Oshwa helped Scor with his saddle, and Arin with her fresh bandages on her face, and her armor. The Crimsons left about thirty minutes ago, hopefully they weren’t too late.

When the two were ready, Oshwa presented a sharpened sword to her. He bowed as she grabbed the handle. The three said their farewells before they exited the fort. On ground level, a thick mist settled, clogging her vision.

She mounted Scor, harnessing herself to his saddle. When ready, they took off. Oshwa watched them leave, Arin glanced back to see him, but the mist shrouded her vision. Scor was having a hard time seeing as well.

“Shouldn’t we stay in the mist so we can surprise them?” Arin questioned raising the protective goggles off her eyes.

Scor slowed, hovering in the air. “I hear the fighting . . . listen.”

They were both quiet, waiting for any sign of the battle. Scor perked up, charging forward again. While Arin could not hear anything, she trusted her partner. She pulled her goggles over her eyes, grabbing her Rainbow Shard with one hand.

“When do we merge?” he asked.

“No idea, we’ll play it by year.”

Scor grumbled, diving a little. Arin could hear the clashing of great beasts now. The mist continued to block their vision, Arin prepared herself for an attack from anywhere. Everything will be fine, Oshwa knows so.

A dragon fell from above, nearly crashing into the two. Scor dove out of the way. Arin tried to identify which side the dragon was on. As the great beast disappeared into the mist, Arin noticed a foreign logo on the tail piece.

“I guess we found them.”

“Now all that is left is saving everyone. Ready, Arin?”

She prepared to lift her Rainbow Shard. “Let’s merge first. We’re stronger that way.”

He nodded. She thrust her Shard high, and light enshrouded the two. In seconds, they were in their sun dragon form. Arin charged skyward, the mist began to thin out.

Suddenly it all vanished beneath her.

Surrounding her were skirmishes of Crimsons versus Others. Her friends were greatly outnumbered. Now, that was going to change. Arin inhaled, aiming for the Others above her. No one noticed her arrival yet.

Arin unleashed a plume of fire. The Crimson hurried out of the way, escaping the flame. Arin rocketed to her foe, digging her claws into the griffin. The Crimson rejoined the fight, aiding Arin. She wasn’t watching her comrades as she dueled. The two spun in the air, biting and snarling. Arin was unable to tell where her foe was going to strike, thus earning several cuts across her bare legs and chest.

Arin released her fire trying to burn her enemy’s wings. His light armor served as a fire proof shield. Behind, a Crimson charged forward, striking the Other’s mount in the ribs.

Assuming that was the end of the spar, Arin searched for her next opponent. It was impossible to keep up with everyone, their movements were too fast. Behind her, someone shouted a warning of an incoming strike. Arin folded her wings, diving to the mist for cover. Her heart roared in her chest, body tight.

Scolo was in his mini dragon form. He disappeared as mist shrouded her vision. In this form, she gained no special seeing abilities, everything was a dull gray.

Listen. Get ready, he could be anywhere.

Arin closed her eyes, listening for wing beats. Scolo probably mastered stealth, she would only have seconds to react to any sudden ambush.

Behind you.

Arin swiveled around, releasing a breath of fire. There was no hiss or snarl. There were no jerking motions, he was not behind her.

Listen.

She felt a gentle gust in front of her. Arin narrowed her eyes, looking for any sign that it was Scolo. Instinct took over, she inhaled and released a plume of fire almost immediately.

Scolo screamed, diving under her. Arin pursued him this time, locked on to his dark silhouette. Wind lashed at her face, eyes watering. Despite the pain, she would pull through. Today she would prove herself once more, even if it meant killing him.

Trees appeared, surprising her. She fanned out her wings, losing her balance. A large spider was near the top branch on one of the trees, watching her.

He outsmarted me!

Scolo leapt into the air, landing on Arin’s chest. She screamed, pushing him off, flailing her claws in panic. Scolo flipped through the air, shifting into his dragon form again. They collided, digging their talons into each other’s scales. Their wings clapped into each other as they tried to stay afloat. Scolo inhaled, preparing fire to release. Arin did the same, unleashing her powerful flame first, targeting his face. Scolo pushed away, rubbing at his eyes.

He might be blind now . . .

He certainly had no idea where he was going. Scolo shifted back into his spider form and landed on a tree. Arin watched him flee, she did enough to him.

She tilted her head up again. How many more would she have to fight? While she wondered, the fog parted as a bright yellow dragon came falling. Only when he unmerged did Arin realize that it was Coyasko. She caught him and his partner in her arms, the weight brought her down a little.

