Dragon's Deep
#18 of Incomplete Stories.
The rumbling. That's all I could hear, the deep rumbling of rock forced to move against it's will.
"Quickly, quickly! We don't have much time!" A voice penetrated the rumbling of the rock. It felt old to me. Though since I had no real sense of time, it wasn't like I knew what old was.
"This one... yes. Quickly, breach the seal!"
Light seared my eyes, my mind screaming at the abuse. The torcherous light ebbed, turning into a lantern at the tip of an old cane. My mind made sense of what had happened, knowing that my eyes had been swiftly brought into the soft glow of a flame. I closed my eyes, and felt a deep wellspring of strength flow into me.
"Ah yes.... this one will do very nicely." I opened my eyes, my pupils slitting as I focused upon the old grey lizard before me. It's hunched features gave it an essence of decrepit age, which it's small bright eyes seemed to undo.
"Master.." The creature bowed before me, as did the other small lizard like creatures with it. It stood, looking at me with what could only be construed as awe.
"Get down there you cursed beasts! If they wake a new Overlord, the pit of pain will be the least of your worries!" Howls and shrieks echoed after that deep bellowing voice. The grey old lizard grabbed my wrist, it's small sticklike fingers holding more strength than I thought they would. He pulled my hand towards his chest, forcing me to kneel. My rage bubbled up within me at being forced to do anything.
"I accept you as the Overlord of Dragon's Deep, Lord of the Draconis Elevanis." The rumblings stopped at once.
"NOOOOO!" A steel clad nightmare walked into the catacombs, it's glittering red eyes stared at me in hatred. The dagger at it's hip twitched, and I moved infront of the old lizard. Power fluxed in and around me, dark energy repelling the dagger.
"You..." The screeches and howls from earlier became manifest as goblins of varying colours swarmed in behind the steel clad thing.
"Lord of Minions, our master is returned to us, you are forbidden entry by the ancient laws of Kerilsuut. If you do not vacate the Keep immediately, all you own will be forfeited to the Elsan." Those deep red eyes shifted to the old grey lizard.
"Worm, do not quote the laws to me! I am the Lord of Minions, you can not offer such an insult and go unpunished!" He made to move towards the old grey lizard, and I moved to protect him. I had no idea what was happening, who I was, why I was here, but when someone with power abuses it for the sake of something petty like pleasure, enjoyment, or simply because, I had to do something about it.
"Get out of my way slime, crawl back into your pit before I send you to the gates of hell myself." Dark, pulsing energy flowed into me. I felt alive. I was brimming with energy, almost to the point of bursting. I unleashed everything contained within my body, and watched in shock as the impossible happened.
A great wind tore at everything in the room. The goblin like creatures screeched and chattered, the steel clad nightmare's eyes widened, and the whole lot were scooped up, and thrown away from me. The lord of Minion's voice echoed a dull 'noooooo' for minutes.
I sat, utterly drained of everything. Small scaled hands tenderly touched me, easing me back down into a sitting position.
"Yes... He'll do...."
When I next woke up, I was somewhere different. The catacombs were gone, replaced by something that was old, tacky, and decaying. Looking around the place I supposed one could call it a bedroom, at one point long in the past. I moved, and instantly felt dirt, dust, and gods knew what cling to my body.
I trembled with the sudden and most desperate urge to clean myself. I felt a presence, and whirled, bringing what little dark energy I could gather to bear.
A little grey lizard trembled before me, liquid suddenly pooling underneath it. I quenched the dark ball of energy that had been forming above my outstretched hand, and gestured for the creature to come forwards. It shivered in place, and didn't budge. Knowledge suddenly infused me, and I knew more about the power I held. A gentle twist of my mind, a tug, and the little creature started walking towards me, it's fear apparent and increasing at each step it made towards me.
When it reached my hand, I gently rubbed it's scaled head. I paid particular attention to the growing horns upon it's head, and knew somehow that they were particularly itchy. The fear and tension slowly leaked from it's body as it pushed it's head into my hand. I grinned slightly, rubbing and scratching at the creature's growing horns.
"Ahem.."
The creature startled and fled. I heard the skittering of it's claws as it raced past the old lizard, hit the wall with a crash that made me wince in sympathy, and tumbled out the doorway.
"Sire, do not be kind to the help, they will think you're weak." My rage bubbled up again, and I faced that rage at the old lizard. "You can not change us sire. We are evils, and as such we evils are designed for destruction, death, and ... evil. You will learn Sire, or you will die. Your predecessor was an evil, though he was tragically short in wanting to do anything. When the three years of protection faded, they caught him enjoying pleasure slaves in the tower. Thankfully I had enough time to get to the servants quarters and hide." The old lizard bowed.
