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One and the Same

Prologue

~ Lunae, September 16th, Year 1355 of the Human Calendar

Choices, they define us; what we do, where we go... what we become.... Sometimes choices come easily, sometimes not, and sometimes they just seem like a choice when in reality there was none to begin with. And then there are the choices that demand sacrifice, the hardest ones of all are often the most rewarding; the outcome matters most to the majority.

What matters in the end is just how much you are willing to lose; would you give your entire self to save even a fraction of the thing you hold most dear? What would you do to avoid endangering that thing to begin with, would you push it away? Sometimes you have to do just that, to become lonely and never experience the feelings that very person or thing gives you ever again.

I was faced with a choice, one that would not yield its' importance nor give sympathy to any delay. The outcome would forever alter who and what I was, my very soul was forfeit if in the end my resolve was not absolute. My choice was the only real control I had with the entire situation, the family I had managed to acquire was in danger if I wasn't careful.

I suppose this all must sound outlandish to whoever is reading, so I will recount the events since the abrupt ending of my previous entry. The only solace I have is in the knowledge these entries won't go unnoticed and I will hopefully not be forgotten if the time comes that my life must end.

To the curious individual reading this, you have my eternal gratitude.

• Dyyor

Chapter 1

The Unwelcome Guest

~ Iovis, August 29th, Year 1355 of the Human Calendar

Kurai has finally returned, barely, judging from his tale upon my curiosity. He had gone in search of a pendant he had left with one of our old caregivers, but there were some kind of hunters waiting for him. Unfortunately for them they lacked full understanding of what my small friend was capable of, and their choice of machinery was poorly made. Even so, they had managed to wound him considerably in the end, forcing him to stay in the mountains to heal.

My friend now explained to me the object that was stolen is called a Chaos Pen. There were only 15 of these objects in the entire world, scattered across the nations, and were different objects depending on their purposes. His Pen was some kind of key, meant to open a gate said to hold the Madness of the Gods. He didn't elaborate on what that was, just changed topics and hoped I wouldn't notice.

Sometimes I think Kurai delights in making me curious, but judging from his body language I can make the assumption this is some fairly serious stuff he is dealing with. I decided to let the topic trail off; I know he will tell me more when he is ready. Plus Ixontros should have sent a response by now; I hope he can give me more insight on Kurai's Pen.

Regardless of his secrets, I am happy to have my friend home again, and Jadine will be happy to see him again too I bet.

~

I am not a clever dragon... I will explain later.

I found myself rushing down the corridors of the cave, weaving and dashing between stalagmites and launching myself off of walls to gain more speed. All around me were the sounds of magical bursts and metal screeching. Something had invaded my home, my magical barriers had been shattered and the defenses rendered useless. The very walls lashed out at me, a secondary failsafe I had put in designed to ensnare any would-be thief, and apparently said thief had reversed the spell.

Ducking under a stone tendril, I swung around and snapped my fingers to produce a resonance. The walls froze in place for a second then collapsed back into the rocks it had once been; barely giving it a second thought I continued my fevered race to my vault. Ahead of me I could hear footsteps, they sounded far too calm to be a thief rushing to his prize.

As I rounded the last corner I caught a glimpse of the man as he casually entered my vault, I couldn't help but snarl fiercely as I leapt at his heels. My claws scraped and gauged the ground as I forced my body to turn against the momentum and I faced the intruder, only to find he had vanished. The room was dark and empty, save for my treasures, there were faint glows coming from some of the displays.

"Humph," I growled as I strode amongst the items, "Not the brightest human I've ever met, but you broke down my safeguards so I suppose I should congratulate you on that regard." Some of the items glowed brighter in my presence, magic sensory types. "You may as well come out now; I never did care for hide and seek, even in the hatchery."

Suddenly a light sparked to life several yards away from me, the intruder had cast a Guide Light spell. He stood there in a dark cloak, his arms crossed behind his back and looking all too calm for his current situation. "I figured you had to be a magic user," casually I walked towards him, "Not many can undo my magic, let alone turn it on me." The intruder uncrossed his arms and brought up the left one, unrolling his cloak sleeves, I kept up my guard.

"Apologies for the home invasion, Dragon, but you have something my employer desires." In the light several patches of scaring could be seen on his forearm, I noted how they looked familiar. "And this employer could have merely come and asked himself," I waved my tail angrily and glared at him, "This intrusion wasn't necessary." We stood a mere five feet apart at this point, he stood there with his right hand hovering over the scars on his arm, I sat on my haunches and glared at him. Typically I am not this merciful to intruders, but my curiosity was granting him a grace period.

"So, intruder, what is it your employer wanted?"

He still didn't lower his guard and bluntly said, "Not an item, but a creature, you."

Well that is new... "Sorry, but you will have to tell your employer I am not for rent or sale," I lowered my head to close the gap between us and hissed, "Not that you will actually be telling him that verbally."

Surprisingly, he just smirked at my threat, "I guess it is a good thing I'm not really here then."

~

My eyes shot open, the dream snapped out of existence and I was laying there dumbfounded. As if I didn't have enough issues with dreams, now I had a recurring one with a Dreamstrider, damn it! The dreams began two weeks ago, while Kurai was in the mountains, they started with simple home invasion, but gradually progressed to the point where other dreams would get literally interrupted. Dreamstriding was still new to me and the magic it cost was nearly exhausting, but sadly it was my only means of catching this home/mind invader. It was refreshing to at least have a conversation with this person, even though I learned almost nothing.

