by LJ Davies
I paused. The words swam calmly in my mind and yet refused to formulate into something that made sense. Outwardly, I fluttered my wings restlessly, pressing a forepaw to my partly-covered scars.
Only what? What else did I really come back for? Because Mordrakk wanted me to?
"Just don't let things like that rule your life. The world is a lot bigger than you think, trust me. And I know I have no right to talk about you and Ember, but..." I stopped as the reality of that confession came to mind.
I wanted to tell them about Pyro, about Mordrakk and everything else, but I couldn’t do it. All the while a dark hiss echoed through my mind as Mordrakk slithered amidst my thoughts.
"No, you're… You're probably right. Risha tells me the same thing, and I want to move on. It’s just, Pyro died because of me and my stupid mouth," he admitted, lightly pawing at the frosty ground.
No, it wasn't because of you, it was my reckless decisions. The weight of a million accusing voices flooded over my mind. I made those mistakes, he just tried to stand up for me.
"That wasn't your fault. If anything, it was mine. I was the one who left to save that village, and I'm the only reason Risha told you any of that stuff in the first place," I confessed, the weight of shame hanging like millstones tethered to my wings.
Nevertheless, Boltock looked at me as if he didn't quite understand.
"But she was right, you are special. You killed the Dark Guardian, fought those demons. You even died and you’re still here!" he exclaimed, spreading his wings.
"I don't think she was ever wrong about any of us, including you," I admitted. "You didn't kill Pyro, and Ember didn't lose..."
"Hey, forgive me if I'm interrupting anything!" Neera called impatiently, peering back at us from over a cluster of roots. "I found some herbs, not exactly a Star Flower or on your sister's list, but I know them, they should help." She fell back out of sight, her tail feathers flicking over the rim of the root as she added. "Come on, I don't want to lose either of you out here!"
"Let’s go, before she gets her feathers in a bind," Boltock chuckled, swiftly taking off after her.
I moved to follow, but before I took a step, something else caught my eye. There was a fiery glimmer in the gloom around me, and I looked up to see the phoenix flying low between the trees, its ruby eyes fixed on a large ridge of snowy rock to my right. With a light call, it came to land on the crippled root of a fallen tree, and I glanced between it, and the path ahead.
There has to be some kind of reason to all of this. Is there something it wants to show me?
I was reluctant to leave the others, but whether any of them liked it or not, and regardless of what Risha told me, I was still always in far less danger than they were. There were still things I needed to know.
"What do you want?" I asked, trying not to feel too stupid about speaking to the molten bird again.
It simply preened its glowing feathers, as if it had somehow read my mind and found insult.
"So you didn't want me?" I added, shaking my head with a snort.
Urgh, couldn’t the Cartographer at least send me a guide who can talk?
The bird glanced back to me, then up through the trees, my eyes following until I was looking at the base of the ridge. Not only that, but the mouth of an overgrown cave. I glanced back at the bird, yet it found more interest in the cleanliness of its feathers than my perplexed expression.
Fine, I guess I'll just take a look on my own.
I crept forward cautiously, wet mud and snow squelching under my paws as I reached the ivy-strewn entrance. Smaller ridges stretched out around the curved rim of the rocky formation. Similar to the roots of the large trees, it was almost as if the whole thing were some great stump, the tree itself ripped away long previously. If that were the case, then this tree would have dwarfed even the monoliths that stood around it.
Meanwhile, the phoenix fluttered away with a soft coo, disappearing into the mist, as I parted the vegetation and peered inside. As I did so, I breathed a small pyre of flame; the light revealing the cave was far bigger than most I'd seen in the past few days. A narrow, moss-covered path snaked down from the entrance, the sound of water and a cool breeze echoing from deeper within. Cautiously I traversed each step, disturbing the soft surface and forcing it to reveal its true nature.
It's glowmoss, like in Dardien?
