MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE. I hope you all have a wonderful day. Enjoy this chapter as your present.
Breathtaking Part Three:
Claudia and Terry were fighting off the other dragons that managed to spot them. But the former had a trick up her sleeve. She pulled out two horns and cast an evil spell. The breaths were sucked out of the mouths of the dragons and their riders, and then Terry restrained them with his earth magic. "That takes care of that,". The dark mage smirked.
"Keep an eye out, Terry, whilst I search for the Staff,".
"Be quick, love. We don't know how much longer our friends can hold them off,".
Claudia entered the Spire chambers and saw a table standing in the middle. She walked to it and touched its blue marble service. "Too big for a dragon. Wait. I know. You're not a dragon-sized table. You're a dragon-sized button,". She stood on the top of the button. Nothing happened. She jumped, hoping her feet would put pressure on the leverage. Still nothing. She sat and huffed. She felt herself falling. The button slid into the stone ground, and the three layers of stone platforms it was standing on started spinning around.
The intruder felt herself being lowered down, so she jumped. She turned and saw a large hole in the centre of the room with stone stairs poking out of the well walls. She smirked.
Everyone made their way to the Valley of the Graves. And on the way, Derec was telling Zym and the royal families of Katolis and Duren of his life.
"I was born to a family of travelling musicians. I became so captivated by performances that I decided I wanted to write music and stories to perform for villagers, merchants and even nobles. I first started my career in Katolis when I was a young man, and then I decided to go travelling and have adventures of my own for inspiration. And then two years ago, when the war ended, I wandered through the safest parts of Xadia, making friends with all sorts of creatures, including this handsome feller," he scratched his dragon's chin and received a fat lick all over his face. "Pigog, not in front of the fans," he whined. The royals laughed.
"Well, I would love to hear more of your songs one day," Willow said.
"It would be an honour, Lady Willow," he bowed humbly.
As they entered the valley, Carol chatted with her friends. "You guys excited for the race?".
"Yes!" Hestia said hysterically.
"I look forward to beating you all," Tua answered a little arrogantly.
"Not if I have anything to say about it," Drayleen goaded.
"Uh guys, hope you don't mind me joining again," Soren said. "Is it just you guys who are participating?".
"Oh no, Soren. Anyone can join in," Carol said.
"Are you?".
"Oh, I'm not. I have to fly on a dragon,".
"Oh, don't you worry about that," Tua swung an arm around her shoulders. "I've already found a perfect dragon partner for you,".
"Tua, you shouldn't have,".
"I insist. I've got plenty of dragon friends who can partner with anyone. Perhaps Soren here could go on one?".
Soren froze. "Woah! Me on a dragon. I don't know?".
"Come on, Soren. It would be fun," Carol encouraged.
"Am I allowed to ride with someone else?" he asked.
"You could. But it might slow you down," Hakucho teased.
"You can fly with me," Carol offered.
"No. I don't wanna embarrass you. You're the High Mage of Katolis. You shouldn't have to fly with anyone,".
"You could fly with Corvus,".
"Me? In a Dragon Race?" Corvus appeared out of nowhere. "No way,".
"Come on, Corvus. You might enjoy it,". Soren said. "Just give it a go,".
"Just one race, as it's a special race,".
"Yes!" Soren and Carol high-fived each other.
Claudia walked down a spiralling staircase deep into the heart of the mountain. And inside a large chamber lit by four green glowing torches, she found all sorts of treasures, from chests to piles of gold. And to her surprise, she found mannequins displaying pieces of armour and accessories from all elven cultures. But one particular mannequin caught her eye. Around its neck was a large red pendant that looked like a blood-red scale. It had an ancient ruin shredded in gold. "Mmm. You'll go nice with some earrings I have." she plucked the pendant from the model and clipped it around her neck, hiding it under her dress. She kept on looking, hoping to find her father's staff, but it was like looking for a nail in a haystack. "Time to use a spell, Castor taught me to make you glow,". She spoke out a spell and stamped the ground. And instantly, the chest in the far corner glowed. "Gotcha," she came over and opened it. And there she found her prize. "One step closer to finding Aaravos,". She prepared to take it and leave.
