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Chapter 36: The second part of a long journey into the lands of almost nothing
Arriving at the center of the crater, the dragon of black feathers stops, his giant form halting his movement and making a final step on the floor of grey rocks. Standing up, the great one has now only one idea in his mind, to whiten the land with ice and snow…
Catching his breath, the dragon of winter starts to unfold his black wings as his chest accumulates more and more exited essences. But halfway through the process, another stands before him, her green and blue form speaking with both desperation and authority.
- "Kraydirn, pelyley konles. Ghyt heia ylfuz jyin uthutias ekyzu tunis heia fuste heij th moxon."
Halting his action, the great dragon only moves his blue eyes to stare into Ayirn's own, the expression he bears still one of partial fury, the reflection of his repressed feeling having begun to crack his hard and cold exterior. But the magical one does not flinch, having seen that part of him enough times before, and being determined to face whatever madness could take hold of him...
Extending a talon to keep the little nightwing behind her, distant enough from her kins to not risk anything, the other great dragoness steps forward, her will to solve the situation and resonate her kin matching that of Ayirn… Settling at his side, the dark blue kin stares at his still menacing stance with piercing eyes, her head and wings raised to tell she will not step back.
- "Ythias utnay ryna, niulte kes kotuf ythetias ifyat. Uthutias opeit eiuf heia ajek sulma peuj heij ythe tunis ghyt ymiltu." Tells Akhanta, her voice firm but becoming more compassionate like her face...
Switching his gaze back and forth between his two kins, Kraydirn's thoughts shift quickly, and slowly, his anger at what the very land he stands on represents diminishes until the two occupy more place in his mind than anything else… Standing down on four talons, the great dragon folds them to lower his giant body even more as he partially drapes his feathered wings. Still looking at the two dragoness, the great one's face is now more regretful than anything.
- "Nelkemu prita ythias zesrukal, yl olcan ust wolmkaren ajek pemku aftomer iole tunis sekanote kes muralupe ythias ekyzu…" Says the dragon of winter, his voice lowering and having lost too much strength to stand against a kin, let alone two.
Remaining silent and almost immobile for a while, the young Darkstalker watches Akhanta extending a wing to cover her feathered kin's back, wanting nothing more than to comfort him like Ayirn who settled closer to his side, her beautiful form surrounding his own while she glances at him, her eyes telling about how relieved she is that the great dragon has calmed himself from a fury she knew so much about its intense origin...
A moment later, Kraydirn stands up, his refocused mind making him ready for what him and his two kins planned and talked about since their journey. Making a few steps to the side, the great dragon creates just enough distance between the dragoness to perform an important ritual.
Taking a step backward, the young night dragon watches the three great beings preparing to unleash their own power, unfolding their wings progressively and rising their head as their scales take on an aura of pure essences that increases in intensity…
It takes a few long minutes for the combined powers to be freed with a bit of guidance, but in the end, the grey land everyone stand on becomes tainted with faint shades of colours as essences fall on the area similarly to snowflakes…
Feeling oddly better now, Darkstalker waits serenely as the three draconic giants turns back once they took the time to catch their breath... Walking toward him while her magical kin stays close to the feathered one, the dark blue dragoness is deeply thinking of the crater they are on, its history and how to tell, teach, inform the little one about all of that.
You can try, I will certainly listen and follow you Akhanta.
Doing a few steps of his own, the night hybrid maintains his more peaceful and content attitude as the two become closer and closer, their eyes looking into the ones of the other, interested for different reasons but sharing the same will…
Slowing down and then stopping as her front talon is as close to the little nightwing as she can without risking of crushing him, Akhanta partially lays down her dark blue form before speaking to him, her voice quieter and serene even if the young seer can see a doubt in a corner of her mind, one not for him but for the feathered kin...
- "Darkstalker, ignum yth."
Nodding in answer to the three words she chose after realizing she would not be able to explain everything, Darkstalker follows at the great dragoness' side, getting closer to the pair of kins that are still discussing personal matters, things he gets are very important to them, all the while he watches over the thoughtful mind of his giant caretaker...
Halting her march halfway through, Akhanta turns her head, facing the little one as an idea comes to her mind… Extending one of her massive talons to the side, all in front of him, the mystical dragoness rises only two claws before a small cloud of essences manifests under them. But wanting to show more, she plunges the claws into the ground in an instant, digging into the stone with no fear of damaging them or even her fingers.
