by A. D. Adams
“The wizard?” Terra asked as he stopped in the center of the cave.
“He no longer amused me. Have you come to replace him?” the voice from the darkness answered.
“No. I have unfortunately come to end your existence,” Terra responded.
“Well, you're quite ambitious. You plan to kill the oldest living creature on Tone.”
“You could save yourself.”
“How could I possibly do that?” the voice said with utter contempt.
“Simply help life upon Tone instead of trying to destroy it.”
“Help? No one has ever helped me. Every creature upon this world either fears or loathes me. I do nothing but return what they have attempted to do to me,” the voice said as a hideous laugh rumbled through the cave.
“So you turn my offer down?”
“Don't be a fool. You offer nothing, for no one can harm me. What can destroy darkness?”
“Light!”
Terra looked up as sadness spread across his dragon face. Upon his great breast, the small amulet began to grow brighter. Each of the stones filled with light, creating a multicolored sparkling star. As the stones grew ever so brighter, the light from each stone started to spread down its adjoining spoke. The light reached the center hub of the embedded amulet, as all eight colors combined into a single scintillating white light.
The central white light then flowed up the last spoke and lit the final stone. The ninth power had come to the world. The top stone glowed so brilliant that it lit the entire cave. The light traveled back to the center hub and then flowed back to all eight of the other stones, changing them all to white. The entire amulet now glowed with one intense color. Its light began to flow across Terra’s breast causing each scale to light like a small sun. Terra felt the warmth spread through his chest and down into his core. The light reached his great heart and slowly filled it. Each beat drove the light through Terra's massive dragon body.
As the darkness watched, the great dragon began to shine; first, his chest, then his arms and legs. The light then traveled down his tail and into the crystalline back ridge. His eyes lit like two bright suns beaming light wherever he looked. Then his face lit and his teeth filled with light. The veins in his wings showed the light flowing into the thin wing membrane. Finally, the light spread into the strong muscles and bones that gave the dragon the power of flight.
The light filled the entire cave, leaving shadows behind the protruding rocks. The dark one laughed as Terra's heart pulsed. The light filled blood flowed throughout his great body pushing a sudden pulse of pure white light out of his body. It illuminated every part of the cave. The light was so bright that it crystallized the tips of the rocks lining the surface of the cave. The dark one’s laugh died suddenly.
“You can't kill me. I am in every crack, crevice, and even between each grain of soil below your feet. I am everywhere. I have spread throughout the world,” the voice said in a rough low, almost frightened pitch as the next pulse of Terra's heart pushed out a greater explosion of light. This intense light forced the crystallization into the soil as well as the stone surrounding him.
“Your mother once told me that you can be in all places, but you must always be in one place. This is that place, this is where your heart and spirit resides. If you die here, you die everywhere,” Terra said in a low pitying voice.
As the dark one realized what was happening, he called upon the only thing that could overwhelm the light within his essence. He called for what he thought of as his blood, the black fluid that surrounded the mountain. The blood rose up and flowed toward the cave entrance. It built to a massive wave and flooded through the opening only to meet another pulse of pure white light. The light was so intense that it became a physical force vaporizing the black blood as the two met. None of the dark one's blood survived the wave of light.
The entire inside of the cave was now a complex array of perfectly clear crystals. Even the soil sparkled like crushed sunlight. Terra's next heartbeat drove the crystallization almost to the mountain's exterior. A long, painful scream penetrated the cave as the next pulse converted the entire mountain to crystal. The light drove down to the impenetrable deep rock below the mountain, crystallizing even its indestructible surface.
Terra stretched his wings to their maximum extension and breathed in deeply as the next beat of his heart sent a light so intense that the sun itself was blotted out. The light spread the crystallization to just beyond the foothills. The dwarfs within the hill tunnels, blinded by the intense light, began to thrash about and swing their weapons. They struck the crystal walls repeatedly causing them to shatter. The tunnels began to collapse as the cracks within the crystal spread. The crystal rained down as sharp as dragon teeth, killing most of the dwarfs within the foothills. Only four to five thousand managed to escape the collapsing tunnels.
A beam of light emerged from the mountain peak and penetrated the dark sphere at the center of the cloud mass. The sphere changed into a glittering orb. The sparkling orb expanded in all directions burning away the dark clouds slowly dissipating as it spread beyond the foothills.
Terra concentrated all his remaining magic into his core for one final beat of his heart. Light exploded in all directions from the now great crystal mountain. It passed like a great wave of water over the surface of the world. The wave of light flowed over the foothills and through the trees. It passed through and over the mountains, consuming the dark clouds and their lightning. As the wave reached the coastal valleys, the fog lit from within with small glittering bursts of light.
The wave reached the great waters and filled them with light from the top of the waves to the greatest of depths. The great wave of light met on the other side of the world, creating a plume of light into the heavens, the likes of which the universe would never see again.
The passing light healed all it touched. Limbs regenerated, darkened eyes saw again, pain disappeared and even troubled minds cleared. Life once more began to spread across the world of Tone. For the Draman had given all to renew this world.