I stretched and shivered as my joints loosened after the restless sleep. Much to my surprise it was actually morning, had I been chasing him the entire night? Lazily rolling out of my matted hay bed, I stood and shook my legs awake and scanned the room in case the visitor left anything to suggest actually being here. My cave was as homely as could be expected for a dragon, simple rooms and simple furnishings made up the interior. On tables there sat bottles and scrolls, small projects began and then forgotten. Light was produced by candles and fireplaces, even magically glowing gems attached to wall fixtures.

The light danced across piles of metal bits made of bronze and copper, gears and springs salvaged from broken human machines. That is my hoard; a dragon's natural addiction to collecting objects and trinkets. The past hundred years, humans were crafting such fascinating things from natural elements found in the earth: machines, armor, tools. How could I resist claiming the odd spare gear or misplaced spring? Along with metals I had an interest in collecting spell tomes and scrolls, my magical skills greatly progressing over the last couple decades.

My musings were interrupted by a loud crack of thunder outside, the hairs of my mane stood on end and my ears perked up. A few seconds later another, equally loud thunder crack sounded along with a rumble that could be felt through the stone walls. That was my hint to find out what the noise was about, I dashed out of my sleeping room and down the hallway towards the common chamber. Just as I arrived at the mouth of my home, a yellow lightning bolt shot past me and struck a table, reducing the innocent piece of furniture to ash.

That was one of Kurai's spells, too wild of a shot to be target practice. I ignored the fact I was almost gravely wounded and continued running forward until I was outside; my eyes took several seconds to adjust to the light difference. Once the white faded I was staring dumbfounded at a most peculiar scene, my friend attacking a cloaked human. Kurai was bounding around hum, clawing at the man's cape in passing, all the while blasting bolt after bolt of arcane electricity. The human was proving more than capable of fighting back, using an odd gauntlet that covered his right arm to deflect all of Kurai's lightning. He ducked and spun to keep up with my agile friend, using his left arm to cast spells of his own: webbed chains of solidified, red light.

A chain suddenly caught one of Kurai's legs, fastening him to the ground tightly; as my friend struggled to free himself the human lunged forward. He swung out the gauntlet on his right arm and a large blade shot out, leaping forward he prepared to behead my friend. In that small fraction of time I acted; leaping forward and slammed my tail into his side, cracking several of his ribs. He went flying a crossed the clearing and smashed into a tree with a sickening crack, not giving him the chance to recover, he had his back against the tree gasping for breath within seconds.

"Who are you and why are you attacking my friend?!" I snarled, breathing fiercely in his face and baring my fangs. The human gasped and spit up blood instead of answering me, I lowered him and loosened my grip enough for him to speak through his blood stained lips. "Was... just... defending... myself," he coughed, "Came... to deliver... message."

I continued glaring at him for a few additional moments then looked at Kurai, who was still struggling to free himself of the magic chains. He stopped long enough to explain, "You were expecting this... Hunter?" he sounded unjustly angry at me, "He wears the same crest as the humans who attacked me at the hatchery!"

My eyes widened at this piece of information, I turned to the man lying before me, "Is this true, are you a part of the group that tried to kill him?"

The human groggily nodded his head and slumped down into unconsciousness. My curiosity peeking, I reached out and pulled his cloak open to reveal his bronze and copper armor. The chest piece was engraved with an intricate yet simple design: a wheel of eight arrows all pointing outward from the center. I recognized the symbol; it belonged to one of the Scribe guilds lead by Ixontros, the Hands of Direction. Why had Ixontros' men attacked Kurai, what possible reason would he have to make such an order?

Kurai had finally managed to break the chain and was limping towards me; I shook my head and faced him. "Please, Kurai, tell me what is going on," I couldn't shake this feeling, "I think this may be my fault."

~

After explaining about my attempt to contact the very leader of the group who attacked him, Kurai was understandably upset with me. "Why did you do that!?" he roared at me, "I didn't tell you everything to keep you from being involved in this fight!" I winced at his rage, he was pacing back and forth, tail thrashing. "How was I supposed to know a friend I made decades ago would end up being some power-mad, overlord of a psychotic organization!?"

My friend huffed, and turned his back to me, then looked back at the man he attacked, "I think it is best I leave, before I do or say anything I will regret. I leave him to you, the message he has better be worth it." His wings spread out and he hastily threw himself into the air, leaving me alone with the 'prisoner'. I lowered my head sadly and turned to the human, he was still out cold so I saved myself the trouble and rummaged through his pack.

Inside were scrolls and other various items, eventually I found an envelope addressed to me, Ixontros' family crest sealing it shut. I quickly opened the parchment and read the message inside:

Dear Dyyor,

It has been far too long since we last spoke, my old friend; I apologize for my absence during your visit. The nature of your inquiry is fascinating; as it turns out I too am looking into further information about these relics.

They are called Chaos Pens, ancient items said to have unleashed the wrath of the very Gods upon the world thousands of years ago. All of them serve different purposes, but they also provide the same effect universally: Chaos, unbridled. What that means about your friends' missing item, I sadly cannot say at this time.

I have sent Brother Leuthar to not only deliver this message, but to also accompany you in your search for the information you seek.

Sincerely,

Ixontros

I turned the paper over twice before deciding nothing else was written, Brother Leuthar was starting to come to as I let out a small lash of flames and burned the letter. "Good to see you are awake, Leuthar," I glowered at him, "The least I can do is heal you enough to travel, but you are to return to your master and inform him I won't be requiring your services."

I didn't know what Ixontros intended to do, but if he was willing to hurt Kurai then he wasn't to be trusted anymore. I would later learn that I should have just let Leuthar die under that tree; it would have saved me far more grief...