"Who, or rather what, are you?" The old grey lizard looked up in surprise.
"You do not know? What of your memmories?" I shook my head both times. I knew nothing. His look grew concerned. "I knew he was experimenting in the catacombs, but to think he would do this.." He shook his head. "No matter. All will be made clear eventually, you only need time. Thankfully, we have a lot of that. I am Gentiel, Servant Master of the Draconis" He paused at my confused expression.
"Okay, I'll give you the simple version. You Sire, are the Overlord of Dragon's Deep, Lord of the Draconis Elevanis, which is ourselves Sire. Approximately twenty years ago, your predecessor was slain by a minotinous group of heros from the light, and twilight realms. Since his death I have been slowly working with the few servant Draconis that were left to free you. Five years digging, three years of spell preperation, a hundred Draconis lives, and the twelve year wait for your magnanimous self. The lord of minions somehow found out that your predecessor was dead, and laid claim to the Keep. If I was but a few seconds later, he would have destroyed the catacombs, slaughtered the remaining Draconis, and taken the Keep as his own."
"What is it exactly that I'm meant to do here?" The old lizard grasped his cane within his hands, shifting his weight. I knew immediately that his legs were sore and tired, his body was in distress for the abuse he'd put it through on my behalf, and he was staying where he was because he considered it a serious breach of protocol to sit infront of his Overlord.
"Sit, please, rest yourself. No doubt you have done a lot for me." The old lizard looked at me funny. His old spiraling horns that wrapped around the sides of his head glittered. He took a seat by a crumbling lump of something, and looked up at me.
"Sire, are you feeling... No, are you aware of any changes?" I went to shake my head, then wondered about the question. Who was I to say what was what when I didn't even know what was going on?
"I can feel, and summon this dark energy. It flows through everything in here. I've had a brief moment where knowledge I didn't have was suddenly given to me. That was how I coaxed the terrified little Draconis closer. I.... I twisted how my mind thought, and tugged upon the power within him, as though it were a leash. He couldn't stop himself even if he had've tried." The old lizard was smiling pleasantly, his attention upon me, but as though he'd heard this all before.
"I can also feel what others desire." He kept smiling for a few seconds untill what I just said was fully processed. He stared at me with rapt attention, every fibre of his being was focused solely upon me. I knew he was afraid, yet hopeful. "What are you afraid of?" The fear skyrocketed, though his expression didn't change. "You lost your hope, why?" Now his expression changed. He clutched weakly at his cane as his eyes bugged out. I felt his heart beating much too fast, and sent out a call. A dozen of the little Draconis raced towards me from the doorway, and towards me. They looked confused untill I pointed towards the old lizard. There were squeeaks and shrills of alarm. The entire group picked up the elder and moved him out of sight. I felt their fear slowly ebb as they got further and further away from me.
I sighed, wondering about what exactly I had done, and when I could get a blasted bath. A gentle warmth sprung up in my mind, and I turned. There, poking his head out from underneath a collapsed stone pillar, was the Draconis servant from earlier. "Hello again." The little one scampered out of sight, but I knew where he was. I could feel his heart fluttering gently. I blinked, and my vision changed. I was staring at myself from several metres away. Did I really look like that? My body was large, possibly even barbaric. Dirt, grime, and who knew what covered my body in a thin sheen. My hair was dark, thick, and long. There were knots, leaves, twigs, and something I could only assume was a beetle tied within my hair. I turned around, and my vision shifted untill I was staring at myself from behind a pillar. I frowned in confusion, and saw myself frown. My eyebrows were thick, but not too bad. My eyes were brilliant green dragon eyes, which was okay I guess. My face was plain, soft looking, even to me. I grinned, showing my teeth, and saw that they weren't as white as what I would have prefered, but still white enough.
I blinked, and my vision returned to my body. I opened out my hand, and tugged gently. The Draconis obeyed, walking out from behind a sloping pillar. He was about average size, all the other little grey Draconis were his size, which was about one third of mine. The old lizard was the largest, towering over them at three quarters, or even my full height if he didn't have that hump upon his back.
