Over the din of war and death, as the sound of thousands dying echoed across the landscape, Gersius stood facing a man he wanted to hate. They had abandoned the army while he and his family flew into the bowels of the enemy. A last rear guard had put up a meager defense, but several thousand had made no effort to aid them. Now they stood before the open gates, the last barrier to their desperate game, and one man stood boldly before them.

A thousand conflicting thoughts raced through Gersius’s mind as he beheld the Doan man who claimed the title of Lilly's husband. Hurrock walked boldly forward with no weapon in hand as Gersius felt the tension growing inside his wife, Lilly. She desperately wanted this man spared, showing a measure of affection and protection for someone Gersius felt owed him a duel to the death.

“Please don’t,” Lilly begged over their binding as she read his thoughts. “He’s their only chance of changing.”

Once again, Gersius was reminded of Lilly's loving heart and the sacrifices she would make to avoid bloodshed. How had a dragon come to value life as she had or to cherish it so deeply that she even hoped to save her enemies?

“We should charge through him,” Sarah said, showing no such care for the man. “The gate is open, and time is running out.”

Gersius nodded, but something inside told him to wait. He and his family advanced to meet the man halfway, stopping some fifty paces apart. He looked like a Doan man with a strong body and powerful build. He carried himself like a practiced warrior, his steps echoing years of hard training. Gersius expected this man to be coarse and angry, but he looked into eyes that spoke of something deeper, perhaps a sense of regret. Hurrock met his gaze with the firmness of a warrior who had come to finish a duel and then slowly bowed his head.

“You are Gersius Dra'Udwan, one of the two dragon knights and emperor of the Dragon Empire,” the man said, showing great humility. Gersius couldn't read his aura from this distance, but his body language and lack of a weapon told him all he needed to know.

“I am, Gersius replied as he lowered his sword. “And you are Hurrock of the Doan, war chief of your clan, and the man who saved my wife.”

Hurrock looked up at Lilly being addressed as Gersius's wife. There was a hint of annoyance in his eyes, but it quickly passed, and Gersius demanded to know what he was playing at. Time was running out, and reinforcements could break off to fall back, taking them from behind. Sarah read his thoughts and looked back, assuring him that any hope of help was easily ten minutes away.

“I have seen the truth,” Hurrock said as he locked eyes with Gersius. “The dragon you call your wife is not like the dragons of the Doan. She cares with her a true heart and seeks to avoid the calamity that is even now about to unfold.”

“What are you getting at?” Sarah demanded as she grew impatient, glaring down at the man who didn't flinch from her gaze. Gersius understood that impatience as the moons would not wait for them to have a conversation. Every second was precious and though this man did not carry a weapon, he was still a delay.

“I understand your haste,” Hurrock replied. “But he knows you are coming, and I believe he will wait for you.”

“This could be a trap,” Thayle said.

“Everything they have done has been a trap,” Sarah growled as she lowered her head to him. “But what did you mean you have seen the truth?”

Hurrock set his gaze on Sarah as he replied. He explained that the dragons of the Doan were not worthy of the blood they were wasting for them. They had no nobility, compassion, or purpose save to lord over the Doan and demand tribute. They ruled by intimidation and empty promises, using the Doan as a means to an end, a resource meant only to delay the dragon knights.

“Then you have truly opened your eyes,” Gersius replied as he felt the shock ripple through his wives. Lilly was right; this man had seen through their ways to a new understanding. If he were to die here today, all Lilly risked to speak with the Doan would be in vain. “I did not want this war with you,” Gersius replied. “You and I do not have to fight.”

“I know and so too does my clan. We will not fight you or attempt to impede you in any way,” Hurrock replied. “Though our wise women had to be silenced in order to make this happen.”

Gersius saw his light flash with truth and pain as he realized what that meant. Lilly had made it clear the wise women were unwaveringly faithful to the dragons. No doubt they did not like Hurrock’s new perspective and tried to undermine his authority over the clan. Hurrock had no choice but to remove them and silence their voice.

“I am so sorry,” Lilly said as she loomed over Gersius. “I tried to stop this.”

