15- Warp
#17 of The Legend of Rift Book II: Resurrection
"But that still doesn't explain why I can't keep it! They may be bad but the nodes are still useful!" The young drake cried, clutching the small compass-like object to his chest.
"Because it's dangerous." His teacher said for the umpteenth time, still holding his paw out. "And it's bad magic. That stuff isn't healthy, for body or mind. You can't win this fight Agon, hand it over."
The small black dragon turned his head away, trying to hide the tears that had begun to well.
"Fine..." he barely whispered, thrusting the lodestone into his teachers paw and began walking off.
"It's for your own good Sithris. You know that." The older drake said, turning his gaze to the small object in his paw. It was a small slab of purplish stone, with a black piece of an entropy sharp stuck into the centre. It was a crude device, but he'd seen them before. Never from a drake so young, however.
Dark magic was always easy to track, as it had a much stronger aura. These lodestones were capable of guiding you towards something that emitted that kind of magic. The older dragon turned it a bit, humouring his own curiosity before a frown tightened his lips.
The indicator on it had lit up.
His lifted his gaze and saw that the black dragon who was still walking away was right where the indicator was pointing. He looked back at the little object and sighed.
"It's only a small bit of warp. He should be alright..."
Sithris walked back to the common room and pushed open a door in the wall. He padded into the roughly carved out cave and slammed the door shut behind him. This had been his home since the elders had deemed him old enough to have his own space. He had no home or parents to return to after class, so he spent most his evenings either wandering the halls aimlessly or in here studying.
He trudged over to the slab he called a bed and collapsed on it, letting his tears flow. Minutes passed before he stood back up and sat at his desk. His eyes traced over the thick book that sat in front of him.
His Thaumonomicon. A book that had been magically bound to his knowledge of magic. He had learned the basics of artifice and alchemy with the rest of his classmates, but was more curious as to what else the contraptions they had learned to make could do. The conclusion that he could make a modified version of the magical compasses had led to his creation of the lodestone.
"I'll show him. There's more to magic than just using what's "good" and ignoring what's "bad". There has to be..." He mumbled, opening the book and looking at his notes on the lodestone. "I can make another..."
Darkness helped conceal the young drake as he slipped from his den. He moved around the soft glow of the wall mounted crystals and hid in the shadows whenever he heard someone approaching. He padded out to the front gates of the city and stood beneath them, examining the new lodestone strung around his neck. The small indicator lit up slightly after a bit of turning, and the black drakes wings unfurled. He flew into the night, only stopping to check the lodestone occasionally. After two hours of flying, he landed in a forest. The lodestone shone brightly, almost being pulled ahead of him. He walked for a while until he came across a thorny hedge.
His tail whipped forwards quickly, the bronze blade strapped to it slicing through the thick vegetation until he had cut a hole large enough to slip through. Thorns scraped against him, but his scales did a good job of protecting him. He cleared the hedge and went wide eyed at what was before him.
A circular disc of a dark purple material was set into the ground. Upon it sat eight pedestals along the edge symmetrically, and one stood in the centre. Above it floated a large obelisk, its deep purple edges bordering what appeared to be nothingness.
Sithris stood there in awe for a good few minutes, taking in all he could. He noticed a faint glow coming from between the centre pedestal and the floating obelisk. He cautiously reached up a paw to his forehead till he touched the goggles sat there. These had been his first creation. The other students all made paw-held scanners, but with these, he could read the magical properties of any object just by looking at it. He had worn them ever since, only ever taking them off to clean them.
He slowly slipped them down over his eyes, the world turning slightly purple by the tinted lenses. His eyes turned back to the centre of the strange construct, and sure enough, he saw the source of the glow.
A small ball of pulsing light and energy. A node.
"A sinister one..." He whispered, noting the pulsing black energy at its centre. "Still... it's a bad node, which means the lodestone works!"
A few moments passed, before against his better judgement, he raised a paw and put it near the node. His eyes closed and he concentrated, pulling the magical energy from the node to refill his supply. There was something... different about the energy, but it was only slight and he decided it wasn't worth worrying about.
Once he had pulled as much as he could, he turned his attention to the strange purple substance that seemed to make up most of the structure. It was cold, and it rung slightly as his claws clacked on it.