It stopped infront of me, it's eyes wide with love, awe, and adoration. I grinned, and rubbed it's growing horns. "Gods I need a bath." It's little scaled hands gripped my hand and tugged. I looked at it in shock. This was the first time it had willingly done anything. "You know where a bath is?" It nodded, tugging more. "Okay." I got up and followed the little scamp. It pulled me out of my room, out through the doorway the other Draconis had taken the old Lizard, and took me down the spiraling stairwell. Draconis paused in their tasks as I moved past them, trills being sent to, and ignored by, my guide. We navigated a veritable maze of passages before arriving at a steaming pool with an assortment of large flat rocks that appeared to be heated. A number of Draconis were there bathing, and upon seeing me screeched in alarm. My guide hushed them with a sharp trill.
I looked about the cavern we were now in, and realised I knew exactly where I was. The place I had just been was meant to be my room. The giant stairwell was the main way to travel when going up and down within the tower sections. The passages were for the Servant Draconis to allow them to gain access to all of the rooms within the Keep, along with the nesting grounds of the other Draconis, like the Warriors and Mages.
I damn near fell onto my guide as I realised just how big the Keep I inhabited was. I knew there was a lot of damage to the Keep, I could feel it. There were spaces that were dark and void to me, as though missing. I knew the Keep was meant to house a lot more Draconis than the few hundred servant Draconis that were still here. I somehow knew that there were other types of Draconis, and that they were missing from the Keep. If that wasn't bad enough, I knew that what was missing from the keep, lay elsewhere. I could feel different Draconis voices whispering in the darkness. When I focused hard enough, I caught brief glimpses of the areas where they were. The mages were locked in servitude to a child, performing illusions for the insane boy. The red fire Draconis were held beneath a giant grate, their wings chained with heat resistant metal. Electric charges were jolted through them from underneath the great pit, forcing them to produce heat.
Whistling trills brought me out of the darkness, and back into the warmth of the washing cavern. The little grey servant Draconis tugged me towards the pool where other Draconis were starting to leave. They were unsure as to what they were meant to do.
"Go back to your washing, I'm only here to bathe. What you do normally, go about doing, I wont interfere. I just want to get clean." The Draconis exchanged looks and trills of concern. "No need to be worried. If you've got any soap, I wouldn't say no to it." My little Draconis let go of me, and ran to an alcove that held some type of bubbling foam. Scooping out a meagre handful, he brought it back and held it up.
"Soap?" He nodded. The servant Draconis half in, half out of the pool, decided to come out completely. They grabbed at my hands and pulled me towards the pool. Deciding I wanted to be clean more than I wanted to talk, I allowed them to pull me into the heated water. I sighed in relief as the water soaked into my skin. The Draconis surrounded me in a small circle, their little three fingered hands scratching the grime and filth from my body. I closed my eyes, and relaxed. I trusted these little lizards, these kin of dragons. Their claws left my skin, and returned soaped with lather. They made sure to be extremely thorough in their ministrations, my face was given gentle attention, a cloth being used to wipe at my skin. Two little Draconis stood upon my shoulders, their claws picking things out of my hair, before soap was added. They combed through my hair, coating the strands with the cleansing foam. My arms and sides were seen to in equal measures, my hands and fingers gently and intently scrubbed clean of all traces of dirt. One of the little Draconis paid particular attention to my groin. I ignored it's ministrations as much as my will would allow.
I lapsed back into the dark realms, hearing my Draconis' cries for help. Blue Draconis swam in small swarms, deep underneath the surface of the waters they inhabited. Boats darkened the sky of their watery world, harpoons being launched into and through the swarms. Their cries as they were speared, dragged to the surface, and butchered, filled me with rage. They were mine, and they were in peril. The darkness within and without me surged with my anger. I focused the energy upon a recently speared Draconis, and obliterated the harpoon. It's serpentine head and neck looked about it in shock, before it's fellows grouped around it and helped it swim to a small hollow in the rock wall. Massive eels, attracted to the scent of blood, snaked after them faster than they could swim. Again my powers sung through me, and I lashed out. Blood clouded the crystal waters of their new home as the eels were bisected with fury. I watched as my water born Draconis lanced into the small hole in the rock wall. I felt a small glimmer of hope float up from the wounded Draconis, before the vision faded.
I slowly opened my eyes to a strange sight. The servant Draconis were crowded close to me, my guide closer than the others. The second my eyes opened, all but my guide scattered. He gave a soft lilting trill. He was concerned about me, I had done something to worry him. I reached up and clasped his horns gently, scratching at the scales that itched him so.
"Sorry to worry you, the blue Draconis needed help, theirs was the loudest voice within the darkness." Fear spiked within him, which was quickly over run by sheer adoration. He jumped upon my face, hugging my head with what could only be seen as joy. I extricated him from my face and looked up at the positively beaming little Draconis. His eyes shone with a light I would have considered worshipful, had it come from something of a more human nature. The other servant Draconis nearby trilled, whistled, and chirped in excitement.