I extinguished my fire as the moss’s natural blue glow flickered into life. Like the steamy caverns under the city, it looked more natural and less well kept, hanging down from the ceiling in rough clumps, while tiny blue flowers bloomed like stars. As I reached the base of the pathway, I came across a small pool, its calm, lily-covered surface shimmering in the blue glow, surrounded by a pile of fallen bricks.
The ruined architecture was strangely familiar, and yet it wasn't identical to anything I'd seen previously. Strange, twisted branches of silver leaves grew from it, each glinting with light, as if covered in a swarm of fireflies. More of the plants here appeared almost humanoid, and just as before, I could almost identify faces in the gnarled bark. In fact, each of the branches bore a noble, even stoic, but motionless expression, the only movement coming from their leaves waving in the light breeze.
The sound of the phoenix caught my attention, its call echoing from deep inside the cave. Following, I found more glowing moss lined the walls, while dripping vines hung from the smooth ceiling. I had a feeling the flora wasn't what the Cartographer's emissary wanted me to see, nor was the small stream flowing gently over the rocks beside me. At least until the passageway came to an abrupt end.
By the creators... I was used to grand spaces, and yet they still had a way of astounding me.
I came out onto a ledge, moist ferns and shrubs marking its rim as a large opening loomed above me, a hole in its roof crossed by fallen logs and the roots of more giant trees.
A pair of waterfalls fell from between the natural mass, as did small flurries of snow. The stream beside me disappeared into the abyss below, collecting in another pool at the bottom of the cavern. The round chamber walls held a small town’s worth of ancient ruins. Grasses and small trees sprawling all over them.
It wasn't as grand as some places I'd seen, and yet its glowing tranquillity made up for its dilapidated state. In the air above the pool, the recognisable shimmer of the phoenix's feathers gleamed as it circled and came to perch on top of a ruined wall.
So this is what it wants me to see?
I followed a narrow ledge, until it met one of the flat plazas of cliffside ruins. Grand arches and spiral pillars encrusted with faded silver vines flanked me. Old carvings depicted noble beings, similar to the highkin I'd seen in Valcador's forgotten temples. It went on to include griffins and other races until finally it depicted dragons.
The armoured figures descended upon legions of demonic beasts, guided by shafts of sunlight bursting through broken clouds. An intense, fiery flame represented one angelic dragoness in particular, as if she were the brilliant light of the sun itself.
Is that the dragoness Apollo talks about? I wondered, my fear of cryptic murals long since forgotten.
"The world is far bigger than you know," Mordrakk announced from behind me, and I glanced back to see his shadowy image perusing the ruined carvings.
"Don't waste your breath, you know I'm one of the only ones here who understands that," I snapped, but he didn't even spare me a glance.
"You think the Darkness to be the only thing to threaten my creation?" he pondered, brushing a foreclaw over the image of four gargantuan monsters sitting in the shadow of an even greater demonic creature.
"You're the only threat I care about," I retorted with equal disdain.
"Every force that dared threaten me was broken, all the while proving that mortal kind couldn't be trusted with its own morals and rules," he spat bitterly.
"And you think destroying whole worlds is the way to make things right?" I questioned.
"It does not differ from what you do. Do not
deny you would do anything to protect your own – even destroy what you believe to be flawed. Do not pretend you did not do what you thought was best for them, regardless of how they felt. In that regard, we differ not," he challenged.
"Leaving them wasn't the same as what you did!" I growled, releasing a small flicker of flame from my muzzle.
He simply grinned and faded from sight; meanwhile, I tried my best not to let his words fester.
He's wrong, killing orkin for the good of others is not the same as his genocides!
I moved on to discover the crooked length of a toppled pillar provided a bridge to the bottom of the cavern, and the moment my paws hit the soft grass, I looked up through the mass of roots above, barely able to see stars. From its perch, the phoenix gave a light coo, drawing me over.
"So what do you want?" I asked again, that nagging sense of stupidity still in the back of my mind.
It gave me another serious look, and frustration finally drove my attention away. A tranquil pool lay just beside me, its rim surrounded by an overgrown ring of archways. Plants rustled as if sensing my approach, while tiny fireflies came to life about me, highlighting four more of the strange-looking tree figures standing in the water.
