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Chapter 10: Calm returning for the young one
Darkstalker's mind is clearer now that enough time has passed, his tears having dried while he stands once again, a testament of his will reforming...
- "Darkstalker" Says simply the great dragoness, her voice almost a whisper but made to be heard as her blue eyes stares at the unshaken little one.
Seeing all is going well, Akhanta decides to speak further, choosing to be a bit louder while lowering her gigantic, moving closer to his side.
"Mylmyl hute olum yl foldaruk zait uthutias kumista. Lieju uthu surh lihotu sif ghyt kalup nestoq yth?" Tells the dragoness, leaning a little into him as she pronounces her second sentence, having in mind for the young seer to follow her, but letting him time to decide.
Looking at the ground, deep in thoughts, the night dragon then rises his head to look all around him, allowing himself to be partially distracted the relatively dull room they are in…
No furniture, just a table to lay on, and nothing else. It's hard to believe I was put in such a room… Thinks Darkstalker before turning back, facing once again the giant dragoness.
What else is there to do but follow you? Thinks the nightwing as his eyes quickly look away for a short time. Better to accept it than not, there really isn't any better option. Concludes the dark hybrid, taking a step forward to show his acceptance.
"Yth ykane uthu toijyl." Says Akhanta, a faint smile appearing on her face before she stands up to turn her imposing form.
Seeing the great dragoness beginning to walk to the giant doors the young one joins her at his own slower pace, his talon steps being unable to match those of an adult, let alone a giant's ones… Waiting for him to arrive at the entrance, the dark blue one then pushes the two doors open with her massive front talons, revealing a corridor she enters in just after having finished, with Darkstalker following behind with some distance between them, but not too much...
Hearing only their talon-steps, the two dragons progress silently in the building, with the dragoness never forgetting to watch over him, and the night dragon focusing on what is drawn on the wall, taking his mind off to something he starts to be intrigued by. Gigantic drawings depicting many things, something he can somewhat understand compared to an otherworldly text…
Three dragons in the center standing like they were royalty with the many others dragons either bowing or standing to them. The many individuals and their tall buildings spreading over the world, with some fighting at the edge what seems to be wild life. And at the top of the houses stand dragons with their wings unfolded, guiding and holding trails of symbols.
Continuing further in the scene as both walk, Darkstalker sees a palace over which two dragons fight, each representing a side of the kingdom. In the background, some cry, probably being friends or family of the fighting figures due to their similar clothing. As for below the scene, under the earth, there is a titanic dragon with four eyes and four wings like the one he saw before, totally asleep...
Realizing the young one is staring at the many scenes on the walls, the great dragoness lets him in peace, content he is in better shape than before and now getting glimpses of their history.
So this world had a kingdom full of people similar to us… But it seems that unlike in Pyrrhia, something made all of that and more disappear, how interesting…
Turning back to look at the dark blue dragoness for a moment, the nightwing observes her with scrutiny as he quickly comes to the conclusion that such a being can not come from a normal dragon developing naturally, at least not if the dragons that lived there were similar enough to the ones in his world. Could it be dragons from that realm have more power, more potential? Yet the individual drawn are normal ones, with their size being limited...
And what is their powers? The essences they hold and manipulate, it's like animus magic in some way, except one will move his body and put a lot more will into a strong unleashing instead of thinking or telling a spell, at least that's what I saw. As for the little sun I have deep inside me, it seems to be a source of magic similar to their own, as they seem to see and understand it...
Understand it enough that theymight have something to it last time. But do they even care if I am ready and well? Is my well being not necessary in the process? The questions makes the nightwing freezes, despite how much he wants to forget what was done to him, the thought of him struggling again like that can not be silenced, and the terror it evokes paralyses him completely, with his heart suddenly beating so much faster.
Seeing the night dragon in that state, Akhanta legitimately worries and stops. Leaning her head, she tries to determine the cause of problem. The shaking body and heavy breathing support her doubts, he is terrorised, likely about being burned by the essences last time, a repeat of the strongest bad experience she saw him have.
Assuming he will not come back to reality after a good moment, the giant dragoness takes him and keeps him close to her belly. He will complain if he wants to later, she can handle way more than that and can always leave him alone if that is what he needs, but for now, he really needs to be snapped out to reality.
Marching steadily and faster now that she holds Darkstalker, the great dragoness quickly arrives at the entrance where she prepares to soar into the black sky. With one powerful beat of her wings and the use of some essences, the enormous entity is now in the air, leaving behind the Pyramid and going to where her objective is, far from her house, far from her kins, far…
.
Coming back to his senses in the middle of Akhanta's flight, the young one begins to feel anger but also fear, the situation he is in could quickly devolve into her bringing him to a second tormenting ritual, or that is what his mind thinks could happen. Being so close to the great dragoness, the nightwing can not shake his feeling that something is wrong, that he is powerless and transported to an altar or something similar.
Despite the adverse reaction he has to her, the night dragon tries to calm himself and relax, knowing he needs that before his mind can properly work and focus, knowing that panicking will not bring anything good.
Realizing that his body is far from being weak despite being hold tightly against the dark blue scale of a giant, the nightwing looks around him to find something, anything that could help him, but putting aside the numerous tower bringing light to the lands, there is absolutely nothing else of interest...
Realizing how futile it is to hope for an escape to his situation, except in the risky way of blasting his holder, Darkstalker decides after a few moments to calm himself, then search for a feeling of peace or happiness, and finds a part of himself, the one inside his heart wishing for love and affection no matter where it comes from.
