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Chapter 12: To the chamber of the dark blue dragoness
Touching him with her giant wing to get his attention, the great dragoness starts to walk with Darkstalker following closely. And arriving at some enormous rods made to access the stage below, she takes the nightwing with her massive talon, holding him against her chest without him getting the chance to react, then climbs down the enormous metallic surface... Putting him down carefully but not without his annoyance, the pair begins to walk steadily through the corridors of the Pyramid…
Being on a rather short path as Akhanta leads with care, her gaze never far from him and so is her mind, the young seer has nonetheless the time to stare at quite a few elements worthy of being seen by one knowing nothing.
Circled by lines symbols are scenes of a size only a palace could allow, depicting tens of dragons if not more for each image, the amount details more than enough for what are characters that only take part in the background, often just being instead of acting, though even with such passivity, the mind of the gazer can attach meaning to it pretty easily...
Arriving relatively quickly at their destination, the pair now faces a set of two enormous doors that Akhanta decides to open. So rising then putting her talons over the stone surfaces, the giant dragoness uses her given strength to push them, loudly revealing a giant room with a pool large enough for a dragon of her size at the center. On the circular wall are more scenes being depicted by colourful drawings, giving more glimpses to the mythologised past of this world. And each is marked by different and semi ordered lines of symbols, possibly describing or explaining details for the elements they are near of.
But what strikes his mind are the few paintings present in the large room. Contrasting with the rest, these pieces of art depicts the great dragons standing close to each others, be it with pride, joy, sadness anger and all others emotional states one can think of.
How close are they to each others...?
Going forward, the giant dragoness stops in front of the pool and stares at it. Plunging a talon into the water to check it before infusing the liquid with some essences, the majestic entity then steps into the mystic pool, and Darkstalker now watches all of her being relaxing as the water embraces her body, and for a moment, she even ignores him and forgets about the outside world, but only for a moment.
Turning back, Akhanta watches over him as he approaches, smiling a little and extending her talon to him. Still cautious, the young seer gets closer to the water, but oddly, he gets the intuition it is something good, as if there was more to it than its already neat appearance... Accepting her paw, the bluish nightwing is taken to the water, at the grand dragoness' side. And while the water is deeper than his height, floating on its surface is not hard at all, as even if he was drowning, he could always hold on to her body or move out of the pool's edge...
A few minutes pass, and Darkstalker begins to fully appreciate being in the pool. Finally, he can let all that stress and worry gradually disappear, the calm and pleasant sensation conquering his entire, somewhat still healing body as his imposing watcher extends a magnificent wing to surround him in a dark blue veil he does not fear.
Time continues to pass, and the smaller dragon is now resting with closed eyes near the caring giant, no longer paying attention to anything around him in the serene and silent place, likely sleeping if not dreaming…
In the sky, the four Moons are full, followed by the uncountable stars giving their little glimmers for everyone to see. And over the lands stands a temple whose final tower reaches the clouds, allowing anyone the height they want and need to embrace the air. And on top of it are two dragons, around a central beacon of white fire.
The first one is black and covered in stars, as well as bearing a single line of icy scales on each side from head to tail.
The second, a glowing blue one, is covered in so many veins and shedding scales that it is impossible to tell in what state he really is.
As both are staring at the Moons, the blue one turns his head and speaks to the other, ending the moment of contemplation.
- "How much longer do you think the Four will stay full?"
- "I do not know the answer to such a thing, they are beyond our powers."
- "I know, but as their children, we might ascend like they want us to."
- "It will take thousands of years if not more then."
- "I'm okay with that, millennia of living and growing in freedom…"
- "It's true that I also desire it, we are together in this after all... And we might not even be the only ones."
- "Of course, I knew that the moment she showed me Fire... Dragons can and have grown to greatness. And you, did someone showed it to you?"
- "Do you speak of the Moons, in that case, yes."
- "If you've looked enough at them, how can you say they are so above your being?"
- "I should have been more precise. For Now, they are above us, but it will change in the future."
- "I knew you wouldn't give up, always staying true to yourself."