“It cannot be stopped,” Hurrock said as he pointed to the distant fighting. “So long as the curse on your kind remains, the dragons will never cease their desire to destroy Balisha. This blood must be shed, but the true battle waits for you inside. I fear for your safety as the master of the west is a god among dragons.”

“We will see,” Sarah growled as Hurrock stepped closer to Gersius.

“You are a great man,” Hurrock said. “She never once betrayed you and attributed all she was to your heart. I will not raise a weapon against such a man, the only one who deserves to call her his wife.”

Gersius was struck as the man’s aura pulsed with the white of truth. He was renouncing his claim to Lilly while firmly acknowledging Gersius as her true husband. Gersius replied with a nod as Hurrock stepped aside and pointed to the open gates.

“Hurry, before it is too late,” Hurrock insisted. “He is already at the summit waiting for the eclipse that is already happening. I and my clan will shut this gate behind you and hold it from the others.”

Gersius watched his light shine with truth and intention as he pleaded with them to rush through the gate and reach their enemy. Gersius took the last few steps forward and clasped the man by the arm, and they met as true men for the first time.

“You have great strength and honor,” Gersius said. “Thank you for protecting Lilly.”

“I am honored to meet the man she calls her husband,” Hurrock said. “In my eyes, no man has ever carried a greater title. Now run,” he insisted and looked up. “Your time is almost up.”

Gersius looked skyward as the dark moon finally shadowed the edge of Luna. He nodded and waved the others forward, rushing for the open gates as Hurrock's clan stood aside, determined to hold it from their own people. Inside, they found a rough camp with dozens of war machines to hurl spears at any dragon that dared come over the walls. Had they tried to cross by flight at any point, they would likely have all died in a hail of deadly spears. He felt the shock in Sarah's heart to see just how many there were, but not a single soldier manned these weapons, and the entire area was deathly still.

“Why did he let us in without a fight?” Sarah asked as Gersius pointed to an earthen ramp into the hills behind the camp.

“He has turned his heart on the Doan’s ways,” Thayle said. “Lilly so affected him that he can no longer follow their ways. He has chosen to fight for the love he saw in Lilly.”

“He’s going to die out there!” Lilly cried. “All because of me!”

“Lilly, he is choosing to save you and your dream of a family,” Gersius said as he rushed to the path into the hills. “We must honor his sacrifice and reach the summit in time!”

An eerie darkness crawled over the land as the dark moon swallowed its rival. The sun's light was somehow unable to keep the region as bright as it had been. This darkness had to be the magic that kept the heart hidden, a dire warning that the time had finally come.

Gersius mounted Lilly, and they ran at dragon speed up the ramps, tearing the ground with claws as they reached a series of cracked and broken plateaus. Ahead of them was a vast crater, large enough for a dragon three times Sarah's size to fall into. A strange silver mist rose from deep in that abyss, but the sight on that cliff's edge made them pause.

A single man of impressive size stood at the lip of the crater. He was easily a foot or taller than Sarah in her human form and wore red-plated armor trimmed with the finest gold. He held a sword as long as Gersius in one hand, its blade crackling with red light. His long dark hair drifted in the wind, sweeping the open mesa, giving him an almost stoic appearance.

“You just couldn’t give up,” the man said without turning to face them.

“That’s him,” Lilly said in alarm. “That’s the man who danced with me.”

“That's the presence I felt in the dream,” Sarah added, her eyes blazing with red hate. “The Gorromogoth in the flesh.”

“Why do you hate me, Sutherisa?” the man said, turning to glare at her with eyes of red fire. “I am doing this to save you and all dragons from the curse.”

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“You are trying to take away the only thing that has ever mattered to me,” Sarah spat. “The love of a family and the hope of a home where I can rest.”

“So you are too far gone,” the man sighed. “But soon, it won’t matter. You will come to see the truth in time.”

“You don’t have to do this,” Lilly shouted as she felt a presence in her mind. “Please, you don’t understand the feeling that is love.”

“Love?” the man repeated as he stood almost casually. “Was it love to curse us? Was it love to weaken our kind by blending it with men? What was so wrong with our two races being separate? Why had a balance that had existed for thousands of years been toppled for a selfish indulgence?”