Igneous lifted his head, watching the sky. “Dive, now!”

Arin panicked by such a sharp command, she folded her wings and dove. Croun appeared above her, his massive body hovered over them. Arin ducked into the misty trees, hoping Croun didn’t see her. Trees rustled as her wings pushed past them. Quickly, she landed, hiding under a sturdy oak.

She unmerged with Scor, kneeling by Coyasko. He was unconscious, his helmet shatter slightly. Arin removed it carefully, Scor and Igneous watching her. He took a blow to the head, he would need help.

“Why are you here?” Igneous snarled.

“To save you, duh.”

He sighed, “well, we do need more help and time . . . No, I will not have you fight. You’re injured!”

“So is Coyasko, so is everyone else. Let me do something!”

“What could you possibly do?”

“Lead him on a wild goose chase.”

“A what? What’s a goose?”

“Lead him away. It’s a figure of speech.”

“But what if you get caught?!”

“I won’t! I’ll lose him in the mountains.”

“Arin, no . . .”

“C’mon, Igneous, I’m fast!” Scor added, “we’ll be fine.”

He sighed, exchanging looks between his fallen partner and Arin and then to Scor. “Fine. Just . . . be safe. Nothing crazy.” The trees bent beneath Croun’s speed. He was looking for them. Igneous growled, crouching lower to the ground. “Go, now, and thank you.”

Arin mounted her partner, and they took off. It would be best to remain small against this foe. Croun’s silhouette stood out, the dark shape larger than she realized.

Be brave, be brave, be brave. He won’t kill you. He needs you alive. Use his mercy against him.

Scor floated behind Croun, quite anxious as well. Arin released a tight sigh, nudging her partner forward with a gentle pat on his neck. He sped up, flying under Croun. He had weaker scales under his stomach, while Arin had none in her merged form. She prepared fire in one hand, using the other to hold onto the reins. Scor managed sneak to Croun’s chest, trying to remain silent. They waited a moment; Arin released her fire upwards.

Croun darted away, whacking the two with his tail. Scor caught his balance easily, diving into the trees. The king followed, releasing a roar. Shortly following his rally cry, he released lightning from his throat. Lightning struck the trees above, setting them ablaze.

Not again.

“Fly into the mist!”

“Okay!” He tilted his body upwards, flying back into the cover. They lost Croun. Could he see them? Scor continued to flee back into the open air, clearly frightened.

A griffin released a charging screech, colliding into Scor. Arin released her fire, missing their foe. Scor flipped back into an awkward angle, nearly throwing Arin off. She held onto the saddle, squeezing her eyes shut while Scor dealt with the Other.

It was a matter of seconds before Scor rose victorious, continuing into the sky.

“To the mountains?”

“Yeah, try to get everyone to chase us.”

“This was a terrible idea.”

Above the clouds once more, the battle around them continued. Croun reappeared nearby as well, looking around. Scor hid in the mass of Crimsons and Others. They flew between foes, releasing fire and lightning at vulnerable Others.

A few turned their attention to her, unaware of her identity. Or perhaps they did know it was her. Croun noticed her as well, roaring. “After her! Destroy the Fire of Truth!”

“Destroy?!” Scor gasped, “did he just say destroy?!”

“Go! You know the plan!”

“Oshwa was wrong, he is going to kill us!”

“Scor!” He shut his mouth, listening to her, “trust me.”

He sped up, Arin turned around. Several Others pursued her, many of them were catching up. She searched for anything to help. The mist was disappearing as the sun rose. What could she possibly do?

“I’m diving!” Arin turned back around and gripped the reins as he pulled his wings to his sides. Again, they hid in the gray shroud. They would be safe for a little while.

“We have to go to the mountains. Can you make it?”

“I can. What do we do there?”

“We lose them in the peaks. It’ll be easy I promise.”

“What if they find us escaping?”

“We hide in the forest. We’ll be fine.”

“I hope.”

Arin could hear the Others above her, hopefully their location wasn’t discovered yet. Scor dove a little lower, hiding among the tree tops. There was no way the Others would know where she is.

Spirits were in the trees, cowering from something. Was a monster on land chasing them?

No, there was only one thing they would fear.

Abyssals.

“Scor, there may be Abyssals nearby.”

He sighed, “shocker. What do I do?”

“We can either deal with them giving our location away and surprising us or we fly above the mist and deal with the Others up there.”

“Oh, that’s terrible. Um, maybe in between? Where we hide in the clouds and out of view?”

“Worth a shot.”

