by LJ Davies
By
LJ Davies
‘Dragonfire, Age of Legend’ is a work of fiction.
The events described in this novel are imaginary, as are all related characters and elements.
Copyright © 2021 Lewis Jones Davies
All rights reserved.
Printed by Amazon.com.
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written permission of the author.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to express my appreciation to all the people who helped and encouraged me to write this book, to all those who provided support, talked things over, offered comments and assisted in the editing, proofreading and design. I wish to thank especially Mark Jones, Tracey Hale and Conrad Jones for their invaluable help, guidance and advice, and SR Boruvka for her exquisite artwork.
And Dad, this is for you, for the hours spent listening to me, editing, proofreading, and designing. Your love and support have seen me through some personally difficult times.
Second Edition: As I’m sure many will notice this is the second edition version of this story. Written several years after the first version, this updated copy merely portrays the story in a far more coherent and better punctuated manner as my level of skill and experience has improved a lot since I first worked on it. That said, I don’t claim to be perfect and there is always plenty to learn, regardless, I hope you enjoy!
Part I
World of Shadow
Chapter 1
Valcador
Ghostly whispers and faint voices drifted on an invisible wind that snaked its way through the chilling void surrounding me. Like the buzzing of a million meddlesome insects, it darted and dove through the lucid air, occasionally echoing from non-existent walls, ricocheting with a chime akin to shattering glass.
"You left us," it called, a combined tone of heartbreak, malevolence and spitefulness. "You left us to die in the cataclysm!" it sounded again, its tenor rising into an angry, almost terrified cry.
As if sensing the change, the world about me shook violently. Its spectral features rattled like an avalanche of falling rocks, before the distant voice boomed out through the darkness one last time, ripping at my scales like sharp shards of ice.
"You left us all to this world of shadow – you failed!"
The world flashed into existence in an instant and my mind wavered. A chilling haze coated everything, and the sensation of unimaginable isolation felt all too familiar. Like a lazy beast slipping from its slumber, the shimmering lines of reality lethargically sorted themselves, finally falling into place. However, this plane of existence was just another extension of the twisted and constant nightmares that plagued my uneasy sleep every night.
Dreams were nothing new to me, nor were nightmares, but unfortunately, these days they were one in the same. They seemed more like lost memories of things I'd never experienced, stirring from dusty old crypts within the ancient temples of my mind. Like a long-forgotten part of me was waking up and stepping into the light, only to be horrified by what it found.
The vision that captured my attention was no exception, neither was the ghostly situation that had preceded it, nor that which had come before in this never-ending cycle of torture. All I could do was accept that I was trapped in this place, watching an impossible heaven of starlight, bathing a vast expanse of black rock and twisted pillars stretching up toward the abyssal night. On the horizon before me, the great sphere of blue and green, which was once my home, rose like the sun, but the glow pouring across its surface was not that of sunlight.
I shied away, protecting myself from the flaming world. Yet even over such an impossible distance; its allure beckoned me, like a moth to a malevolent pyre. I took a step forward, paws quivering as they touched cold stone. After a few steps, something began to radiate through the glow, a distant sound carried upon a wind that defied the laws of this airless realm. Though it was not the only thing to grab my attention.
Stretching out before me, the vast plane fell away, forming a great cliff. Its rough surface was dotted with crumbling pillars and shattered domes, ancient ruins growing from the rock like a vertical extension of its unending surface. Furthest away, and far below, I could see a vast ocean, an army of waves marching toward their inevitable destruction on the jagged rocks. The only shift in the dull hue came from the raging firelight of the great sphere as it rose higher over the ocean's stormy horizon.
"You held the fate of us all." The echo of a distant voice whipped past me.
In the same instant, I saw a spectral swarm of dust carried on the haunting breeze. It was mostly formless, and yet for a split second, it forged itself into the unmistakable form of a dragon. I recognised the ethereal image. I hated it more than I cared to admit, and as its fleeting eyes glanced into mine, I felt nothing but cold emptiness.
"You failed!" the voice barked, reverberating off the cliffs before fading away.
"No, wait!" I called, reaching out after it. "I tried... I did everything... I couldn't..."
A loud rumble cut off my words as loose rock under my paws gave way, sending me crashing down the cliff in a flurry of dust and flailing wings. Pain flared as I floundered through rocks and ruins, and after what felt like an eternity of falling, I slammed into a crumbling wall at the cliff's base. Lifting my head, I found water battering rocks on either side of me, showering me with freezing spray.
Wincing at the sting in my battered limbs, I rose tentatively to my paws, pausing as I looked toward the end of a long extension of rock jutting out into the rough waters. Silhouetted at its end, against the burning fire of the distant world, was a dragon. The rock’s long shadow shrouded me, drawing my view to the softly glowing runes etched into the surrounding stone. They depicted dragons clad in regal armour, diving down upon droves of demonic foes, talons and bladed wings glowing with magical fire.