Retrieving her paw somewhat violently, the great dragoness leaves out a nasty mark on the spot that Darkstalker steps forward to better look at. What he sees is different from what he expected… Instead of having a thin layer of colours followed by another being homogenous and grey one, the freshly made trace reveals beneath two thin layers a third one that is more of an amalgamation of distinct rocks and even crystals surrounded by dust.
Somewhat surprise that such is the nature of the very land he stands on, and almost starting to regret having forgotten what he learnt in geology class, the young nightwing senses the grand draconic entity moving him, and turns his head to realize Akhanta curled her body around his own, and now faces him with an anticipating gaze, her mind thinking of what he must thinks...
"Idesnu toijyl." Orders the dragoness as she moves her enormous form, repositioning herself before charging her paw with power, the idea of testing and manipulating the ground coming to her mind.
Stepping backward, the night dragon watches as the powerful being rises her paw loaded with essences, bringing with it part of the earth that rises as a sort of molten mass… Cooling it down the moment she stops using her powers, the dragoness shatters the new glassy rock with the strength of her paw, blowing away countless little fragments with a cloud of shining dust...
Observing what is left around her for a long moment, Akhanta concludes to herself with some satisfaction in her mind despite her almost neutral expression.
"Iole ajek vulnat jykon." Tells the dragoness to herself as she rubs a small bit of her creation with a claw.
Turning her head suddenly, the draconic giant begins to walk toward her two kins who seem to still be talking, leaving Darkstalker to wonder as he follows her quietly...
Arriving close to the pair of great dragons, the dark blue one introduces herself to draw the attention of her kins while the little nightwing keeps himself closely behind her front talon, letting her act without him doing anything to distract her.
"Kraydirn, Ayirn, lieju uthue surh lihotu prita ythetias toij uceixt? Iti lieju pratus aftomer alkary yth pyteya kenib?" Asks Akhanta while her eyes scrutinize them, the doubt about her feathered kin still lingering in her mind.
Turning their head, both dragons change expression as they face their kin, with the magical one showing some form of agreement while the feathered one still hesitates, but finally nods after casting a quick glance at his partner. Now on the same page, the three great dragons prepare their second act together, putting the small one quite far from them before starting by departing their own way to mark the ground with a continuous blast of their power, fracturing it deeper than one would think…
Settling on his spot, the young dragon watches how the draconic giants crudely but with immense powers manipulate the earth as if it was fully their own, wounding, shaking, fracturing it as a way to make it ready for the next step of their plan.
Coming back to the center, the trio of exceptional dragons stands up, becoming ready for an ambitious ritual the seer can easily understand. Unfolding their wings, the great dragons draw essences from their core that after being guided by their front talons, apply a force over the cracked earth that pulls out chunks of it and crams them into what has vaguely the shape of a cylinder, one that grows with time to become bigger than the three great ones combined...
That is… quite impressive, I'll admit that, especially considering you still all retain the vast majority of your energy…
To think there are animi that have accomplished far less than that with their magic during all of their life… I don't know if I should be more impressed by you three than disappointed by them… No, I am more disappointed by these ones, their lack of achievements tells how much they submitted, be it willingly or not.
Such misery and shortcomings for a force so powerful…
It shouldn't be like that, and I shall make sure of it. When the day I become king of my tribe and then Pyrrhia in its entirety finally come, magic and the dragons who have it will be treated respectfully and given the place they deserve into the great kingdom of Pyrrhia…
Having finished their crude work, the trio takes a short moment to catch their breath as they stand down... Casting one last glance at each others and exchanging a few sentences, the magical dragoness climbs over their raw creation to arrive on its top while her two kins begins to draw lines of symbols in circles, giving to the ground below them a bit of their essences each time they make a step with their giant body…
The need to write to make a spell… or a ritual in that case. If I couldn't sense the energy used in all of your work, I would have considered the hypothesis your magic was unlimited like mine, that you just need to write the spell over something like a scroll…
Still a powerful magic though, and since I was apparently healed from serious injuries, almost a fatal state if not outright death, I can only attest of its influence.
…
But when I woke up in this world, I fully healed, on my own, without even my order… Is it… possible…? I still remember how much I suffered from my body being butchered by Clearsight's enchanted bracelet, so I must have been more than fatally wounded…
And yet, I woke up in peace, with a body not having even a single wound as if I was reborn, with only roots of oily and glowy matter. Was that my powers, my very essences saving me?