"So it's a metal... but what kind..?"
He reached into his satchel and pulled out the small diamond tipped blade. There was a slight screeching as he slid it smoothly across the disc that made up the floor. The substance parted easily, leaving a line in it.
"Curious, I was sure it was stron-" Sithris began, cut off as the metal seemed to liquidate and flow back together. "Woah..."
Cautiously, he tapped it with a claw, but found it was solid again. He reached back into his satchel and got out his hammer. Tapping it gently yielded nothing bar a soft 'ting'. His head turned back and forth as the black drake checked his surroundings, before he drew back the hammer and struck the floor as hard as he could. There was a resounding ring that almost drowned out the crack that ran up the handle of the hammer, splintering it. The metal stayed firm, not a dent in it.
"Gah!" he cried, sitting on his haunches and clutching his shaking paw. "That... is a lot harder than it was before... But how..?"
A while passed as the young dragon sat and nursed his paw, his mind racing at the possible applications of this substance. He decided he needed a sample, so he searched for one of his vials and placed it on the floor. His blade at the ready, he slid it along the metal again, and waited till it liquefied. He quickly pushed the vial through it and pulled it up, the floor smoothing back together and his vial now containing a hardened piece of the substance.
Sithris grinned proudly as he held the vial up and observed his prize. He paused however when he began to hear what sounded like whispers. His eyes flicked around nervously, trying to find the source. It started to get louder, and the black drake quickly packed his things and slipped back out the gap in the hedge.
He ran as fast as he could, but the whispering continued to get louder, filling his mind with senseless sounds. None of it made any sense. The trees thinned out and his wings spread out quickly, catching the breeze and lifting him into the air with a flap. He flew as quickly as he could, the whispering finally dying down and leaving just a dull ache in his head.
A very tired and sore dragon half landed, half fell in front of the gates and stumbled back to the school. Claws clacked on the smoothed marble flooring, legs too shaky for stealth. His heart caught in his throat as he nearly walked into one of the instructors.
"Sithris" He said, a deep and echoing voice. "Shouldn't you be asleep?"
Sithris looked up wearily, making eye contact with the silver and blue dragon in front of him. He nodded quickly and swallowed.
"Yes sir. I was uh... Just out for a walk after a bad dream."
The larger drake nodded slowly, leaning his head to the side and eyeing the young drake's satchel. Sithris noticed his gaze and quickly patted it.
"I uh, guess I must have forgotten to take it off and fallen asleep."
"Ah, of course" Said the elder. "Well then, off to bed with you. And mind yourself Sithris. I spoke to Parutheon earlier. I know it doesn't seem like it, but there's a reason he doesn't want you messing around with that kind of magic. It's more dangerous than it seems."
"Yes sir..." Sithris mumbled, turning away. "If I may..?"
"Of course, good night Sithris." The elder said, stepping aside and wandering off down the hallway.
Sithris allowed himself to breathe again, shaking himself and padding back to his room on shaky legs. He made it otherwise uninterrupted and collapsed on his bed, allowing himself a few minutes to calm down. Once his heart settled down, he reached into his pack and pulled out the little vial.
"Pride of place" He whispered, placing it on his desk and staring at it for a while. "I'll figure out your secrets"
"Alright, next up, Sithris." Parutheon said, nodding apprehensively at the black drake.
It had been three years since he'd confiscated the young dragons little 'toy'. But ever since he'd just brought in more and more strange and dangerous items. Parutheon had given him another chance each time, hoping he'd snap out of it, but alas, to no avail.
If it's something else I have to confiscate, I'm going to have to talk to him.
Sithris stood up and padded happily out of the class, disappearing out the door for a few moments before re-entering. A cloth bag hung from his maw, its corners squared from whatever it was carrying. A creaking seemed to emanate from the bag too, which instantly had Parutheon on edge. The black dragon placed the bag on the counter at the front of the class and stood behind it.
"Okay, so; we all know how many jars we need to have to house all the different kinds of essentia." Sithris began, gesturing to the multi-coloured jars lining the walls. "And we all know how devastating it can be if raw essentia mixes with other type" He continued, nodding towards Parutheon, remembering their last experiment. "So I present to you, my solution. I call it, a reservoir!"
