I stood at the edge of a cave, leading deep into the mountain. Ice covered the mouth of the cave, creating large icicles that hung down like teeth. I could see nothing past the darkness deeper within but I knew for a fact the cave was not empty. The low rumbling of Vissna’s breath echoed through the cave like a roaring ocean.

I cupped my hands around my mouth as I shouted into the cave. “Vissna, I know you are in there. It is time to come out.” The breathing that echoed in the cave came to a sudden stop. All that met my shouts was silence. “Come on, you are supposed to be a mighty dragon. How can you hide in this hole like a mouse.”

A rumble came from the cave as Vissna finally spoke up. “You dare compare me to a rodent!”

“Yes, yes I am. What are you going to do about it?”

Cold air billowed out of the cave and coated the ground in a layer of ice. Yet, despite Vissna’s obvious displeasure, she did not come out of the cave. I sighed and shook my head. “This is just childish. You know a cave does nothing to protect you from Mare, right? She was the one that told me where you were hiding. It was only through a bit of bribery that I was able to convince her to let me talk to you first. We are marching into the blood mist at first light tomorrow morning and I am going to need your help if we are to succeed in retaking the capital.”

“That abomination does not need any help to capture a city,” Vissna said, her voice echoing from deep within the cave, “You do not understand what you have unleashed upon this world.”

I shrugged casually. “Maybe not but we are all on the same side for now. You and I both know her main body is still out there. If she really wanted to do us harm, she could have done so already. As for Mare herself… Honestly, she acts like a child. I’m fairly certain you could bribe her to leave you alone, assuming she has not already stolen all the gold you were collecting.”

“She wouldn’t dare!” Vissna shouted furiously. Her head finally appeared from the recesses of the cave. Ice that covered the entrance shook and shattered in response to her fury.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” I replied with a teasing grin, “She has been on a bit of a stealing spree since the moment she gained a body of her own. Given that she knows everything hidden inside Dragon’s Nest, I doubt your horde will be safe for long.”

Vissna growled. The sound of it shook the ground and sent tremors through the cave. “I know what you are trying to do, Wren. It will not work. I abandoned more gold and gems than you can possibly imagine when I fled from the Preateritum. I can do so again.”

“Seriously? You are that scared of a copy? She is not even the original. If you could get her away from Dragon’s Nest, she might even be weaker than me.”

Vissna laughed at that. A puff of frost blew from her nose. “I do not fear the shadow because of her power. I fear her because of how she uses it. She is an abomination of the natural order, one of the few beings truly capable of killing one of us permanently, and if you were wise, you would fear her too.”

“Maybe,” I replied sincerely, “But I have always been prepared for death. I have cheated it several times but never once did I fear it. To me, it has always been more important that I accomplish what needs to be done, regardless of the consequences. So, why don’t you tell me again? What is the purpose of the dragons?”

Vissna hesitated for a moment before speaking. “It is our duty to uphold the balance between the realms.”

“And how do you expect to do that hiding in a cave?”

“I cannot stop the shadow.”

“Maybe not,” I said with a sigh, “But you still might be able to mitigate the damage she can do if you were there. We learned that the king of the dragons followed her. Have you really not stopped to consider why?”

“To… keep an eye on her,” Vissna whispered after a short pause.

I nodded. “But it will be a long time before he is reborn again. There are very few dragons left. You are the only one now that can carry the king's burden.”

Vissna perked up at that. Her eyes practically sparkled at the concept. “You are right! If the king himself was willing to risk everything to keep the shadow from the path of destruction, how can I do any less? I will carry on the king’s will until he returns to us!”

I nodded in satisfaction. “I am sure he will be proud of your decision.”

Vissna bowed her head towards me. “Thank you for reminding me what is important. I have been in hiding for so long, I had almost forgotten.”

I reached out and patted Vissna’s cold scales. “Anytime, and I’ll be counting on you should Mare ever reveal her true colors.”

Vissna huffed. “I will do what I can but should that day come, I doubt any of us will be able to stop anything.”

“That is all I can ask. Are you ready to stop hiding in your hole?”

“I was not hiding,” Vissna growled.

I raised an eyebrow in doubt. “Then what are you doing in this cave?”

“I was… I was fixing your mistake,” Vissna stated with far more confidence than her shifting eyes would suggest, “After our last attempt, the zone of rot has stopped spreading but much of the land is still damaged. I have been working to repair that damage.”

I brought my finger to my chin in thought. “My Immortal Guard should be reviving soon. Would you like to join me for their resurrection to make sure nothing goes wrong?”

Vissna nodded and finally pulled herself out of the cave. Her scales reflected the light of the setting sun as she looked in the direction of the distant army. From here, it was impossible to see any of the blood or chaos that was so prevalent back on the plateau. There was only the image of rolling clouds brushing up against the mountains. I could understand why she chose such a peaceful place to hide. If it was not so cold here, I might have even joined her.

