Culmination

by Selena IR Drake

  – FROM “THE DIARY OF AGASEI” BY AGASEI DÉDOS

  I awoke with a pounding headache. Unwilling to face a long day under such circumstances, I promptly buried my face in Kitfox’s chest. He chuckled softly and held me tighter. Content and comfortable in his arms, I felt sleep begin to take me over again. That was, until a growing hum had us all scrambling to see what was going on.

  As the four of us rushed out of the rock dome serving as our temporary lodging, we were greeted by the Wakari. They all seemed surprised to see us up so soon, but were delighted none-the-less. When asked about the humming, the Wakari said it was a song to appease their god. Some of them even invited us to join them in paying respects to the Great Stone. We respectfully declined.

  Once the throng of Wakari was out of earshot, Thera turned to me. “What do you say we look for Pyrex now?”

  “Why waste our time doing that when we can just leave?” grumbled Shazza.

  I rubbed my temples and sighed. “Seeing as how we aren’t allowed to leave today, I think digging up as much info on the Shadow Dragons is a good way to spend our time.”

  “You okay, Xy?”

  “Just a headache.”

  “Probably from sleeping on a rock.” Shazza muttered and crossed her arms. I rolled my eyes, trying not to let her foul mood affect me.

  We will do our best to help soothe your headache, Hatchling. I thanked Vortex and turned my attention back to Thera.

  “Do you remember which way Breccia said the ‘loud water’ was, Thera?” I quirked an eyebrow when she frowned and looked around the dark chasm that housed Seramahli.

  “I can hear some pretty loud water from here.” Kitfox pointed to his ears. “Do you think that’s what Breccia was talking about?”

  “No way to know until we take a look.” Thera replied. “Lead the way.”

  Kitfox took a moment to get his bearings before taking off in a direction. Thankfully, he led us away from the countless throngs of Wakari making their way to what I suspected to be the Great Stone. We paused at the city’s outskirts to summon a dim orb by which to see in the never-ending dark. Cautiously, as to avoid slipping on the sharp basalt and obsidian terrain, we moved on.

  It felt like half the day had passed before our path came to an abrupt end and a great wall of jagged rock loomed in the dark before us. Kitfox stopped for a minute to listen before leading us around to a portion of where the rock wall had cracked, leaving a gaping scar big enough for even a dragon to slip through. Just beyond the entrance, the sound of rapids echoed in the dark.

  Thera dropped her nearly-expired orb on the ground and lit another. The instant the light burst into existence, a horrible screech went out. A moment later, a second screech joined the first, then a third. We drew our weapons and rushed through the crack. None of us were expecting to see what lie before us.

  A small, dome house sat next to a fast-flowing stream. Everywhere we looked miniature dragons in several colors looked back at us. Some of them were screeching in alarm. Others were hovering overhead as if waiting for an order to attack. Most stood guard over the house.

  “Silentium!” Everything went eerily quiet in an instant. I looked at the entrance of the house to see a well-dressed, Wakari male standing there. A golden, miniature dragon sat proudly on his shoulder. Surprisingly, the Wakari had his thick mane combed and tied back. His obsidian eyes stared at us as he took a few confidant strides towards us, hammer drawn.

  “Pyrex Akregate?”

  The Wakari froze in his tracks and looked at Thera. “You are familiar to me, Feykin. Who are you and why are you here?” Unlike the other Wakari who spoke just above a whisper, this Wakari’s voice was loud and clear. Thera hesitated to answer. The Wakari glowered. “Speak quickly or I’ll have my homunculi tear into you.”

  “I am Thera;” the Feykin shook herself from her stupor, “Daughter of Thernu Onyx, Creator of the Dragons of Light. This,” she pointed to me, “is Xyleena, Daughter of Amorez Renoan.”

  It was the Wakari’s turn to be surprised. After a moment of gawking at us, he smiled and ordered the miniature dragons to stand down. “I am surprised to learn they left heirs. Now that I know who you are I shall tell you. I am indeed Pyrex Akregate, Last Alchemist in the world and Creator of the Dragons of Shadow.”

  “I can’t believe it’s really you.” Thera whispered.

  “Your homunculi,” I paused to point out a few, “I’ve seen one before. They’re sentinels, right?”