With a flourish, Sithris undid the binding on the bag and whipped it off. A cube of shimmering glass and purple metal frames sat on the desk, a shifting cube of silver hovered inside it. Parutheon tensed up as soon as his eyes saw the purple metal.
It can't be... He hasn't figured out how to make that, has he?? The elder drake thought, watching the black drake tersely.
"Now, here I have two vials. One containing potentia, and the other perditio. Two of the most volatile essentias, as we've seen when used to create alumentum. Mixing the two together without a catalyst would be disastrous, but..." Sithris said, pouring the glowing blue liquid into the strange tank. "With my reservoir, this is no longer a problem!"
"Sithris!" Parutheon shouted, jumping forward in a vain attempt to stop his student pouring the black liquid into the tank. He was too late, but his eyes widened in shock as with a loud *shhnk*, a thin piece of silvery metal shot out from the cube in the centre of the tank and created a barrier between the two liquids.
Everything and everyone was silent for a few moments, bar the creaking and groaning from the tank itself. Parutheon tried to calm his breathing, his eyes not leaving the tank.
"Class dismissed" He said blatantly. "Sithris, you are to stay behind"
Sithris sighed and slumped to the floor, Parutheon continuing to watch the tank as the other students all filed out. He approached slowly and took out the warded dome he kept close for most of Sithris' 'experiments', and placed it over the 'reservoir'.
"I don't know why you insist on tinkering with this kind of thing Sithris!" Parutheon scolded his student. "Do you have any idea what it is you've made it out of?"
Sithris shook a paw, avoiding eye contact with his angry instructor.
"I haven't decided on a name for it, but I know it's stronger than thaumium. Far more malleable too."
"Well it has a name." Parutheon stated. "It's void metal. And it's incredibly dangerous. It's also very difficult magic. Who made you this?"
Sithris struggled with his pride versus his dislike for confrontation.
"I did... I made it..." He barely whispered.
Parutheon eyed his student, trying to gauge his honesty. He sighed, walking over to the desk.
"And this... contraption. While it is clever, is incredibly dangerous. Are you aware of the risks here?"
"Yes... I know. Essentia is very volatile when mixed without a catalyst..."
The elder nodded, studying the reservoir carefully through the warded dome. "A quicksilver separator. A clever idea."
Sithris smiled slightly. "Basic decanting enchantment. Quickly adapts to separate any different liquids"
"But how does it cope with being moved?" Parutheon asked. "Surely the liquid moving around would confuse it."
The black drake nodded. "It... doesn't like being moved after essentia has been added... The first two didn't survive that test."
Parutheon frowned, his old face creasing. "Didn't survive?"
Sithris shrank back. "Yeah... they kind of... blew up... there was a lot of flux..."
The air was tense for a while, the creaking of the reservoir the only sound in the room. Parutheon started moving towards his desk and began rummaging around in his drawers. He pulled out a small golden ring like object. His face dazed over for a moment before he padded back over to Sithris. He held it out to the young dragon.
It had a small silvery mirror on top of it, which seemed to shimmer and shift as Sithris saw his reflection in it.
"Take it" Parutheon ordered, holding the ring side out to Sithris.
Sithris nervously raised a paw, looking at his teacher before wrapping his toes around the ring. His vision suddenly went black. Bright purple lights began to light up around him, weaving together into glowing strands. Up, down, left, right. His vision was surrounded by light. He admired it in awe for a while, before the lights started changing. Black tendrils began to sprout from the brilliant lights, growing and twisting around. A sense of dread filled the young drake as the tendrils seemed to be reaching out for him. He stumbled back, releasing the ring and falling to the floor.
Parutheon looked at the panting dragon with concern, setting the ring aside and sitting Sithris up.
"Are you alright?" The elder asked, pulling a wing around him.
Sithris looked around nervously, before trying to calm his racing heart. "Y... yeah. I think so..."
Parutheon looked straight into Sithris' eyes, his face hardening. "What did you see?"
"I... there were lights. Lots of lights." Sithris stammered. "But then there was black. Tendril like things that looked like they were reaching for me"
The elder dragon stood up and sighed, putting the strange ring back into its drawer and rummaging around again. He took out a small parcel of pink wrapping.