My eyes wandered slowly along the cracked mural, until I found myself moving reluctantly toward the lone figure, pausing when I was only a few paw-steps from their tail. Etched into the ruined stone directly behind them was the glowing symbol of a flaming pyre. The symbol flashed, and in the same instant, I felt a warm sensation wash over me. It was like a wave of inviting heat from a campfire, or the blissful kiss of sunlight on a warm summer’s day. As the sensation passed, I heard one word echo through my mind.
“Seraphine.”
That voice, it's like every other here... I feel like I should know it, like I've heard it before! I thought, faintly recognising the regal, feminine tone.
"I see the time has come, we have waited too long," the dragoness before me announced, her majestic voice as fiery as the burning horizon looming above her.
Confusion ignited in me and I stepped back, eyes narrowing.
This is just another trick, something from my mind’s dark past I don't need to know about.
"Time for what?" I snapped bluntly.
Raising her head, she revealed rows of refined armour covering the back of her neck.
"Age's twilight draws near. Skies of dragonfire rise upon the horizon," she began, but before I could even consider her words, she turned and her eyes blazed with white fire. "The time has come to fulfil your destiny."
*
With a sudden jolt, my eyes burst open and I shot back into reality. Parts of the soft bed of moss and seaweed I'd made into a nest at the top of the wooden beams forming my current home scattering as my wings fluttered. Around me was the creaking wreck of a decaying long boat, similar to those I'd once known back in the village. A long, narrow frame with a lone mast, it bore a vaguely draconic head at its bow, still visible
despite the icicles clinging to it.
Water flooded most of the interior space, seeping in through the damaged hull, leaving the upper deck the last bastion of dryness. Although the flames had reduced to an almost invisible flicker, a small fire within a rusted bowl hung from a wooden beam to my left, illuminating the watery darkness.
Just another stupid dream. I inwardly muttered, pressing a forepaw to my aching skull.
In the encroaching gloom and beyond the decrepit walls of the ship, I could hear the calm washing of waves on the shore, occasionally punctuated by the whistle of the wind or the clatter of falling ice from the roof of the huge cavern.
The salty scent of the sea radiated through the place, the briny mix allowing barnacles and seaweed to thrive in the damp darkness below me. I took a long breath and fought not to gag. The uneasy shaking in my paws fading as I stretched them out over the moss.
Is a decent night's sleep really too much to ask for?
I peered down into the icy water, to the faint reflection of a white-scaled dragon. Almost identical to the images in my dreams, it gazed back with the same sickened expression I wore.
On a small wooden crate beside the watery image, sat a pile of golden plates. It was hard to think of them as anything more than scrap, and for the most part, the arcane armour was just that to me.
Nevertheless, as I shifted to expose more of my reflection, I saw the one thing setting me apart from the pristine illusion that cursed my conscience every night.
A deep cut ran across the right side of my face and down over my shoulder like a gangrenous wound. It had long since healed into a dry and rigid scar, its surface resembling dark obsidian cutting into my scales as it flickered with a faint, purple glow. I wasn't used to having such grievous scars – the fact that my body normally healed from every wound I sustained had made me complacent.
It had taken the corrupted claws of a god to mark me with a lasting blemish. I was almost glad of it, it made me feel somewhat normal, even if mortality terrified me.
As I contemplated, something shifted in the air about me, and the dull pain in my scars spiked. Wincing under the sudden flare, I looked up, my horns rattling a set of rusty hooks tied to the ceiling. A draconic shadow loomed above me like a lazy feline lounging upon a tree branch, its tail coiled like a dark serpent over one of the frosty beams.
Mordrakk, the being that had once watched over all that existed, now gazed upon it with nothing but hatred and spite. His glowing eyes and fiery chest were a testament to his burning rage as he studied me intently. I averted my eyes from the recurring hallucination as he shifted; I'd neither the energy nor the patience to deal with him right now.
Besides, it's not like he's real. No matter what he says, he's just in my head.
My attempted ignorance didn't stop him from slowly uncoiling his tail, snaking down the boat’s crooked skeleton in a cloak of shadow, stopping when his eyes met mine.
"Your visions – they worsen, do they not?” he asked curiously, before pausing as if knowing the answer. "The minds that have seen eternity are cast adrift within you, after all."
The fact clearly irritated him, dark claws clutching the damp wood in mild frustration, causing flakes of frosty dust to shake free.
"That still doesn't change what any of you did, or my opinion," I responded, the dryness of my throat rattling my words.
The illusion lifted his head, his flaming eyes scouring every detail with more precision than any natural being could muster.
"And tell me, what is that?" he asked, his spiny tail twitching in anticipation.
I felt a shiver run through me, and for a moment, the wind beyond my shelter grew restless, before falling completely silent.
"That you were all wrong from the beginning," I challenged.
His muzzle curled into a twisted smile.
"And I'm not going back," I added, locking eyes with him.
His grin soon became a scowl and he coiled back, claws loosening from his perch.
"What will you do then?" he pressed.
I glanced about, as if searching for an answer among the icy wood and scraps of shellfish scattered amidst the ship’s ancient cargo. I knew at the back of my mind that there was an answer, one that had sustained my fragile will for all this time.
No, don't think about it! Live in the moment, don't look ahead! With no intention of entertaining the illusion any longer, I stood up and glanced at the weak light outside.