"SILENCE!" The Draconis eeped and silenced themselves, staring in fear at the humped figure of Gentiel. The old lizard glared at the Draconis, and all but my guide scattered. He alone stood infront of me, fearful, but proud. Gentiel glanced at him, then turned his eyes to me. "What have you done?" I looked at him, unsure what to say. He was filled with rage, fear, and disgust. It was focused upon me, and partly upon the little Draconis beween us. I got to my feet slowly, my energy fluctuating beyond my control. I was being threatened by something, but I had no idea what.
"What have you done Sire? Or do I even need to ask?" Gentiel looked at the cowering servants, and scowled at my guide. "You've shown them kindness. They'll all need to be destroyed, immediately." My power stoped fluctuating, coalescing into a thick, tangible substance. Gentiel waved a gnarled scaled hand at the servants, and my power reacted. Force met force, his will met mine. The cavern we were in cracked as dark mystical energy fought against itself. The Draconis shrilled in alarm, and I transferred my dark energy into them. I strengthened them against the fury contained within the cavern. I pulled and pushed the dark energies of my castle, becoming one with the heart of Dragon's Deep. Gentiel pulled back his will, focusing all his being upon the little Draconis who adored me.
"You do not have the will to be the Overlord of Dragon's Deep, lord of the Draconis." I knew what he was going to do before he did it, so I acted first. I gathered a brief splash of power, tempered it to a needle's point, then lanced it into Gentiel's mind. He focused all of his willpower upon my servant, willing the little Draconis to turn upon me, to rip, tear, and claw at my face. He was confused that I wasn't trying to stop him. I covertly searched his memmories, his being, and by the time he realised what I was doing, it was far too late. I found the taint within his mind, and ripped it free. Gentiel screeched in agony, clapping his weathered paws to his skull as the shifting black phantom was pulled from him.
The servants stared at the billowing blackness, and started edging away from the thing. Deep red eyes opened up within the shadow, it's fury aimed at me. Gentiel dropped to the floor as the last of the phantom came out.
You shall pay for this Overlord. I will have a spy back in your Keep before you can even blink. You can not protect yourself from me.
I stared at the phantom, gently pulling upon the dark power within my castle. As I held the phantom before me I used my unique ability and made myself aware of everything. He was partially afraid. He'd never been caught before. He was also partly terrified at knowing I could catch him in his ethereal form. He was slowly growing more afraid as every thing he did to escape my grasp earned him nothing but frustration. I felt his mind work in desperation, yanking upon abilities he was only half aware of himself. He touched an ability that made me tremble for a moment. He had no idea what it was, but I did. He had the ability to drain he very life out of everything near him. The current radius of his ability was several metres, more than enough to take the lives of all the servants currently within the washing cavern. He moved on from it, and kept loking for something that would break my hold over him.
"You can stop looking, you'll never find anything to make me release you." I felt his fear spike abnormally, his eyes widened ever so slightly.
You have no idea what you're talking about Overlord. I can escape from your hold whenever I see fit. I choose to remain here to test you.
I looked at him, and felt something I never expected to feel for an Overlord. It was pity. I commanded my castle to make a mental copy of his being, down to the last bit of magical energy fueling his ethereal form. The dark energies around me faded a great deal, but not so far as to force me to loosen my hold upon him.
"Overlord of Demon's Nest and Shadow's Crest, I bid you adue." I banished him from my castle, his eyes showing deep rooted fear as he realised I was more powerful than him after only having just awoken, then he was at several years of new life. I took a deep breath and crouched upon the heated floor. My servants moved me to a heated rock, and I just lay back, trying to absorb the heat into me to ease the throbbing sensation deep within my body. I felt the darkness stir as the servant Draconis still within the cavern moved about in agitation, unsure as to what hey should do. They didn't know if they were to help Gentiel, or kill him.
"Care for Gentiel as well as you can, he was being used by another Overlord. The actions he took were not his own. Should he wake before I return, tell him to rest and wait for me. We have much to discuss." The little Draconis moved immediately, all except for my guide. He was quick, loyal, intelligent, and above all, moral. I needed him to speak. Darkness surged around him, swirling in a dark fog as the castle complied with my wish. His high trill of panic turned into high "noo's" of fear. The fog left him, dissipating into the air. The little Draconis shivered in place, his grey horns now black.
