“Azureath, what does your lair have to do with all this?” asked Hans.

“I have no idea. The Aspect of Death is being very cryptic about this,” said Azureath. “But I do not wish to dismiss her words, despite her being not entirely forthright with us.”

“I know that place holds terrible and traumatic memories for you. If you don’t want to go, I understand.”

“I…can’t go on and turn my back on my past. I am a dragon. There will always a day in my long life that I will go home. Trauma has nothing to do with it.” Azureath then stand up. “Even if I deny it, I must. I must know what Avila needs from me.”

Hans quickly thought about something and said, “Azureath, is this Avila’s suggestive ability or—”

“If it is, she should’ve not question me during our trip together,” said Avila as she walked towards the two. “I know you want to know why those Marks are left incomplete when compared to the poor, enslaved dragons under the care of the kobold. You also want to know what caused that familiar pain when you were flying back to Pol Hain.”

“Wait. We haven’t met back then. How did you know that?”

“We haven’t met, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t follow you around while concealing my presence. In fact, I have always been interested in you ever since you returned to Pol Hain with the steel ship. In any case, you must make haste. We don’t know what the Light Banes will do next after Shawar was dispatched. They may be bidding their time, but even I don’t know what they are doing.”

“Can’t you just talk to Shawar about it? He did die, right?”

“He did not,” said Zenithia’s voice. Azureath growled upon hearing her, not wanting to meet her. However, a touch from a soft, clawed hands on one of her lowered wings made her turn to see Adeline, healthy like she was before the Aetherium poisoning.

“So, you have recovered,” said Azureath, elated. “I suppose it made sense, considering Hans’ own recovery. How is Keeshar?”

“He is helping around with Richie and Ritik,” said Adeline. “I was planning to ask you about travelling to your lair, but Hans beat me to it.”

“In regards of Shawar’s situation,” continued Zenithia. “He was not killed by Adeline. He simply returned to the Source to be reborn. I did not sever his connection to the Source, only most of his powers. Even I can’t sever another light dragon’s connection to the Source.”

“And follow-up attacks? Anything you can tell us about?” asked Hans.

“Shawar’s the only one who managed to return after I delayed their progress. But time is relative. They will return and I can’t predict it, be it in the past or in the future. So, right now, the best we can do is solve the incomplete Mark’s significance, which can only be done in the same cave Azureath almost fell to the Mark’s slavery.”

“And what will you do, then? Sacrifice others so you can fulfill your own plans?” Azureath growled. “You may be the only dragon that knows what we are dealing with, but you have more secrets than you let on.”

“Azureath, she didn’t mean—”

Zenithia stopped Adeline by saying, “We do not need to start a quarrel, especially not if you value everything you hold dear, Azureath. My methods may be against everything you believe in, but as if right now, you are still in the dark, guided by my light. If you have any other way to deal with them, tell me, and I will gladly stay out of your way.”

Azureath knew Zenithia had a point, but she still did not trust the light dragon. With a low, frustrated growl, she begrudgingly stood down.

“Glad to see we understand each other. We must make haste. How far is your lair from Dracokin, Azureath?”

“Three hours flight, northwest from here.” Azureath looked towards that direction. Her expression was sad. “Even after I abandoned it, it is still my home. Like a pigeon to its nest, I know where my lair is. I just…didn’t feel like going back.”

“It won’t be as bad with friends,” said Hans, trying to cheer Azureath up. “Don’t you agree?”

“I suppose you’re right.”

“I am coming with you,” said Adeline. “I can’t stay around doing nothing and be consumed by uncertainty.”

“If you are coming then…she, too.”

“Now is not the time to choose. Zenithia has been a great help, despite everything.”

Azureath knew she needed to stop distrusting the small light dragon, though it was harder to do so when everything was already revealed, with many that were yet to be revealed.

As she couldn’t think of any other way to dissuade Adeline, she sighed and said, “Then I hope you know how to defend yourself, Adeline de Rochefort. It may be a home for dragons, but I have earthly treasures that will surely draw undesirable elements to it.”

***

It did not take them long to prepare and depart. Adeline and Hans told the others of their intention to travel to Azureath’s lair for answers, and they understood. Keeshar could only tell them not to take unnecessary risk, which they acknowledged.

Due to the prevalent Aetherium in the air surrounding Dracokin, dragon flight is almost impossible and even downright dangerous for the two non-magic users. Zenithia then revealed that she had absorbed part of Shawar’s light, which restored some her abilities. She claimed she is now capable of giving protection while also providing Adeline with the energy for her light sword. She imbued an amulet with the same property for Keeshar. Her manipulation of anti-magic in the air enabled Azureath to fly.