Like the others, it felt as if each one watched me, judging my every movement. A trail of stepping-stones led to a small island at the pool's centre, where more of the glowing insects buzzed about a large willow tree, its weeping branches devoid of greenery.
I placed a cautious paw on the first of the stones, glancing back at the trees as if somehow, they could come to life at any moment.
That's ridiculous too. Trees are just trees. I reasoned, only for my mind to counter. Yeah, and so was fungus days ago, this is still Shadow Fen remember?
Grass bit at my armour as I reached the island, and I fought to stay balanced in the small space surrounding the willow's base. Now I was up close, I could see it was clearly dead, and yet there was no sign of rot or decay. In fact, it seemed to resonate with warmth, similar to a warm breeze. Mosses and vines crawled over the surface of its silver bark, which appeared to be hollow beneath.
I walked around its sides before finally pressing a paw to the trunk and brushing the clinging vegetation aside. An eerie wind blew as I did so, and I swore I heard some of the trees whisper. The silvery bark crumbled into dust under my weight, and I pulled my forepaw back sharply as I felt I'd done a terrible wrong. Worried, I glanced at the phoenix as if it would somehow tell me why, but it did little more than preen its feathers.
So much for helping me. It's just a tree, Blaze, calm down.
Convincing myself it was no more than that, I moved round to the far side, where I noticed that the bark seemed to flow about a flat surface carved into the trunk.
Upon closer inspection, I saw a set of strange runes and an ancient language written into its surface. All completely untouched by the passing of time and the surrounding vegetation. The symbols radiated with more lustre than anything else, and one particularly large symbol in its centre glowed a soft green.
Funny, it almost looks like some kind of stag? The glow was not an ugly hue, it was similar to the colour of sunlight streaming down through lush leaves on a warm summer day.
It was almost alluring, drawing me in as my paws pressed at the soft grass below it. The sudden flutter of wings drew my attention away when the phoenix landed on an arch to my right, ruby eyes locked on the cervidae icon. It nodded its head, as if motioning for me to reach out.
It's just a tree. I told myself again.
I glanced around for a distraction, but only found Mordrakk’s shadowy form perched on the opposite arch.
"What is it?" I asked the fiend, and he looked between the tree and I.
"Old. A magic as old as the world itself," he told me, a blatant lack of care in his voice.
He didn't appear eager to add anything more as he surveyed the area for himself. It was possibly the first time I'd seen him interested in anything other than tearing me apart, and yet I was unsure whether that softened my fears or enhanced them.
What's the worst that can happen? I thought to myself. It's only a tree, and I'm immortal.
I reached out, placing a forepaw over the glowing stag. Suddenly finding myself unable to pull it back as a wave of exhaustion fell over me and I immediately felt weightless. The world became a blur as I felt myself fall to the ground, and a swirling mass of green light tore into my thoughts. All that lay beyond was a cold darkness, into which my consciousness swiftly disappeared.
*
My head throbbed and my vision spun, when from nowhere, the world suddenly slammed into me. It reminded me of passing through Apollo's gateway, and like my dreams, this reality felt lucid. A gentle breeze blew against my scales, beckoning me to open my eyes, yet for a moment, I feared what I might see, suspecting that this was somehow another nightmare from aeons previous. As much as I cowered behind the obliviousness of my closed eyes, I knew I couldn't hide forever.
They flickered open, and I found myself staring into the dirt pressed against my muzzle. Lifting my head, a towering forest of grass surrounded me, and I sat up to see an endless sea of green. A light breeze drew shimmering patterns over the rolling hills, while leaves rustled amongst the rough patches of forest that dotted the plains. Mountains broke the distant horizon, and the rough silhouette of a city graced its opposing edge. Towering silver spires and domed temples, covered in tranquil greenery, basked in the blissful sunlight.
The sound of water, the call of birds, and the buzzing of insects filled the air. Several plumes of dust rose as flocks of giant earth-birds ran freely across the open expanse, and I immediately recognised where I was.