"Ventum Magneticus!" The staff flew out of Claudia's reach to the hand of the spell caster who held out his staff. "You made a big mistake coming here," Ibis sneered. "Did you not think I would suspect that that attack outside was a distraction?".
"Mmm. You Skywing elves are smarter than I give you credit for,".
"Whatever plans you have with this stuff, you won't win,".
Claudia chuckled. "You think you can stop me? I've been trained by the greatest dark mages in history,".
"And I am the greatest Sky Mage in history. And you will not take this staff,".
"As you wish," Claudia swung her staff and sent a blast of purple energy towards Ibis. His wind magic protected him. He swung his winged staff. But Claudia blocked his counter-act, too. Their staffs collided.
Carol came to her parents' statues in the valley, and l laid down a bouquet of roses at each one. I wish you both were here to see all this," she prayed. "I have done all I can to guide Ezran and Willow,".
"They would be proud of you," Caldor clasped her shoulder, and she turned to him with a deep smile. He hugged her. Felix with the Adoraburrs on his back and Ghost pawed at her legs, and she smiled and knelt so they could lick her.
Footsteps approached, and they turned to see Benji come over with Zym and Pliph. "May we … light a candle?" he requested.
Carol nodded. Benji knelt and held out a candle. Pliph blew a little flame and lit it. As he gazed up at the statue, he became tearful all of a sudden. Carol's pain was a reflection of his own. "I'm so sorry you lost your mother and father,".
"I'm sorry you lost yours," Carol knelt beside the boy and gave him a warm hug.
"How old were you when you lost your mother?".
"Nearly eight,".
"That's me as well. If she and my dad were alive, I wouldn't be rotting in that horrible orphanage,".
"Don't worry, Benji. You won't have to worry about that woman anyone. She won't harm you,".
Zym licked his face, and Benji was so happy again. "You're gonna make a wonderful king of the dragons one day,".
"I hope so," he said. "But until that day comes, I just want to enjoy what life has to offer. My mother once said the key to having a good afterlife is living a life in this world worth remembering,".
"That's right, Zymmie," Carol stroked his head.
Murtagh and Thorn stood over the canyon, looking down on Carol with her loved ones. The rider in particular was very focused on Benji stroking the sky-blue dragon. The boy reminded him of a man whom he hadn't seen for years and the dragon reminded him of a blue dragon he once battled on his own. His thumb rubbed the pommel of his sword Za'roc.
He saw Carol's green eyes rise to his. And he bowed his head. The day was coming to an end and he had to meet the queen before leaving. A blond-haired soldier approached his protégé and turned to greet him.
Soren stroked Zym's mane and then Pliph flapped in front of his face and painted his hairy face with his tongue. "Dragon Licks. Disgusting!". He wiped the saliva off his stiff cheeks and tossed some drops onto the little mischief-maker's face much to his annoyance.
"Sorry Soren. Pliph likes giving licks," Benji gently lectured his little dragon.
"High Mage, I'm sorry to interrupt. It is time for the gift to be presented,".
"Duty calls," Carol walked off with her animal companions, not realising Victoria, Lewis, Jonathon, and Zara were spying on her from the crowd.
"Carol's gonna be so humiliated," the leader chuckled.
"Are you okay, Carol?" Soren asked. "You looked like you were looking up at something. Or someone?".
"My Spirit Guide is here. I think he's protecting us. Have you heard anything about Moonshadow elves near our borders?".
"No. Luckily there's no full moon tonight. But that doesn't mean they'll try to attack,".
"Then let us hope they do not, my dear friend,".
Claudia was struck back by lightning. Ibis used wind magic to send two swords at her, but she slid under the wind and managed to deflect the swords away. Another wind strike sent her sprawling across the floor. Ibis hooked the staff to his back and ran towards the stairs. "Manus. Pluma. Volantis," he flew out of the chambers, and the dark mage pulled out a horn-shaped canteen full of green gas.