For a moment, Darkstalker tries to entirely focus on himself, gradually growing indifferent to what happens around him as he tries to feel the most he can from his very being…
He sun is always there, acting as the nexus of all essences flowing in him, burning and giving light, little but powerful if not endless like a divine spark.
What burns deep inside me would never want to be extinguished, its power would remain or at least fight back if something or someone tries to dim it. It is the truth, I can only accept that fact.
If my flame is so stubborn, I guess it would not give up on me even if I was dying, so maybe it has saved me…? It must have done it, no matter how slow it was, it must have regenerated me. And it continues to do it, though the great dragons must have surely helped it…
Coming back to reality, the young nightwing looks all over the body that he now has, to realize once again how much that part of his being has changed, accommodating to the presence of powerful essences…
His scales are no longer black like the last time he was is Pyrrhia, but have a bluish taint with veins that surround them, though these are smaller than last time. His icy scales are also more numerous and branching out, as if his icewing heritage was taking more hold on him, while a new pair of horns is growing at the back of his head, but trying to look at it without a mirror is a lost cause…
Rubbing the skin of his talon to feel more of a difference, Darkstalker realizes once again the softness of it, though it is a bit harder this time. Turning his head to gaze upon his chest and belly illuminated by the still ongoing work of the great ones, the night dragon spots a web of veins and flows of essences centred around his chest, where his heart is to beat continuous. That is nothing surprising, but what is however, is how visible the nexus of power is, colouring his skin so much not a single scale is entirely black around it.
Yes, it heals me, pushes me to grow constantly, no matter what I say. Truly a power that applies his will to its wearer… And maybe what one would want more than anything. Having power is one thing, having it helping you on its own and being a fundamental part of yourself is another, surely preferable thing.
It may be one of the reason why so many animi died without accomplishing anything worthy of their power. Putting aside the taboo, animus magic can only be felt when one uses it or when one is near an enchanted "body", making it possible to be entirely disconnected from one's power…
Maybe I shouldn't have made that scroll, or I should have made an object I would always wear so my magic remained with me without fearing for my soul…
But do I truly like my new form now?
To answer that question, Darkstalker starts by moving each of his body parts, contract and extend each muscle from head to tail, trying to feel their use and to spot their flaws if they have some…
Not something I can be displeased of, and for now and as long as I do nothing more than walking, that's enough.
Trying some more intense physical exercises, the young hybrid starts to run, forcing his talons to be more active as he quickly repeat the more taxing movement, all before taking smaller angles, ordering his body to make far more stressful actions again and again…
Not bad at all, though the fact there is nothing in this land of grey stone does help… Now time to pass to my wings.
Unfolding his wings while still running, the dragon of night attempts to soar in the sky as quickly as he can, flapping his wings with growing strength, but limiting his use of essences to the strict minimum naturally occurring… After a few moments of making stronger and stronger movements, Darkstalker finds himself soaring after gliding one last time, gaining enough momentum to start his flight even if he remains no father than a few meters above the ground…
Slowly but surely gaining altitude, the nightwing sort of take a break as he just maintain his height, doing slow and unambitious manoeuvrers, and taking the time to watch over the three draconic giants remaking their big mass of rocks into a tower that already got his flame at the top.
And not so surprisingly, it is Ayirn who seems to excel in the matter of essences manipulation, doing the most of all tasks involving enough of them with relative ease, despite her two kins being already far more competent than the one who watches them...
It has only been what? Ten minutes? Twenty?
If that's the case, and it is, then they seem to work fast… Surely they must have more than raw strength, though it wasn't hard to determine considering all the creation I saw from them…
Refocusing on testing his changing body, Darkstalker prepares his breath, channelling both the power he had before coming to this desolate worlds and the new one to unleash a bright fire before him as he glide… While it is far from being the strongest one he can make, that flame is still a fierce one, hotter than a normal one and fully tainted by an otherworldly power, or maybe it is just an explicit aspect of one he already had since his birth.
Satisfied by his action, the young one lands with relative grace on the lifeless earth, taking a few seconds to relax his form before regaining his stance, eager to test more of his body and its limits…
- "Lieju uthu surh feshur ghyt..."