It's the Midnight Plains, I'm near Dardien. I felt dry soil shift between my claws and strands of grass tickle my bare under scales. This is a dream – it must be a dream – but I didn't fall asleep?
For a brief moment, I didn't mind being here, at least until a large wing of golden-armoured dragons flew overhead, their breastplates gleaming in the sunlight as they descended into the distant city. Moments later, the sound of a deep, low hum bellowed and a great wall of golden light rose up around the city, rising like flames until it merged to form one great dome of magical energy.
The moment it sealed, I felt like the most isolated soul in the world. Even the earth seemed to take an anxious breath as I felt a shiver run down my spine. The sky seemed to ripple with one great wave as ominous clouds began to gather. The growing darkness sent a jab of terror into my heart, and instinct drove me to find shelter as fast as I could, darting through the tall grass to take cover under a large boulder. A dull rumble echoed through the gathering storm, and lightning began to flicker. The birds fell silent, and even chirping insects fled.
Every facet of my mind that had sustained me in the frozen wilderness for so long was screaming at me to run with them, but another part of me couldn't help but fear it was futile.
Then the sky erupted with an almighty boom, and a blinding bolt of lightning struck across the horizon. I closed my eyes and wrapped my wings over my head as a great shockwave blasted past, sweeping me from my paws. A surge of dust, rock and vegetation battered me as the blast ripped up the ground in an intense deluge of raw power.
When my eyes opened, the world was gone. The grassy plains were nothing more than a barren expanse of lifeless ash, dotted with all kinds of bones. Scattered rocks were reduced to molten slag, trees to charred twigs, and the sky was cold and empty, filled with a sea of unforgiving stars. The mountains had crumbled, their bare peaks spewing red-hot fire, while opposite, the burning city cast a red glow all about me.
My eyes widened in horror when a great pillar of purple light reached up from the shattered earth to form a swirling storm of clouds. Shards of rock levitated about it, suspended in the burning air by some supernatural force, while dark swarms of winged beasts sprawled around it like bees protecting a hive.
I gasped, but the hot air felt like it was choking me. It wa
s dry, tasting of rot and decay and smelled no better. Meanwhile, fire began to spread, and from its flickering wrath, I could hear a cacophony of terrified screams.
What in the creators' name is this foul place?
I lurched back, something shifting in the ash under my paws. All the while, I staggered to stop myself from tripping, and when I looked down, I saw a blackened silver dragon helmet. Within was a flesh-stripped skull, the likes of which rolled out onto the scorched dirt to reveal a few blue scales. I fell back, but all that caught me was another pile of bones.
I saw a flash of green and red scales. A set of crimson feathers drifted by in the scorched wind. I glimpsed a familiar wooden bow lying beside a shattered axe.
No! No, it can't be! I gasped in shock and the air itself seemed to vanish. This can't be it, there has to be a way to stop it!
My head spun frantically, until I caught sight of something that stopped my frantic attempts to escape. A pair of levitating stones struck an invisible wall, sending sparks and embers blossoming across its surface. I froze as the flames spread to reveal millions upon millions of tallies.
I can't be responsible for this! Yet if not me, then who? I fell to the ground in a cloud of ash, curling up tightly as I did in the end of every soul-breaking nightmare.
"Maybe now you will understand. You cannot escape your destiny," rumbled the dark voice I knew all too well.
Even as he growled the words, he seemed to slip away into silence, however. As did the harrowing sounds and the burning sensation of the world around me. The air returned, and I gasped for breath like a beached fish as a calming light shimmered beyond my closed eyes. It took me a few moments to work up the courage to peek, but when my eyes finally opened, I caught a glimpse of another familiar scene.
The world of ice, rocks and towering crystal pillars wasn't exactly my favourite, but it was far better than the apocalypse I'd just witnessed. The only differences were the light of the distant stars and the red glow emanating from the fireball steadily rising above the horizon. That was when my gaze settled upon the mysterious dragoness sat on the ruined outcrop, where many of my previous dreams had ended abruptly.