Ibis flew out of the secret chamber and cast a spell, causing the spiral stairs to retract. When a loud hissing noise echoed from below. Claudia shot out into the open, her lower body a long purple snake tail of ten metres long. She coiled around Ibis, still holding her prize, and choked him with her weapon. "Give me the staff,"
"Never," Ibis drew a symbol. "Aspiro Frigis!". With a simple tap, Claudia's entire snake body turned to ice, and he was set free.
Carol, Ezran, Willow, Soren, Caldor, Opeli and Corvus stood on the stone platform with the animal companions perched beside their owners. Ezran smiled at the people, unsettled by the dragon standing over them. "Now let us allow our High Mage, Princess Caroline, to present the gift that she has prepared for the Dragon Queen," he stepped aside, and his elder sister stood in front of everyone. There was a time when she used to be so underconfident, but with all their encouraging faces, unlike years before, she was no longer the shy 'step-princess' they deemed her to be.
"Queen Zubeia, kings and queens of Katolis, Duren, Neolandia, Del Bar, and Evenere and all our guests here, both elf, human and dragon, I have prepared this as a symbol of our unity, as a reminder of how a few years ago the great war ended. We are living side by side with one another. Although we have only just begun, I am certain that together, we can forge a future of peace and harmony. This is why I would like to take another step in presenting this gift to our beloved Dragon Queen,".
She bowed. And Zubeia bowed back. She turned her back and grabbed the cover. "And now, without further adue," she unravelled the gift.
Gasping and murmuring filled the air. Someone had punctured the picture of the Dragon Queen's head. Carol's flew over her mouth. Her masterpiece had been ruined. Caldor came to comfort her.
Soren growled. "Who did this? Speak up now!".
"Give it to me!" Claudia struggled to move with her frozen body.
"Never! I'm going to destroy it so it can do no more harm!"
"Terry! Help!".
Ibis tried to run, but vines sprouted out of the floor and captured him. Terry's flow dimmed. "Claudia, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she sighed in relief. "I'm so happy to see you. Get the staff,". Terry rushed and grabbed the staff from Ibis's bound arms.
"Give it to me!" he grunted. "You don't know what you're doing!".
But Terry didn't listen. Claudia's frozen body cracked, and the ice exploded. She had her legs back. Terry caught her. "You're okay. I've got the staff,".
"Listen to me, Earthblood elf!" Ibis begged. "That human is a dark mage. She's going to use the Staff of Ziard for evil purposes,".
"No. I'm going to use it to free Aaravos," Claudia answered, thinking she was giving off the impression of correcting their captive.
"Then you're a fool," Ibis hissed. "You have no idea who you're working for. But I will not let you win,". He summoned his staff and shot wind at the couple. They were knocked against the wall. Casting the ice spell again, he freed himself from the vines and cast: "Frigus Pedex!".
Claudia managed to dodge, but Terry's face was stuck to the ground in ice. Ibis tried to get to the staff, but Claudia tackled him, and they fought over it, man to woman.
"I said, 'Who did this?' !" Soren demanded, threatening to pull out his sword. The audience could do nothing but exchange shocked faces. But none said an answer. Willow and Ezran comforted their embarrassed sister. Zym purred. Benji, holding Pliph, looked around and saw four naughty people trying to sneak away. "It was them!" Benji pointed to Victoria leading them.
"Arrest them!" Ezran ordered. Victoria and the bullies tried to run for it, but Ghost suddenly teleported in front of them, and Selena honked in their faces. Tua whistled, and her dragon friends grabbed them by their neck collars and dumped them before the royal family. The guards pushed them to their knees. The teen king frowned, and so did his sisters. "What do you have to say for yourselves?"
"We will not apologise to that step-mage,". Victoria's insults at Carol made Zym bare his teeth and pin her down.
"Zym, don't!" Carol gently pulled him off. "She's not worth it,".
"You're lucky she stepped in," Zym backed off Victoria.
"How dare you to disrespect the High Mage of Katolis!" Soren pointed a bony finger in her face. "You should all be punished,".
"It's not me you have to apologise to. It's to her,". Carol pointed up to the queen, who was outraged at such naughtiness.
"They should be punished in the most gruesome way imaginable!" a sky soldier said.
"No! That's wrong!" a human mother shouted. "It was just a painting,".