  “Aye, that’s what Moonwhisperer called them.” Pyrex looked at the gold homunculus on his shoulder. “They were his idea, and he was never fond of the term homunculus.”

  “You created all of them?”

  “These ones, yes, but the ones on Katalania, no. Those were Moonwhisperer’s doing.” Pyrex smiled. “These guys protect me from intruders and Jormandr, among other things.”

  “Who is Jormandr?”

  Pyrex met Shazza’s gaze with a frown. “I’m not surprised the others didn’t warn you. Jormandr is the name of the Wakari-eater; a giant snake made of rock and clay.”

  The Deimos Clay that forms Jormandr is what bore Kkaia of Rock. Thedrún added quickly. I relayed the info to my teammates.

  “Makes sense.” Pyrex chuckled and leaned on his hammer. “I used the clay myself to form Kula, the Shadow Dragon of Earth.”

  “Hold on a second!” Thera exclaimed. She dared to take a few steps towards Pyrex. The Wakari stroked the head of his gold homunculus when it hissed in warning. “Did you also use a Magnathor Fang to make the Shadow Dragon of Water?”

  “No. I used Titan’s Breath to make Maelstrom. That was a fun mess to collect, let me tell you. You should have seen how furious Solahnj and Tryn-Tryn got during that ordeal.” Pyrex laughed, lost in the memory for a moment. He suddenly shook his head as if to clear it. “So Amorez used Magnathor’s Fang, huh? I’m impressed she managed to obtain one.”

  “So you and Moonwhisperer used different items to make the dragons?”

  “Obviously, Feykin.”

  “How exactly were the dragons created, anyway?” Pyrex took a long moment to consider Kitfox’s question. The Demon crossed his arms as he awaited an answer.

  “That is a really long story.” Pyrex replied carefully. “The quick and simple answer is: combine an elemental catalyst with an Elixir of Life. Toss in a homunculus, add the secret ingredient, and voila! ”

  I was dumbstruck. In fact, my entire team was shocked into silence by Pyrex’s revelation. It all sounded so easy that I was surprised there weren’t more dragons in the world.

  It wasn’t as easy as he makes it sound, Xyleena. Kúskú muttered.

  Shazza was the first of us to break out of the stupor and speak. “You mean the dragons were just sentinels once upon a time?”

  Pyrex nodded. “More or less.”

  “Hang on a second!” Thera threw her hands up to pause further questions. “You mean to tell me you and Moonwhisperer both created an Elixir of Life?”

  The Wakari snorted. “I can’t speak for Moonwhisperer, but I successfully made sixteen Elixirs. I took one myself while the other fifteen went to making the Shadow Dragons.”

  “Fifteen? What do you mean fifteen? There are only twelve.”

  “Currently, there are thirteen Shadow and eleven Light.” Pyrex laughed at our stunned expressions so loudly his gold sentinel protested. “You see,” he cleared his throat and reached up to soothe the homunculus, “during the final battle, the Dragons of Light managed to kill two of the Shadow Dragons, Adoramus of Light and Felwind of Chaos. On the other hand, the Shadow Dragons killed one of the Dragons of Light. Abaddon of Ghost, the thirteenth Shadow Dragon I mentioned before, defected to replace the fallen Light leaving both sides with twelve.”

  “You’re kidding.” Muttered Shazza.

  No, everything he said was true. Affirmed Vortex.

  Our fallen brother, Taypax, was the original Dragon of Death for our side before Abaddon absorbed his powers and took his place. A
dded Helios.

  “I can tell by the look in your eyes that the dragons are speaking to you.” Pyrex spoke softly. I forced myself to meet his knowing gaze.

  Kitfox touched my shoulder. “Is it true?”

  I nodded slowly. “Taypax... Taypax was the twelfth Dragon of Light.” I shook my head. “That doesn’t make any sense! I clearly remember Amorez saying Agasei made twelve dragons and then she made twelve to counter balance the others.”

  “I can tell you for certain that every history book in existence miswrote the information. Then again, they never did get the story directly from anyone who actually lived and breathed the whole ordeal. Are you sure it was really Amorez who told you that both sides started with twelve?” Pyrex crossed his arms smugly.

  Kitfox shrugged. “If we still had the Dragon Diary, we might have been able to look through Amorez’s own writing to see if that was really the case.”