"It's already started..." He mumbled, pushing the item into Sithris' paws. "Use this when you bathe. It's a sanitising soap that should help to contain it"
Sithris looked at his teacher. "It? What do you mean?"
Parutheon shook his head. "You're too young. Not ready. Use the soap, and please, for last time; stick to researching what we give you. It's not safe to go off on your own."
Sithris turned his head away as the elder gave him a firm look before he left the classroom. The young drake stood still for a while, before slowly padding back to his room.
The soap parcel was dropped carelessly to the floor as Sithris collapsed onto his bed. He stared at the wall for a good few minutes before slowly sliding off and slumping at his desk. His paw slid over the binding of his Thaumonomicon.
"He's right... They're all right..." He sighed. "But why..? What's so dangerous about it?"
He sat up, opening the large arcane book.
"If they won't tell us, then I'll have to find out myself."
Picking up his quill, Sithris began to write all the observations he had made about the mysterious 'void metal', and it's curious requirements to make. He glanced over at the fleck he still had in the phial, and wondered what other applications it could have.
"Maybe I should keep it with me. That way i could test it against anything I find..."
With a nod, he set to work flattening and shaping the strange metal into a ring. A few hours of working the metal and he had made a thin band that easily slipped over one of his toes. The dark colour blended in well with his scales, making it unnoticeable unless someone were actively looking for it.
Sithris yawned, dragging his tired body onto his bed. He admired the ring once more before closing his eyes.
Sithris reapproached the altar where he had first found the void metal. He walked right up to the pedestal in the centre and pulled out four small objects from his satchel. They looked almost like eyes; shining white pearls centred on a void metal backing and inlayed by gold frames. He placed them on the sides of the centre pillar, one at each cardinal direction. His paw touched the top of the pillar and he pulsed a bit of magic into it.
The node above his paw began to collapse in on itself, and he stood back to watch. It shrunk and twisted until there was only a speck of it left, before it seemed to tear open the space around it, creating a dark void above the pillar.
Sithris stood firm as black tendrils began to stretch out from the void, ensnaring his limbs and wrapping around him. His vision went dark and he felt like he was falling.
"Gah!" Sithris cried, jerking bolt upright. His heart was racing and his breathing ragged. "What... what was that..?"
He laid back slowly and stared at the ceiling. The image of those strange eyes remained in his mind, and all of a sudden he felt as if he knew how to create them. He sat back up and stared at the ring on his toe.
"Maybe this is going a little too far... But... what kind of things could I learn..?"
His eyes closed again, the visualisation of the strange eye before him.
"I won't know unless I try"
"We have completed refilling the essentia jars in the infusion room," Parutheon explained to the class. "So you may now resume any infusions you need for your studies. Please remember however, that infusion is not without its risks, so ensure you have an elder with you for any infusions of moderate or higher instability."
Perfect, I should have enough essentia to finish these eyes in one go then. Sithris thought.
"Would anybody like to book it?" Parutheon asked
Sithris raised a paw.
"I would"
Parutheon looked at the black drake.
"What for and for how long?"
"I just wanted to make a lamp of growth to help my ingredients grow faster. I know it's moderately unstable, but I've done it a few times already, so I should be alright. I should only need an hour or so"
Parutheon nodded slowly, dipping his claw in some ink and etching something onto a stone tablet.
"All right then. But please, no more 'experiments'. Especially not with the infusion altar." He stated.
"Yes sir..." Sithris mumbled, staring at his desk.
Parutheon continued on with the lesson, and Sithris continued to stare at his desk. Something moved in his peripheral vision, and he turned to the edge of his desk.
A small, translucent blue creature sat on the edge. It looked almost like a spider, and it seemed to be looking at him. He watched as the creature suddenly broke into a run across his desk towards his paw, and he instinctively raised his paw and splatted it. The sound of claws against wood rattled through the classroom, and everybody turned to look at the black dragon. The oblivious black dragon lifted his paw to look at the remains of the creature, but was shocked to see there was nothing there.
"Ahem"
Sithris looked up at his teacher.
"Sorry, thought I saw a bug" he explained, absentmindedly wiping his paw off.
Parutheon gave him a quizzical look before shaking his head and resuming his speech.