"Not just any painting!" Hestia shouted. "It was Carol's painting gift for the Queen,".
"She can paint another one," a man shouted. Carol was hurt. Just when she thought that perhaps she had gained their respect, some still considered her word not significant.
Her Sky tutor's apprentice growled. "How dare you take that bully's side,".
"What if it was your father whose gift was ruined?". Caelus dared, taking his side too. "You should be ashamed of yourselves,".
The human mother from before threw a rock at him, but his dragon protected him with his wing and roared. The humans became scared. The soldiers surrounded their rulers. Arguments were broiling.
"Stop! Stop!" Ezran shouted.
"Please calm down!" Carol begged.
Her rivals cackled. "Look what you've caused now, Caroline," Jonathon sneered.
Soren punched him in the face. "Shut up!".
"Enough!" Zym's roar bounced off the canyon walls, and everyone covered their ears. They shut their mouths and stared wide-eyed at the angry Dragon Prince. "Listen to yourselves! We came here to celebrate our unity, and now you're all fighting! And in the Valley of Graves of all places. You should all be ashamed of yourselves!".
Claudia and Ibis wrestled for the staff, shoving and kicking each other against the walls till they ended up in the Dragon Queen's cave chambers.
Ezran decided to take a stand to end the tension and restore the peace. "I had a speech planned for today. It was about peace, love, and hope. But I think I left something out. I ignored something true. I denied something is undeniable. We are angry. I am angry. I have been hurt. My dad was killed when I was twelve years old. My mum was taken from me before I could even remember,".
Willow and Carol exchanged heartbroken glances. Soren comforted Carol, and Caldor comforted Willow. Pyrrah purred, and Willow hugged her head.
Holding back tears, their brother continued: "It hurts! I feel pain about this, and I am angry. We all want peace, and we all want love, but violence tests us. In a twisted way, it converts us to its cause. Because pain and loss feel so terrible inside, you want to hate them. You want to hurt someone so badly; it makes you feel better,".
Lord Moono and his squadron of men spied on the Valley of the Graves. It was guarded by soldiers everywhere. The moon would not be full, so it would be harder to lead an attack. It was going to take luck to capture Caroline and use her to lure Ethari. And someone else who they had been hunting for these last two years.
"How can we stop this cycle? Violence, loss, pain. Violence, loss, pain. More violence. Stop! Stop. I just want to yell to stop. But that's not enough. It won't work. I think about a positive vision. A faith we can all share that we might build a future together in hope. A future where we can be safe with each other. But it's not that easy or simple. Because people are still hurting and they are still angry,". Ezran took a moment to pause and reflect on how heartbroken he had felt that day to discover his father's death, and so the throne was his to inherit.
Willow chose to continue for him. "I may be able to see glimpses of the future, but I cannot see what our future knows. But what we all know is that we can't ignore that or pretend it will go away. Somehow, we have to hold it in our hearts at the same time. We have to acknowledge the weight of the pain and loss but open our eyes and allow ourselves to hope and maybe forgive and love again. We have to give today's children a chance to inherit a future filled with peace. To give them that, we have to hold peace and love in our hearts at the same time,".
Zym nuzzled his hand. Carol's elf friends walked up the stairs and surrounded her, showing their friendship and support. Their coming together made everyone remember why they were here. They hadn't all gathered to fight. They had gathered to come together. The King and queens of the other kingdoms told their guards to stand down, and Caelus ordered his soldiers and their dragons to stand down, too.
"Perhaps I will play a song of happiness," Derec pulled out his lute again and began plucking the strings of his harp to create a soundscape of harmony and joy. Corvus brought out his special cello and played alongside him. They were actually playing quite well together.
Castor, with sprouted wings, flew into the clouds. And he drew a ruin. The riders saw him, and the dragons spewed lightning. But it was too late. There was a massive explosion. And down below, Castor's brothers and Viren saw every Sky dragon plunge from the sky. The air battle was victorious.
Claudia pinned Ibis against the stairs and tried to stab him with a fang dagger, but Ibis pushed her face away and forced her hand down. She screamed as she felt the knife stab her thigh, and he pushed her down the stairs, her braid coming, losing, and her body sprawling on the floor.