- "Indeed, my will never fades…"
Watching over the young dragon sleeping partially underwater, the dark blue dragoness decides it is time to wake him up. So gently grabbing his body, her very big paw trying to reach just below his delicate form, she takes him out of the pool and lays him on his back, over the polished and somewhat smooth floor, where he instinctively shakes his softer body, the careful entity making him come back to his senses without complaint. And when he peacefully opens his eyes, Darkstalker is not surprised at all by the position he is in nor the manner she has of staring at him.
Folding his softer wings and turning his body over, the bluish dark dragon looks at her again, almost expecting something. Diving into her mind, he finds out the great dragoness is only focused on him at the moment, like it is almost her job to take care of him, a job she clearly decided to take seriously, the passion obvious in her mind.
So still staying firmly loyal to that idealised role of your…
Yet I see no other of my age here, only you five… Wait, I am the only young one here?
For a moment, Akhanta turns her back to take something from a voluminous jar. A quick glance at her paw shows she holds some kind of bleeding stone covered in crystals and emitting a pale light. Crudely splitting the object in two pieces and putting close to him the smaller part, the great dragoness expects the young one to do... something with it.
After a moment of him examining the stone more than anything else, the dark blue giant calls him out.
- "Darkstalker."
Now that she has his full attention, Akhanta proceeds to eat her part of the stone, making noises as crystals are crushed in her mouth, throwing the nightwing in great confusion... Staring at the infused rock dumbfounded, the young dragon fractures it a moment later, making it bleed essences that flow over his paw. And as the glowing liquid runs over his skin, the night dragon carefully tastes it, driven by his returning intuition.
He does not regret it, what runs over his tongue definitely has a strong and peculiar taste, but having never drunk nor eaten anything since he had entered this realm, he has grown more tolerant to everything, especially when it contains essences. Better to eat and drink than to have nothing at all...
Not asking himself any question due to his thirst and hunger, Darkstalker shatters the stone in his paw to obtain more of its blood... Having now extracted all of its content in a few seconds, the nightwing has quenched his thirst, the liquid having enough water to add to his body. And looking again at Akhanta, he can see and feel she is a little proud of him before searching for something else, turning her massive body with moderate grace.
Pulling tablets from a very big shelve, the large dragoness put them on the ground between them. Staring at the new objects and touching one, the nightwing realizes their surface is a bit like mud, soft enough to dug with mere claws. Taken out by the seducing opportunity to write and draw something again, the young one immediately starts by writing his name on the excessively large area...
With attentive eyes, Akhanta watches over him, but seeing he is rightly using the tablet, she too begins to use one of her own, and while the smaller one focuses on writing, it does not take long for her to be more interested by the act of drawing. And so the two dragons are occupied for a while by these new activities, silence reigning over the chamber as both care for their new endeavour...
Finding out he is not bad at all for writing on such a thing, Darkstalker tries to do something more ambitious, beginning to note down a summary of himself and his situation, and soon the "adventure" he had since he was transported to this world. And slowly but surely, he succeeds in translating his many memories into words…
Finishing his work, the younger dragon stares at the text he has created, feeling more than a bit of proud even if he acknowledges that is silly.
My name is Darkstalker, I am a five years old nightwing-icewing hybrid born under the three full moons, son of Foeslayer of the nightwings and Arctic of the icewings. My scales are now black but covered in little veins giving a blueish aspect to my skin. I can read the minds of others and sense magical essences now that I lost my foresight, and also have a small but potent flame, a "sun" burning deep inside me.
When I was banished from Pyrrhia by that traitor of Clearsight, I awoke in a desolate world without moons nor stars in its sky, nor any life over its lands of dark and cold rocks. Spotting a faint light in the distance. I mustered my strength and will, and I went forward to it. (Yes, the journey was dull as you might expect)
When I arrived, I discovered that the light came from an old tower which acts a bit like a lighthouse with burning rods at the top. Spotting other lights in the distance and seeing, unfortunately, nothing else to do, I continued my journey, going from tower to tower despite the great distance I had to travel, despite getting more and more tired in my lonely flight, until something burning inside me had stopped me.