Realizing he still has an affectionate link with Akhanta, the night dragon starts after waiting so long in silence to follow… Despite his reluctance, little by little, he grows more accepting of the giant dragoness, his fear and anger taking time to diminish but fading in the end... The seer's mind is now clearer, but instead of focusing like he said to himself before, he decides to let the flow of feelings continue.
Holding her scales a bit tighter, the nightwing can sense how she acknowledges him in her mind, regaining more motherly and loving colours, marking the unity of the two. And it surprises him how much he holds on to her as he lets himself the chance, but on another talon, it makes perfect sense. The one he lost and suffered the most because of it has always been his mother. He felt more alone than ever after that her final disappearance.
And now that he thinks of it, there never really was anyone in his life that could be a mother figure to fill the gaping hole in his heart. Even just potentially, there was no one for him. So now that he finds out a dragoness that can play the role, he can not stay totally indifferent, no matter how hard he tries to. It may not be healthy, but now that Darkstalker saw the genuine care and affection in Akhanta, it seems he will have this dilemma, to accept her or not, and it will play again each time they are close enough…
Spotting another mind from far away, the seer slowly refocuses on reality and what he seems to see as their destination, nine great rods holding essences in pure form. Wait, how do I know that? Checking his altered future sight, the nightwing see the importance of these rods persisting, what they have at their top making them unforgettable. So my foresight still warns me like before, but instead of presenting a future, it presents essences…
As they approach, the two dragons can see the rods are forming a circle, delimiting an area where the ground is made of flat and polished chunks. But more surprising for the young one is the presence of another great dragon, one that is black and white. It must be the fifth great dragon, the one I haven't encountered yet. I hope that one doesn't make things worst, but I should probably prepare myself for it.
Trying to analyses the dragon's mind at this distance, Darkstalker does not make out anything. That one must be calm enough that the distance between us silence his or her thoughts to me. Maybe Akhanta can give me some insight…
Watching her mind, the seer begins to have a better idea about who the fifth is. He is a great dragon covered in black feather except on his belly where his white and light blue scales are exposed. From her memories, the young one sees he breathes ice like an icewing, but to a much greater extent, almost spreading ice and snow a much as he can with not just his breath but also his whole body and his magic.
What? Why is that? Is it a sort of wild icewing? As if I needed a reminder of my enemies…
After a moment, the great dragoness slows down her flight once she enters in the circle marked by the large powerful rods, and takes the time to land gracefully before putting the nightwing down on her left side. Seeing his new guests arriving, the feathered black dragon reacts more calmly than expected, at least for Darkstalker. He simply stares at them, his expression neutral if not for his faint grin.
- "Woukoshei Kraydirn." Says simply the great dragoness, her voice and the feelings coming to her mind making the seer thinks her words are good one.
- "Woukoshei Akhanta, yth holcu uthu muka yl toijyl oem uthutias genuf." Replies the dragon of black and ice as he partially extends his feathered wings, his voice being deep but soft, casual, as if he was welcoming his kin and the little nightwing as well.
The dark blue giant nods and walks closer, leaving the young one behind. The nightwing could follow, but he is wary enough of that new individual to keep his distance and wait for more informations to come.
- "Uthu kenib ujaie yth wuteri, Darkstalker okut nolmui kes boun prietan thotias olmukara."
- "Yth gynhim, yth hute esfim sif yl noneij zeites." Replies Kraydirn, agreeing to her words with no delay.
Seeing the night dragon behind, the great dragoness was about to push him forward when she stops the idea, he can stay there if he wants to. And while he only analyses the situation, the feathered beast of black and ice approaches him step by step. Being of such size like the others, it does not take long for him to be as close to the young one as the dark blue dragoness. Instinctively scared, the nightwing recoils a bit, his adrenaline returning.
Not missing the change in behaviour of the little one, Akhanta unfolds her wing between the two, making Kraydirn stepping back without question. Then, she positions herself at the side to better watch them and lays down, as does the great other, leaving Darkstalker surprised and without goal. To solve his situation, the seer inspects both minds, seeking what they want of him for now, just to be sure.
The great dragoness' mind has not changed that much, she is as calm in her head as she appears to be from the outside, still thinks a lot of him as he is near her, and does not seems to have some big plan for his being. She can't hide such an ulterior motive, anything being similar to the ritual I was the center of would be too important in one's mind. I was just careless last time, I let myself be overwhelmed by the event, maybe if I had realized what was going on…
Focus Darkstalker, please. Looking at Kraydirn's mind, the nightwing sees strong desires and feelings, as well as essences. Are essences influencing the mind and are linked to it? Maybe… But what is astonishing, is the complete control the dragon of black and snow has over all of that. Such powerful emotions, such power wanting to be unleashed and freed that anything near his body seems to be cooled down, like the ground he stands on, but the great one's mind is an unbreakable wall that seems to block anything...
As time passes, both great dragons have no important change in their mind, they just rest and stare at him as well as casting glances at the other, undisturbed. But the night dragon does not feel good where he is, even if nothing is happening at all, the lasting silence makes him confront his feeling of solitude and lack of safety. Not being able to handle that any longer, the young one decides to discretely go closer to the only one he can partially trust.
Seeing his unsure little act, Akhanta takes the time to chuckle a bit internally before regaining a more adequate stance. As he is about to arrive, the gigantic dragoness extends a wing over him and stops him instantly. After a moment of hesitance, Darkstalker goes straight to her side, almost touching her skin as he realizes there is no one to shame him for being closer to a very different other.
Being a bit more distant, Kraydirn watches the interaction between both dragons unfolding, and it makes him content. It may not seem like much, but with how miraculous the arrival of that night dragon is, a bit of peace and comfort is the least he deserves. And is even necessary for the future of everyone...