Ibis limped against his staff and stood up. "I didn't want to do this. But you've given me no choice," he drew a spell.
Terry tried to free himself, but the ice was thick. "Claudia!" he screamed.
Castor flew into the room with his wings. "Where's Claudia?".
"In there!" Terry pointed to the chambers. Castor blasted the ice to free him, and he shot straight in.
Ibis raised his palm to cast the ultimate lightning spell, but … stab! He coughed and croaked. Blood dripped off his lips. Claudia rotated her head round and saw Castor behind her attempted killer with the sharp end of her father's staff. He cackled. "You cannot stop us, elf. No matter how powerful your kind you think you are,". The mortally wounded Ibis fell on his stomach and helped Claudia onto her feet. "Are you alright?".
"Claudia!" Terry ran down the stairs and threw her arms around her. "Thank goodness you're safe,". He was full of joy, but he screamed when he saw Ibis's body. His mouth dropped. He felt sick.
"I had no choice, elf," Castor said coldly. "That elf was going to kill your girlfriend and destroy the only thing that could help us,".
"But there … there had to be another way. Nothing good comes out of killing," Terry felt like he was going to be sick. Claudia rubbed his back.
"There was no other way. We must go now. It won't be long before Zubeia returns. But now we must leave and hope the other riders got what they came for,". Castor led the proud Claudia and guilt-ridden Terry out of the chambers. But Ibis's hand moved with delicate effort.
Night came and the festival was continuing. Derec played more songs. Carol performed more tricks with her magic and the children including were appeased. She lit up the torches with different colours of fire and the crowd were impressed. As punishment for ruining her gift for Zubeia, the bullies went to feed the dragons who growled at them threatening if they didn't give them the perfect amount of water or food.
Victoria growled and glared at Carol still chatting with her friends. "She got lucky this time,".
"Back to work," Soren ordered. "I don't know what made you think you could be so cruel to her after everything she's done. But it is getting out of hand. You so much as do that again and her brother will make you do more than just community service,".
The Queen of Dragons addressed Ezran and Willow. "You are both wise and special children, King Ezran and Seer Willow. When you both spoke, it was as though you could see my own heart and pain. And the truth of you both seeing that somehow made it feel less. It felt like healing,". Zym purred, and the children gave him a big hug.
Ibis limped up the stairs with his staff. He saw the little batfish crawling towards him, bleeding terribly. He made his way up the stairs to the spire and, with his last breath, drew a ruin of white cloud puffs. "With my last breath," he fell onto his back, giving into his wounds as he watched the spell thrusting into the sky. Yonas's pet purred and rubbed his head against his, consoling in what was now his final moments.
There were seven dragons lined up. Willow on Pyrrah. Bait decided to ride with her. Soren and Corus on a Frosty Wyrm, a type of Ocean dragon that had a furry underbelly. Carol was on a Dustfury dragon, a Sky dragon with four wings. Tua was riding her owllike dragon, who looked scary at first glance but was quite friendly. And Hestia, Drayleen and Harcuka were riding their dragon companions that represented their magic Arcanums.
"The rules are simple," Opeli started. "You must rotate your way all around the kingdom and enter the Valley of the Graves again,".
"Piece of cake!" Soren jeered.
"We'll see about that," Tua patted her dragon, who purred.
"Pyrrah and I just performed a flight show," Willow said. "And I don't need to see a vision that we'll win this race,".
"Come on, guys. We're just doing this fun. There's no say on who is better than who," Carol reminded. "Now, let's race,".
Felix, sitting in front of her, barked, and Ghost settled across her shoulders and roared. Zym was sitting with the siblings with the Adoraburrs on his head. He was betting on her.
"On your mark!" Opeli called. "Get set! Goooooooo!".
The dragons took flight. Soren nearly slipped off but quickly Corvus caught him and helped him sit back up. Unfortunately, they were quite behind in the race and the elf girls were finding it amusing.
Raylan rode Thaisan with Stella through the clouds. They entered the borders of Katolis. "I hope we're not too late," he prayed. Stella sensed something else was troubling him and touched his hands. "What am I gonna say to her, girl? What if nothing can be fixed between us?". Stella chattered and formed a love heart with her hands. He chuckled weakly. "I wish it was that easy girl,".