  Pyrex balked. “You lost the diary?!”

  “Dimitri, Agasei’s heir, stole it from us.” I muttered.

  “Ay! Ay! Ay!” The Wakari rubbed his temples as he paced in circles. “That explains a lot.”

  “What are you talking about?” Shazza deadpanned.

  Pyrex stopped pacing and flashed us a gloomy smile. “When I created the Dragons of Shadow, I attached a fraction of myself to each one so I would know exactly where they were at all times. When Amorez locked them away some 490 years ago, I completely stopped feeling them. Then, a few days ago, I was nearly bowled over as their presence broke free of the Dragons’ Gate.”

  “That’s just great.” Muttered Kitfox. “How are we supposed to finish collecting the last four dragons when we have all twelve of the dark ones roaming the land?”

  “You don’t have all twelve Lights?”

  “Long story.” I said darkly.

  Pyrex frowned. Minutes passed as he quietly watched while we fretted about our next course of action. “Tell you what. I still have some high-ranking friends amongst my kin. I will talk to them to see if they can persuade others to join in the battle against Agasei’s heir.”

  I thanked him profusely.

  “While I do that, you four take one of my homunculi and find the last four Dragons of Light. Once I have gathered the Wakari to aid you, I will find you by sensing my homunculus. Hopefully we can gather our strengths in time to prevent history from repeating itself.”

  “We would love to be on our way now, but your dense kin won’t let us.” Shazza huffed.

  Pyrex rolled his eyes. “Why am I not surprised? Look, regardless what those peons said, Overlanders like you aren’t bound by Wakari laws. You can leave whenever without fear of any persecution. In fact, if you follow the stream that way, it will take you to the surface faster than any other route.” He pointed to the portion of the tunnel where I guessed the stream’s source would be found.

  “Thank you again, Pyrex. You have been a tremendous help.” I said as I jogged passed him to keep up with my three friends.

  “No problem.” He smiled. “Just remember to be careful out there. And take Visler with you!”

  Just as my team and I reached the river tunnel, a silver sentinel landed gently on my shoulder. I chuckled as it chirped and curled its tail around my neck. I briefly turned to wave good-bye to Pyrex, sending a prayer to the Gods that it wouldn’t be the last time I saw him.

  Ingredients: Water – 12,282 liters, Carbon – 7018 Kg, Ammonia – 1404 liters, Lime – 526 Kg, Phosphorus – 281 Kg, Salt – 8…

  – FROM “A PAGE TORN FROM A SCIENCE LOG” BY UNKNOWN

  My legs felt like lead. My back ached. My head was pounding. Yet I pushed on. It was all for my teammates, I told myself. They were all in a hurry to see daylight again. I couldn’t blame them; I was eager get out of this underground misery myself. It was what awaited us once we escaped Wakari lands that I wasn’t ready to face. I couldn’t stop thinking about all the additional challenges we’d face now that the Shadow Dragons were on the rampage.

  If you are careful, you may be able to slip under the Shadow Dragons’ radar and collect the last four of our brethren without a confrontation.

  I frowned. How do you propose I pull that off, Thedrún?

  Avoid cities as much as possible, especially the larger ones. Use your magic to cloak yourself and teammates as often as possible.

  You’re forgetting: Dimitri has the Dragon Diary. He’ll know where the last four dragons are hidden.

  He can’t risk covering them all at the same time, Hatchling. He doesn’t have the man power for that.

  Maybe not the man power, Vortex, but he certainly has the dragon power for it.

  I doubt he would spread his forces so thin given you have eight dragons currently in your possession.

  I shuddered as Riptide’s cool presence washed over my mind. Dimitri would be a fool to send only a few of his precious Shadows into a battle against all eight of us at once.

  “You alright, Xy?”

  “Yeah, Shazza.” I nodded as I glanced at the Dákun Daju. “Just talking to the dragons.”

  “They have any suggestions for us regarding the Shadow Dragons and their Keeper?”

  I sighed and finally came to a stop. As I took a seat on the ground to rest, my teammates gathered around. I looked at each in turn before telling them what my dragons had told me.

  Kitfox nodded. “It does make sense for Dimitri not to separate his dragons to attack us. However, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a plan to stop us somewhere along the way to our other four. My question is: how long can we hope he doesn’t notice our absence from the Arctic Prison?”