Slumping back into his seat, Sithris halfheartedly listened to the lesson. Movement caught his eye again, and his eyes quickly snapped to it. Three more of the strange spider-like creatures were stood on his desk. Sithris quickly looked around to see if anyone else had noticed, before his eyes widened in shock.
Dozens of the tiny creatures covered the surfaces of the classroom, from the walls to the ceiling to his classmates. All of them staring directly at him. He froze in a mixture of shock and terror, before all the creatures began to run towards him.
With a yelp he leapt from his seat and took off out the classroom door, much to the surprise and amusement of his class. He ran until he reached the door to his room and only then looked back. What was almost a wave seemed to be headed for him, the scattering of hundreds of tiny legs on stone echoing through his ears. He pushed his door open and dashed inside, slamming it shut. Rags and sheets were stuffed against the gap under it until he was sure there wasn't even the tiniest space. He stood against the opposite wall and watched, his breath coming in ragged pants.
The sound in his ears rose in pitch until he was sure his head was going to explode. Then suddenly, silence. His heart racing, he slowly walked towards the door. He listened, but could hear nothing. After a few minutes of building up courage, he swung the door open and braced himself. Aside from a curious look from a passing student, there was nothing else there.
A sigh of relief escaped him as he closed the door again and collapsed on his bed. As soon as he was able to calm down, he passed out.
Sithris carefully placed the objects he had gathered on the pedestals around the infusion altar. It was a rather large construct, not entirely dissimilar to the strange altar around the obelisk he had found. Twelve pedestals stood in a circle around what was the infusion altar. Four curved pillars stood adjacent to a center pedestal, and above them floated the main construction, the runic matrix.
He had placed a sample of gold and another of void metal on two of the outer pedestals, and a pure white pearl on the center one. With a nod to steel himself, he placed his paw against the runic matrix and pulsed some magic into it.
The whole thing came to life, bright purple light streaming out from the matrix as it shuddered and opened into eight cubes, all pulsing with magical energy. Sharp hissing filled the air as essentia was pulled from the collection of jars around the infusion altar, floating in streams as it was directed through the matrix and into the pearl.
"Some Alienis, some iter, tenebrae and vacuous should do it..." Sithris mumbled, opening the jars in turn as they were needed. He kept his eyes glued to the matrix, watching it closely for any signs of instability.
Thankfully, the essentia was collected without a hitch, and the gold and void metal began to disintegrate. The fragments that crumbled off flew towards the pearl, wrapping around it and creating something new.
A flash of light marked the completion of the infusion, and all went quiet again as the matrix settled back into a steady floating atop the pillars.
Sithris approached it slowly, admiring the object upon the pedestal. He picked it up tenderly and examined it.
"Perfect..." He barely whispered. "Just like I envisioned."
He admired it for only a moment before placing it on a table and setting up the next infusion. One pearl, some gold and some void metal. He began the infusion again, shaking his head to try and clear the dizziness from using so much magic in so little time. His eyes flicked between the matrix and the pedestals, searching for anything unusual.
A crack of purple lightning shot out from the matrix, knocking the chunk of void metal off its pedestal. Sithris scurried over to put it back on. He heard a crack and turned to see another jolt of lighting vaporize the gold sample.
"Oh no no no," He panicked, rushing back over to the table and grabbing another sample. He put it back on the pedestal and yelped as yet another jolt arced at him, sending him toppling to the floor. He laid there, dazed for a few moments before coming to his senses.
A loud bang echoed through the room, and Sithris watched in horror as flux splattered all over the floor around the altar. He stood up and watched, not sure what to do as everything started falling apart. He heard a rapid clacking, and turned to the doorway to see Parutheon race in, his face a mix of concern and panic.
The elder only took a moment to take it in before he raced to the center pedestal, pulling the pearl off. A loud creak filled the air as the infusion was interrupted, another bang sending Parutheon skidding across the floor.
Sithris turned to his teacher and watched, still too dazed to do or say anything. The older dragon shook himself off and walked towards the back wall, not making eye contact with the black drake. He flicked a switch and a soft whirring began, the flux scrubbers in the ceiling dropping down and beginning to clean up the mess.
Slowly moving towards the table, Sithris tried to slip his satchel over the already infused eye to hide it from view. Parutheon however, was staring at the pearl in his paw.