Halting his action, Darkstalker turns back to gaze upon a great dragoness watching him with her two kins.
- "Tho pyteya surh gystisun thomej, jteqimune ikul arhu ythe." Replies the magical one, speaking just before the feathered one can.
Reflecting on that answer for a few seconds, Akhanta begins to walk toward him, almost chuckling at the idea of him, a young one, training alone and having fun like a dragonet, like the little ones she took care of so long ago… Refocusing on more important matters when she arrives in front of him, the great dragoness only has a few words to say.
- "Ignum yth."
Nodding in return, Darkstalker walks alongside her, thoughtful about the dark blue one and her kins.
So is that how tower are built, or at least how a crude version of it is? Good, but That still don't teach me anything new about their purpose. Apart from being lighthouses, what is there to them…?
Looking at the raw structure illuminating the center of the crater, the young nightwing remembers how much he tried to get a reason for coming here, but got nothing except vague images of an immense explosion and bright flash of light before this area was desolate. And now, he only has more questions than before.
Why did they build a tower now? Why not before? Was it to show me how a tower was built? Yet they knew I could almost never understand complex ideas in their language… I mean even Akhanta was annoyed at that difficulty…
Did they just do that because they poorly planned?
- "Toijyl."
Snapping back to reality as he is being called out, Darkstalker prepares himself as the great dragons seem to think of soaring again to reach their next destination, the ruins of remains of what is left of an ancient civilization that was the dragon Kingdom, or at least a part of it...
"Jykon, ikul lieju uthu okutes olmukara sif zaven u zamit?" Asks the dark blue giant as she takes off the scarf of her tail, taking and showing him the two gems full of essences.
Nodding, the night dragon touches only the spiralling stone with his paw, feeling a more pleasing sensation as some of its energy pours into him to fill the lack created by what he has spent before… Retrieving the gems and putting them back into the piece of fabric she has no difficulty tying around her tail, Akhanta finds the little dragon climbing on her body as expected.
Casting one last glance at her kins that confirms everyone is ready, the great dragoness prepares herself, jumps with her massive talons and then soars into the sky, followed by her kins… Now flying in the pitch black sky except for the dim light of fire and a moon far too weak to be more than a spark when it comes to illuminate the whole world, the three great dragons begins the next step of their journey, travelling to the pathetic remains of a kingdom…
.
It has been at least an hour that they have been flying, and during all that time, Darkstalker did not find a lot concerning their destination, the mind of the great ones and their tongue making it far too difficult for the young seer to make out complex and accurate ideas from them. So in the meantime, he has to occupy himself with what he has, himself and the great dragons around him talking.
That world truly is nothing to such an extent… Well, better be bored and annoyed than crazy and in despair.
At least they seem to be immune to boredom, it is a wonder how long they can talk before running out of topics, I know they are close and it seems they would always support each others one way or another, but…
What a pathetic mockery of a realm. Was it your intent to banish me there so I would suffer the most? Was that your little plan Fathom and Clearsight? It doesn't matter, one day I'll come back, and with the power and knowledge I will have, you two will never be enough to stop me!
.
At least another hour has passed, and the nightwing now finds himself just listening to others' thoughts and feelings to mitigate the boring emptiness of the world they travel through. If he ever wanted to look back, the young one would only see lands and a sky retaining a few lights and nothing else…
- "Akhanta…" Calls out Darkstalker as he still holds the scarf of her chest tightly, the wind created by the great one going through the air being such that a harsh movement of her giant body could throw him off if he is not careful…
- "Ko Darkstalker?" Asks the dragoness shifting her focus on him, all the while drawing the attention of others.
Thinking for a short moment, the little nightwing decides to ask about something with the few words of their tongue he knows and hopes for the best.
- "Lieju ajek Ankonalmirh?"
Confused at first like her curious kins, Akhanta quickly understands what he asked about, and knowing the young dragon can see her mind, the great dragoness answers in her tongue naturally, colouring her mind with words but also feelings and vivid images, memories and other iterations of concepts related to the First dragon...
- "Ankonalmirh ajek yl Sazne dolmukaran, yl ekylfom, alkara kes esterunyl dolmukaren ueris iole hute olmiru tumok jyin thu hute yneia." Says the dark blue giant, having in her mind the glorious image of a dragon with four eyes and four wings, glorious, majestic and seemingly incredibly powerful, but whose aura dimmed out as they fell, becoming a decaying corpse that slowly but surely became the very lands that would be blessed with life.
