alest muesine tho okut Akhanta?"
- "Zo okut dolmukaran iole muesine, Zo okutes sif holcu ythetias tumok."
- "Lieju Zo okut u hyfen?"
The great dragoness beside Darkstalker nods, and the red and orange one takes a step forward before lowering his head and staring directly at him. In a quieter tone the nightwing thought difficult for a dragon like him to maintain, he speaks his words.
- "Zy ajek Azykan, yutive sif kenib Zu isenityl."
Hesitant, the young one slowly get closer to him as the two great dragoness watch the interaction. Now close enough, Azykan unfolds his wings, occupying the space around the night dragon, and extend a talon, pointing him with a claw in welcoming manner.
After a moment of Darkstalker checking the great one's mind, the relatively small dragon accepts to take his claw. Satisfied with that, Azykan retrieves his wings and raises his head before walking to the entrance with eagerness.
"Ignum ythe isenityl."
It is with these words that the great dragon soars directly with a beat of his powerful wings, snatching the young one from the ground and almost sending him into the wall in the process, if Akhanta hadn't stopped the little dragon with her large wing. Looking at him to see if everything is alright, the nightwing stands on his four talons again and stares at her as well.
- "Thank you Akhanta." Whispers Darkstalker from his heart.
The great dragoness seems to understand his intent as she lowers her talon and presents him her paw. Still having doubt about his body's flying abilities, the night dragon climbs between her claws and accepts to be transported by the dragoness. A moment later the two are in the air, slowly descending to the ground where Azykan waits for them. Ayirn follows quietly just behind them, watching over them carefully, especially Darkstalker.
Despite being a giant dragoness, Akhanta knows how to smooth the enormous shock of her landing, successfully saving the relative comfort of her passenger. Now that the four dragons are at the foot of the Pyramid, the great ones can begin what they have planned. With the dark blue dragoness staying around the young one and Ayirn watching from behind at the moment, Azykan starts to smile as he take a more imposing stance.
"Darkstalker, lieju uthu surh lihotu?"
Watching his mind, the seer knows the question concerns what he feels, and if it is enough for… He doesn't have the time to think of that any longer as the great one he looks at extends his talon and raise it in an instant. Essences flows more and more around that part of the body until lightning starts to appear around it, blessing all witness' ears with cracking noises in the background.
What is he doing, surely he won't unleash his power like a totally unrestrained animus, wishing from all his heart for his greatest wishes to be realized. Surely- Akhanta shakes him out of his thoughts as she moves closer to him one step at a time, like a confident protector closing her embrace on the one she values.
Looking right behind her, Darkstalker can see Ayirn standing there, keeping her calm as every part of her body glows with her own essences. Diving into her mind, the nightwing can see how much she is unimpressed by the display of power, and even annoyed at his little show.
But for the young one, it is spectacular when Azykan strikes the ground in a split second, fracturing the stone and making it glow with the colours of his powers. It is in the middle of this stressful blue aura that the night dragon starts to feel the core of his being getting excited, the uncontrollable essences sometimes passing through him.
And while he lives through this situation, the great dragon stares at him, a grin on his face as he judges his being. Seeing him beginning to bend and hiss as the essences around him build up the reaction of his own, the dragon of red and orange scales speaks in a voice loud enough to pierce the chaotic noises of power.
"Uthu eiuf zikos almu Zutias ust ueris."
A few moments is all it takes for Darkstalker to be on the verge of defeat, the aura of the area continuously encouraging and pressing what is in his deepest insides. He is now barely standing on his talons and only looks at the ground, frustrated, and unable to focus on anything, not even his thoughts.
Watching him like that starts to really hurt Akhanta who can only do her best by being around the nightwing. Sadly, all of that seems to be necessary for the great ones, and as long as their limits aren't shattered, it will continue until the end of the process.
With one final long scream, the young one falls to the ground exhausted. Soon after, the aura dissipates, no more energy is poured into the earth as the goal has been reached. Delicately, the great dragoness grabs and holds him, breathing slightly faster and shaking a bit as she stares at the half conscious dragon.
- "Kalne Darkstalker zaij." Says Ayirn from behind, still staying absolutely neutral and serious.
As the dark blue dragoness puts the nightwing on the ground and steps back, the magical one starts to draw a large circle made of complex glyphs around the night dragon. A few minutes later, Ayirn gives her power and activates the circle, applying a strong but unknown effect on the target. As spectators, the two others dragons watch the whole scene in silence, with no one reacting as no line seems to be crossed.
As the power fades away, Akhanta takes the young one again, he is conscious enough to feel, hear and see his surrounding, but it isn't likely he really can walk for long in that state. Seeing the red and orange dragon taking the lead and walking back to the Pyramid, the dragoness follows just behind Ayirn, keeping a constant eye on Darkstalker.
Moving through the stone corridors full of engraved motifs and symbols, the three giants arrive at a set of two great doors, each depicting a dragons with four eyes and two pairs of wings in a divine manner, with important rays of light coming out of their open mouth and heart.
Pushing doors, Azykan reveals the enormous room behind them. The first thing one can see inside of it, is a grand Altar big enough for even a great dragon to lay on it. Looking more on the sides of the room, one can spot many long rods of noble metals and precious alloys followed by smaller altars.
Approaching steadily the center, the three great dragons only look before them where the Altar is. With Ayirn and Azykan stepping to the side, Akhanta can lay the young dragon she holds on the cold and mystical mirror that is the Altar's surface.
As she is about to leave, Darkstalker stares at her, his face expressing incomprehension and betrayal. Despite his confusion and weakened state, the nightwing felt and saw enough of everything that happened to him to know he was and is still being used, his suffering mattering little in this plan of their he starts to get glimpses of.
The enormous dragoness only stays one second more than necessary before stepping to the side like the others. Now that all the pieces are in place, the Ritual can begin. Standing up and raising her front talons, Ayirn loads her two paws with more and more essences until the room is illuminated by her inner power. It doesn't take long for the potent essences to touch and spread over all the metallic rods like a fire that lit every candles.
The seer can only watch the ominous spectacle as he is powerless and at the center of stage, he has no doubt about that, looking at any of the three mind clearly confirms the role he play in all of that. Resigned to his fate, the night dragon tries to ignore what is happening and closes his eyes, hoping that this moment would passes faster and with the least pain possible.
However, he realizes he wishes in vain as the magical and powerful dragoness comes to him, her paws bursting with bright essences getting closer to him.
Now that Ayirn is above him in all of her terrifying glory, Darkstalker feels something incredibly strong in his mind, rivalling with the small sun of essences inside him, Terror. Fear for his life as he sees instinctively his situation as similar to one where a dragon is about to be executed.
With his mind set on fire by his feelings, the nightwing can't stop himself from imagining he is powerless and doomed in this last moment, like his father was when the last enchantment was put on him. A grim moment where one can only think about the fatal mistakes that led him or her to this nightmare.
In his maddening train of thoughts, the young one doesn't pay attention to what is happening until an otherworldly and bending fire struck all of his being, triggering the rawest and loudest of screams from him, one that would be heard by anyone, if not for the noises of the Power itself being unleashed…
As silence returns and marks the end of the Ritual, a shaking Akhanta takes back the burned night dragon, his black scales tainted by a piercing blue reminiscent of the tremendous power that has been applied to him. His whole body is still warm, maybe a bit too hot for one to hold it, but the great dragoness doesn't ease her grip on Darkstalker.
On the contrary, she keeps him close to her scales like a mother would, and starts to leave the unforgettable room with the two other great dragon, their business having been finished...