Terra lay upon the crystallized soil in his human form. He had given all he had and all he was, leaving him unable to move a single muscle. He could not even breathe, but he could think. His thoughts were of Fienna and his daughter. Terra was as close to death as a living being could be without actually passing through the dark threshold. The soil below him began to move and form around his body, lifting him up off the cave floor and covering him with the gentle warmth of the now sparkling soil. The world gave back a small bit of what Terra had given it. He felt a minute amount of his strength and magic begin to return, ever so slowly. His breath returned and his great heart beat once then twice. He could do nothing, but lay still while his body tried to recover. He ached to contact his love, but he was simply too weak.
Chapter 62 - Finding Terra
(Finding a lost love, a frantic search.)
- The First Sun-rising of the World Reborn-
The great wave of light passed through the fighters at the edge of the trees. The light staggered the living for a few moments, healing their injuries and clearing their pain. They looked upon the dark mountain, now a shining beacon that even muted the sun. All stood in awe as they tried to understand the power it took to change pure black to pure light.
Fienna had lost her mental connection to Terra as he entered the dark tunnel within the mountain. She was not going to wait an instant longer to find him. She swept her powerful wings down and drove her body into the now clear and sun-filled sky.
She swept through the sky toward the mountain until she saw the cave entrance. Fienna landed just before the now sparkling opening and moved through it without a thought.
“Terra, where are you? Terra, Terra,” Fienna bellowed as well as broadcast her thoughts with all the force her mind could generate.
“Fienna,” a single whispered thought returned to her mind.
She swept into the large cave and saw Terra laying on an elevated platfo
rm made of sparkling crystallized soil. The soil wrapped over his body leaving only his face exposed. She rushed and stood over her love looking down. She carefully reached down and as her hands came close to him, the sparkling soil withdrew and she wrapped her hand about his limp body. She drew him to her breast and as before gave him part of her life force. She felt him gain in strength as his mind touched hers. She felt his absolute exhaustion.
She gently embraced his body, holding him close to her heart and walked slowly to the cave entrance. She extended her wings and gently pushed her wings down, lifting her body into the air. As Fienna gained height, the tunnel and cave entrance collapsed behind them. Then overhanging crystals slid down, forever closing the cave to all. She considered flying to the crevice and leaving this all behind, but she knew he was too weak for such a trip. So, she flew back to the trees' edge.
As she landed, Fienna saw that at least half of the fighters were moving toward the foothills to deal with the remaining dwarfs. The others awaited Fienna and stood back as she landed with Terra. They backed away, allowing her to walk toward the trees. Fienna saw the ground moving below one of the protector trees. Small hair-like roots were coming up through the soil, creating a soft place obviously for Terra.
Rammy was waiting and saw Fienna moving toward the large tree. She and ten female fighters ran to the tree seeing the soft roots forming into a sleeping mat. Fienna gently placed her love on the roots as Rammy covered his body with a soft cloth. Fienna and Rammy simultaneously noticed changes in Terra's body. Where once there was an image of the amulet, now lay a glowing white circular crystalline spot. Rammy touched it and felt soft supple skin, although it looked like hard crystal. Her fingers tingled after the touch. His fingernails and teeth had also changed to crystal, but they were hard and strong.
He moved below the covering as he opened his eyes to see Fienna above him. He smiled, but those around him stood back for a moment before coming forward to adjust the cover.
“Fienna, my love. It's done,” he whispered.
“We know. Rest now,” Fienna said as she looked into his now sparkling crystal eyes. Gone the ancient wood color replaced by the crystalline eyes of the ninth power. Terra closed his eyes and fell into a troubled sleep, dreaming of the death of thousands and in the end the rebirth of a world.
At that moment, Terra was the most protected being on Tone. Thousands watched over him as he slept. Odd-shaped fruits formed in the trees about Terra. They grew and ripened at an unbelievable rate and began to drop before Terra awoke. The fighters tasted the purplish fruit and found it had a sweet wondrous taste. Rammy personally ground the fruit into a paste for Terra.
Terra stirred and opened his eyes. He had never seen the world more clearly. Every limb and leaf were as a clear to his eyes as if they were only an arm length away. Fienna's face came into focus as she looked down upon him.
“How do you feel?” she asked with concern in her voice.
“I am tired, very tired,” he said, barely able to move his hands let alone his legs.
“Rammy has something for you to eat,” Fienna told him as she knelt down next to him. She put a bowl to his lips and he half drank; half ate some sweet purplish mush. It was very good and he could feel the strength it provided spread through his body. He looked up from the bowl and saw the sun set behind the crystalline mountain he had created. He watched as Fienna went through her change. Behind her, the mountain lit the expanding darkness like a thousand fires. As soon as she was in her human form, she ran to him and lay next to his body. Normally, his body was warm, so warm that it kept her body heated, but this sunset he was stone cold and as the light vanished, he began to shiver.