- "Thu hute yneia sif nolmytu yl ceytne, ikul Zhuy surh pemku nestoq ythe, kes uyl osmylu, ythe yenuv usazit Zhuy zait ageytu kes sekanol." Says Ayirn, first to herself and whispering, but at the end of her sentence, her voice has become loud and strong enough to be heard, like her faith in the dragon god and the desire to meet them fully alive and magnificent.
Concluding from a silent moment of reflection and hesitation, Kraydirn enters the conversation with a deep voice, partially surprising Darkstalker but no one else.
- "Ko, ythe yenuv moxon Ankonalmirh vaieb… Jyin ythetias tumok surh aleskuen, ythe eiuf yafin yl sefrit ust thutias useris, oje ythe eiuf muka yl mopeus kes olmukara afcunet." Declares the feathered one, looking forward to the day their ambition to restore the world and then reborn the First dragon bears fruits. As for how they will do that? The powerful light of crystals filled to the brim with essences is the greatest hint...
- "Astemilu, ikul feldim sif surh olina, yth muka yl zikosen yl azexi yl toijyl temit ythe sif feinat ajek muvol yl crumesen..." Replies Akhanta, believing like him that they are close to something, but heavily doubting it will stop there, especially when they had their discussion in the Laboratory, wondering about the new world of possibilities the essences brought by Darkstalker allow them to enter, as well as the idea of other worlds existing.
- "Uthutias ifultu ajek aeisto ythias ryna, th ajek zult yl crumesen, kes almu yl ywultean ythe eiuf jiltum, yth surh misyt ythe tunis alest kalup peuj usijiltum heij ythe hute jukin." Adds Ayirn, starting her sentence with the conclusion of her judgement on her kin's last action, before agreeing with her on all the possibilities they will be able to explore soon, her mind trying to picture a world full of life, but different from their own when it was alive.
- "Alest kalup… Yihe ythe esfim omus u leaqis tumok, yth eiuf ghyt almeku cuxt th feldim yl olmukara ust yl enutaj. Ibem prita u tumok omku fekurar prita ythias eduni, yth kemos uyl soumeiuf nalteo ythias vikymun..." Adds Kraydirn, his voice both partially relaxed but also full of ambition and seriousness at times, while his mind and heart burns with the desire to bring winter to the lands they never saw before.
- "Ythe ouery zait yl noneij jienum, aletru eduni kes xefi ghyt heia asfutary tezail ozeim… Cuxt aqerh uthu soumvu yenuv surh kalup osheko." Says the magical dragoness, mercilessly making the feathered one remember that the Pyramid they live is not a palace of ice and snow.
- "Uthu surh smena, ikul ythias ulkerany surh heia velt moliahen eishaen." Replies Kraydirn, his voice getting exaggerated as he reaches the end of his sentence.
- "Yl ulkerany ust u vynordo, velt varke sif teliake… Yth genjum pratus zult ythe sif osheko u leaqis." Tells Akhanta, her voice quieter in a way that it is hard to conclude if she speak to herself or others, having in mind the concept of pride and ambition, and how only a kin can rival another, not that there is any normal dragon left alive to test that idea...
- "Ikul ythe ajek vynure, ythe ajek heij ajek litysan ust ythetias azyrtu jyin ythe eiuf folgyst zait foldurhun th, ythe eiuf aserky omus thee." Says Ayirn after hearing the dragoness' words, thinking of how high in power and status they are now, and that if their kind ever comes back, the Five being more than kings and queens is an obvious conclusion.
- "Yihe ythe ajek vynordo kes vynorda, aquj lieju Darkstalker ajek ythetias vinordo?" Asks Akhanta with a more joking tone, chuckling internally at though of the little nightwing being a prince, all dressed up in ceremonious clothes and surrounded by her and her kins on an absurdly decorated stage.
- "Feshur ajek u vinordo soumeiuf otije yl toijyl muperhat ythetias sekanol, ythetias olmukara kes u egado zait ythetias iponz oje u efuteu kes fenyo." Answers the feathered kin, giving serious consideration about such a question, but not answering it with words nor gestures though in his mind the decision is made, the otherworldly one is too close to them to be ignored.