Look! Thaisan roared. They looked ahead, and in the distance, they saw dragons circling the borders. One of them had hair flying in the wind on a four-winged dragon. He pulled out a spyglass and peered through. His heart accelerated "Carol. Faster, buddy,".
Tua and Willow were in line with one another on their dragons.
"Come on girl. You can do it," Willow scratched Pyrrah's neck and Bait croaked.
Not far behind, Carol encouraged her dragon to catch up to them. "Come on, guys. We can do this,".
Faster noble steed. Faster. Felix wagged his tail.
Ghost was so agitated he began teleporting from spot to spot. "No Ghost," their person lectured. "No using your powers to cheat,". Ghost growled and sat back next to Felix on her lap.
Down below Ezran was eying his sisters. "King Ezran, a rogue dragon is closing in towards the racers," Opeli pointed up.
"Here," Caldor handed Ezran a spyglass and the king glanced through. "Is it danger?".
Ezran focused on the white moon dragon with the creamy underbelly and blue and purple neck and tail fur and feathers. He pulled back his eye from the instrument. "It's Raylan,".
"What?" Caldor asked, becoming half-angry and half-sad all of a sudden.
"It's him. He's back,".
Soren and Corvus were quite behind everyone. "Come on dragon! Go faster!" Soren begged. He couldn't bear for the elves to make fun of him and his friend. But something else caught his eye. "Corvus, look,".
Corvus looked right and saw a swarm of glowing mist flying towards them. "Guys! Mist!".
"What?" the girls cried out.
"Did you say 'missed'?" an annoyed Hakucho asked, thinking he was trying to goad them into losing.
"No! Mist!" Soren shouted. The riders peered down and saw the misty ending towards the canyon.
The humans, elves and dragons watched as the mist rose above the canyon, showing the face of the one who had sent the message it carried.
"Ibis?" Yonas breathed. The colour left his face. Caelus clasped his shoulder.
"What is this?" Zym was scared. The Adoraburrs huddled together on his head. "It's okay little ones,".
"Ibis!" Carol compelled her dragon to stop and fly towards the canyon. The others followed her, throwing the race as it was clear, there was grave danger amidst. They landed on the cliff overlooking the other side of the valley of statues and watched as the message was spoken.
"The Staff of Ziard has been stolen. This can only be one thing. The Fallen Star has returned," Ibis's words cast a spell of horror over the crowd. The mist disappeared and all at once everything was silent.
Murtagh on the other side of the canyon stared at his dragon, horror filling their eyes. "It is as Aaeseris foretold," the former breathed.
Raylan recognised Ibis's face. he hadn't seen him in years. "Galadriel warned us danger was coming guys,".
Stella shivered and he hugged her. He saw Carol with her friends. "I'm ready now,". His monkey suddenly screeched. "What is it, girl?". She pointed up and saw dragons looming over them. "Oh no. Get me to Carol, boy," his rider begged.. "Run!" he screamed through the air. "Run!".
Carol, shaken by the message from her Sky tutor, heard her name and turned her head to see Raylan flying towards her, the moon dragon he was riding on about to land. "Ray?". Felix in her arms dropped his jaw. Ghost purred in confusion.
Soren turned too. "It's Raylan!". His best friend became flooded with emotions. Willow turned her head, alarmed by the name.
"Fly!" Raylan's cries brought everyone's attention and they all looked up. "Wraiths!".
Because Ezran and everyone were down below, they couldn't make out what he was screaming. "What's he yelling?" Ezran asked.
All of a sudden, Lewis in the bully group shouted: "Wraiths! Wraiths on wings!". Screeching roars filled the air, and everyone became disorientated by the noise. Giant black dragons came from the dark clouds surrounding the canyon and everyone in it. They bore swords. The people were frightened but the good dragons were not.
"Stand your ground!" Zubeia roared.
ONCE AGAIN, MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it today. Have a wonderful day and hope to update again before the New Year. HAVE A JOLLY GOOD DAY.
Love Arwen the Storyteller.