Dragons were supposed to be able to fly without manipulating mana, but to achieve the speed necessary and to mitigate their weights, mana manipulation was necessary. Hans could see why it was important when he realized how quickly they flew from Dracokin back to the Western Region, justifying Azureath’s prediction that her lair was just three hours from the desert city while the trek from Pol Hain to Dracokin took them more than a day.

Azureath expected the lair to be repurposed or raided long ago, considering the amount of time that passed. The azure dragon never thought she would return to her old home, while still fighting the urge to just turn around and forget it ever existed. The memories of the place were sullied by the traumatic ordeal she suffered and, unlike a home built from the ground up, the lair was a natural cave that would still be there long after her death unless something happened to the rocks.

As she expected, there were more villages and towns on the way to the lair. She had a good relationship with the human kingdom not far from the lair, which was somewhere on the base of the mountain range that acted as a natural border between the temperate region and the perpetually snow-covered Northern Region. She never traversed beyond the mountain range to enter the North proper, mostly because she knew she would trespass other dragons’ territory if she did so.

However, her mate was a northern dragon, despite of him being a fire-breather. Azureath remembered how her mate wondered how she originated from the West while she was a blue-scaled, ice dragon. He also wondered why she could use her element aside from just breaths, with Azureath sometimes wonder about that, too. She thought it was natural for her to have that ability and assumed all dragons could. She did not know it was exclusive for her and possibly inherited to her young.

She shook her head, trying not to think of her younglings. If she did, then she would really be convinced to forget everything and turn around. But it was not the time to fear. She must confront her past and see what Zenithia and Avila wanted from her.

The group landed near the lair’s entrance. Azureath walked towards the mouth of the cave while feeling a chill down her draconic spine, with a feeling of unfamiliarity and dread as she walked in. Her lair was supposed to be a place of warmth and welcome, but the memories that tainted it changed everything. Was it really that long ago that the place felt so unfamiliar? She thought.

“Something doesn’t feel right,” said Hans as he let out a growl and his claws bared. “It’s dangerous.”

“I agree,” said Azureath. “This place really has changed.”

The tense atmosphere of the lair’s entrance was quickly broken when they got surprised by a voice asking, “Oh, visitors! Been a while since a dragon steps foot here.”

Hans was the first to let out a surprised, yipping noise, akin to a startled wolf (he’s still in werewolf form). The others were similarly surprised, but only Hans was outright reacting to the voice. They did not expect someone to sneak behind them.

“Bloody hell!” exclaimed Hans. “Don’t do that!”

“Ah, sorry about that. But to be fair, I was surprised anyone wants to go near the cursed lair.”

“Cursed?” asked Azureath.

“The kingdom had always tried to clean it up after the deaths of the dragons that lived here, but no matter what they did, misfortune always seem to hit them like a curse. Even the mages weren’t so sure themselves. Was it an ancient magic? Was it draconic? No one knows.”

“You don’t seem to be scared,” said Hans.

“Why should I? You think of it as a big hole and that’s it. I don’t wanna go into some dank, dark cave with a curse.”

“Don’t you feel the chill?”

“Chill? Winter chill, sure. Good thing magic still works. In any case, I can tell you want to get in. Well, I’m not gonna stop you. Better to taste the curse yourself so I can say, ‘I told you so’.”

The old human laughed and walked away, causing the group to become even more convinced something happened to Azureath’s lair.

“Did he ever wondered if you happen to be one of the dragons that live here?” asked Adeline.

“Does it matter?” said Azureath. “But…if he’s right, then there is a problem. If he is right, the cave is untouched. Untouched…means that…”

Everyone knew the answer to that, but they were reluctant to say it. They did not want to distress Azureath even further.

“We must not waste time,” said Azureath after coming to her senses. “If Avila thinks this is worth our time, then we might as well get it over with.”

Everyone agreed. No one except Zenithia and Avila had any idea of the threat they were facing. The least they could do was find out about it and find a way to make it work. So, fighting against the chilling sensation and the feeling of dread, they stepped into the lair.

The old man, who warned them of the lair’s curse, looked back. His expression changed.

“So, she’s finally home,” said the old man. “Took you long enough, Azureath.”

Inside, the four walked through the lair blindly, not knowing where to go in the darkness. Zenithia provided a good source of light, befitting her title as a light dragon, but even that wasn’t enough.

“Do you really like living in a dark place like this? I mean, you did live in a dark cave in Raptor Island,” said Hans.

“That is for a different reason. For this…I am not prepared.”

“We got your back, Azureath,” said Adeline, comforting the azure dragon.