"Do you have a name Draconis?" He shook his head slowly, his eyes just a little more wider and elegant than what they had previously been. "Can I give you a name?" The Draconis shrugged his small shoulders.
"Sure." He froze, eyes wide. His fear spiked before he looked at me. I nodded at him.
"Yes, I gave you the power to speak. I need to understand what you say. I'm promoting you to my personal servant. Where I go, you go. If I need messages carried or delivered, you'll get the job. Can I trust you with this burden of responsibility?" He nodded his scaled head too quickly.
"Yes Sire! Anything you want!" He grinned at me, his draconian smile fitting him perfectly. I smiled in response, my slitted eyes roaming about his scaled form.
"Okay. I need some information from you, you may not know the answers to all my questions, and you wont be punished for not knowing." He nodded, gazing up at me. I patted the heated rock. "Come have a seat, this is going to take awhile." The Draconis nodded, bouncing over to the rock and seating himself. His whip like tail wrapped around his scaled legs. His current arrangement of his legs left his genital slit open to my viewing. I ignored the sight, though I was curious as to how he was put together.
"Now ... as for a name for yourself, what about Prince?" The Draconis looked at me puzzledly, his head askew slightly.
"Prince?" I nodded. "Well, any name's as good as no name. I shall be Prince, in body and name for you Sire." He bowed forwards slightly, his eyes shining with devotion.
I shook my head. "Prince, what do you know about the other Draconis? What can you tell me about how they were removed from my castle? Do you know where I need to go in order to get them back?"
Prince looked down at the heated rock, some servant Draconis trilling to each other as they entered the cavern, saw me and Prince, and froze. I waved them forwards, waiting for Prince to speak.
"It's not just the other Draconis that are missing." He looked partly away from me. I sighed. He was being evasive, he didn't want to tell me the full extet of the damage, because he thought I'd blame him. It appeared to be a habit of his former Overlord.
"I am not going to shoot the messenger Prince, I have too much honor for that. I also know that it's not just the Draconis that are missing. Parts of the Keep are dark, hidden. They're not where they should be, and I can't sense them like I can the Draconis. So please, tell me what else is missing." Prince looked up at me, his eyes slitting in agitation.
"Your forgery, your smithy, is missing. It was one of the first things looted by the heroes of light and twilight. The smelters, the anvils and forges, all were taken. What weapons were stockpiled, were stolen. I know that the boy prince of Elksand has the Mithril smelter, and the Steel smelter was taken by the halfling hero Lirindu." He paused, looking up at me with concern. "Sire, the only Smelter left available to us is the Copper smelter, and only because all the other races have advanced far enough that it is no longer of any use." He looked away from me, and I knew why. My eyes were dark with rage, my pupils nothing more than slits.
"Continue Prince, I am not angry with you, just the mortals who dare trespasse within my domain." He looked back up at me, his eyes uncertain.
"The heart of the tower was removed, stolen. The hatcheries and nesting grounds of all the Dragon folk have been removed. Not just us Draconis, but the Wyrmlings, Dragonkin, and true Dragons. The royal suites were trashed and savaged. Your treasure vaults were physically removed because the spells upon them were too strong to break. They rest in broken heaps below the Keep, their tortured remains barren. They were marvelous when they were full. One of the previous Overlords decided to create the treasure vaults, making seperate vaults for gems, gold, precious items, all sorts of things." He paused, thinking of what else to add. "The laboratory, where the herbalist Draconis studied plants and their properties, was destroyed. The dungeons were raided, all the torture implements stolen. I know that Prince Kelvin, champion of the black knights made off with most of the torture supplies. The kitchens are barely functioning now that the fire Draconis are gone. We cleaned it up as best we could, but the flames work only with a fire Draconis present." He gently laid a scaled paw upon his reptillian forehead, concentrating.
"The mines were destroyed, though it wasn't really a big loss. The previous Overlord just wanted to enjoy his pleasure slaves, so anything not pertaining to his pleasure was abandoned. The earth Draconis weren't happy about that. The Dwarven King Gelos Rockson took the earth Draconis queen to work in his mines. The music quarters and crafting level were all destroyed, though the heroes didn't do it. The lord of minions did that. He despised the soft sounds a harp could make, and didn't want anyone or anything to be able to better his own poor minion made items. The portal to the bestiary was destroyed the moment the mages left the Keep. I couldn't even imagine what happened after we stopped feeding the animals and keeping the enclosures in pristine working conditions." I held up my hand, and he stopped speaking.
"That's enough. Can you think what might be needed in order to restore the Keep to it's former glory? To turn this decrepit Castle back into it's magnificent self?" His mind came to a decision immediately.
