Chapter 10 – It is here

The pale tree stands strong, illuminated by the pale moonlight of the night.

Down below, where its children dwell, are the flames of battle, strife and war.

The boy who was once the sole companion of the tree was still dangling off one of the tree’s branches. Swinging his legs lazily off its edge.

“It is here you know?” The boy whispered quietly.

The tree shook slightly, acknowledging the boy.

He abruptly stood up and walked over to the tree’s trunk as he continued, “One day you will have to awaken.”

The screams of the dying could be heard in the distance, being consumed by fire, darkness, and death.

The boy gave a few light knocks upon the tree’s bark, “You may be strong, but you are of no use like this.” He turned his head to the sound of death and sight of fire, “It will continue this slaughter, and together we must stop it.” A wry smile formed on the boy’s face, “But not now, and very much later.”

The tree lazily swayed, dismayed over the truth of the boy’s words. The children it had come to create, love, and cherish were dead or dying upon its roots, or fighting out within the forest. Yet they stood no chance, not against the foe that were amongst those trees.

“Do not worry friend, we will find each other again.” The boy’s smile faded as he looked upon the coming death, “However, I think I might see what it is we are fighting first.”

And with that, the boy jumped off the branch, and sprinted into the forest.

==================================================================================

Umbra’s POV

Currently attempting to doze off in my quarters, I came to a rather annoying conclusion, “I can’t sleep.”

Ever since giving birth to my daughter I had become rather attached and frightened. Her innocent nature was a constant worry for both myself and Silvia, who was currently teaching my brilliant daughter the intricacies of written speech.

Silvia had told me her quick comprehension of our language was almost as startling as her instant grasp of our speech, but hardly surprising due to her various impossible feats she had demonstrated since her hatching.

Discounting her strange shapeshifting power, her intelligence was nothing to gawk at, and I had a feeling I had merely seen a ripple in her otherwise sea of potential.

To be honest, I was rather excited of what she would do once introduced to the other unsuspecting races of Draconia, not to mention how they would react to her.

Hatchlings, regardless of race nor gender, were full of bias, ignorance, and idiocy. Which I’m sure would be in abundance due to the rumours of us being no more than animals.

My pondering of such thoughts was quickly broken by my approaching daughter. Her power was immense, and any being with enough experience could sense it as it drew near.

Her power was a pulsing heat in the otherwise lone glow of our own, and as such, was impossible to ignore.

I felt the urge to run to her, eager to bask in the joy of her presence. This was a new and motherly urge, and while present with my sons, could not hope to rival that of my daughter.

Regardless, I suppressed this urge, willing my body to stay and patiently await her.

After a few minutes of waiting my patience was broken, not by my own will, but something different and far more shocking.

It was as if her power called out to me, willing across the Void of Magic to come to her aid.

And I soon found out why – she was being attacked.

I broke out into a thundering roar, and rushed through the halls to approach her. The ground shaking and cracking under the force of my strides.

I felt a vile black magic seep into her. An unrestrained and toxic power that radiated with the emptiness of the Magic Void.

While black, my own power had none such venom. It was the natural shadow needed by the light, a pure shadow that belonged to the flow of life and death.

This magic however was merely…nothing. It had no tangible master but to itself. It belonged to nothing but its own sinister agenda, and felt as if it craved nothing but an end.

This magic was not death, which sought only to preserve the sanctity of life, this magic was the destruction of life, a mere force that sought out nothing but an end.

And now, this end was seeking my blood, my kin, my daughter – MY LUMINA!

It battered against her defences, trying to break the core of magic that was not just a part of the Dragonkin, but it was the Dragonkin. Attempting to break it was a testament to murder.

I rounded the halls, sliding past and shattering the surrounding walls as I rushed to her, but I did not care.

Dragons started to seep out of their quarters while I was rushing, no doubt both hearing my racket and sensing the ominous presence that invaded their home, without a word they followed me.

After five minutes of navigating these accursed hallways I heard a scream of pain, and that is when I noticed – her core was beginning to shatter.

I let my power explode out of my core, snaking it through the void to connect to hers, and provide more power to defend herself.

They flew throughout the endless dark and came upon her lone light, yet before they could connect, something unbelievable happened.

Seeping out of her core came a wolf, something I was certain only a true Beastkin could acquire.

Impossible, I denied.

There was no way this could happen. An Avatar of a Beastkin was something acquired at birth, it was forever entwined into their soul, not a thing of magic, and not a thing her power could hope to emulate.

Before I could wonder further, the wolf growled, and in its wake, wild magic burst forth, banishing the sinister aura.

I quickly turned an upcoming corner and saw Lumina, within her Beastkin form, collapsed at the end of the hallway.

As I neared she weakly lifted her frail hand, “Mother…” Her voice was barely a whisper, and accompanied by laboured breaths.

Coming to a stop near her I nudged her small hand, with my enormous snout, “You are safe now.” I assured her.

Then she passed out, and shockingly she changed, once more taking on her true form.

I heard the audible gasps of the dragons behind me, which was a fairly amusing sound coming from the strongest and oldest race in the known world.

Ignoring their shock, I motioned a red elder dragon to my daughter, before turning my back to her.

Quickly taking note, he scooped her up gently and placed her upon my broad back.

“Follow.” I commanded the dragon, then immediately departed for my quarters.

Passing the large doors I strode to the side of my bed and abruptly snaked my head back to my quiet companion, and silently expressed my wish yet again.

Nodding, he tentatively approached me, gently took my daughter and placed her on our bed.

After doing so he gave a slight bow, then made a quick exit, giving my daughter and I our much needed peace.

Like always I draped my wing over her sleeping form, encasing it in a warm, loving darkness.

How many times has she fainted now? Three times? Four times? I thought.

Ignoring my pointless pondering, I let my power flow from my core, then began my task.

I allowed my power to stretch out through the Magic Void and felt it latch on to the foreign force that was my daughter.

The contrast of our powers was as amusing as the contrast of our scales. My power, while not as horribly bleak as the void, was indeed dark. Yet my daughter’s was like the sole light in the void. A beacon for a lost soul, if there were even such a thing in this endless void.

I let my power lightly touch her own and began to assess the damage.

It was as bad as I thought. Her wolf may have protected her from the worst, but her power was still very much unstable.

My power shuddered at the torrent of power leaking from her core’s cracks, cracks that were dangerously close to expanding should they not be repaired.

And so, I began repairing.

My pulsing power seeped in through the cracks and began weaving throughout hers. Her power retained its dim light for a few moments, still very much quiet, and still very much broken. Then, suddenly, it sprang to life.

Her power once again began to pulse, once again began to shine, and more importantly – began to heal.

Her power visibly started to beat as it grasped my strength and repaired itself, each beat taking my power as it did so.

My body grew weaker as she gave my offered power, yet I embraced the coming weakness. As beings of magic, we grew weaker as our core faded, a weakness we held at the price of our strength.

Regardless, I would recover in time; and, due to my efforts, so would Lumina.

Her power soon finished its work, and gently released my power, allowing it to retreat back to its master.

Embracing the fatigue, I closed my eyes and began to drift off to sleep.

But then, suddenly, I heard an earth shattering roar. I felt the bellow within my bones and within my core, even Lumina could be heard growling lightly in her sleep.

This roar, this call, could only mean one thing – war.

==================================================================================

Author Note

I've decided to change up the synopsis of my story a bit, considering how I believe it is horrible lacking. So just thoughts I'd let you all know.

As always, give any criticism/comments you like, grammatical or otherwise.

Thanks for reading. :)