Azureath wasn’t sure it was the right idea, but she did it anyway. She muttered, “Hylesimid” and all of the sudden a light source slowly turned on, followed by another light source.

“What does that mean?” asked Adeline.

“It means, ‘lights on’,” said Azureath. “Now, what horrors lurk behind—”

As the light illuminated the whole lair, she saw the outline of a circle and her fear quickly kicked in. She jumped away, half-expecting her body to be paralyzed by it. To her surprise and relief, nothing happened.

The others were not so sure of her reaction, so Hans asked, “What did you find?”

“Nothing. It is the scars from my past,” said Azureath as she saw the magic trap. It was somehow well-preserved, with the magic inscription still visible and could easily be activated by anyone that could manipulate mana. It was an anti-draconic magic trap that the Dragonsbane used against dragons, and to kept them in place while they started the ritual for the Mark. She explained it to them after reading about it from a book compiling the history of the Dragonsbane and their downfall after the battle of Pol Hain 25 years before her return.

“Good thing both of us can’t use magic,” said Adeline with a sigh.

Zenithia, however, thought differently. The others could not sense it, but she could. There was a familiar danger lurking in the relatively small lair. She quickly jumped off Adeline’s shoulder and said, “I should’ve known!”

“Should have known what?” asked Azureath.

“You can get quite creative with your subtlety, Shalaka,” said Zenithia. She then turned to Azureath and said, “Those lights. Those aren’t from the same source you have back then. Shalaka changed it to disguise something else.”

“Disguise what?”

Azureath then found that she couldn’t move. She realized that she already fell into a trap. Zenithia quickly jumped, opened her wings, then flipped her body to use her tail to whip off the light sources. The place did not plunge into darkness, but then the state of the lair became apparent to them.

The lair was completely untouched from what it was when Azureath left it, but years of exposure rot away the organic materials. The dried blood of several creatures was still painted all over the rock surface, and the bones of dragons, most of which were younglings except for one adult dragon, were strewn across the cave floor. Azureath realized they were the bones of her hatchlings, including the eggshells and the remains of an embryo not yet fully developed as a dragon with all the flesh rotted away, leaving desiccated corpses everywhere.

“So, it is true,” said Shalaka’s sinister, female voice. “That is what you end up, Zenithia. You could’ve known something was off before you step into the lair. You clearly have lost your acute senses.”

“Did you bait us, or was it a lapse? If it is as perfect as it is, there shouldn’t be any prismatic fog,” said Zenithia.

“Prismatic fog?” asked Adeline.

“The colorful stream of light you saw. It is the effect caused by us using our light-based abilities. It is even more apparent if we erected a shield, which act like a prism. I asked you to close your eyes because Shawar was going to burn your mind by overloading your senses. Prismatic fog can be tuned to mess with your senses.”

“I see.” Adeline then looked around to try and find the source of the voice. “But what does a light dragon want with Azureath? How is she involved?”

“I have been involved way before you even exist in this world,” said Shalaka’s sinister voice. “This invasion was going to work if it wasn’t for that traitor. He owes me all the wasted time I used to recuperate by the Source! He hacked me to pieces, all while looking at me with a fake angered expression of his. He knew I was involved, but he acted like a fool!”

Hans and Adeline’s sharp ears then caught the noise of people muttering something, but they sounded weak and almost unintelligible. The words they could hear were, “Dragons…Bane…”

Then the pungent smell of rotting flesh filled their werewolf noses and slowly, the state of the whole place became apparent to them. Ghouls and the undead, still wearing armors with their flesh black and rotten, rose from the dead and slowly walking towards them. Adeline and Hans slowly backed towards Azureath, intending to protect her. But then, Adeline felt a sharp pain akin to electric shock just before she was pushed away. She was both confused and hurt by the invisible force.

Hans quickly turned around and saw a faint barrier around Azureath. He reached for it and his clawed hand was violently repelled. He was worried that it would dislocate his shoulder, especially with how forceful it was. It did not, to his relief.

“Those are…,” said Azureath, surprised and terrified as she saw the hooded undead assuming their position.

“Time to finish the work they botched in life,” said Shalaka. “One more slave won’t change a thing, but one’s better than nothing.”

They were all surrounded by the dead, and not just the Dragonsbane. There were others, clearly explorers, bandits, and even mages, whose deaths were more recent, rising from their eternal sleep and terrorizing the four, all while Azureath tried to struggle, slowly panicking that everything she feared would be repeated.

But she was paralyzed and held in place by the circle trap. Unable to do anything but speak, she could only witness as the others faced several ghouls while the hooded Dragonsbane undead mages recited the incantation for the Mark of the Fallen.

The pain started, and all Azureath could do was struggle.