"I knew I should have known better than to leave you do this alone..." He said coldly, turning to Sithris. "I had hoped our previous talk had woken you up to the dangers of your experiments."
Sithris hung his head, his paws shifting on the floor. "I'm... I'm sorry..."
"Are you?" Parutheon hissed, crossing the floor towards the younger drake. "You tell me this each time, and yet all you do is the opposite. You won't stop these silly little things that could end up with you hurt, or worse."
The black dragon could only shrug, trying to keep the elders attention on him.
"I can't allow you to keep getting away with this Sithris. I'm sorry, but until further notice, you are banned from using the altar. Pack your things and go to your room."
Sithris turned and began moving his things back into his satchel, his wings lifting ever so slightly to try and obscure the table from view.
Parutheon was no fool however, and stepped beside the younger dragon, observing the materials. A deep sigh rumbled from him as he saw the void metal samples.
"You can leave those here too. And tomorrow you can bring me any more of this metal you have, lest I search your room for it myself."
Reluctantly, Sithris removed the dark material from his pack and put them on the table. He knew he couldn't move the satchel from atop the eye without Parutheon seeing, so he carefully hooked his claws under the satchel to grab it, lifting it with the satchel and quickly pressing it to himself.
"I'm going." He stated, hobbling his way towards the door, one paw holding his things against his chest.
"Sithris." Parutheon sighed. "What are you hiding?"
The young drake froze, his body flooding with adrenaline. The cold from the void metal was eating into his chest, enough that he instinctively pulled it away slightly. His heart sank as his claws lost their grip on the eye, and it fell to the ground with a loud clatter. Both dragons were still for what felt like forever, before Parutheon let out another deep sigh.
"Sithris. What is that?" He asked, his voice eerily calm.
"I... uh, my project... I was testing-" Sithris stammered, but was cut off as the older drake moved beside him and picked up the object.
Parutheon examined it for only a second before he threw it across the room and into the wall. A loud screech filled the room as the enchanted pearl in the centre cracked, releasing all the bound magic.
A shudder ran through the black drake, and suddenly his head felt like it had been hammered. He staggered back, blinking furiously to try and clear the aching. He turned to Parutheon slowly, a loud ringing in his ears.
"Why... What did you do..." He spoke, barely able to hear himself.
"You can't do this anymore Sithris! You are going to get hurt in ways that can't be fixed, ways that you don't realise are possible!" Parutheon yelled, but his words fell upon deaf ears.
Sithris looked down at his feet, his head filled with overwhelming white noise. He was breathing heavily, but felt like he wasn't getting any air. He was dimly aware of strange, glowing red patterns beginning to form on his paws and legs. He glanced up to see Parutheon's face one last time before he blacked out.
Slowly, painfully, the young drake came to. His head ached and his mouth was dry. He forced his eyes open and immediately regretted it as bright sunlight stung his eyes. A loud groan escaped him as he forced himself off his side and onto his feet. Weak muscles pushed shakily until he was stood up. The chirps and tweets of songbirds rang in his ears, his mind slowly piecing things together.
Grass under his paws. Trees in his peripheries. Birds tweeting in his ears.
No longer in the school... he concluded. But where...
He turned around slowly, surveying his surroundings. His paw bumped something hard on the ground, and he looked down at it. A stone slate rested on the ground, and atop it sat a necklace with a silvery pendant. He sat on his haunches and picked up the necklace.
It was a relatively simple thing, the only outwardly noticeable thing being the silvery pendant that seemed to glow slightly. His attention returned to the slate, and the text inked onto it.
_Sithris, as much as it pains me to do so, your actions have left me no other choice. Your contact with the void metal and insistence on researching the eldritch has seeped into your mind. It has warped you in ways we have not seen before, seemingly able to manifest control over you. My wounds will heal, however yours will simply need to be tended to. The necklace I have left you should help to suppress it, but only for as long as the enchantment lasts. _
_I cannot offer you any more without risking you or others, so I am afraid all I could provide is in your satchel. You cannot come back to the school. You won't be able to find it, no matter how hard you search, so please, just try to move on. _
_I really am sorry young one, and I hope one day we may perhaps meet again on better standings. _
Parutheon
Sithris stared at the slate silently, unable to take everything in. He looked at the necklace solemnly, realising it may be the last thing he ever received from the old drake who had raised him. His paw wrapped around it tightly for a moment before he slipped it over his neck and stood up.
