Born of Fire: The Dawn of Legend

by Dreagen

  “I’m trying,” he replied. “His armor is too thick!”

  “Release me, you heathens,” PeroDay roared, “and I promise you a quick death!”

  “Now there’s an incentive,” LyCora said.

  High above, Rex still had his teeth buried in the armor of VorTak, who was doing everything he could to shake him off. Time and time again he would ignite his flame in an effort to burn him off the TyRanx, but to his both shock and horror, Rex managed to match his flame with his own every time, forcing him to resort to cruder methods.

  Arching his body downward, VorTak rocketed to the world below and veered up at the last possible moment, dragging Rex across the ground for at least a hundred meters before rising back up in the air and doing the same against the side of a rocky outcropping. Despite his unwillingness to let go, Rex was hardly finding the task of holding on to his prey an easy feat. His sides and back screamed in pain from being dragged and his neck muscles ached from steadying his jaws so as to not lose his grip. At last, he felt his teeth sink through the dense layer of armor and make contact with flesh beneath.

  Sensing his armor had been compromised, VorTak panicked with a burst of speed and slammed them both into the ground, sending Rex flying off to the side, but not without taking a little something with him, for upon staggering to his feet, VorTak rubbed the back of his neck only to feel bare skin. Looking up, he saw Rex already on his feet with a large piece of his neck plating in his jaws.

  “Son of a bitch!” VorTak hissed. “How dare you damage a knight’s armor?”

  “You think that’s bad?” Rex replied, dropping it at his feet. “Just wait and see what I do to you when I pry the rest of that scrap metal off of you.”

  VorTak wanted so desperately to tear him apart limb from limb, but immediately remembered why he and VorTak had been dispatched to begin with. PeroDay, he suddenly remembered when he realized he no longer heard sounds of battle coming from where he had left him. Turning away from Rex, he launched into the air and flew back the way he had come.

  “Hey! Get back here!” Rex called out after him. “I’m not finished with you!” Not wasting a moment, he powered up his own flame and took off on foot after VorTak.

  LyCora was now finding it increasingly difficult to keep PeroDay restrained as he continued to struggle against the roots that bound him. EeNox, on the other hand, was still trying to penetrate his thick armor to deliver the killing blow to the back of his neck. He could feel his teeth slowly sinking further and further into the dense material, but also sensed LyCora’s hold over him weakening. It was now a race. Who would gain the upper hand first?

  “EeNox,” ShinGaru called out. “EeNox, please, you must listen!”

  “A little busy here, ShinGaru,” EeNox mumbled, glancing up without loosening his grip.

  “I have an idea, but I need you to trust me!”

  “I swear when I get free I am going to peel the skin off you hides,” PeroDay yelled angrily.

  “What are you talking about?” EeNox asked, ignoring the DraGon’s threat.

  “When I say so, release him and get clear!”

  “What! Are you crazy?”

  “EeNox, you have to trust me!”

  “Just do it!” LyCora said, now feeling the effects of the immense strain she was under. “I can’t hold him anymore!” No sooner did she say that then the roots began to snap and break off, and PeroDay managed to get his right arm up underneath him, followed shortly thereafter by his left.

  “All right, fine,” EeNox said. “But whatever you’re going to do, do it fast!”

  Without any hesitation, ShinGaru rushed forward and wrapped his body around PeroDay like a snake, constricting as he did so.

  “You fool,” PeroDay exclaimed. “That’s your plan? No way you’ll be able to crush me in my armor!”

  ShinGaru closed his eyes and gathered his flame within himself, concentrating as hard as he could before his eyes shot open and he cried out, “EeNox now!”

  Not hesitating, EeNox released his grip on the DraGon’s neck, his teeth effortlessly sliding out of the deep groves they had punctured, and pushing with his legs, rolled to the side before righting himself on his feet. At the same time, LyCora released her grip on PeroDay, the roots falling away as he rose to his feet. However, before he could reach his full standing height, his body was suddenly engulfed in a powerful golden electric charge that surged through him. The air was filled with the shrill and terrible shrieking of the DraGon as his body was being cooked from the inside out.