“Solesta agreed to the plan,” Gersius said as he and Thayle dropped to the ground. “Every divine saw the wisdom in allowing the dragons to learn from men. It was only when she became frightened of what might happen should dragons and men seek to breed that this happened.”

“And what right did Balisha have to grant such a thing?” the man demanded. “Hadn’t she done enough? She promised that no such blessing would be allowed yet went behind Solesta’s back and did it anyway.”

“Maybe so,” Lilly countered. “But I think she was right.”

“It doesn't matter what you think,” the man said as dark rays of light began to reach into the crater. He looked up with a smile and took a deep breath. “I tried to fix this once before, but I failed. I have waited for a thousand years to try again. I will finally set things right.”

“You will doom us and the humans,” Lilly shouted. “You will usher in a new order of competition and hatred that will rival what came before.”

“I will remove this curse because it will not be needed once Balisha is dead,” he countered.

“You will never see Balisha,” Gersius replied as his skin crawled with black smoke. “Your mad crusade ends here.” A moment later, he was engulfed in a ball of black smoke that pulsed with light, leaving Gersius in his dragon form and standing nearly as tall as his adversary.

“So it has come to this,” the Gorromogoth said, shaking his head. “A few more dragons must die to save the rest.”

“What rest?” Lilly demanded. “How many dragons have died because of your foolish quest?”

“You will never understand,” the man replied as Gersius raised his sword, tensing to attack. “But soon it won't matter. Soon, all will be set right, and the war that started thousands of years ago will finally end.”

“You must be mad!” Sarah bellowed as she hunched down like a spring. “You have already failed. Do you honestly believe we are going to let you claim the heart?”

“You would be foolish to try to stop me,” he said with a vain smile.

Sarah leaped, her body clearing her family and causing the ground to shake as she landed, rushing toward the lone man. He didn't seem bothered by her great jaws closing in on him as she was determined to snap him in half. The man held up a single hand as a wall of fire erupted behind him. It was an enormous conflagration, blotting out any view of the crater as it soared into the air. A blast of flame so bright it lit up the landscape for miles raced from that wall and struck Sarah like a hammer, throwing her back as even her red scales burned. Sarah let out a cry of pain as she quickly gave off black smoke and, in an instant, collapsed to her human form, clawing in the dirt for safety.

“Foolish dragon,” the Gorromogoth said as he casually planted his sword on the ground and rested his hands on the pommel. “You have no idea what you face.”

“Sarah!” Gersuis cried and ran to her aid as Lilly and Thayle rushed ahead. They arrived to find her alive but weakened to the point of helplessness as she twitched from her injuries.

“He burned me?” Sarah gasped. “His power. It's unlike anything I have ever known.”

“Just lay still,” Gersius urged, planting his hands on her side. He quickly yanked them away, the intense heat of her skin burning his hands. Lilly tried to heal her but yelped in pain, recoiling from the intense heat. “Use your breath!” Gersius shouted and Lilly nodded, blowing a cloud of cold and ice against Sarah to try and cool her.

“Do you see the futility of your efforts?” the man asked as he gestured to the fallen dragon. “This was never a contest you could win. I could have crushed you all any time I wanted, but I did not desire your deaths. I do not hate you or your kind, but I cannot allow you to alter the divine course of the dragons.”

Gersius had to shield his eyes as Lilly’s icy breath became steam when it contacted Sarah. Great clouds of billowing white floated in the air as Lilly did her best to cool down the stricken woman. He tried to place his hands, and this time, she was hot but not searing, allowing him to keep his grip. He called on divine healing and opened his voice in song, pleading with Astikar to grant him more than ever before.

“Your gods will not be replaced,” the Gorromogoth said as he watched the sky. “Except for Balisha. She must go so that the dragons can finally be free.”

“You’re a monster!” Lilly shouted, breaking her concentration as she tried to heal Sarah. “You are going to destroy the greatest gift dragons have ever been given all because you are afraid to love!”

He turned his gaze on her, his aura flaring with anger. His hand finally tightened on his sword.

“Lilly, be careful,” Thayle gasped as Lilly turned to face him, stalking closer as she lowered her head.

“You are a coward,” Lilly spat. “Afraid that if dragons were given the choice, they wouldn't choose the one you want for them.”