"The tower heart needs to be found first and foremost, without it, nothing else can be done. The heart allows transportation between Castles and realms, it's also necessary to allow the Draconis access to their spells." I blinked at him in surprise.
"The Draconis have their own spells?" He nodded.
"We servant Draconis have cleaning spells. The earth Draconis have metal and gem locating spells, though it's just an awareness of the items. At their strongest level, an earth Draconis can look at a mosaic of multiple gems and metals, and tell you exactly what everything is. The Angelus Draconis could ressurect at a touch, but were susceptible to any damaging attack. They were the only ones, aside from the fire Draconis, that could fly. All the other Draconis don't have wings, or they serve a different function other than flying." I shook my head and he stopped speaking. Prince looked at me slightly worriedly, his tailtip roving forwards and backwards. I rubbed at his growing horns again, trying to think.
"Okay. First thing's first. I'm going to need to locate the tower's heart, and some type of warrior Draconis. After that, I'll need to find help to clear the Castle of debris, and to open up the rooms and chambers. Find a sustainable food group for the growing Draconis, and start retreiving the stolen items." Prince nodded, his eyes glowing with praise.
"Sire, there's a portal that can be accessed in order to find the heart of the tower. The only poblem is that unill you find the heart, you wont be able to return. There's another thing.." He looked worried, fidgeting before continuing. "The ancient laws of Kerilsuut do not apply if you venture out of the sanctuary of your domain. You can be attacked by other Overlords, and if killed, will lose your domain to the stronger Overlord. This is why there are more than a few Overlords with more than one domain. You need the protection of your Draconis, without them you'll be no match for the other Overlords. You need as many Draconis back as possible. If the Draconis royalty and nesting grounds are going to be returned, we'll need a lot more food than we're currently geting. We barely have enough for the few hundred servant Draconis in the Castle." He turned away, avoiding my eyes, but that wasn't enough to stop me knowing what was wrong. He was worried. He missed something important.
"Where are the Servant Draconis Royalty?" He told me without even speaking. He was there when they were killed. He was there when the queen egg was obliterated. He watched, terrified, as elves and humans captured, then slaughtered the royal couple, killed their personal servants, and smashed what eggs were maturing. He'd been too terrified to move when their king himself beheaded his queen. He was ashamed that he'd witnessed the death of his queen, and done nothing about it. I tugged him closer and wrapped a large arm around his slight frame.
"It's okay Prince, it wasn't your fault. I'm here now, and I promise to you, I will restore the Draconis to their former glory." Prince nestled closer, blinking rapidly. It was their way of crying, since they had no tear ducts. I rested my head upon his growing horns, trying to think as I rubbed his side. I needed to find the tower heart, that much was certain. I needed to find the Warrior Draconis, a food supply, and a way to rebuild the Castle. I'd need rooms opened up, and the Royal Draconis of each class. I'd need a way to make money, so trade goods were going to be needed, therefore the earth Draconis were a major concern. What of the wind Draconis? What did they do?
The darkness swarmed round me once more, and I was instantly transported, mentally, to where the wind Draconis were. The darkness never left me. I reached out into the darkness, and felt a mind. It was cowed, terrified, and verging upon insanity. It was terrified of the dark, the all encompassing dark, but that's where it lived, it was where it's new home was. I watched it fumble within the gloom, looking for something to eat. I used my sensing ability, and found some small lizards nearby. I tugged as gently as I could upon the dark energy within the little wind Draconis, and nudged it towards the reptiles. I delved deep within the little Draconis, and searched for information that I needed. She was, or rather had once been, one of the Wind Royalty servants. Her duty had been to watch over the hatchling Draconis, and to teach them how to bend the wind to their wills. She had also been the librarian of the mass of literature that had been collected through the ages. The darkness suddenly surged, and I 'looked' at what was happening.
A few of the lizards had been beheaded, neatly. I blinked, trying to understand, and she did it again. She brought her claws together, then flicked them outwards after storing a brief amount of power. Another lizard dropped, it's head sliced cleanly off from it's body. I almost applauded her use of energy, before I realised that this was the best she could do in her extremely weakened state. I tried to give her a sign, to say that I was here, and would be coming, but something happened that made me hesitant to use my energy.
A shaft of light seared the darkness, she screamed in response. I spared a thought for her and blacked out her eyes. Her screaming stopped almost as quickly as it had started. I heard a deep echoing groan as ancient and heavy wood was slowly moved against it's will. I heard the clamp and stamp of plated feet, the sound of perhaps ten men marching upon stone.