She asked for rocks to be brought and laid in a pile at Terra's feet. Even though her fire was much smaller, as a human, it was hot. She got to her knees and hit the rocks with a thin stream of concentrated flame. It only took a few moments of her fire to heat the rocks white hot. Terra felt warmer as she formed her body around him. She had never seen him so weak; he had given all he had to save them. As he grew warmer, his hunger grew. Rammy brought him some fired meat and more of the crushed fruit.
At first light, Terra was able to sit up, but was still too weak to walk. Xillal had sent runners to the mountains to tell all of what he knew. Dawra and a hundred dragons started flying to the dark mountain after the clouds had been banished by the great wave of light.
Fienna decided not to leave until Terra could walk. She would not take any chances with his life. His weakness was so profound that she feared any attempt to move him might mean his end.
Two sun-risings passed as Terra's strength grew steadily. The dragons arrived near sunset on the second sun-rising to find the now sparkling crystal mountain and Terra in his weakened state. They also found the crystal eyes that seemed to look into one's spirit.
Terra had told Fienna what had happened within the dark mountain. He allowed her to determine whom to tell the story of the last fight. After Fienna had told Xillal, the elf king, and Rammy, the story spread like wildfire through the fighters.
Fienna wanted to fly Terra back to the mountains, but Terra refused. He told her he wished to travel with the fighters that he had come with, even though it would take longer.
Dragons were sent back to the mountains with the story of the final fight. They would also send a Flight back to protect Terra, along with spreading the word that, the fight was done. Fienna decided to leave before the Dragon Flight could arrive and Dawra agreed. They left the next sun-rising, even though Terra could only sit up. A carrier was built with wood given by the trees. They broke their own limbs off to provide the wood. Every fighter wanted to be one of the bearers for Terra. The leaders selected the most deserving of the honor.
After two more sun-risings, Terra could walk a few hundred steps. The dragon Flight had arrived and they as well as Fienna flew directly above him. She landed often to check on her love. At sunset, Fienna stayed within touching distance of Terra at all times. She would never be parted from him again. They arrived at the mountains near sunset on the eighth sun-rising.
Chapter 63 - The World Learns
(A man, a dragon, offers his life for a world and a world is grateful.)
- Forth Sun-rising of the World Reborn-
The old land nymph wizard learned of the final fight from both the dragons and the runners that had returned. He had dead branches lying upon the ground collected and built a small fire. He concentrated to connect with his friend, the Old Sinut. The Sinut floated above his black pool and saw his friend’s image slowly form on its surface. They greeted each other and the old wizard described what he knew of the last fight.
“How is Terra?” the Old Sinut asked in concern.
“He is recovering. Apparently he used all he possessed to destroy the dark one. He has recovered enough of his strength to start back, according to the messages the dragons have brought. A Flight has been sent to protect him.”
“I assumed he refused to be flown back?”
“That is my understanding,” the old wizard replied.
“You know he used only his own power. He did not draw upon the core powers,” the Sinut said.
“Yes, the power he used was beyond my understanding. We now know what the ninth power is, pure white healing light. The final wave of light healed everyone here.”
“When the light passed us it illuminated everything. It even penetrated to the great depths. The great waters are full of those living and dying, but nothing was dying after the light. I saw one of our young ones left arm regrow in a few moments. Pains I have had for many seasons vanished, I have never felt better. He healed an entire world. He gave everything to give this world a new future. We owe him everything and all know it,” the Old Sinut said with a serious tone in his voice.
“I have been told he has changed.”
“Changed how?”
“His finger and toenails as well as his teeth are pure crystal. Where the amulet once lay upon his chest, now a c
rystalline circular mark has taken its place. One final thing his eyes are a sparkling crystal. They say looking into them is like looking into endless tunnels of cascading light. One of the runners believes he can look into one's spirit. At sunset, his eyes and the mark upon his chest shines with a gentle white light,” the old wizard said with an awed look on his face.
“He has grown beyond us. He is magic itself,” the Sinut replied.
“Yes, yes he is.”
“We must make him the offer. He must be the leader of this world. Terra is the only one who can unite us all,” the Old Sinut declared.
“I agree. I will call a meeting of the leaders upon his return to the mountains. We will convince him. We have little choice. No one else could prevent future fighting. I believe the fighters would abandon their own leaders to serve him.”
“I will await your contact.”
The last true Solan had prepared for the final fight. She had no idea what might happen when Terra used his magic so she and Terra's sister moved the amulets to a small tunnel off her main cave. It was a reasonable precaution for when Terra used the ninth the ancient box exploded from the intense light that came from the amulets. The ninth stone of the two amulets they wore lit so bright that holes were burnt through their clothing. They both were temporarily blinded by the light. The old Solan's pain vanished as the light passed over her cave. She felt better than she had in many a season. Where they had stored the amulets, the tunnel walls had crystallized and many of the amulets were embedded in the walls. The two Solans picked up those amulets they could, and placed them in a new box.
The wave of light passed over the cave lighting the entire interior. They both went to the cave opening and saw the wave in the distance. The local plants, which were wilted at best, were now green and strong, almost bursting with life. Plants had also started to spread across the soil and even the rocks. The world was renewing as they watched.