  The others watched in shock for a moment as the DraGon’s skeleton became visible before the electrical surge subsided and ShinGaru released his grip on PeroDay, who stood in place for a moment, his armor blackened and smoking, before finally collapsing to the ground where he lay motionless. Just then the small orb on his chest plate, began to flicker before it opening and his armor was reduced to thousands of spindly organic tendrils that retracted back into it, leaving his body bear and exposed.

  ShinGaru panted heavily as fatigue overtook him. Slowly, he lowered his body to the ground where he focused as hard as he could to stay conscious. LyCora and EeNox raced over to him.

  “ShinGaru, are you all right?” EeNox asked as he looked him over. “Wow, that was incredible!”

  “You actually managed to produce electricity!” LyCora exclaimed with uncharacteristic enthusiasm. “Only the most skilled golden flames are supposed to be able to do that!”

  “Guess I just got lucky,” ShinGaru replied weakly.

  “Can you stand?” EeNox asked.

  “I think so,” he said, rising to his feet before the feeling in his appendages vanished and he collapsed. “Perhaps in a moment.”

  “We can’t just stay here like this,” LyCora insisted.

  “Why not?” EeNox asked, looking back to the still form of PeroDay. “He doesn’t look like he will be getting up anytime soon.”

  “ShinGaru, is he dead?” LyCora asked.

  “I don’t know,” he replied. “I gave it everything I had but am unsure if it was enough.”

  “What about the other one?”

  “Oh, shit, I almost forgot!” EeNox exclaimed. He had become so preoccupied with his own battle that he had forgotten that Rex was somewhere else, facing a similar foe all on his own. “Did you see which way they went?”

  “Up and over there somewhere,” she said, looking to the path of destruction off to their left.

  With a heavy sigh and painful push of his muscles, ShinGaru slowly rose to his feet. “We need to find him and get out of here. Can AnaSaya walk?”

  EeNox glanced behind to where AnaSaya was lying in a catatonic state, motionless and seemingly unaware of what was happening around her. “If you two can drape her over my back, I can carry her.” They began walking towards her when their attention was pulled off to their left by a wailing cry as VorTak came rushing up and stopped directly above PeroDay.

  Looking down at the still form of his fellow knight, VorTak let out a deep, throaty growl that put the others on edge. PeroDay’s armor had retracted on its own, meaning it had been put under an overwhelming amount of strain; something that rarely happened even at the height of the most conflicts. Slowly he lowered himself and placed a hand under PeroDay’s arm, and with a swift motion, hoisted him up and got his arm around his shoulder. “Damn it,” he said to the still and silent PeroDay as he saw the third-degree burns on his face. “I knew that arrogance would get the better of you one day.” Then looking forward, he fixed the three of them with a hateful look that spoke volumes: When I get my claws on you…

  Just then, AnaSaya snapped out of her transitory state and looked around her, blinking feebly. “Wha…what happened?”

  VorTak felt a surge of panic as he recalled what she had done to PeroDay only moments ago. Such a terrifying power, and now one of these others has managed to bring one of the most powerful knights in the order to death’s door. In fact, they all seemed to possess unusually high-powered flame
s, which he had dangerously underestimated. Now he was thinking of only one thing: escape. As shameful as it felt, he could not ignore that he was outclassed when pitted against all of them together. The TyRanx alone nearly did him in, and as afraid as he was of how the Grand Marshal would react when he would tell him of their defeat, for the moment anyway, he feared what he was currently facing significantly more. He knew he needed to make his move now, and fast, but with the added burden of PeroDay, he feared he would not be able to move quickly enough. That was when he saw them, two DarMorvora having come to investigate the source of what must have sounded like an enormous battle being waged. Looking back to the five teens, he bellowed. “You’re strong, I’ll give you that! Certainly stronger than the Grand Marshal gives you credit for! Now let’s see how fast you are!” Without even giving any of them time to blink, he breathed a ball of fire directly at the two unsuspecting DyVorians, who immediately turned their heads at the sound of the DraGon’s voice.