- "Ythe almu kenib yl xetiso surh elaje, iti ifors ythe soumeiuf heia surh velt ikus sif tho. Kes th ajek heia oje iole ultuma surh temnyl, ythe hute mylfus cerux sif olmiru ythetias vinorda sylis almu." Adds the magical one, putting into words what everyone thought as well as adding an example in her argument, the image of a princess that will be born and of her egg of a fleshy cocoon she is in appearing in her mind...
- "Ikarh?"
To the little one finally speaking for once, Akhanta immediately starts to shift her attention to him, then her two kins follow before they reflect on what he said.
- "Ikarh ajek yl tekel ust yl ueris uthu hute moxon zait yl Yfushka..." Says the attentive dragoness he is on, picturing the dragoness that has yet to be born and remembering the time he was with her in the deepest room.
- "Zu hute kara Za Zutias sekanol kes olmukara Darkstalker. Lieju uthu kasarh sif kenib heij iole ghyt ust Ikarh?" Says Ayirn having turned her head, her tone far more targeted at the young nightwing and personal, surprising both of her kins with that shift of attitude.
"Za ajek Zutias fenya kes pilmea."
Marked by the vivid images of his essences and blood being fed into that fleshy shell-less egg, the absolute concept of family and the image of the dragoness that hatched being at his side, all appearing clearly in the speaker's mind, Darkstalker freezes, becoming unaware of his surrounding as his mind is directly thrown into an array speculation, where powerful concepts and the feelings they evoke clash…
"Cuxt uthu tunis eximn zikos ythetias kumista sif vawrie u qirit…" Tells the magical one more to herself than others, interested but somewhat detached from the situation while Kraydirn now approaches the little nightwing and focuses his gaze on his closed eyes, and Akhanta's heart is beating slightly faster as worry starts to creep in...
- "Ayirn! Heij you uthu hute ghyt?" Asks the dragoness bearing the little one as powerful and chaotic thoughts make him unable to really stand.
- "Yth hefum th ajek thatias opeit, ikul thatias ifultu iole peraken yl toijyl." Answers the feathered kin, giving his understanding of the situation.
To his response, the great dragoness takes a moment to think while the young dragon starts to recover his will…
- "Darkstalker... Lieju uthu surh masne?" Asks Kraydirn now as close as he can to him, his black wing almost touching that of Akhanta, while his voice is deep but not distant nor ominous.
- "I… Yth…"
- "Heia okutes sif xetis yth, muvol lumu u fefmyl prita uthu yihe iole ajek heij uthu okutes." Replies the feathered great dragon, wanting for him to rest before he is ready to do anything else, his gaze a kinder one despite the piercing blue of his eyes.
Fully coming back to his senses, the young nightwing strengthen his grip on the dragoness' scarf, his will now in far better shape with all his thoughts about Ikarh and the feelings they create being tamed and pushed back. Taking a breath and blinking a few times, Darkstalker then stares at the dragon of black and ice, his face showing his recovery…
"Tha moxon, iole ajek heij tho hute okutes." Says the feathered giant to Akhanta who starts to calm down while Ayirn watches her and the little one attentively, taking note in her mind of his reaction...
- "Ythias ryna…" Says the dark blue dragoness, her eyes somewhat accusatory as she gazes upon the green and blue kin.
"Yihe heij uthu kasarh sif zaptoe ajek omku alkary, hefum ysil jakuhun!" Tells the dragoness, more than irritated at the incautiousness of her kin, the memories of the otherworldly one being conquered by fear, pain, anger, hatred, sadness and madness resurging in her mind.
To her words, there only silence as Ayirn decides to keep her mouth shut and partially turns her head away while Kraydirn remains close to the dragoness who has spoken, his normally more neutral face bearing a distinctly sober expression with his eyes looking down even if the seer can see he stays attentive to his kins.
And so it is in silence that the three great dragons continue their flight, leaving a curious and shocked Darkstalker to grasp at their mind having shifted…
.
It has been at least half an hour that has passed, and finally, the vague shape of what their destination is supposed to be appears in sight, illuminated by a group of six towers holding a flame like all the ones they saw before, but almost do not see anymore as they have travelled far enough…
With each of the three great ones having a growing eagerness as they approaches the end of their flight, they all keep a more serious and professional stance, at least preparing themselves mentally and having in mind a concrete way to land… And soon enough they succeed in that desired act, flapping their giant and magnificent wings as well as making their body dance in the air the right way to, in the end, put their four legs over the ground.