"She did it again sir. Blasted wyrm should know better than to use the goddess' gifts. All these demon spawn should know better." I moved from my little wind Draconis, and felt her reach fo me. I hesitated, and left her some energy. She held her claws to her chest, sighing peacefully. Now within the light, I could see her form clearly, and I despaired. She had beautiful wings once, once a long, long time ago. Now they hung in ragged tatters. Her left wing was ripped in a number of places, the skin blotchy with irregularities. Her eyes that had once held the colour of the open skies, was now dark and cloudy, her vision poor because of her incarceration. Her frame was wasted, her scales barely holding onto her. Her tail was nothing but a stump, it's long sinuousy length severed upon her capture. Her left hand was missing, her wrist broken and scarred. A moment's search, and she gave me the answer. She had been caught escaping. She'd used her abilities with wind to sever the cords binding her wooden cage, and had her left hand cut off as punishment. I smothered her slight frame in darkness, and whispered a name. One I would call her by when I freed her and her brethren.
Eileena.
She startled, looking around herself, but I was no longer focusing upon her. The men from above had torches, and they were focusing the shared light into the hatch. I pulled upon my power, surprised to feel it struggle to reach me. Apparently I was a great distance away from the Castle, as the nearer I was to it, the greater my strength was. I tugged at my powers, partitioning my mind and requesting that it cotinue to draw power from my Castle. I used what energy I had, and called darkness to me. I pulled it around like a thick fog, making it billow around, then up through the hatch. The men who were about to come down and torture Eileena again, backed up and away from the darkness. They started to turn to run and warn everyone, and that's when I attacked. I lashed out with a tentacle of fog, wrapped it around one of the fleeing men, and literally sucked the very life out of him. His armour and dessicated body dropped to the stone as his fellows ran screaming away.
My second self informed me that his limit had been reached, and I transferred the power I'd been gatheing into myself. The darkness surged, and I used my powers quickly. I created a wall of darkness at the very beginning of the tunnel leading to Eileena's prison, and gave it the ability to absorb the life energy of anything not Draconis in nature. I then shifted it's phase space. To explain it, would be like telling an ant how to make an engine. Basically though, I made the space it inhabited be not there, exactly one hundred percent. The space it inhabited was both there, and not there. Anyone able to sense the energies of the dark realm, would not be able to sense the trap. None but I would know about it, and it was impossible to remove. I spared a thought for Eileena, and removed the blindness I'd inflicted upon her.
She shivered within the lit darkness of her prison, quavering with the belief that this was a trick by the humans to get her to try and escape again. I whispered within her mind, gently pulling upon the dark energies within her.
I am the Overlord of Dragon's Deep, Lord of the Draconis Elevanis, and I will rescue you from the hell you reside within. Find the other Wind Draconis, bring those you can back here. There is a barrier that will kill anything not Draconis at the beginning of this tunnel. Escape Eileena, I will bring you all back to Dragon's Deep the moment I can.
She trilled after me the moment I left her mind, I returned in an instant, already knowing what her question was. She was worried that I was like the others, that I would demand immediate obedience, that I would force her to breed against her wishes because..
I blinked within the darkness. She liked other females...? I gently delved into her being, and was given the truth. She found males disgusting, rude, inept. I swaddled her in the darkness and belied her fears. I would not force her to breed, and whichever partner she desired, she could have. I wished for her to take up her librarian's position at the soonest possible time. I had need of her specialty, there was so much to learn about the realms I now inhabited. I left her with a piece of my heart, a link with which she could contact me by. All she would need to do was focus upon that piece of dark energy, and send out a call. I'd be able to hear and respond immediately.
The world started to fade, and I realised my time was up. I continued to watch over her as she rocked gently, her paw to her chest, like she was trying to keep the feeling of me from escaping. I sent out one last thought, and once she heard it, she moved.
Live.
I opened my eyes, and became immediately disorientated. I called out with my dark energy, and the Castle replied. I was at the Forge, deep within the Castle's bowels.
"Prince!" Immediately the little Draconis was at my side.
"Sire!" He jumped me, wrapping his small scaled limbs about my massive frame. I picked him up in one hand and gently levered him off of me.
"Why am I in the Forge?" Prince blinked twice, then answered.
"Sire, you collapsed again. I took you to the servant's quarters, but they said there was nothing wrong with you that they could tell. The Angelus would have known what was wrong with you, but we don't have them any more. I brought you down here to measure you so that at the very least we could make you some armour for if and or when you venture into the realms. Copper armour is naturally the weakest type of armour, but anything is better than nothing, right Sire?" The last was said in a hurry. He expected to be reprimanded. He'd taken liberties he wasn't sure he had in order to do this.