  “Watch out!” Rex called out to them as he and the others proceeded to all fire a blast of their own in the hopes of being able to intercept VorTak’s.

  Not wasting their diverted attention, he ignited his flame, and with a mighty flap of his wings, launched himself into the air with PeroDay hanging limply off him. With another pulse, he shot forward and vanished into the distance, just as LyCora managed to use a low-hanging tree branch to send the two poor predators sailing through the air and out of the way of the DraGon’s blast, which exploded on contact with the ground they had been standing on.

  They all breathed a heavy sigh of relief, all of them except the two DarMorvora, who looked completely dumbfounded by what just happened. Now they all turned back to where the two DraGons had been only to realize that they had been duped into allowing them to escape.

  “Well, there goes any chance of getting answers out of them,” Rex said angrily.

  “What choice did we have?” ShinGaru asked. “Those two would have been killed had we not done something.” Turning back to see if they were indeed all right, he was surprised to see that they both had already retreated back into the thicket, no doubt to tell the others of their tribe what they had witnessed. Perhaps for the best, he thought, for the more people who knew, the greater the numbers that could potentially be organized to fight against any future attacks.

  “That was odd, wouldn’t you say?” declared Rex.

  “Odd was ten days ago,” replied EeNox. “This is insane!”

  “No, I mean why would DayKar send two of his knights to kill us after that bitch made it clear that he wanted us to come to the tower?”

  “Maybe it was his way of luring us out in the open away from anyone who could protect us,” ShinGaru offered. “After all, he already saw that even the combined forces of his army are still not enough to defeat one tribe, let alone the whole world.”

  “Maybe,” Rex said, not sounding fully convinced. “But then why wait until now? He could have sent them any time since we left. Why wait until we’re as close as we are?”

  “Aren’t we forgetting something?” LyCora suddenly cut in. “Or rather someone?” She turned, and the others followed her gaze until it fell upon the still and silent form of AnaSaya. She had not moved since the fight, but rather had collapsed down on her haunches where she just stared forward, taking long deep breaths.

  Slowly the others approached, unsure as to what they had truly witnessed or if they themselves should be at all concerned for their own well-being. “Are you all right, AnaSaya?” ShinGaru asked softly, bringing his head close to hers. There was no response, not a first, but when he began to cautiously move in a little closer, she suddenly reared up and let out a high-pitched cry that made them all jump back in fright. So shrill was the sound that they could feel their eardrums vibrating.

  “Ahhh! My ears!” EeNox cried out as he thrashed his head about furiously.

  “My head feels like it’s going to explode,” Rex growled as he too swung his toothy skull madly about in an effort to throw off the sound.

  At last the ear-splitting shriek came to an abrupt stop, and AnaSaya collapsed back down to the ground, silent and unmoving once more. At first, none of the others moved, either, fearful they might trigger another episode from her, and with the ringing in their ears making it difficult to hear something even directly behind them, they were none too keen on startling her. At last, however, they slowly moved in until they were right on top of her, and still no outburst. Calmly they crouched down around here while ShinGaru nudged her gently with his snout. “Can you hear me?” he asked in a calm yet noticeably nervous voice. Slowly AnaSaya looked up and nodded. “Good,” he said, breathing an audible sigh of relief. “How do you feel?”

  AnaSaya did not reply at first, rather she just stared back at him, as if trying to discern the meaning of the question. “I…I didn’t want to, but…he just…”

  “Take your time,” said EeNox. “You’re safe now. They’ve gone.”

  “They?” she began before the memory of what had transpired came rushing back to her like a wave. “Oh, no! Not again! I didn’t mean for it to happen again!”

  “What, AnaSaya? Mean for what to happen again?”

  “She probably means what she did back there,” Rex said.

  “Question is, what did she do back there?” EeNox replied.

  “I think I know,” LyCora said in a reserved tone that betrayed some sense of sadness.

  “Oh?” said Rex, cocking his head to the side to look at her.

