(Previously :)
Frendrag's eyes then landed on the other people behind the two and asked sternly "And who are they ?"
"Frendrag, peace ! Those people are our family !" Summer said while placing herself between the Dragon and the terrified people.
"Family you say ? Well, then, it is a pleasure to meet you and welcome in the Hidden World !" the Mountain Dragon said in a more cordial tone as he looked once again at the people behind Summer.
"The pleasure is ours, sir..." Cinder, Blake and Weiss said at the same time while bowing in respect for the Old Dragon while the rest of their party did the same.
"Frendrag, I'm sorry to break this short but we have been summoned by the Dragon King..." Salem said to the orange dragon with a calm tone but apologetic look on her face.
"I see… Very well..."
With that said, Frendrag turned around before roaring loudly causing everyone present to cover their ears. Another roar answered him and then, the gates slowly opened, revealing to our friends a large tunnel leading deeper into the mountain.
"The gates are open… You can enter… I'm sure you know the way ?" Frendrag asked Summer and Salem with a raised eyebrow.
When the two women nodded their heads, he huffed in satisfaction before looking back at Team RWBY, Cinder and Taiyang.
"I wish you good luck with the King… Be warned, it will be an unique experience..." Frendrag said to them as he stepped aside, giving them full entry to the mountain.
They all thanked him one more time before passing through the gates, entering the dark Mountain, starting their journey through it.
-00/(Present Time)/00-
The first minutes after they passed through the door were annoying to say the least, because a certain someone hadn't stopped whining.
Here's what I mean :
"Are we arrived yet ?"
"No..."
"Are we arrived yet ?"
"No..."
"Are we arrived yet ?"
"No !"
"…"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Are we arrived now ?"
"YANG ! SHUT UP ALREADY !" Weiss and Blake snarled at the same time with annoyed looks on their faces.
"Yang, I love you really but if you ask this question ONE MORE TIME, I swear I will BURN you !" Cinder hissed to the blond brawler of Team RWBY with an equal expression on her face.
Fawkes, Summer, Salem and Taiyang had all sighed in annoyance, also loosing patience hearing Yang's constant complains. However, they could hardly blame the blond for being this way as this tunnel seemed endless for everyone present as they walked through this gigantic and dark mountain.
"ENOUGH ! Behave like young adults instead of acting like children !" Cinder had then hissed after a moment, having enough of hearing them bickering.
Team RWBY as a whole flushed in embarrassment while mumbling apologies. After that, Yang stopped complaining and the rest of the trip went smooth, and later, it was proven that traveling through the mountain was yet another intriguing and amazing experience.
Why ?
Because they soon discovered (with a pointer from Salem and Summer) that the tunnel was far more interesting that they thought : it had polished walls (covered with drawings representing events from long ago) lined with high pillars and vaulted ceilings as far as the eye could see.
Some of these drawings had caught the attention of our heroes and they could not help, but looking at them with curiosity and interest.
Many paintings represented an enormous black dragon with green eyes, either spitting fire at the inside what looked like an arena (and burning people) or standing over drawings of elves and dragons, surrounding them with his immense wings, like a protector.
"Amazing..." Weiss commented with awe as she looked at the paintings with interest.
"Indeed, it is…" Blake said in agreement to her cold looking teammate while also admiring the paintings.
"Do you think this is the Dragon King ?" Ruby asked everyone while looking at the painting of a gigantic black dragon wrapping elves and fellow dragons.
"I don't know, Ruby..." Cinder answered the younger girl while eying the painting, silently admiring it.
"Young ones, I can assure you that the black Dragon you see on those walls IS the mighty ruler of this world..." Salem said to them while still walking, a smile on her face and a not once turning around as she did so.
Hearing this, Team RWBY, Taiyang and Cinder stared at the woman with wide eyes before looking back at the paintings.
"Damn… he looks really big compared to those other dragons..." Yang commented while staring at the painting with awe and wonder.
"The question is : How big he is ?" Blake retorted while suddenly feeling nervous.
Those paintings represented the Dragon King as a being far bigger than the other kinds of dragons, after all.
"Well, to answer your question, dear… take a look at this painting over there..." Summer said while pointing at something on her right, stopping her walk to look at the rest of the group.
Turning their heads to stare at what the older Huntress was pointing at, they found themselves staring at yet another painting : like the others, this painting was representing a huge Black Dragon… but he was standing before two smaller dragons, one yellow and one purple.