This was Valcador, home of the orkin, and while I'd been here, I'd raided their camps and foundries in a hope it would make a difference to the war. In the past few days I'd learned my actions had culminated in a meeting between Valcador's war masters, not that I'd found it too difficult to hunt them down one by one.
Still, taking them all out at once will be far simpler. I reasoned, scraping my claws on the wood.
Purging the foul beasts from the land was the very least a being with my power could do.
But it's all I can do if I want to keep the world safe. The only way I could really justify that to myself was knowing I would wipe all the orkin out in the end. After Taldran, it's all they deserve.
Peering outside, I could only guess as to what time it was, although I'd little care anymore. In the months I'd hidden out here, I'd honed my mind in on one thing, managing to block out any distractions. Assuring myself that I didn't need to go back to Dardien and potentially doom the universe if I did.
More like take Mordrakk back to Dardien and the one thing he really wants from me.
Shaking that idea off, I moved down over the piles of crates littering the ship's interior toward a breach in the hull. As I did, something amidst the sound of crashing water caught my attention. Beyond the hole there was a light flap of what sounded like feathered wings, followed by another almost bird-like caw, before silence fell once more.
Please tell me it's not more of those stupid ice buzzards?
Almost as if looking for a belittling expression, I glanced up to the wooden beams. Mordrakk's shadowy illusion was gone, leaving only a hint of pain in my scars.
Maybe it is just the wind then? At the very least it could be food?
On instinct, I leapt toward the opening, my posture falling into a low prowl. My claws splashed lightly in the water as the shards of my golden armour levitated into place around me. The arcane attire responded to my mental command like a wing of elite soldiers, turning my reflection from a white dragon, to that of a dangerous ethereal warrior.
Mordrakk's hallucination appeared alongside my reflection, his glowing eyes overlaying my own as he waited patiently, while I emerged onto the grey gravel beach that had formed along the rim of the flooded ice cavern. The world was almost dark, save for rare sun beams and the glimmer of light from the flames within the wreck.
At first, I looked to the empty noise traps I'd erected, formed from several seashells and rope, something I'd learned from Tarwin years ago. My attention then switched to the narrow, cliffside pathway, the only way to reach my hiding place from the frozen caves that ran under the whole of Valcador; the path was clear.
No, I was sure I heard something!
A second flickering finally caught my attention. It was an unnatural movement almost like fire casting a strange glow from behind me, and I turned to see its majestic source perched on the crooked frame of the boat’s fallen mast.
A phoenix sat with its wings folded, its fiery plumage coursing like a mosaic of liquid flame. Its longer tail feathers were alight with the same celestial fire, as were those on its impressive head crest, the tips of which turned to a beautiful shade of shimmering purple and blue. Its eyes were like rubies, set alight with the fire of a thousand stars, and its sharp beak looked as if it were formed from the same magnificent gem.
I'd never seen one this close before, and even from here, I could feel its blissful warmth. Its claws clung to the frozen wood without igniting it, betraying its fiery facade as sparks spat from its ruffled pinions.
It's be
autiful, almost too majestic for a dark place like this.
It tilted its head with a light caw, watching me closely. I mirrored its curious expression – I knew this couldn't be a coincidence, I was sure I'd seen this bird before. I'd a nagging sensation that it had been following me since I'd first glimpsed it on the mountainside of Taldran.
"What do you want?" I asked casually, an inquisitive look remaining on my face as I studied its bejewelled eyes.
It rose tall and I was sure if it had been beside me, we'd have been eye to eye. The only response it offered was a light coo, ruffling its feathers with a flicker of dancing embers.
Great, I’m speaking to a bird. I grumbled to myself, before turning away and marching up the path. I don't have time for all of this nonsense.
The phoenix squawked disapprovingly, as if insulted by my abrupt departure. As I glanced back, I could have sworn I saw it shaking its head; its expression slipping to one of disappointment.
It’s just a bird, what does it know? My mind reassured.
Even so, as it took off and flew through a vast archway leading out over the frozen sea, I couldn't help but wonder if my conscience was wrong.
How many other things have I underestimated in my life? I shook that idea off too as I passed through several gaping holes to come upon the maze of yawning caverns.
Despite the ice and snow above, smoking towers of dark blizarium flanked exposed pools of bubbling lava, the ice fire spires that made Valcador famous. Ancient ruins surrounded the smouldering peaks, most of which were destroyed by the constant shifting of the volcanic landscape. The once smooth marble structures were the only hint that the mighty highkin kingdom had ever stood here. Now it was hard to find any that were intact or not defiled by their corrupted descendants.
The foul and crudely erected formations of chimneys, blackened wood, and rough metal spikes, which were the orkins’ attempts at architecture, were everywhere. As I passed through several more volcanic craters, I could see them built up about the larger spires. Some bridged the gaping melt holes or descended down into the bubbling lava, to utilise its intense heat in the creation of new weapons and armour. In such places, I avoided drawing any attention from the orkin workers or their enslaved lesser races. As much as I hated the idea of leaving them to continue their crude work, I'd no time for the subservient runts.