  Slowly she moved in closer to AnaSaya, who was now trembling and muttering incoherently to herself. “That’s why you couldn’t kill that DraGon the night of the attack, isn’t it?” she said, tilting AnaSaya’s head up with the tip of snout to meet her eyes. “You were afraid this would happen.”

  “Again,” EeNox said. “Someone want to tell us what ‘this’ is?”

  “We all know that the lavender flame has the power to heal greater than any other.”

  “Right.”

  “Ever wonder why?”

  “Because they have the power to directly connect with any living thing’s flame.”

  “That’s right, but doesn’t it sound reasonable that with the power to give life, one could also, say, take it away?” The others looked at one another, each of them exchanging uncomfortable glances. “My mother told me stories of DyVorians from ancient times whose mastery over their lavender flames was so great that they could hold one’s flame in place within them to keep them from dying just as easily as they could tear it out.”

  “But that would make them the ultimate killers,” EeNox replied, sounding shocked. “How do you fight someone who in the blink of an eye can rip the life out of you?”

  “Exactly,” LyCora said, glancing back at AnaSaya. “Of course, no one alive today has ever seen anyone with that kind of power, but there have been some rare cases of what we saw today happening.”

  “Which is?” Rex asked.

  “I could feel him,” came the soft and fragile voice of AnaSaya. All eyes were suddenly on her. “Feel him inside me…his flame being pulled into me. I wanted more…I couldn’t stop myself. Once I started…I just…needed more.”

  “Some scientists theorized that DyVorians with the lavender flames sometimes develop a type of neurological disorder that cause them to drain the flames of others during times of extreme duress,” LyCora explained. “It’s basically like a reflex, uh…a survival mechanism for lack of a better explanation.”

  “I’ve never heard of such a thing,” said ShinGaru, eyeing AnaSaya curiously.

  “Nor have I,” added EeNox.

  “Like I said,” LyCora explained. “It’s supposed to be extremely rare. So rare, in fact, that before today I didn’t think it was real.”

  “You mean your mother never encountered something like this either?” Rex asked.

  “No. She just heard the stories from her elders and passed them on to me.”

  “You mentioned something about scientists.
Does that mean there are others who have a different theory?”

  LyCora nodded. “Some have proposed that those who exhibit this behavior are of the same lineage as these lavender flames of legend; not strong enough to control it like they once did, but able to manifest a similar power under certain conditions.”

  “It does offer up some validation to the legends,” ShinGaru said. “Then again, that hardly seems surprising when you take us into consideration.”

  LyCora turned and brought her body gently down against the other girl’s. “AnaSaya,” she said softly, to which the other girl did not reply. “AnaSaya, please look at me.” Slowly, the pair of bright lavender eyes turned to meet hers. “I’m sorry for what I said to you before, for the way I reacted. I had no idea of the razor’s edge you were walking. All this time, trying to keep something so dangerous at bay and feeling like you couldn’t tell anyone…any of us. I can’t imagine…well…I’m truly very sorry.”

  Hearing LyCora’s words, Rex could not help but think of himself and his own dark secrets: EliCia and the shadow, both always vying for control of his mind, of him. What would truly happen if one or the other won out? What would become of him or rather what would he become? AnaSaya, who now spoke again, interrupted his thoughts; this time more clearly.

  “It only happened once before,” she said, trying not to let her emotions get the best of her again. “I was nine years old. I had wandered off too far from home and gotten lost. I remember feeling so scared. It was the first time I had ever been away from my mother like that. I must have been crying because a CeraVora found me.” She paused as she felt the familiar pain from the memory of that morning come back to her. “He wasn’t trying to hurt me,” she said in a pain-stricken voice. “But I was just so scared that I reacted and…and…”

  “You did to him what you did to that DraGon,” Rex said.

  “I didn’t want to hurt him! It just happened all of a sudden and I couldn’t stop it! My flame was acting on its own! It just kept going and going! Don’t you understand? It wouldn’t stop! I wouldn’t stop!”