The first dragon was a yellow Eastern Dragon with a long serpentine body, whitish long antlers, a long golden mane running down all the length of its body (forming a plume of some sort at the tip of its tail), extensive facial hair terminated in two feathery tipped whiskers-like appendices and pure glowing white eyes.
The second dragon was a large, four-legged skeletal purple dragon with a skull-like face, empty socket eyes, a row of bone-line spines running down the entire length of its body, two large wings with frayed membranes and spiraled horns.
Having seen how big dragons were, Team RWBY, Cinder and Taiyang knew these two has to be really large in size. And yet, those dragons were nothing compared to the enormous black one before them. Again, like in all paintings they saw so far, the Black Dragon was depicted as a shadow...without any visible physical features like the shape of its face, his legs, or anything else.
"Daaaaaammmmnnn, the King must be enormous to be able to dwarf those two dragons..." Yang commented with a whistle as her lilac eyes stared at the paintings.
Murmurs of agreement followed her declaration.
"These two are not simple dragons, my dear... What you see here are nothing more and nothing less than the Twin Gods in Dragon form..." Salem said calmly to them while allowing a tiny grin to appear on her face.
"WHAT ?!" Team RWBY, Cinder and Taiyang cried out at the same time, looking back and forth between the painting and the woman.
"You heard me right, everyone… the two dragons represented on this painting are none other than the God of Light and the God of Darkness themselves ! When they destroyed humanity, they used those forms… I would know, I was there..." Salem explained with a tiny shrug and a sigh.
Then, the former Queen of Grimm turned her head to look at the painting, adding softly
"I remember the power that they both exuded... a power so strong that I almost bowed... and yet, their powers paled in comparison to the power of the Dragon King... When my eyes fell on him, I immediately understood that Ancalagon the Black was the most powerful being I had ever met... Unlike the gods however, the Dragon King deserved the respect and admiration that this world gave him..."
Once again, Team RWBY, Taiyang and Cinder listened in wonder as she spoke of the great king of the Hidden World... and once again, their intrigue and admiration for this being still unknown to them grew. Weiss and Blake shot a glance at one another, while Yang and Ruby looked eager. It was easy to understand that they were all even more excited to meet the mighty Dragon King.
"He is really that powerful ?" Cinder asked her mother and adoptive aunt in a soft tone while glancing at the painting, especially at the black dragon represented in it, in awe.
"He is..." Salem and Summer answered at the same time while Fawkes thrilled softly while nodding his crimson head in agreement.
Then, without saying anything more, the two women turned around before walking away, resuming the trip. After a few moments, Team RWBY, Taiyang and Cinder went after them but not without glancing one last time at the painting on the wall.
For another long time, the group walked through this dark tunnel, heading deeper and deeper into the mountain. The deeper they went into the tunnel, the more nervous Team RWBY became along with Cinder and Taiyang. This mountain appeared even more massive from the inside... which probably explained why the King of Dragons had chosen this place as his residence.
After a while, Yang, no longer able to control her nervousness, opened her mouth to ask her mom and adoptive aunt.
"Are we almost there ?"
"Look for yourself !" Summer said with a mischievous smile before pointing ahead.
Team RWBY, Cinder and Taiyang, hearing this, all blinked in surprise before looking forward : a few meters away from them, stood another opening, making the end of the tunnel.
"Finally !" Cinder cried out in relief alongside Yang and Ruby while Blake and Weiss rolled her eyes in fond amusement, while also thinking the same. Taiyang himself was relieved to be out of this tunnel and he showed it by sighting deeply in relief and joy.
At the sight, Salem and Summer glanced at one another with smirks of amusement before looking at the people behind them again but this time, with a serious and cold face, all traces of amusement erased from their features.
At the sight, the rest of the group stiffened in fear and surprise, completely taken aback by this sudden change of behavior. However, before they could open their mouths to ask about it, Summer spoke again in a calm but serious tone
"Listen up everyone : in a moment, you will meet the Dragon King... Don't say or do anything stupid... or you will regret it deeply..."
Hearing those words, Team RWBY, Cinder and Taiyang understood the gravity of the situation and they all nodded their heads in understanding. However, in their minds, this was useless advice: the last thing they wanted was to upset the King… especially since he had the power to stand against GODS !
Summer and Salem stared at the group for a moment with narrowed eyes before nodding their heads firmly in acceptance.
"Very well, follow us…" Salem said as she walked again, quickly followed by Summer and the rest of the group.
Passing through the opening, Team RWBY, Cinder and Taiyang couldn't help but release loud gasps of surprise and admiration at the sight they came upon. They were no longer in a tunnel (which was a relief for some of them), but instead, there were now in a vast room that seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see with dark walls and statues of roaring dragons with wings outstretched in an aggressive posture.
