12- The Thunder Rolls

Story by Rifty on SoFurry

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#17 of The Legend of Rift Book III: Downfall


Kardia and Kara jumped up as a portal formed in front of them, Sithris shivering in fear as Neala and Silvus followed behind. The white dragoness pulled him and her hatchling into a tight hug. She looked over at Silvus for answers.

"Ambush, all Panthers. They would have been victorious had I not been watching them." The silver dragon leaned against Kardia, taking comfort against his mate.

Kara sighed, looking at the group of dragons. "We need to fight back now, just enough that they'll retreat. Soon they'll be knocking at our doors." Her eyes glanced over at Sithris, smiling slightly at the silver goggles.

"I would have to agree. Keep them at bay before this city ends the same way it did before." Kardia smiled, her belly swelling more each day. She looked at Kara. "We have our children to protect."

Silvus was about to respond when an energy tugged at his mind. He frowned, walking over to a satchel, and removing a light crystal. He was being summoned back to Shimmering Shores. He shook himself. Rose, if it's what I think it is, I don't want to know. Turning to Sithris, he sighed.

"Rose needs me back. Would you please come with me Sithy?"

The black drake whimpered, reading the pain growing in the silver dragon's eyes. A nod from Kara told him to do it. He slowly stepped forward and the two disappeared through a portal.


Rose paced around frantically, trembling in fear as she waited for her brother. She wasn't paying attention to her surroundings, walking right into Sithris. He blinked in curiosity and Silvus helped her up. Rose looked at him, eyes teared. She muttered her words and walked away. "Come with me."

Sithris watched in awe as they made their way up the mountain. They had come to a circular room with four hallways, all dead ends. A blast from Silvus in each direction caused a rumble, the ceiling began to open.

A stairway formed, and the dragons made their way up. Finally, they reached the top of the mountain. Sixteen colorful orbs circled the tip. The black drake realized most of them were dim, with only a handful of the orbs glowing bright. One caught his attention the most, the orange orb flashing slowly.

"The Ancestor's Rise, each orb represents one of the 16 Elemental Guardians." Silvus couldn't help but grin, remembering bringing his cousin in many years ago, later Kara as well. He faltered as he saw the large number of dim orbs. "Shara will pay..."

Rose nudged him and pointed at Sithris, the drake staring at the flashing orb. Silvus' chest tightened and his breathing became difficult. He and Rose moved over to Sithris, eyes focused on the glowing ball.

Please fight it... Silvus begged internally. The flashing began to slow. As far as he and Rose knew, there was only one explanation. His heart dropped. The orb gave one last flash, nearly blinding the area, before going dim.

There was a terrible silence on the mountain, none of the dragons wanting to talk about what they had witnessed. After a few minutes, one finally spoke.

"Silvus... Wh-Which orb was that?" Sithris questioned painfully. His voice was shaking, body shivering. Tears were freely rolling down his face, eyes not turning away from the orb. Rose looked between the two, unsure of the atmosphere.

Silvus covered his face with a paw, trying to wipe his own tears. His eyes were a sore red and he struggled to not let his grief pour from his mouth. "Sithris... That... ThThat was the Fire Guardian orb... Sithy, I am sorry..."

The electric Dragon's eyes clamped shut, maw in a tight snarl. He wanted the world to hear his pain, but something was holding him back. He searched his mind, and found the answer. He let it flow, anger.

The Light Messenger was in the process of placing a paw on Sithris when he was suddenly knocked down with a paw on his throat. He gasped and felt the air get knocked from his chest. The drake lifted his eyes and couldn't avoid an instinctive shiver at what held him down.

Sithris had started to give in to his Warped side. A special type of corruption as a result of his younger years studying a forbidden type of dark magic. The dragon snarled at him in blood lust.

The gentle black of his eyes began to shift. Red runes flowed down his scales. The drake was already imagining ways to end the life of the silver dragon. "You killed him."

Silvus' eyes went wide. He quickly looked over to his sister, the dragoness visibly terrified at the transformed drake. The paw on his throat tightened, making him yell in pain.

One eye closed with Sithris struggling to keep some control of himself. His body twitched and the runes on his body fading in and out. A small grunt, and the runes stayed.

"He was there for weeks, dying, while you made us sit around and do NOTHING!" The black drake roared angrily. "It's YOUR fault as much as the bitch that imprisoned him! Is that what family does now? You left YOUR cousin to die!"

Sithris' internal struggle ended with his Warped side taking full control. Both eyes had become red like that of a demon. He grinned sadistically.

Once more the paw on his throat tightened, cutting off his ice breath and breathing. He desperately slammed his tail into Sithris, but the drake was unfazed, seething rage from his eyes. Silvus was pinned, fear and a growing guilt clouding any escape plans.

Sithris placed his other paw on the Light Messenger's chest, claws finding the gaps in his chest plates. He chuckled and looked into Silvus' eyes. "A soul for a soul. Before you die, you'll wish Cynder was digging out your horns again."

The silver drake's eyes flashed with terror, memories of his youth coming back. The red stained snow, the aching in his body, the fear coursing through his veins. He could remember the agony of claws pulling each horn out of his head. The image of a laughing black dragoness. It quickly turned into a male dragon. Claws started pushing under his chest plate, forcing screams of agony from the tormented dragon. Please make it STOP!

He heard some snarls and the pressure in his chest and on his throat vanished. He lay limp for a few moments, his mind slowly coming back to his senses. He was hearing some sickening slashes and he forced himself up.

Sithris was mauling Rose with his claws, the dragoness begging him to snap out of it. Silvus realized she had been the one to stop the deranged dragon's assault on him. He tried to formulate a plan. A memory from his late cousin quickly becoming his one shot.

Rose was now yelling from the pain, the black drake seemingly feeding off of her agony. He noticed the silver drake had gotten up and smiled, rolling the dragoness over and pinning her to the ground. She yelped in fear as the drake grabbed her horns and looked at her brother.

"It's not right for one sibling to have horns and not the other. How about we change that."

The moment Sithris began to inch his claws under the scales around Rose's horns, Silvus charged, bringing delight to the sadistic drake. The silver dragon was nearly to him when he vanished through a portal. Sithris snarled as he looked around and found nothing. Another portal and Silvus landed on top of him, tail wrapped tight around his neck.

Sithris flailed and released Rose. He bucked around, slamming himself and Silvus into anything he could think of. One of his horns came back and pierced into Silvus' shoulder, causing the drake to scream in pain, but refused to let go.

After a few moments, the crazed dragon began to slow his movements, the lack of oxygen cutting off his brain functions. With a snarl, Sithris eyes returned to black, and the runes disappeared, the drake collapsing into unconsciousness. Silvus sighed in relief, making sure the black dragon was still breathing.

Rose limped over and whimpered as she saw the damage to her brother. Blood ran from the chest plate that Sithris almost ripped out. His neck heavily bruised from getting choked. And last, the shoulder that had been pierced by a horn. The wounds were not fatal, but it would take time to heal, as well as her own injuries.

Silvus slowly pushed himself up, swaying from the pain and blood loss. His sight of Rose began to blur and multiply. He almost whispered his words. "Gems, Frouta, all of us."

The Messenger of Light blacked out.