A large outcropping of rocks stood off a fair bit in the distance, and he could faintly see the outline of a small cave entrance. Without a word, he slipped the slate into his satchel and headed off.
With a click, the now young adult dragon fastened a bronze blade to the end of his tail. A few years had passed, seeing the excavation of the cave into a proper den. He slipped his lined satchel on over his back and picked up his goggles. He looked at them for a bit before sliding them over his head. The ward guarding the entrance to his den wavered as he moved through it and out into the dark forest. His black scales blending in with the darkness, he set off to hunt.
A few hours and no luck later, Sithris wandered aimlessly through the woods he called home. He hadn't even smelled any prey the last few days, and his stocks were starting to get thin. There was a new smell tonight, but he couldn't recognise it. A sigh escaped him and he kicked a pinecone around.
"I could have stopped..." He mulled to himself. "I could still be back there, learning with everyone else. Not worrying about lack of food."
It was a familiar thought, one he had almost daily.
"I haven't had a conversation with someone else in years, and the only thing stopping me from going mad, is the fact I already am."
His head shot up as a strange noise echoed through the woods, sounding like a mix between a roar and a screech. He listened intently, before he heard it again. His feet carried him quickly towards the source of the sound, ducking and weaving through the trees nimbly.
The strange smell from earlier filled his nostrils, a musky, sweaty smell. There was also a tinge of charred wood mixed in, and the black drake worried he might have a forest fire to deal with. He skidded to a halt as he saw something orange and silver shining in the moonlight up ahead. Lowering himself into a crouch, he slid along the trees and made his way towards what seemed to be a battle.
The orange and silver was another dragon! But he seemed to be up against impossible odds as a large number of apes surrounded him.
So that was the smell, apes... Sithris thought, eyeing up the other drake. And who is this..?
He continued to watch, the orange drake swinging his tail and breathing fire at the apes that surrounded him. The orange dragon roared weakly and threw his wings out, his body glowing for a moment before a ring of flame shot out from him.
The smell of burning fur filled the air as Sithris ducked behind a tree, the heatwave stinging his eyes. A loud smack made him peek out again, watching as the other dragon collapsed to the floor. A well-armored ape, likely the leader, kicked the young beast in the head. The ape laughed, raising a spear above the dragon's head.
"So it ends, Dragon" The ape sneered.
Unable to let the first other dragon he'd seen in years die in front of him, Sithris spread his wings and took off, gaining altitude above the brawl. He inhaled sharply and roared, diving down into the middle of the fray with a loud thump.
The apes all stood and stared at the new dragon, unsure how to react. Everything was still for a minute, before the leader spoke up.
"Well well, seems like I'll be taking home two trophies tonight. Nothing personal against you black, but I can't let this one survive. I'm sure you understand..." He hissed, his lips curled into a wicked grin.
Sithris grinned back, shaking himself and loosening his wings. He'd been honing his electrical element over the past few years, and finally had an opportunity to test it. His body tingled as he charged himself up, watching the circle of apes close in. He roared and shot a bolt of electricity at the nearest ape, watching him and the other nearby apes tense up and collapse to the floor.
With a flick of his tail, the bronze blade slid out of its sheath and clicked into place at the end of his tail. He pulsed electricity into it and slapped the blunt side into an ape, watching him get launched into a nearby tree. He turned back to their leader and raised his head.
"That armour of yours looks pretty conductive..." Sithris said, looking over to the unconscious dragon. "Leave him, or I might just have to test."
The armoured ape snarled and backed up.
"You could have gone nice and quickly. I promise now, when next our paths cross, I will personally make you suffer."
Sithris simply thumped his tail, lifting a paw and waving to the ape as he ordered the rest of his army away. He waited a good few minutes after the last one disappeared from view before turning his attention back to the injured drake. He was covered in an extensive amount of wounds, including a rather grisly looking one on his chest.
Sighing lightly to himself, Sithris hefted the dragon onto his back, groaning at the weight. He began to head back to his den, starting to take in everything that had happened.
"You better not bleed out on me... I don't make mortal enemies for nothing you know" Sithris said. "At the very least, you owe me a conversation."