When I woke up, a giant dragoness bearing green and blue scales was looking at me. She was magnificent but also powerful and terrifying, especially when I was still laying on the ground like a dragonet that barely woke up from his bed. She is most similar to a skywing, but that's not saying much. What marked me however, is the power she radiates. It is like animus magic, but different.
Exchanging a few words as our language is vastly different, and looking at her mind, I learnt her name was Ayirn and that four other big dragons somewhat like her existed in this world. We also began to travel to what I would later learn is their home.
Because of my physical limits, we had to halt our flight and I had to rest. Calling out for help, a second great dragon came to me, named Xamirh, who showed me his power by almost creating a tornado as he came and landed. And we could resume our journey and arrive at a titanic Pyramid, where the five giant dragons lived.
Afraid of Xamirh however, I let fear take the best of me and flew away. But my escape was cut short as a monstrous force made me crash. When I awoke, I had the presence of a new dragon, Akhanta. Bearing dark blue scales and a pair of spiralling horns, she appeared to be kind and helpful despite my shyness, teaching me a few words of her tongue.
From interactions with her, I realized my body was changing both from the inside and the outside, with veins on my scales and that little sun inside of me the dragoness made me discovered. I also learnt she had been a teacher and maybe even a mother in the past of this other world I am in.
Returning to the Pyramid together, I encountered the fourth great dragon bearing the name of Azykan, alongside Ayirn. Azykan is a red and orange grand dragon living more in the now and being more… energetic. And that's when these titanic dragons began to reveal their true colours!
Azykan, Ayirn, and Akhanta all had a plan for me, one that cares not for my consent nor my well-being or even the pain I felt. Being caught by that bastard of Azykan, while the even bigger bastard that Ayirn is led the execution of their plan. (It was her that invoked the monstrous force that mercilessly brought me down earlier)
Then, I was transported to a room with religious connotations and put on the central altar like a sacrificial offering before being struck down with pure essences, and it was at that moment, that I felt like I was hit by absolute thunder, all by the paws of that wicked witch Ayirn is. Since that moment, I became truly aware of these five giants' true intention.
Awakening with the sight of Akhanta and Ayirn, I rightfully attacked the second one mercilessly. But it was useless, these dragons are too strong for me even with my new powers, so my fury only led me to defeat.
Awakening in a different place, I saw once again Akhanta and her kindness still being shown to me made me cry. It is unbearable to have my heart still craving for another, be it friend, lover, or family when you know the only ones you can choose from have contributed (even passively) in a monstrous act done to you. It tears you apart, and I wish I could just cut the link between her and me, but I can't do it completely… (Sorry for the line, but I can't not write it)
Going to the Pyramid again, I discovered the last one of the five, a very peculiar dragon, Kraydirn. He is a beast covered in black feathers, if not for his belly showing white and blue scales. He breathes ice and looking at his mind, I can see a strong desire to spread ice and snow, to bring winter if that makes sense.
We then went to a large area circled by nine gigantic rods holding fire and essences. And while that place seemed important, we haven't done anything, we just stayed her before returning to the five's house. (I guess that's better than something bas happening to me, and Akhanta's presence also helped)
Arriving there, the five giants discussed something concerning me, but the language barrier halts my understanding of what was happening. Still, seeing Akhanta talking for me and defending me in a way from the others, I understood she is my only ally in this ruthless and lonely realm, with Kraydirn being neutral as I haven't seen enough of him.
Now I am in a room that could be Akhanta's chamber, and she is with me as I write this. It could be a lot worse, as I am relatively safe by being close to her, and her kindness is welcomed despite my torn heart, so I won't complain… (too much).
So what will I do? Follow their orders as long as it is not problematic for me and learn more of this world and them. As I will have more and more options, I will find a way to get out of this miserable world and stand out to these five, extremely powerful dragons.
Somewhat satisfied with his tablet, Darkstalker feels relieved to have written down all the events that before were all in his head, to express some of the many feelings that occupied his mind after everything that had happened since he came to this realm. Maybe his life can be brighter, even in this world...