  “I’ll bet half the Katalanian Treasury that he’s already learned of our escape and is amassing his forces in one place to face us.” Shazza grumbled and punched the ground so hard the rock cracked. The sentinel on my shoulder squawked in response. I was quick to soothe its anger with a gentle scratching under the chin.

  “Well, if he’s anything like his father, Dimitri will be gathering his forces in the Grand Capitol.” Replied Thera. “And that would leave us free to sneak around to find the remaining dragons.”

  I doubt he’d be that stupid. Muttered Wildfire. Then again…

  “His Dákun Daju friend seems to be the brains of their little outfit,” Kitfox added as he leaned against the wall with a thoughtful frown, “and I don’t think she’d be dumb enough let him miss a golden opportunity to defeat us once and for all. I think he is indeed gathering an army, but he won’t just stand by while we continue gathering dragons. He has the advantage, and Godilai will force him to put it into play.”

  I sighed. “You have a good point.”

  “So,” Thera looked me in the eye, “What do we do?”

  Unfortunately, you can’t stay underground. Came Kkaia’s quiet reply. Though the Wakari territories are vast and their routes stretch far, they do not run the entirety of the world.

  It is also extremely hazardous to your health being underground for weeks or months on end. Added Helios.

  I nodded in agreement. Not to mention we won’t be able to fly over the long distances and that is a huge time-saver.

  Agreed. The dragons chorused.

  “We have no choice.” I said at last. “We have to return to the surface and try our hardest to remain hidden from Dimitri’s forces.”

  My team agreed.

  ◆◆◆

  After our break, we redoubled our efforts to reach the surface as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the stone path that had run the length of the river so far was quickly vanishing. I took the narrowing of the path with a grain of salt, hoping that it meant we were getting close to our destination. Finally, we were forced to step off the path completely and brave the knee-deep waters as they rapidly sped into the depths of the Wakari lands.

  Thera and Shazza both lost their footing more than once, but managed to catch themselves. I slipped a number of times myself, causing the silver-scaled sentinel on my shoulder to chirp in alarm. Thankfully, Kitfox was always t
here to catch me and help ease the homunculus.

  “Ya know,” grumbled Shazza as she caught herself from slipping again, “this is making me wonder how that little Wakari was able to get to the surface all on his own.”

  “I was starting to think the same thing.” Kitfox muttered. He reached out to soothe the sentinel again when it squealed. “What is he so nervous about? You didn’t slip that time.”

  I felt Kúskú’s mind suddenly meld with mine. The little one is trying to tell us something. I don’t know what language he is speaking though.

  You mean he can talk to you even if you’re in the Eye? I spared a glance at the sentinel as he shrieked again.

  It would appear so.

  That little one is annoying! I’m going to eat him if he doesn’t stop shrieking. Snarled Wildfire.

  Please tell him to speak slower, Xyleena. I can’t hear what he’s trying to say.

  I’ll try, Kkaia. “Visler, please calm down. Kkaia can’t catch what you’re trying to say.”

  “The dragons can hear him?” All three of my teammates were as taken back by that as I was.

  Jormandr!

  I covered my ears at the dragons’ united mental shout and echoed their warning. We all stopped dead in our tracks. I heard it then; a low rumble in the distance, barely detectable over the rushing water. I looked into the eyes of my teammates and knew that they had heard it too.

  In an instant, the four of us were running as fast as we dared on the treacherous river stones. In the darkness behind us, the low rumble grew ever louder. Jormandr was gaining on us. I quickly measured the size of the tunnel we were trapped in, coming to the conclusion that there wasn’t room to summon a dragon here.

  If the need arises, summon me. Said Kkaia. I can meld with the ground and hold Jormandr at bay to allow you time to escape.

  You and Jormandr are one in the same, Kkaia! You share his power to become one with the earth. Wildfire exclaimed. Xyleena, summon me. Fire opposes earth.

  There isn’t any room for you to fit!

  Their shouted argument momentarily distracted me and I slipped on a smooth stone. Visler leapt from my shoulder with a disgruntled squawk as my panicked cry echoed and I splashed headfirst into the rampant river. A mere moment later, I was yanked from the depths with an audible gasp.