There was no ceiling and, instead, there was a huge opening to the 'sky'. They all easily understood that it was the big hole they had seen previously. A few meters in front of them, there was a precipice whose bottom could not be seen and on the other side of it, they could see nothing but darkness… even the light above them did nothing to get rid of it.
"Wow, this room is gigantic !" Yang commented with a whistle of wonder.
"I'm sure the whole of Beacon Academy could fit in there !" Ruby shouted with eyes shining like stars.
Next to them, Taiyang and Weiss were also looking around in awe, mystified by the large room they were in. Cinder and Blake, for their parts, were not looking at the scenery like their companions… they were looking for the being they came to meet. So far, there was no trace of the Dragon King.
"Where is he ?" Blake asked softly to herself but Cinder, who was next to her, heard her and thought the same.
"It is me or we are the only ones in this room ?" Taiyang commented while glancing around.
"Now that you say it, Dad, it seems we are !" Yang replied while frowning in confusion.
Ruby looked disappointed just like the rest of the group. Salem, Summer and Fawkes, though, all glanced at one another with smirks before looking at the darkest part of the room.
Suddenly, a voice rang through the air, deep and resonant, and instantly, Team RWBY, Cinder and Taiyang froze as if struck by lightning, caught off guard by this voice coming out of nowhere.
"I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT YOU ARE NOT..."
Looking around with wide eyes for the source of the voice, Team RWBY, Cinder and Taiyang stared in shock and fear when they saw, on the other side of the precipice, shining in the dark part of the room, two HUGE emerald green eyes. The eyes were vibrant and seemed to pierce into their souls, judging them while glowing in the darkness with a green light.
The instant the eyes fell on them, they couldn't help but shivering in fright, shock and awe. Power seemed to radiate from those enormous pool of green and they all could instantly tell that the owner of those gorgeous and ancient eyes was perhaps the most powerful being they had ever encountered !
Despite this, they couldn't help but staring at those large eyes (Taiyang couldn't help but thinking that a Beringel would fit in just one of them) with wonder : they were beautiful and looked like shining emeralds under sunlight.
At the same time, Summer and Salem, along Fawkes all bowed down, ignoring the looks of shock and awe from the rest of the group, and Salem opened her mouth to speak softly in deference and respect.
"Your Majesty..."
"Your Highness..." Summer added with a bow of her head, speaking in the same tone that her friend.
Fawkes, him, thrilled softly before BOWING down.
Hearing them salute the owner of these eyes, the rest of the group came to their senses before they all followed the example by bowing with respect and deference.
"RISE, ALL OF YOU…" the voice echoed again and they all obeyed, going back on their feet and staring at the enormous eyes.
"WELCOME BACK TO THE HIDDEN WORLD, MY FRIENDS..."
"You honor us, your Majesty..." Salem said while bowing in deference alongside Summer, smiling.
The eyes moved and they all understood that their owner was nodding.
"SO, THIS IS YOUR FAMILY..." the owner of say eyes spoke again, now looking straight at Team RWBY, Cinder and Taiyang who stiffened slightly under his gaze.
"Yes, your Highness…" Summer answered with a nod and a smile.
A humming sound echoed in the air until the voice echoed again
"INTRODUCE YOURSELF, STRANGERS… "
Even if there was aggression or coldness in his tone, it was not a demand… It was an order.
Salem and Summer gestured for their companions to step forward and introduce themselves. With a nervous glance at one another, they stepped forward.
"My name is Cinder Fall, your grace… I am Salem's daughter..." the ashen haired young woman said with a bow and a respectful tone.
"I am Taiyang Xiao-Long and I'm Summer's husband, your Majesty..." Taiyang said with a bow and a steady tone.
The eyes moved as the still hidden head nodded in greeting before the emerald orbs landed on the young ones, waiting. However, they were clearly nervous.
"PEACE, YOUNG ONES… I AM NOT GOING TO BITE YOU..." there was a hint of playfulness in his tone and it calmed them down slightly.
"I-I am Yang Xiao Long, sir… I am Summer's eldest daughter…" the blond brawler of Team RWBY introduced herself nervously but still trying her best to show deference.
"I-I-I am Ruby Rose, sir !" the leader of Team RWBY said shakily while looking at the emerald eyes with fear.
"YOU LOOK JUST LIKE YOUR MOTHER, YOUNG ONE… MAY YOU ALSO INHERIT HER KINDNESS AND COURAGE..." the deep voice echoed again, but it was softer.
