21- Ashes of a Broken Past
#26 of The Legend of Rift Book III: Downfall
Rift groaned as the drake carrying him landed roughly. He still was found himself too injured to fly, and so was carried by a much larger drake. A grumble next to him brought a small grin to his face. Silvus had been carried as well, his broken wing making him also unable to take flight.
They landed on a path surrounded by trees per Kara's demand. Rift tilted his head and she smirked. "We're gonna walk on foot now. Let's see how long it takes for you to remember this place."
The group walked for several minutes before the orange dragon stopped. He looked at the others. "This is the road to Dragon's Claw... Why are you guys hiding in ruins?"
Sithris, Kara, and Silvus looked at each other before bursting into laughter. Rift watched in confusion, trying to understand what was so funny. The electric dragon wiped his eye and gave his confused mate a kiss. "Silly Pest, it was rebuilt. Kara's been overseeing it since she became Wind Guardian. Almost all of Warfang knew."
Rift's eyes widened at the information. "So that's why you were so secretive about the project. That actually really worked out. Ancestors know what would have happened if Shara, Carmine, or I knew about it."
They walked for a few more minutes and finally arrived at the entrance to the city. Hundreds of dragons walked the streets. Food stands filled the food court. Hatchlings sat inside schools. And a little dragoness came running right to Rift.
The orange drake groaned as he was tackled to the ground, Neala squeezing him tightly. "I missed you daddy!" Rift smiled weakly. His daughter had grown, just enough to knock him down while in his current frail condition.
Neala lead Rift around Dragon's Claw, Silvus, Sithris, and Kara smiling as they followed as well. Rift was amazed with how accurately Kara had recreated the village he was born in. They reached a house and Rift stared in shock. "Dad's house..."
"Nope." Kara chuckled and bumped her hips against his and smirked, Sithris doing the same. "This is our home. The cave did good for us for many years, but it was time to come home."
Rift smiled softly and blinked as Kardia ran out of the house and embraced Silvus. She kissed him softly, and everyone laughed at his reddening face. He coughed to stop their laughing. "I felt it best we stay here until Shara is dealt with. Kardia isn't in the best state to defend herself. You know, having to waddle everywhere."
She jabbed his side with a claw and smirked. "You shush, or I'll tell them about our first date."
Silvus went quiet and they all showed Rift around the house. He paused when he noticed a familiar object in the kitchen. "How did that survive?"
Kara smirked as Silvus shifted in discomfort. "Ah yes, the table. Surprisingly enough, we found quite a few things that survived the city's destruction. I figured that as we used it to save Kafto and Silvus when we were little, it was worth keeping."
"Oh yeah, we found something else!" Sithris wagged. He dashed into a bedroom and rummaged through it, finally coming back with some cloth. It was deep blue and very soft. Rift stared at it, eyes watering as it sank in what it was.
He gently took it and held it close to him. "My blanket... The only thing I have from my mom."
Kara smiled. "You never slept without it until the city fell. I think she had a feeling you would be a fire dragon. I remember a few times where it should have burst into flames."
The orange drake pulled his two mates into a big hug and shuddered. "Thank you. This blanket, the city, it means so much to me."
Sithris held out a paw. "May I?" Rift looked at his blanket and gently handed it to his mate. The electric dragon smiled and folded it diagonally into a triangle. He gently placed it around the fire drake's neck, tying it at the front. "There, you're too big to snuggle under it, but now you can always keep it with you." Rift kissed him softly.
"Kardia and I need to talk to Rose. We'll see you in a bit." The silver drake looked over at Neala. "Why don't you come with us." Kara smiled and nodded at her, the little dragoness jumping to her uncle. Silvus waved as a portal enveloped him, Kardia, and Neala.
Rift looked at his two mates, noting them suddenly beginning to rub against him. Kara stroked his tail with her own as Sithris nibbled at his neck. The orange drake shuddered and shook his head. "I can't." Sithris nodded his head in understanding as Kara looked in confusion.
The orange drake sighed as he stood up, making his way out the door. "I need to think for a bit."