Unfortunately, I could not stay to enjoy the beauty of the place. I had far too much to do. The revival of my Immortal Guard was just one of the dozens of tasks I wanted to complete before the march tomorrow.

Not wasting any more time, Vissna and I took flight. We returned to the plateau. Vissna’s massive body cast a shadow over the soldiers down below. Even after all this time, the sight of the dragon still left many of the soldiers in awe. Their upturned faces as she flew overhead all marveled at the sight.

The sun had fully set by the time we landed in front of the small row of tents and it was beginning to get dark. The flag depicting a bright green flame fluttered in the wind.

Luther, the commander of the men, saluted as I approached. “Welcome back, Wren. There have not been any incidents since my last report. All is quiet here.”

I nodded. “That is about to change.”

Luther looked at the rows of bodies lined up under the tents. “You mean… it is finally time?” he asked breathlessly.

I reached up to pat the man on his shoulder with a smile. “I know it has been hard on you with half your soldiers gone but yes, it is time. Move the tents. This should be quite the spectacle.”

“Right away, my lady!” Luther shouted excitedly. He led a group of men to begin taking down the tents so that they would not burn in the ensuing blaze.

I glanced at Vissna. “What do you think?”

“I still believe this is an unnecessary toll on this realm but all seems to be going well. I cannot sense anything unusual caused by the rather extravagant number you are reviving.”

I smiled in satisfaction at Vissna’s response. There had already been so much death since the beginning of this war. I was happy knowing I would be able to give these people that trusted me a second chance.

It did not take long before Luther and his few remaining men took down the tents and moved them out of the way. I waved him to my side once he was finished. “I know you are supposed to have steel skin and all but you do not want to be standing too close once it begins.”

Luther nodded. He and his men joined me a short distance away from the rows of bodies. We all waited with baited breaths as the minutes slowly ticked by. The last rays of light from the sun were completely gone now and the stars started to appear in the night sky. Some of the men fidgeted impatiently as they waited but I was too engrossed with sensing the process in front of me to reassure them.

While everything might have been silent on the surface. What I felt was like a brewing storm. Before I experienced the sea of colors and truly felt the energy of the realm, this process of rebirth had always seemed so mysterious. Now though, I could sense it on a level I had never imagined before. I could feel power flowing into the bodies laying on the ground as easily as I could feel water flowing across my own hand. It was incredible… and overwhelming.

If only a single person was being revived, I might not have been affected much but experiencing ninety happen all at the same time was more than I had been prepared for. All at once, I felt like I was being drawn back into the sea of colors where everything was so vibrant. I was able to watch as golden light gathered together to form new little stars that decorated the sea.

Struck by a moment of inspiration, I reached out to touch the flow of golden light forming the stars. I felt the beating heart of life within its warmth and remembering all that I had been told, I willed the light to grow even stronger.

The ninety-one little stars glowed like small suns as the sea around me dimmed slightly. I had the instinctual feeling I could do even more but before I could experiment further, a growl from Vissna shook me awake.

“Draining the land once was not enough?” she seethed, “You ruined all our work in a single moment!”

I blinked a few times as my consciousness returned to my body. In front of me, a massive inferno burned. Golden flames reached towards the sky as if trying to snatch the stars above. All around me, soldiers from different camps had gathered to gawk at the sight.

I rubbed my head in embarrassment and apologized to Vissna. “Sorry, I am not sure what came over me. I just felt like it was the right thing to do.”

The dragon snorted in irritation. “You are fixing it next time. I am done fixing your mistakes for free.”

I nodded as my attention was drawn back towards the blazing inferno. Even without being fully emersed in the sea of colors, I could still feel what was happening. The bodies of the fallen soldiers were consumed in the blaze but all that they were remained behind as part of the fire. Those flames then began to take on a new form in a process that gave me a striking sense of déjà vu. I reached down to touch my pinky finger and the memory of Mare creating her body overlapped with what I was feeling in front of me. The two processes were strikingly similar. Mare’s process was more refined and complicated but the core of both was the same!

The revelation shocked me as I continued to experience her rebirth while watching the soldiers’ own. I began to piece together what she had done and, more importantly, how she had done it. With a bit more time and experience, I was sure I could recreate her feat so long as I had enough power.

All too soon though, the golden flames began to dim. The process was over and there was nothing more I could learn from it. I sighed in disappointment, knowing I probably needed to experience reviving hundreds more before I could recreate it myself. I gave a sidelong glance at Vissna and shook my head. She would never let me attempt something like this again and I agreed with her. This realm was already damaged by my actions. I needed to go to another before attempting another mass revive like this one.