Scor flew into the fading mist again, hopefully hidden. Arin pressed herself against him, trembling slightly. Above her the Others slowly gave up the chase.

“Continue with the attack! We were clearly tricked,” Croun ordered. Scor stopped, hovering in the fog.

“What do we do?”

“I don’t think we gave the Crimsons enough time. We have to continue to chase them away.”

“Or maybe they did escape and we are getting ourselves killed for nothing!”

The fog continued to disappear, now it was a thin layer of haze. She could see the Others above, there were so many. Croun was with them as well. One of them pointed down to her.

“There!”

“Five of you with me! The rest continue with the attack, wipe these Crimsons off of the face of Fynne!” Croun ordered, diving after Arin.

“Scor!”

Her partner turned and sped away, continuing with their original plan. As ordered, the Others chased after her. Their spears could almost reach her.

“Speed up!”

He grunted, trying his hardest to outfly the Others. Croun followed behind his soldiers, careful of any tricks.

Arin looked up, the mountains were coming into view. They were almost there. “You’re almost there! Please hang on.”

“Can we merge?”

Arin lifted her shard high, hoping this would make things easier. In her sun dragon form she felt weaker, wings stiff. Regardless, she would persevere. Croun warned his warriors of her form, before taking the lead.

“We’ve almost got her! She’s running straight into our country!”

Arin wanted to take shelter in the trees but was too big. An Other flew next to her, thrusting their spear into her armored side. She whacked them away with her leg.

Below the trees began to spread out as the terrain rose greatly. Arin followed the slope, remaining close to the ground. Croun sped ahead, flying above Arin. He was going to cut her off.

Arin turned, hoping that going around him would work.

It didn’t.

Croun dove, crashing into Arin, and shoving her into the mountain side. Arin slipped a little, she dug her claws into some rock, clinging on for dear life. The Others surrounded her, ready to engage.

“Oh, look at you, so desperate to fulfill your little destiny.” He adjusted his grip to her skull, slowly crushing her head. “Well, lucky for you, I want this damned thing to be fulfilled already too! I will reconquer the Crimsons and soon, you will be forgotten.”

Reconquer . . . Arin tried to push him away but wasn’t strong enough.

“And now you’re so eager to die? I’ll happily comply with your wish.”

“But sir—” one interrupted “—it is against our laws to kill children, you may be dethroned!”

“You’re the best king we’ve had!”

Croun smirked, loosening his grip slightly. Arin relaxed, chest heaving.

“I understand but right now I am just moments away from winning the war. One death will mean nothing compared to those we save, yes?” They were silent, “either way, she is the one who wants to rush into battle, and think she can win this war. Right now, she also has the opportunity to win by ending me. Do you want the Crimsons to defeat us?”

They were silent again.

“Now, what complies with our laws is duels. So, to satisfy you, my most loyal warriors, I will duel Arin and her weak partner, kill her, and win this war.” He snickered, “do you know what a duel is, Arin?”

“A—a fight—”

“To the death, yes. I’m going to take you atop this peak where we fight. Do you understand?”

Arin snarled, pulling her lips back in a menacing growl. Hopefully she could hide her fear. Maybe fear would spare her.

“What’s wrong? Where is your confidence? What happened to the Arin that stood up against me time after time after time?” He lifted her head off the ground. “Now that you have my attention, do you suddenly regret your actions?”

She remained silent, trembling a little.

“How cute, you’re shaking.” He spread his wings, laughing. “Okay, okay, I’m done teasing you. Let’s go duel now.”

He lifted Arin off the ground, dragging her against the rocks. She yelped as her scales were scratched. Croun didn’t care, he planned on ending her soon anyways.

Okay, okay. As soon as he releases me I’m running. I’m sure I can make it past them. If that fails, I can try to beat Croun, just enough to be able to run.

They reached a flat slope, large enough for the two to fight. Croun threw her across the clearing. Arin stood, still in her dragon form. He outstretched his wings slightly before charging forward. Arin crouched low to the ground, ready to leap upwards.

Croun lowered his head, aiming his horn at Arin. As he sped towards her like a rampaging animal, Arin leapt into the air. Clearly, she underestimated her foe. Croun threw his head up, slicing his horn across her chest. Arin screamed, clutching her gash. With her focus on her injury, Arin forgot to use her wings.

Rocks dug into her body when she crashed. She stood again, ignoring her cut. Croun turned around, laughing. Arin bounded forward, stretching her claws out to attack.

With a simple duck, Arin missed. Croun stepped out of her way, showing no sign of retaliation. The two moved back to their sides of the clearing. There was a small slant of stone Arin might be able to use.

