Chapter Thirty Seven
Tyrosh kept an eye on the temple grounds, she had seen her son enter a few moments before. She had to struggle with her dragonhunger not to follow him immediately, but something told her this was all a part of her parents' elaborate plans. After ten minutes, she flew down to enter the temple behind her son. She walked along the corridor, heading towards the central service chamber.
She spotted the abomination against the wall, sensing its power. She was impressed with Lov's skill if he was the one who had defeated it. There was dark magic in that construct. She sensed it was evil, and was tempted to end its life. But she refused, knowing her son had left it alive for a reason. Maybe he meant to try and save it. Who knew what kind of insights this human Titan might be able to offer.
She continued onward, deeper into the temple, considering the pattern on the wall. The struggling dragons on the great Wyrm eating its own tail. It reminded her of the struggle that continued within herself. Should she give into her dragonhunger, snatch this potential victory from her son's hands? Or should she give him a chance to fail, and possibly die? It was hard to gamble with one's treasure. She continued on to the lift, waiting for it to arrive on the ground floor before she could take it to Martell's apartments.
Nord looked at the chaos that surrounded him. Dead orcs and Anuunaki lay in the streets, their blood gathering into large red and purple pools. The tall elf was proud of his army, they had fought savagely and bravely. He only hoped that Lov would reach Martell soon, the orcs' arms were starting to fail, and the Anuunaki were getting tired. They would need a break soon.
He looked over to his reserves, motioning them forward to relieve the other soldiers. The line broke a little as the men switched positions, and a Titan finally managed to break through the orc line. The constructs quickly formed a wedge to attack it, driving through the line deep into their opposition. Nord couldn't let the Titans force his people from the city. He pulled his sword from its scabbard, and a hum filled the air. It carried over the ringing steel of the battle, and Nord's forces seemed to fight on with a renewed vigor.
Nord signaled, and Manatua lept at the Titan formation, smashing the lead one in the chest. The blow bowled over half of the Titans' wedge, splitting it in two. The orcs finally managed to force the constructs from their lines and quickly reformed their shield wall.
Nord looked down at the halfling below him, “Are you sure I can't throw you in the pit just one more time?”
Jaxon glared up at his friend, “Seriously, you want to throw me to the damn dogs again?” Jaxon punched his friend in the thigh, “Be glad we're in the middle of a battle or I'd take the time to kick your ass.”
Chapter Thirty Eight
Annika sat outside on the edge of a cliff, the snow cold against her. She was surrounded by blinding whiteness, with nothing but the blue sky to break up the snow. The green star had been growing closer and closer, and now a thin streak led from it. The sight of it still filled her with a deep sense of foreboding.
She had asked her teacher what it was, and the old woman replied, “That is us running out of time.” Annika was still confused by that statement, running out of time for what? This is what she had spent her days contemplating, slacking on her other lessons because of it. She just couldn't get the star out of her mind.
She stood, dusting off her backside before turning to head into the barracks. It felt strange to her, up here in this ice land. Down south, people were everywhere. Even when you left the city you could spot them dotting the landscape. Up north though, you hardly ever saw anyone. Unless you were inside one of the gigantic frozen caverns, the land looked like a wasteland. Nothing but snow in any direction.
As soon as you were inside though, it was a completely different matter. The people here built their homes into thick ancient compacted snow. She watched as two of their magic users worked together, forming a new building from the ice. It was wonderful to see the way these people used their magic so freely. She waved to them, a smile on her face, as she entered her teacher's home.
The old woman sat, stirring a cast iron kettle over the fire, chanting to it. She looked up, asking her young pupil, “Been staring at the star again? I'm going to tell you right now, that thing spells trouble, and you need to focus on your lessons or the entire world is going to be in deep shit.”
Annika laughed it off, even though a part of what the woman said rang true. “I think we should be okay. My young chief won't allow anything to happen to the world. Even now he's fighting against evil to bring it to balance.” A smile lit her face as she pictured Lov, “Change will come, but it won't be from any star.”
The old woman cackled loudly, slapping her thigh as she struggled to catch her breath. “I remember when I used to think that about my dragon. Maybe one of these days you'll learn, young one. Until then, you need to relax and finish your lessons.”
“Did your dragon ever conquer the thirteen tribes of the orcs?” Annika asked, arrogance in her tone.
The old woman glared at her student, not missing a beat as she stirred her stew. “Your little tribes were so far beneath his notice. I don't think he cared. After all, do you stop the ants when they are fighting amongst themselves?”
Annika bowed her head to her teacher, “Sorry, I shouldn't have said that, it was rude of me.”
The old woman lifted the ladle from her pot, blowing on her spoon before tasting it. “It's quite all right. I remember the fiery passions my own mate filled me with.” She smiled coyly at her student, then gestured to the scrolls on the table. “Now sit down and do some lessons. If you keep spending your days dreaming, I'll have to give you a more rigid schedule.”
Annika sat, picking up the scroll that spoke of keeping one's mind free of anger, something she still struggled with. She settled down, reading through the breathing techniques and how to find the source of your ire.
