The coach rumbled and hit every rock in the road. Yo'ama sat hugging as many of the boys as she could. Her thin arms were trembling with fear. The coach began to pick up pace, and she was sure that it just may fall apart and leave them fleeing by foot. Ti'odien, the eldest of the group, sat peering out of the window. A gray mist had come and slithered beside them. "Yo'ama something follows us," he spoke startled. "What is it?" she asked as the others came to peer to him. "Gray fog, I have never seen such a thing before." The smoke began to form into the bodies of Raxseis and Exsidious. The brothers ran alongside the coach sure their prize laid within it. They began to hassle the horses, biting at their hooves and throats. The two pulling the coach spooked and charged into a faster gallop.
"Stop the coach!" Exsidious yelled to the handler. The old man paid them no mind and followed his orders. "Brother, see the man to his end. I will handle the horses." They began to fall away from the front of the coach. No sooner than it came to pass them did they strike. Their bodies moved smoothly through both the horses and the handler. The three souls were claimed at an instant, leaving all three slain upon the soil. The carriage came to crash roughly into a nearby tree. Its passengers were sent about its cabin as if leaves blown in the wind. The Twins of Deception came to rip at its doors, until at last they laid eyes upon the boys.
"Ahh,at last we lay gaze upon the brotherhood of Morgaideign." "Please do not harm us! We have done nothing to you!" Yo'ama screamed in terror. "Harm you? We shall do no such thing. Instead we shall take you to our commander so that you are not harmed," they spoke in unison.
Calira came upon the temple of Va'eihcrux, its halls abandoned with the exception of one woman. "You there, where might I find what you know as the Elemental Gemstone? Speak of its whereabouts, or I shall see your head from your shoulders." The woman remained kneeling in prayer, she did not speak. "Where is it?!" The cold kiss of steel came to capture the back of her neck and she shivered in terror. "I do not know and if I did, I would not tell a dragon such as you! Do you think you are unrecognizable? With your height and size all know what you truly are!" She knew death would claim her that day, knew she would never see her boys again. "You lie to me!" The blade cut her neck slightly, the warmth of her own blood only securing her assumptions of death. "Tell me, and you shall live!" "It lies with the brotherhood! But they have come to flee these walls! I swear to you!" "In which direction do they travel?" "Into the woodlands, you shall find eight boys and their guardian. Please, let me live, I beg of you."
"I am an honorable dragon, you shall not dance with death this day by my hand." The old woman felt a gust of air pass her just before her world went black. "No, you shall die by mine." Tonisa had finally come to rejoin her lover in their search. "Where have you been?!" Draconvieh barked. "We haven't the time for that now! We have to reach that coach before Talon's men do!" The pounds of hooves carried on from cobblestone to dirt in a matter of seconds. They followed the trail of the coach but when they located the rubble, it was barren. "Damn it all!" Calira hissed. "No worries, love. We shall track them down. This is not over, it has simply just begun."
The sounds of war had yet to wane. Zacura laid weakly in a pool of her own blood. She was slowly drowning in it. She could not gather a full breath, nor could she make out if it had been her men that were ahead. She was cold despite the blazing heat around her. "Is this how it was to be? Was I truly so worthless?" She wondered.
She found herself lost in her last moments, wondering how Manuke had been right and wrong about her. Her eyes came to close, and suddenly she could no longer feel the ground below her. She was moving somehow, floating upon air, but it was not her who wielded it. She had come to be carried like a pup within its mother's maw. Her body was limp in jaws far larger than her own. She came to be placed under a tree that had yet to be claimed by the fire. "I thought a Keeper never gave up, at least in the days of old, they didn't. Would you see your father so disappointed? He did give his life so that you would live a full one. He did not die to see your life ended by the hands of such a disgrace as a Tydran."
This voice was that of a male, but to whom it belonged to she did not know. She could feel the puncture of large canine teeth fall into her throat; it was a burn unlike that of her body's own making. This was far worse, so much so her eyes sprang open, and her being trembled. Her eyes came to see a wolf of blackened fur. He was much larger than any wolf she had ever seen. Oddly enough he had come to her aid, unlike most of his kind would. A flame of soulful blue sat burning bright upon his back. Its smoldering appearance ran between his shoulder blades all the way to his hip bones. As he let her go and air came to once more fill her lungs, she realized who he was. He was a creature of legend. A being told of in stories she had always thought to simply be untrue. He was no wolf at all, but a hellhound just like her. He had shabby cords for fur and eyes as blue as the flames upon his back.
"Rise, Zacura Bloodclaw. It is your duty. My bite will see your wounds healed enough to carry out your vows." She attempted to stand not wishing to look weak before such a hound as him. But as she did, she failed and fell back into the dust. He pushed his body to her and helped her stand. "You must lean upon your gifts to carry you to where those who need protection lay. Follow the trail until it runs out, and from there follow your sense of smell to your comrades." The wind seemed to speak to her and suddenly, that black figure came to form again. Lucreaion, the Snatcher of Souls came to bow his head in respect to the figure. It seemed to Zacura that while she could not understand it, this hound could. "My men and women have they fallen?" She asked. "Many yes, but I shall aid them. Go now to your destiny and to your guardian. He will be overjoyed to see you well."