“Be careful, whelp,” he replied, raising his sword at her. “I tried to save you. I sent an agent to show you the truth and win you to my side.”

“You sent that dragon to tear my wings off!” Lilly snarled, her fangs fully bared. “You made me suffer so horribly that the only one I could turn to was a man. Because of that, I was bound, and through that binding, I broke my curse. Once the curse was gone, I felt emotions you are afraid to even imagine. Because of you, I learned to love. Because of you, I learned what it meant to sacrifice for others. Because of you, I became Lilly Dra'Udwan. I am a new creation, free from the curse and the madness of dragons. I should probably call you father because I am your creation, born out of your fear and mad desire to hide from the truth. Now you want to tear it all away. You want to destroy what you created because you are afraid of it. You are no better than Solesta. She helped create this blessing, but she grew afraid of her creation and started a war that decimated our kind!”

“Enough!” he shouted, his voice echoing with power that shook the ground. Gersius turned back to see Lilly less than twenty paces from the man as he stepped backward toward the cliff ledge.

“You have never understood that this love you feel is the curse,” he shouted. “And even now, you think it can save you. You think that somehow it has the power to turn the tide. Foolish dragon,” he snarled. “You will see what true power looks like.”

Gersius and Thayle finished healing Sarah in time to see Lilly lunge at the man behind them. Another blast of flame burst from the wall, but Lilly expected the attack and dodged away. She countered with a blast of her cold, drowning the man in ice. Gersius saw his chance in the rare moment of distraction and rushed forward, sword and shield in hand, to meet the final battle.

“What a waste,” the Gorromogoth growled as he filled the air around him with flames, driving away the cold. No sooner was the air cleared than Gersius, with dragon wings spread, dropped from the sky and cut down, determined to cleave the man in two.

A clash of metal echoed across the plateau as the two met with crossed swords. The Gorromogoth seemed to smile at the new challenge and quickly jumped back to swing his sword in a display of skill.

“I may be a dragon, but I know the ways of your weapons,” he said as he set his feet. “You are no match for me.”

“I have heard that before,” Gersius said as he cast his shield aside. “And they were all wrong.”

With a salute, the two came at each other, swords glowing red as arcs of power lashed out in every direction. It was as if two gods had collided, the very ground shaking as they swung and countered. Thayle pulled Sarah to her feet as the woman used her summoning magic to bring her battle dress into being. They had to hurry and join the fight, as the dark moon was now more than halfway across the sky.

Lilly jumped in, lashing and snarling, but a quick slice up from the Gorromogoth's sword cut a line clear across her face; she was thrown back, clutching the side of her head as blood poured through her fingers. No weapon she had ever been struck by had hurt so much or cut her so easily. Surely, this was a divine weapon forged by some god that was aiding him. She quickly fell into a song of healing as Thayle joined the fight, singing a song to cause plants to aid them in battle.

The Gorromogoth laughed as every plant that grew near him withered and burned, dying instantly in the intense heat. Sarah finally stood tall, her falcon's sword in hand, and rushed past Thayle, going directly to the source of the danger.

“Come!” the Gorromogoth beckoned as the group closed on him. “Even together, you are no match for me.” As if to accentuate his point, he swung his weapon high and then low in a great sweep. The air rippled around it and suddenly blasted away, striking the four and hurling them back. Gersius was first to his feet; his sword raised to deflect a blow as the man rushed in, the two facing off inches from each other.

“I don’t hate your kind,” the Gorromogoth stated as they pushed at one another with divine power. “But your blood will not sully that of my peoples.”

“You are too late,” Gersius said with a wide smile. “Lilly has already laid my egg.”

There was a look of shock on his face, and for just a moment, his focus waned. Gersius struck with a mighty kick, sending him back, then reaching out with a dragon's claw to catch him before he could recover. Gersius drew on Sarah's strength to hurl the man away from the crater, sending him across the mesa to the other edge. Now, they were between him and the precious heart, even as the moon threatened to unlock it from its hiding place.

“This will not happen,” the Gorromogoth said as he came to his feet. “I will find this egg and destroy it.”