The room was dark as Annika awoke in the middle of the night. She felt compelled to go outside, as if something were tugging her by her heart strings. The ice cave was dark, and few people were out and about.
Annika stepped outside, admiring the wondrous clouds painted amongst the stars. She stared at the green star, the tail coming from it as long as her middle finger now. She couldn't shake the vision from her dream, the sense of a malevolent being coming to end everything and everyone she loved.
She knew she needed to get to Lov, but her teacher refused to let her go. It was a growing point of contention between the two of them, and while Annika admitted she needed more training, she felt her future husband should know about this.
She hurried inside the ice cave, running into the old woman's home, and grabbing her teacher from where she slept shaking her awake. “Please, come with me. We need to talk.” She handed the old woman her walking stick, then turned and headed from her home. She left the cave, then sat in the snow, watching the green star while she waited for her teacher.
The old woman came tottering out slowly. She rubbed the lower part of her back as she approached her pupil. “Is there a reason you felt the need to wake me up in the gods be damned middle of the night?” She demanded, readying her stick for a solid thump if she didn't like the answer.
Annika turned to her, pointing to the heavens. “That thing is giving me nightmares.”
The old woman growled at her, and Annika moved to block her head as the stick jumped towards her. Her teacher was just sitting though, “Tell me about these dreams.” She said very seriously, placing her stick on the ground.
“I saw what seemed to be my future. Taking the mantle of responsibility from my mother. Loving and having children, and at the end of it, seeing an evil, malevolent lizard.” Anger filled her eyes, and the old woman smiled to see her student suppress her rage and continue in a calm voice. “He wants to take my future. And not just mine, but yours and everyone that you love.” Annika took a deep shuddering breath before continuing. “And whenever I look at that star, that's what I see. I don't know if I
'm going insane or if I'm imagining, but I know I needed to tell someone.”
“You're not going insane, young one. That is something evil approaching us.” The old woman reached into a fold of her robe, pulling out a skin and a pipe. She took a long drink from the skin, then offered it to her student. Annika took a large drink, but coughed as she swallowed. Whatever was inside of it had the strength of the old mother's grog. Still, it warmed her in the cool night air. “You're right to fear what's coming. But there's nothing you can do to stop it. Unfortunately, the Wyrms have been winning this stage of the war. That is their leader. He comes to claim what he thinks is a conquered world.” The old woman smiled before taking a puff on her pipe, blowing thick gray smoke out and offering it to Annika. Her student refused, so the old woman took another puff before continuing. “So, now we sit back, and see if there are any dragons left to stand up and defend us. Your man, he is one that has a chance. He lacks the true power of a pure dragon, but he makes up for it in sheer determination.”
The teacher placed her staff into the ground, using it to lift herself up. “So go back to bed, young one. The powers that be will settle this long before you and I awake, but the battle will continue long after we're gone.” She turned and walked back into the cave, leaving the young orc woman looking up at the stars. She had talked to her teacher, hoping to alleviate her fears, but found herself more terrified and anxious than before.
Chapter Thirty Nine
Plants sprang up everywhere, some thirty feet tall and all littered with edible vegetation. Mangoes and pears, all kinds of trees were mixed with vegetable plants of differing types. They all forced their ways up making an impassible line of vegetation. Koan and Fern walked at peace through it, the plants seeming to open a path for their passing. Every once in awhile they would bend down and start a new seedling growing. But otherwise, they just walked at peace through nature, sustaining themselves on the plants that sprang from under their feet. Koan had found that hundreds if not thousands of Ogier had come to join him in his crusade against Heart. And the vegetation had swelled in response, growing to the very edge of the temple grounds itself now. He looked forward to the day he could look upon what he and his people had wrought.
They came across an old farm in the vast jungle of plants, the walls sticking up brown and lifeless through the greenery. The tall Ogier felt shame for a moment, thinking of the family that may have been forced from the farm. It was good he saw this. He needed to remind himself that all war was abhorrent, and he would carry shame in the eyes of some of his ancestors. At least the family still had food thanks to the growers, but what about homes? Sadness welled up within him, and he felt a change in the air. His cheeks grew warm, and the wind stopped itself to stagnate.
“I don't know if I like the feel of the air right now.” He said calmly, “I have a feeling that somewhere close, a severe storm is gathering.”
Lov kicked in the door of the Titanbringer's apartments, seeing the old man draped across a comfortable looking padded chair, a glass of wine in one hand while the other held a stack of papers. He was dressed in a loose robe of greens and blues, and his attitude suggested he had not a care in the world, even with a battle right outside his city's walls.
“Can I help you, young man?” He asked, sitting up and setting down his glass. Lov growled at the old man before he checked the rest of the chambers, seeing if anyone else was there in the apartment. “Don't worry, my friend, there's no one here but you and me. And I'm not going anywhere. So, you don't have to rush to kill me. Truth to tell, I was growing bored. I expected you to be here an hour ago. Get a late start on the day today, did we?”