Kara looked at Sithris in confusion and he hung his head. "I need to talk to you about what Shara did to him."
Several hours passed and Rift stared at the statue, looking over every detail of Void to try and find an error. He could not. He ignored the sound of two dragons landing beside him as the turned to the other statue.
"He looks strong, determined... unbroken." The orange drake stated. He compared the statue of himself to his current condition. "He's got the muscle to protect his family. And the horns to defend himself."
Sithris rubbed his back. "You did protect your family hon. You gave everything to protect me. You are still that dragon."
"Rift, you went on a long journey and brought me back to life. You've been through hell and back so many times that any other dragon would have long given in. You did what you had to, and I won't fault you for that." Kara rubbed against him. "But we need your help. We can't let Shara keep hunting us and killing anyone that wants to have an opinion."
The orange drake shook his head. "As much as she deserves my rage, I just don't care to fight anymore. I'm not even half the dragon I was. I'll never be who I was again."
"You will, you have to." Sithris stomped his foot. "For us."
A portal opened behind them as Silvus poked his head through. "I need you all in here."
The three mates looked at each other before they simply shrugged and walked through.
The dragons found themselves at the peak of Shimmering Shores, Ancestor's Rise. Rift looked around, not having seen it since Kara had become Wind Guardian. His heart dropped as he saw a majority of the Guardian Orbs were dim. His guilt rose as he saw the same of the Fire Orb. He was truly a shadow of his former self.
"Rift." Silvus nudged. "It will shine again, they all will. We need to get you back on your paws, so to say." They all looked over and watched Neala stared at one of them, a swirling of magenta. She touched it, the orb pulsing, forcing a giggle from the hatchling. Silvus smirked and looked back at his cousin. "That settles it, the plasma dragoness is indeed a plasma dragon."
The fire drake looked back at the fire orb, gently moving towards it. He gently placed a paw on it. His eyes widened and he snarled as an unbearable burning contacted his paw. He pulled away and hung his head in defeat. "Looks like you need a new Guardian."
Silvus shook his head. "It simply thinks you're dead. You need your drive back. That's why we're here." He pointed at the staircase as a large dragoness stepped up. She was grey with a dark blue colored underbelly. Silvus smiled and Rose joined him. The dragoness smiled back. She bowed. "Spirit Guardian Delfini at your service."
She chuckled at her own introduction, smirking as Silvus and Rose both face pawed. "Now now kids, let your mom be silly." She turned to Rift. "Ahh, our trouble drake. Seems like you're in some need of help my nephew."
Rift bowed back. "I'm not sure what help you can be Aunt Delfini. Unless you can go back in time and kill Shara, I'm not much of a Guardian anymore."
Delfini shook his head. "Seems she really did mess you up. My son did not disappoint in that observation. Lucky for you, Silvus and Rose asked me to come help." She held out a paw. "Come, we must take care of things."
The fire drake looked at her and to his mates. They nodded and Neala smiled. He reluctantly took the paw. Things seemed to blur, then his vision went dark.
He took a look at his surroundings. It was easy to recognize it was his home before Dragon's Claw fell. Everything was blurry, but he knew every inch of the house. He heard noises from his father's room, and he slowly poked his head through the door. Two dragons stared at each other.
The first was one he was uncomfortably familiar with, the turquoise dragoness that now controlled Warfang, Shara. What confused him though was her size. She was tiny, younger than even Neala. But her eyes still held the same sadistic gleam that he was familiar with.
The other took him a moment to process. He never knew this one, but instinct confirmed his suspicions. She was beautiful, a similar body to that of Kara, albeit older. Her dark blue scales added to her dark grey underbelly. Deep blue eyes told of a motherly determination to protect. Her belly was stretched round, showing that she was heavily gravid, on the verge of laying her egg. It couldn't be anyone other than Ravine Myclonis.
"Mom...?"
The dragoness ignored him. He looked at himself and found himself transparent. She doesn't know I'm here. Is this in the past?
"Hatchling, please go back to your room. I am nearing my laying time and I need the rest." The adult dragoness pleaded. She was nervous around the hatchling. Why, Rift did not understand.