“You will not!” Lilly cried as the four rushed at him. He took a defensive stance and swept a hand, causing bolts of fire to radiate out, striking them with terrible power. Gersius used his shield of Astikar to block the bolt centered on him and rushed at the man with his sword blazing. He channeled all his might and faith into the weapon's blade, bringing it down like a hammer from the gods. It met the dragon's blade, the red blade of his enemy, causing great arcs of red power to split the air.

“You are powerful in your faith,” the Gorromogoth shouted. “But I am still only toying with you.”

“You cannot hope to win this,” Gersius countered. “The power of the divines stands against you.”

“Power?” the Gorromogoth laughed. “Do you have any idea what I am?” Suddenly, a fiery image of a dragon formed over him and swept Gersius with its claws. He was hurled away, his armor scratched and even torn at the shoulder as he landed with a rolling thud. He looked up to see the Gorromogoth floating into the air, his hands out as fire wreathed his body.

“None of you has any idea what true power looks like. I could have killed you any time I wished, but I tried in vain to make you understand,” he cried. He turned his head skyward and called to the divines, telling them that the hour of correction had come. His words were cut short when a hammer of Astikar struck him full in the chest, sending him falling over the cliff ledge.

“What?” Gersius said as he looked back at Sarah, who had a wicked smile on her face.

“Serves him right,” Sarah said as she stood tall in her human form. “Taking his eyes off the enemy in the heat of battle like that.”

“Is it over?” Thayle asked, but before anyone could answer, the ground began to shake. From beyond the cliff came a great ball of swirling blackness like a tempest of shadow raging to consume them. It flashed with red lightning and pulsed with a glow that suggested a great power was being born.

“What is that?” Lilly asked as she recoiled, using her wings to shield Thayle from the tempest's terrible wind.

“It's a dragon's transformation,” Sarah said. “By the divines, it's gigantic!”

The ball suddenly flashed with the brightness of a thousand stars, turning the landscape to daylight. Even their protected eyes were blinded by the brilliance of that flash, and it took them several moments to recover. What Gersius saw next was a plume of black smoke rising into the air as if a forest were burning.

A great red claw came out of the mist, slamming the ground before Lilly as she raced back. The hand alone was big enough to crush her, or perhaps she, Sarah, and five other dragons. The ground crumbled under the impact as the entire family retreated toward the crater, unable to believe what they were seeing. Gersius was awestruck as two red eyes appeared in that cloud, glaring down at them like an angry god.

“By the divines,” Sarah gasped as the true scale of his size was revealed. “He’s massive!”

“That is a big dragon,” Gersius said as he tightened his grip on the sword of Astikar. The monster’s head emerged from the cloud, his dark red scales streaked with black and his head crowned by many horns. His jaw was broad and long enough to snap Sarah up in one bite, a single tooth nearly as large as her body. Every move he made shook the ground, his tremendous weight causing the mesa to crack around them.

“Now, tell me, insects,” the beast roared in a voice that hurt their ears. “What hope do you have in your divines? What hope do you have in your love? Look now at what I am and tell me, did you ever have any hope of winning?”

“We have to run,” Thayle said, nearly dropping her sword. “This isn't a dragon; it's a god.”

“We are no match for this beast!” Sarah cried, her voice filled with panic. “He must be tens of thousands of years old!”

Massive wings stretched out, and the cloud of smoke became a wall of fire, shielding his body from their sight. Gersius felt a kind of fear he had never before experienced. His body felt weak as he looked at a dragon not one of them could hope to defeat. Even if his entire army were here, they stood little chance of matching this enemy whose heat was so intense they felt it burning even with Sarah's blessing. The last few months flashed before his eyes, and he saw the pain and suffering that had transpired, but through it all, one thing carried him forward. He looked at Lilly to see her standing strong, unafraid by the display of power. She stood against him; her wings folded back as the beast lifted its head high, a halo of flames above its mighty horns. It was his crown of glory, a symbol of his power as this god-like dragon revealed his true power.

Gersius knew that the day had been lost and all their hopes had come to ruin. He prayed for one last ray of guidance, hoping the divines would come to their rescue. His words were whispered on a breath that produced mist as the air around them chilled rapidly. The once intense heat of the Gorromogoth was suddenly replaced by winter's chill as they all looked up to see it was snowing.