Lov felt like he was being mocked, but he knew this wasn't Martell speaking to him. “No, I didn't come to kill you. I came to kill whatever has a hold of you.” Lov stepped forward, grabbing a hold of Martell's cheeks and staring him in the eyes. The young half-dragon looked for whatever controlled this man, knowing they were the portals of the soul.
The world around him melted away, and Lov found himself trapped in darkness. He felt up and around himself, feeling stiffness above him. There seemed to be some markings cut into it, but he couldn't see it. He traced his finger along one of the grooves, looking to see if he could find a distinctive pattern to it.
Light crept into the small cavern, and the walls shone with a brilliant green, as if it were metallic. The pattern seemed so familiar to Lov, and he traced it a little more with his finger. It finally hit him, what he was looking at, as the wall pulled away from him. The young half-elf felt his dragonhunger quake with fear. He refused to feel it though. “Who are you?” He demanded of the monstrosity before him.
A deep booming laugh filled the air, and Lov felt the pressure waves pass through him. He was sitting in the palm of the largest dragon he'd ever seen, taking small space in the cup of it. Lov noticed the long sinuous body and the whip of its tail. Where the wings should be were worn nubs. This was no dragon, this was a Wyrm. The creature above him snapped his jaws, then shook its immense head. Lov could see the claws of the beast were as large as he was, so the horns must be thirty feet all on their own. “So, you're my brother's little get? They sent you as the champion of your world I see? What happened to your Grandfather? Tryton!” The old dragon appeared on the creature's opposite palm, curled up neatly like a house cat. “Oh, that's right. He joined my side, little one. He saw what was coming and knew it would be safer with me.” Tryton disappeared, and the hand beneath Lov began to move. He felt himself being lowered to the ground. The large Wyrm around him began to shrink as well, becoming more humanoid, but keeping his main draconian features. His horns still stuck high into the air, inflating the man's height to nine feet, though he looked Lov in the eyes. The man's scales shone brightly in the light, looking like emeralds cut to perfection. “So why do we have to fight? I don't want you as my enemy. I want friends. I love my friends.” The man circled around Lov, looking him up and down. Every time someone looked at him this way, Lov thought of his own grandmother doing it to him. “I promise, I won't do anything to harm you or anyone you love, as long as you bow to me. All I want is for you to admit that I have a phenomenal amount of strength compared to you, that you could not compete with.” The man stopped, standing and staring Lov in the eyes.
Though his dragonhunger quaked and howled, Lov found himself reacting without thinking. He spit in the man's eye saying, “You caused my people to be killed. You killed my father, kidnapped my mother, forced me to run away from my home and live like a vigilante!” Lov was screaming, having lost control of his temper. “How dare you! Why? What have I ever done to you?” Lov took a deep breath and smoothed his ear back to calm himself before continuing. “And then you ask me to join you. I would rather rip my eyes from their sockets than join you. I would rather singe my skin off with a hot iron. I would rather dip my manhood into a heap of razor bites. I don't know how I'm going to do it, but I'm going to kill you. You are going to die.”
The man snorted at Lov, flicking a piece of invisible dust from his shoulder before saying, “Pity, you would have been so much more fun a toy if you had joined me willingly.”
Lov felt himself being squeezed, as if someone were physically applying pressure to his skull. He moved for the man before him, whipping his sword from his belt, hoping it would spring to life and help him in some way. But it was dead in his hands, and the man before him laughed. “Fool, you didn't travel here with your friends. It's just you and me to settle this.” The young half-dragon's hand flew open, and he dropped the sword he had been clutching. “You see, already I take over a part of your mind. Soon, I'll have the rest of you too.” Lov struggled to bend down and pick the sword up, but his hands refused to listen. Then his left leg gave out from under him, and he crashed to the ground. The man walked over, looking down at the young man before him. “Don't worry, it will all be over soon. Then you can just sit back and relax as Martell does.” A deep booming cackle filled the air and once again Lov felt the pres
sure of the sound waves passing.
“Who are you?” He demanded, glaring up at the sickening green evil before him.
“I'm your great uncle. The brother to the father of your grandfather.”
Lov's eyes filled with fear as he realized who this was.
“I am Asheron.”
Chapter Forty
Annika could just see the light leading out onto the icy plains. Her dreams had been troubling the night before. She knew it was still early in the morning, but she couldn't resist the luring taunt of that green star. Her teacher was still snoozing when she snuck from their chamber, heading outside to check on the emerald star again. The tunnel around her flashed white and Annika felt herself blown back by the wind. As she flew through the air, she watched as the light coming through the entrance was snuffed out. Pain exploded through her head, and she was blinded. Darkness surrounded her as she struggled with her pain.
A few moments later, someone approached from down the tunnel, carrying a torch. “Are you alright?” He asked, kneeling down to check on Annika. She nodded that she was okay, and the man continued down the tunnel. She heard other voices approaching from behind her. The torch bearer called out, “It's sealed with snow! We need the builders!” He shouted back down the tunnel.
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