Lucreaion turned and darted off, but Zacura followed. "Wait! Please!" She whimpered, her ears low. "Yes, Chosen one?" His height overshadowed her so much she felt as if she were but a pup to him. "It was you the twins spoke of, was it not? The being quite like us so imprisoned?" He gave her nothing more than a nod. "You must be thousands of years old, which means you knew my father at one time. I may never get this chance again. I may never see you again. Who was he?" The black figure appeared once more to stand besides Zacura. "He was a free spirit, one who died in the hands of loyalty not once but twice. That is all I can tell you, my deepest apologies. One day you will come to truly know him, but it is not my place to reveal what is already gone."
The lines of both Dread and Crystal Springs had come to dwindle. The fields before Morgaideign stood as nothing more than a pond of blood and limbs. The warriors had fallen victim to the might and stamina of those who defended the grand old city. The fighting carried on and just as it seemed their fates were sealed, a wave of promise came to aid them. The heavy gate of Lucreaion fell before the masses. His voice carried over the wind as if it were the wind itself. The language of the hounds of Drathell fell into each and every ear upon the field.
"Ifhk erikasy siobab tea'poha yupiela dormagiot, e'prem iniowerba bahsq kui'lt dir wucate leao Tribeentions. Sta'pae gorose vuux leao vershivec leao sel teporha rez'qui coiju vuux jaquie isox mitwixkae kiwaye ber destudair po'liow ber jiq'oral regeluom, Tash'ouko." "For centuries I have laid dormant, imprisoned by the false rule of those known as Tribeentions. I stand before you as strong as I have ever been, and now you shall feel the strength of the sixth element, spirit." He spoke with pride.
A wave of blue and white wisps followed his words. They came to target those of Morgainian and Draiden blood, from the drakes of Dread to the smallest of the Trayeodawn. Silence fell upon the flatlands as those fighting in the name of righteousness came to lock eyes with the ancient Snatcher of Souls.
Zacura had found her way to the wreckage. As promised, the trail had run out and now that left her with only the scent mingling in the air. She could pick up the pheromones of horses, taste the scent of death, blood, and fire. Her eyes searched frantically all around her, and as they did, she caught wind of Maerick. Her heart forced her to run, the blackened figure following her in the distance. Moments seemed like forever; this search made her feel utterly alone. Through trees and rivers she searched, stopping only when a scent began to fade. There upon the top of the mountain she could see Maerick. His bright coin like scales and large wings, the chosen closed the gap between them and as she did, Maerick nearly lost his footing.
"Zacura! You are alive!" He rushed to her, his body falling as low as it could as he wrapped her in his clutch. "Oh, my chosen! Oh, my divine! You are all right. I was so afraid I would never lay these eyes upon you again." His snout nuzzled her body, but she managed to wiggle away. "I am still a bit tender." "Apologies, but how did you...you barely look touched." "I had a bit of help from an ancient, I believe. That spirit who laid within the wall was Lucreaion. He found me and...." She stopped speaking and looked to those cowering in fear. "Who are they?" Bloodclaw demanded. "They are what we came here for according to Exsidious. We have to return them to Crystal Springs as soon as we retreat." "Of course, it was Hexonia's wish to return anything that may aid us."
Zacura moved towards the humans attempting to make herself less threatening as possible. The youngest of the boys came to unsteadily walk to her. He was but a child of three years, as vulnerable and simpleminded as any other. His small hands and limbs came to embrace her sweetly, tears rolling down his cheeks. She lifted a paw from the ground as he embraced her. "What is your name, little human?" She asked softly. "Qui'enio," he replied, hiding his face in her leg. She sat her paw down and bumped him with her nose. "Return to your family lest you become covered in the skin of war."
Yo'ama moved to pick the boy up and hugged him close. "Apologies, he does not know who you are, nor does he understand." "Do not worry, I would not harm a child." The hound looked around to find the Twins, Maerick, and the new found family, but there was no sign of Manuke.
"Maerick...where is..." She did not have to finish, he knew what she was to ask him. "I found him...but he had somehow joined the battle. Those things got the better of him. I offered to carry him, but he turned me away. He said to leave him there, to let the way of the prophecy take place."
"How could you?! Without him we would not stand as we do now!" There was terror and pain in her voice. "Return to Crystal Springs with these people and see them taken care of. I must find him. I will not leave him to die here of all places upon this treacherous planet." "Zacura, please! Do not turn your back on me. I did as commanded as I always have. I was sworn to obey him the day I saved you. Today is no different. Please!" "I will never turn my back on you, Maerick, I owe you my life. But now you must heed my words as your commander. I shall return to Crystal Springs victorious, even if I must carry him on my back all the way. I will return to you, to your protective wings, and your heart of loyalty." He looked directly into her eyes. "I shall believe you if you swear it to me." "I swear upon my life and that is something I value greatly." The dragon's head wrapped around her.
"I love you. Do not leave my heart broken." He turned from her and looked to the group. "Come. See me freed from my binds of armor. If I am to carry you in flight, I cannot bare its weight as well." The chosen looked down to the gathering just within the gates. Without another word she vanished, rushing back the way she came. The hands of many came to set loose the armor. "To where do you take us great dragon?" The eldest boy asked. Maerick took a moment to look to the direction his admired hound had run before answering. "I, child, shall take you to a place you will no longer have to fear."
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