Shara smirked. "Why would I do that? You clearly seem to be struggling with your pregnancy. Poor thing, you're about ready to pop and your mate has gone off on another mission for the Guardians."
Ravine snarled. "What is your obsession with Void? I know you aren't innocent like you play around him."
"Sigh, my mom and dad taught me to use any advantage I could to succeed. I thought I'd be able to use my magic to meld Void to my will. I know he had disgust for the darker actions of the Guardians, especially the way they had my parents murdered. I wanted to lull him into my control, maybe even have him as a mate once I'm of age, but it seems it can't be done. He's too in love with you." Shara spat, poison dripping from her fangs.
The blue dragoness smiled. "Apologies little one, but he already has a family. You can either stay as an older sister to my egg, or you are no longer welcome here. While I've been onto you during your entire stay, Void thinks highly of you."
Rift gulped. "Don't do it mom, she's not to be trusted."
Shara shrugged her shoulders. "Unfortunately for you, sow, I'm not one to happily give up what I want. If I can't have him, no one can."
Ravine struggled to her feet, turning her body to keep her belly defended. "I'm sorry we couldn't be family. Please leave."
The orange drake could feel what was about to happen. "Please don't mom!"
Shara lunged for the gravid dragoness' belly. Ravine braced, but fell right into the hatchling's trap. She jumped onto Ravine's neck and began slashing at her with full claws dripping with poison. Ravine roared and tried to buck the youngling off. She quickly tired out thanks to the egg swelling inside her.
The whelp continued her assault, clawing and biting into flesh as the adult collapsed. She grinned and hopped off, looking into the adult's eyes with pride. "I win."
Seeing the tears forming in his mother's eyes sent pain into Rift's heart. "No! Stop!" He tried to slash at Shara but went right through her. His eyes welled as he realized he couldn't stop it.
Ravine choked a sob and whispered a poem. It was one that Rift had heard from his father once on the day of the fall of Dragon's Claw. His own eyes watered.
"Once more into the fray,
Into the last good fight I'll ever know.
Live and die on this day.
Live and die on this day."
"Please don't kill her!"
Shara did not hear his plea. She walked over and slipped a poison claw under the gravid dragoness' throat. With a snarl, she dug the claw in and pulled, slitting Ravine's neck in the same way that she would to Zapras. The blue dragoness went limp. Ravine was gone.
Rift collapsed, helpless, ignoring the hatchling leaving as he mourned for his mother. He cried, his experience bringing back memories of losing Kara. He begged for that to be the end of it. He was unlucky.
An hour seemed to speed up when a set of loud wings announced the arrival of another dragon. The door opened, revealing Void. "I'm back darling, I got time..." The large drake's eyes widened in horror as he saw his mate's lifeless body on the ground.
Rift turned away as he heard the pained roars from his father, hearing his sobbing pleas to wake up. The orange drake clenched his eyes. Void was mourning very similar to himself with Kara's death. He couldn't watch.
His head felt cloudy before he realized he was in a different area, the library in which all the books and scrolls in Warfang were held. It was an area he had never seen, restricted to all but a few dragons. He noticed Void was there, removing a scroll from the shelf. Rift's eyes widened. The scroll for learning Supernova.
Void sighed as he stared at the scroll. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you Ravine. But I swear, I will protect our son to the end." He opened the scroll and placed his paw on it, grunting as the power was absorbed.
Rift winced and closed his eyes as he remembered the feeling. A large burning sensation that slowly flowed up his arm and all around him, before bumping against his mind. His eyes shot open, noticing Void was gone. In fact, he stood in his father's place, his orange paw against the scroll.
He panicked, trying desperately to pull away. "No, let go. I don't want this again." He couldn't get free, feeling more heat flow within as he felt another entity latch onto his mind. He snarled as he felt the consuming power of Supernova once again, trying as it had years ago to overpower his mind. Just like then, he was just able to push it to the side as everything around him went black.
He slammed his paw on the ground in anger, upset that he had been forced to relearn the power that had been tormenting him for a decade. "Why couldn't they just let me have my peace?"