Laying down her body so the little hybrid has an easier time climbing down, Akhanta quickly regains her stance and walks alongside her kins to the barely standing backbone of structures long gone, expect for the six towers around and a big single building at the center of these vaguely recognizable masses of rocks… Unsurprisingly, the sight of such remains is not something the warms up the nightwing's heart, but at least it is ancient and decayed enough that it would be difficult for him to feel uneasy by imagining what has been lost, even if he wanted to…
- "Muvol ignum ythe toijyl, uthu eiuf muka mylmyl sif bastot azeiw almu ust iole itzue, zait yl tupein." Says the dark blue giant to Darkstalker, continuing to walk steadily with the grand building at the center of her sight.
Following her with only the sounds of talon-steps to hear, the young one looks around him nervously, his watchful eyes coming back to Ayirn and Kraydirn a few times, to see if their behaviour shifts from their more neutral one, as the seer can see the many thoughts that sprout in their mind.
Thoughts that are about this place, about what it used to be, how they reacted when they came to it after the world's destruction, what they have done to it, and of course what they may do here... The images of a glorious temple full of wealth and dragons roaming around appear in each of the great dragons' mind, but only briefly and under a nostalgic and melancholic tone…
How charming… There is only one thing to do here, keep going.
Arriving in front of two giants doors, the young one can feel the essences behind, but except for that, he will have to use his eyes to learn more, and that is what he do… Seeing the feathered one approaching the titanic entrance first to open it, Darkstalker gazes just around, scrutinizing the wall made of countless polished stones engraved with even more symbols. But at least, a few drawings representing the Five and other smaller dragons behind them, that he can understand…
The loud noise of the doors opening stops with a thud as the giant of black feathers ends his act and steps inside, quickly followed by the two great dragoness and the nightwing.
Halting his march, Kraydirn partially settles over a pool of clear water under the glow of evenly positioned crystals, his resting form inciting his kins to do the same, and that is what they do… Laying down on each side of him, Ayirn and Akhanta let their body relax as they touch the water, leaving the young one to stick close to the second, full of questions as he gazes deeper in the gigantic room, spotting more elaborate motifs, shelves and jars of all sizes, lots of both near the walls…
- "Toijyl, iole ajek u thun ultomshy." Declares Akhanta mostly to Darkstalker, her voice strong enough by nature to echo many times against edges of the place, but being tamer with a kind tone just for him, while she thinks deeply about what they are in as a place to settle and live in, to eat and sleep...
- "Iole ajek aeisto, sylis almu iole ythe hute ghyt tsekat, u ultomshy ajek u oluhemertia nebtu." Adds Kraydirn, sharing the view of this place as being a sort of home, remembering some of the work they did here, and the personal but not that useful things they brought or created here, like the many paintings made together with some being visible in the room, under the pale light of crystals.
- "Kes iole ajek heij tho okutes sif votale zait amijuho sylis ythetias oltem esdikun." Says Ayirn, half joking about her conclusion, the image of the little one resting with closed eyes appearing in her mind.
Hearing these words, the other dragoness starts to lean closer to Darkstalker, the idea of him resting settling in her mind.
- "Jykon dusmil Ayirn." Compliments Akhanta while she stands up and incites with her giant paw the young nightwing to follow her.
Getting out of the vast pool, the great dragoness walks deeper into the room, her steps echoing through the ancient place full of details and marks from the past, until she reaches another pool, smaller than the first, surrounded by two other ones even smaller, a few shelves filled to the brim with scrolls and tablets, as well as a few jars that might be useful in the future...
Starting by pulling out some content from these dark orange boxes, Akhanta then untie her tail scarf and puts the two gems near one of the smaller pools. Now staring at the little night dragon, the dragoness excepts him to settle in the water and rest.
Not fully ready to take a long rest, Darkstalker nonetheless steps forwards and lays down his whole body over the not so deep water, but staring back at her, he looks hesitant...
"Muvol toeik kes votale, Zu okutes th." Tells the dragoness as she curls her long tail around him, surrounding his sight with dark blue scales while her voice takes on a motherly tone.
Watching over her enormous body, then over the two gems made for him and the essences inside them, the young dragon finally closes his eyes and begins his rest under the watchful eyes of Akhanta, though his mind will take far longer to fall asleep...