I rubbed his growing horns. "It's alright, I knew I'd need to be here eventually, you just saved me the trouble of making the decision. The reason why I collapsed is because one of the Wind Draconis was in trouble. Is it just me, or are the realms and their rulers evil?" Prince looked at me, and I sighed. "Evil is the name of the game, I get it. Well, if everyone else is evil, I guess I'll go against the grain and be the best good Overlord there is. Grab me some armour if you want, but I need armour for the Draconis that are going to be doing the fighting. I'll be there to direct, but warriors, when I get them, will be doing the fighting, not me." I paused, looking at Prince. "Yes?"
"Sire.. The Warrior Draconis don't need weapons and armour, they steal what they want in order to wear what they think is..." He stopped speaking, edging away form me slightly.
"No Draconis of mine shall ever steal what they need. If I can't provide it for and to them, I don't deserve my place as the Lord of the Draconis." My rage was billowing around me. I couldn't help the ire that one of my Draconis would steal in order to get what they want. The fact that he knew all of the Warrior Draconis did it, meant I had to sit them on their tails quickly, or risk a mutiny when they realised I wouldn't allow them to steal what they wanted.
I set m eyes on him, and decided now was as good a time as any. "Prince." I waited untill he looked up at my eyes before continuing. "Gather up all of the Servant Draconis, Gentiel as well if he's conscious, and bring them to the great hall. I'm aware that I'll be pulling some of the Servant Draconis from their beds, but this is needed. Once they're all there, I want you to sit next to me on the throne. You'll be translating anything they say, as well as taking notes for future referance, unless you can get another Draconis to do it." Prince continued listening for a moment longer, before he realised I'd finished.
"Is that all Sire?" I nodded.
"For now, yes. Hurry Prince, the sooner this is done, the sooner the sleepers can go back to their beds." Prince left the Forge immediately, racing up the large crumbling steps on his way to gather servants. I looked around at my Forge, knowing that it should be larger, and with more equipment. I walked around in the gloom, knowing that the large rooms all around used to hold the smelters and anvils. I knew, even though I had never been here before, that the Warrior Draconis were adept at smithing, that they loved to create good, sturdy constructs. I came to the only smelter left in the Forge, a dull red glow underneath the base. I sighed, knowing that I'd have to find hammers for the creation of armour. The darkness stired once more, and I lost the room.
The darkness slowly lifted, and I found myself in a forest of mushrooms, dank and necrotic trees, and putrid, steaming water. I walked through the dank, poisonous fog. I didn't know why I was here, there were no Draconis nearby, I deffinately couldn't see any.
Show yourself foul cretin!
I turned, watching a slim, pale figure, ghost along, it's feet not even touching the rotten soil. It slowly twirled through a winding maze of soil, putrid water to either side. I opened myself up to the darkness, and the forest came alive! They were invisible, dark green Draconis. They were stalking the ghost, barely moving as they readied weapons within their paws. I saw the twisted shards of ceramic and metal they were using as weapons, and knew they were desperate to be using those. The ghost drifted closer, and they sprang from the cover of invisibility! They passed through the ghost, their roars of anger, turning into trills of concern and fear. The ghost turned upon them, it's hands glowing with white energy. They scattered as it fired the concentrated blast of ectoplasmic energy. The soil it hit, exploded into frozen shards that burned with a cold flame. My Draconis evaded the charged shots it fired at them, splitting into three groups. One group kept the ghost's attention while the other two groups circled back around to attack it's back. One at a time they leaped, trying to grab a hold of the etheral creature. Each failed in turn, their efforts in vain.
Be still cretinous mortals, the goddess demands your lives!
One of the Draconis tripped, it's fellows pausing to help it regain it's footing, before scattering as the ghost yelled in tiumph. I moved, calling my darkness up and around the fallen Draconis. The bolt of ectoplasmic energy glanced off of the dome of dark energy, launching into the dead trees above. All movement stopped. The ghost turned about, looking for me, the Draconis tried to free their fellow from the shell of dark energy surrounding him. I reabsorbed the dark energy, freeing the Draconis. I then placed a shell around the ghost.
What magic be this? Foul beasts! Know my fury!
The ghost held it's hands together, gathering ectolasmic energy. It's body started to glow, and the Draconis ran for it. I focused what energy I could gather into the shell surrounding the ghost. I poured as much dark energy as I could into the shell, and it almost wasn't enough.