"T-Thank you, sir !" Ruby replied back with a quick bow.
A chuckle echoed in the air before the eyes landed on the last two people present.
"WHAT ABOUT YOU, YOUNG ONES ? I CAN CLEARLY TELL YOU ARE NOT RELATED TO YOUR COMPANIONS..."
"Your Majesty, my name is Weiss Schnee...I'm on the same team as Ruby and Yang..." the Ice Queen of Team RWBY said respectfully while bowing down at the eyes, showing nothing but pure respect and deference.
"A SCHNEE, HUH ? ANY RELATION TO JACQUES SCHNEE ?" This time, the voice was filled with cold anger and they all felt it.
"H-He is my father, your Highness..." Weiss answered shakily while gulping slightly in fright.
The eyes seemed to narrow at her for a moment before the voice echoed again, softer this time.
"AS LONG AS YOU ARE NOT LIKE HIM…"
"I will try my best, your grace !" Weiss replied with another bow, while internally being thankful that nothing else happened.
"WHAT ABOUT YOU, MY DEAR ? BY SCENT, I CAN TELL YOU ARE NO HUMAN…" the voice echoed again while the eyes landed on the last member of Team RWBY.
"Your Grace, my name is Blake Belladonna... I am a Faunus and like Weiss here, I belong to the same team as Ruby and Yang..." Blake responded with deference and respect while bowing slightly.
"A FAUNUS ? INTERESTING… I HAVE HEARD A LOT OF THINGS ON YOUR KIND FROM MY DEAR FRIENDS HERE (he glanced at Salem and Summer at this part)… AND SHANYRRIA HAD TOLD ME EVERYTHING YOU SAID TO HER IN HER MESSAGE… I WELCOME YOU IN THE HIDDEN WORLD !"
"Thank you, your Majesty…" Blake said with a bow, while blushing slightly.
Why ? Because of the respect and kindness in his tone. Like Shanyrria, Falael, Aurora, Targon and the hatchlings, the Dragon King seemed to respect her kind and once again, it warmed her heart.
"NOW THAT YOU INTRODUCED YOURSELF, I THINK IT IS MY TURN NOW… I'M SURE YOU ALL KNOW OF ME ALREADY, BUT THIS IS COMMON CUSTOM..."
At those words, the owner of those eyes stepped out of the shadows, revealing itself into the light of the large hole above them.
Salem, Summer and Fawkes, used to him, merely smiled at the Dragon King but the others ?
Team RWBY, Cinder and Taiyang were unable to stop themselves from gasping loudly in shock and awe once their eyes caught their first official look of the Dragon King… and needless to say that they were speechless.
The being before them was HUGE ! As he approached them, all felt like ants facing a grizzly bear. The being before them was sure imposing and exuded a strength and aura that was impossible to match.
A few seconds later, the great Black Dragon was now before them, bathed in the light that shone above them and, as he spread his massive wings to display himself in all his splendor, Team RWBY, Cinder and Taiyang took the time to observe him more closely.
The Dragon King was totally different from the dragons they saw so far… not only in size but also in appearance.
He had a long hooked beak-like muzzle (somehow reminding them of an eagle's) filled with large and sharp white teeth, a crown of eight horns decorated his head (with six around the back of its head with the higher being larger than the one and had one horn over each eye) and beautiful emerald eyes gleaming like fires with slit-pupils similar to a cat's.
The Great Black Dragon had a long, serpentine-like neck, a compact chest with a streamlined shape like a snake's and there were spikes running down his entire length. His hind-legs were stocky and powerful looking, and each foot had three digits with defined claws. Then, wagging behind his massive form, wasa very long whip-like tail which was as big as the rest of his body !
The massive creature was mostly covered in black scales but his underside was covered with silver scales. His wings, which possessed bat-like limbs, were as impressive as the rest of his body : they were massive with one wing being nearly as big as his length !
As for the size, Weiss, Cinder and Blake (being the sharp ones in the group) did a quick examination and the result both terrified and impressed them : the Dragon was 600 meters long, 250 meters tall, and a wingspan of maybe 1140 meters (a single wing was 570 meters in length) !
Ancalagon the Black clearly deserved his titles, they all thought to themself in admiration for the Dragon King.
"NEWCOMERS, ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MYSELF PROPERLY : I AM ANCALAGON THE BLACK, KING OF DRAGONS AND RULER OF THE HIDDEN WORLD !"
Then, his eyes narrowed again with sternness as he added firmly "AND WE NEED TO HAVE A TALK !"
(To be continue…)