Croun inhaled, releasing lightning from his throat. Arin dove out of the way, barely avoiding his attack. Arin attacked, aiming her fire at his face. Using his wings, Croun shielded himself. Perhaps now he couldn’t fly. While Croun was still hiding, Arin closed her mouth and dashed forward, ramming her head into his wings.

The two fell over, beginning a brutal wrestling match. They kicked and bit each other. Arin was thrown onto her back, weak stomach exposed. Croun tore at Arin’s defenseless neck. She seized his horns and pushed his face away.

Croun spread his wings and lifted off. Arin released him, rolling over onto her feet again. She backed to the slanted rock, hoping she could trick Croun to run into it. He swooped forward, claws outstretched.

Arin jumped out of way, and as planned, Croun ran into the slab. Despite his massive size, he didn’t fall over. He turned to Arin, released his lightning breath again.

Arin was struck. She fell back, clutching her shoulder where she had been hit.

Why am I losing? I should be winning!

Croun stood over Arin, snarling. He grabbed her neck, throwing her against the rock.

“Get up! Unmerge! Face me like you so desire!”

The two became separate once more. Scor remained on the ground while Arin stood, unsheathing her sword. The king unmerged as well. Croun was cloaked, but to her surprise he took it off, throwing it aside.

Sadly, most of his facial features were hidden by his helmet. Croun wore magnificent armor to protect his lanky body.

Arin reassured herself by remembering the times she stood victorious. This would be no different. She would win.

“Even out the odds, donate a shield to her!” Croun commanded. An Other tossed one forward. Arin picked the light object up, this would never be able to protect her. “Now, let’s finish this! I’m tired of you meddling in my business!”

Arin readied herself, allowing Croun to attack first. He kept his sword sheathed. He clearly wanted her to attack, but she knew better. He had a trap waiting. Abyssals perhaps.

Croun charged something in his hands, it appeared to be purple ice. Arin ducked behind her shield, ready to endure the attack. He released a discharge of ice around her, some of it hitting the shield. While she was chilly, she experienced no pain.

That—that was it?

Separating the two was a thick layer of ice on the rocky ground. If Arin charged now, she would slip and fall. Perhaps that was Croun’s trick all along, he really must see her as an idiot.

Arin melted the ice slowly making her way to Croun. He charged a lightning attack in his hands, a lot more focused this time. Scor sat up, panicking.

“Arin! No! Your armor is made of metal—”

Before she could figure out what Scor meant, Croun attacked again. Lightning came forward, it was so bright. Arin felt blinded, like Scolo. Before she could close her eyes, the bolt struck, channeling across her body. The water under her as well lit up with electricity. Arin screamed, dropping her sword and shield.

Croun continued with the attack, showing no sign of stopping. Arin lost her voice, her legs gave up. Once she fell to her knees, Croun stopped. The second Scor cognized that it was safe, he hurried forward.

“Stay away from her!”

He snapped his fingers. His massive partner lunged forward, seizing Scor by his neck.

Arin was too dazed, everything fading. Her heart, her breathing, her muscles, all out of her control. She closed her eyes, falling forward. Next to her, Scor was screaming, something must be happening to him. Arin had to save him.

I . . . I thought we would be . . . okay.

Croun lifted Arin’s head off of the ground, saying something. Her head fell back into the dust. A hard kick struck her side, but Arin could barely feel it.

Scor . . . She could still hear his screams. I’m so sorry.

Arin wiggled her fingers, she could move just barely. Arin slid her arms underneath her chest, lifting her upper body off the ground. Croun turned to face her, surprised by her ability to move.

“S—stop. In order to—to defeat the Fire of Truth y—you need to only kill one of us.” Scor was lifted off the ground again, his limp body hanging in the dragon’s grasp. “P—please stop hurting him.”

“Fine, with your injuries, you’ll both be dead by morning. We will return to the fight, let these two rot here. I’m sure a hungry vixlore will put their bodies to use soon.”

At the good news Arin collapsed again. Scor was released, grunting as he hit the ground. Croun approached Arin one last time, kneeling by her side.

“If I ever see you again, I will kill you. By the spirits’ mercy, I hope you die.”

Arin remained silent, eyes squeezed shut. Croun approached his mount. The dragon laughed, “why not shock them one more time? Just as a parting gift.”

“No, they’ve had enough.” He merged with his partner and took off. The Others followed him, leaving the two alone.

Arin could not open her eyes, she was weak, everything hurt. Staying awake was like experiencing a terrible headache. She wanted to drift away, to rest.

And in a few minutes, she did.