Fan Fiction ❯ Divine Flame ❯ The Dragon Prime ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter 7: The Dragon Prime

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Disclaimer: I do not own Renamon,Toei Animation, Fox Kids, and Saban or Bandai owns her. I use their characters in my stories for readers' enjoyment. If I did… ~evil laughter~

And no, I did not keep her name in this story; I changed it to Lunar, other than that she's about the same. (And there's no evolving.)

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A lone figure sat alone on a rock, facing the night sky in solemn silence, completely motionless, his sword lying on the ground next to him. The cool night wind played with his long blue hair, whipping it about his face, hiding his eyes, shadowed with doubt and anger. His fists were tightly clenched, trembling as he watched the moon and the constellations. His shirt and trousers blended in with the surroundings, and all that could be seen of him was a dark shadow in the silvery moonlight. The dragon constellation seemed to be a little different this night. Instead of roaring into the sky, it was staring down sadly at the figure, who was glaring back defiantly, his eyes scanning the skies for his homeland.

Nothing. The star, which marked his home, was missing.

Arkeson picked up the Sword of Raenas and stared at the blade silently. The blade, capturing the moonlight, reflected it onto his hands, covering them in shadows. Arkeson shivered as he looked at the shadows. It reminded him of what he had done.

"The blood… stains my hands. What am I? Who am I?" Arkeson clenched his hands again, releasing the Sword of Raenas. "Pain and suffering. I destroy everything that angers me… And then… will I lose control… and turn on my friends…?" Snarling, Arkeson slammed his fist into the rock with intense strength, creating a huge crack, bits of rock flying in front of his face, twisted into bitter anger. His eyes watched the bits of rock intently, and Arkeson did not even notice that his fist was bleeding.

He tried to recall the nightmare he had back in Setia. But all that came out of his feverish mind was the idea of pain, of anger, of suffering… and of death. Arkeson resisted the urge to scream, and placed his hands on his heads, clutching at them tightly, his eyes wide in fear.

A demon… that's what I am…

~~~~~

"Do you really think we should go ahead with this?" Lunor stated in concern. His eyes were settled upon a ripple in the air before him. The air was contorted in a circular gap, and within that gap was the image of Arkeson sitting there, his head buried in his hands, muttering to himself. The gods were all gathered in Hgale's abode, the white mist swirling around their feet, keeping them cool.

Lunor was seated on his throne on the left of the viewing portal; Hgale was seated right in front of it. And Nina, the goddess of Healing, was seated on the right, her blond hair cascading down in a sparkling waterfall. Her silver eyes shone with brilliantly against the golden light that seemed to be present everywhere in Hgale's home. Her eyes were fixed upon Lunor with a rather… seductive look in them, and Lunor twitched uncomfortably in his throne. The other gods chuckled. There was Drias, the Dragon God; Kyne, the God of War; Egairem, the Goddess of Dreams and Gane, the God of Knowledge. They were all seated in their respective thrones around the viewing portal.

"We have to. He has to realize his destiny and potential as the Dragon Prime if he is to go up against Evaelc." Drias said grimly.

"Still, right now, he is weak, and he may not be able to withstand the force of the memories we're about to unload on him." Lunor said thoughtfully.

"His state of mind is weak currently, and that is why we have to do it now. He will be able to accept the memories better this way." Hgale spoke.

"This will be his first true test." Drias murmured. "And he has to survive it, if the world is to survive at all."

"And what of the others? I'm sure the Guardian Knight, the High Archer and the Lunar Child will all be worried when they see him in… whatever state we are going to place the Dragon Prime in." Lunor said.

"Stasis." Hgale said wearily. "The state in which everything the Dragon Prime will be held in perfect preservation. Nothing the others do will be able to interfere with the energy flux around the Dragon Prime once he is placed in stasis."

"Fine. Let's get on with the process." Lunor said in mock surrender. Hgale grinned wryly.

The gods all got off their thrones, and proceeded to a platform behind the viewing portal. It was a circular, dazzling platform, built of a strange material that glowed all the colors of a rainbow, a foot tall and with a large, throbbing black hole in its center. Ancient runes were carved on every inch of the platform, glowing with mystical energy. The entire platform was easily over ten feet long, with blank circles marking where the gods were to stand.

Each god took his or her place by the black hole, and stretched out both of their hands, glowing with energy. They began to chant in the ancient language of magic, and the energy from their hands began to channel themselves towards the hole, swirling into a whirlwind of power, pulled inwards by the intense drag of the hole. A pillar of transparent energy formed around the platform as the gods recited the spell. Then there was a burst of light, and the whirlwind grew larger and more intense than ever, and finally, was completely consumed by the black hole. The transparent pillar vanished, and the gods all slumped forward in exhaustion.

"Damn…" Lunor cursed. "Before all of this, we could have done this spell and walked off casually, but now…"

"It's up to the Dragon Prime and the others now." The other gods murmured.

~~~~~

Arkeson continued to sit on the rock silently, clutching at his bleeding hand, although he did not even feel any pain. His eyes stared at the ground in front of him blankly as he recalled what he had done to Nidale's camp.

Then he heard a strange sound. Blinking in surprise, Arkeson looked around in bewilderment, and finally, his eyes looked above him. Arkeson froze in shock. Speeding towards him was what appeared to be a beam made out of a rainbow. The air around it was distorted, proving its incredible powers. Arkeson gulped and tried to jump out of the way, but it was too late. The beam slammed into him with full force, and Arkeson screamed in agony as he felt the waves of energy rip through his entire body. Shockwaves spread all over the ground around him, cracking it.

Arkeson felt himself being suspended in the air, and he tried desperately to fight off the beam, but its force was too overwhelming. Arkeson slowly felt his mind giving way to the pressure, and after a short while, Arkeson gave in to the darkness.

~~~~~

Lunar woke up with a small moan, rubbing the back of her head. Just her luck, she had fallen asleep with a rock as a pillow. She got to her feet nimbly, stretching and yawning, and then she looked around. Thgan was lying asleep by the remains of the fire, Ralin and Heyior lying beside him. Amelia was lying fast asleep some distance away.

Arkeson was nowhere in sight.

Her eyes darting around, Lunar quickly scanned the landscape for the dragon, and her eyes fell upon a rock in the distance. There was a distortion in the air behind the rock. Grimacing, Lunar slowly walked over to the rock, and peered behind it intently.

She let out a gasp of astonishment.

There, right in front of her, was Arkeson, suspended in midair from within a small pillar of shimmering, multi-colored light. He was curled up tightly into a ball, his eyes shut, his breathing haggard. Every once in a while he would twitch slightly and let out a small, inaudible moan. Tiny beams of light would shoot off his body every minute. Lunar stepped forward apprehensively, cautiously reached out one hand and prodded the pillar of light. There was a flash of light, a sizzling sound, and Lunar instantly drew her hand back with a yelp of pain. Muttering angrily to herself, she took one step back and examined the spectacle before her intently.

"Arkeson!" She called, more concern in her tone than she would have liked, "Arkeson!"

The dragon did not stir, but instead twitched as if in pain, his already pain-filled expression twisting into one filled with even more torment. He let out a whimper, and curled up tighter, his hands digging into his feet. Much as she tried to prevent it, Lunar could feel fear and concern welling up in her body as she watched the immobile body before her…

~~~~~Arkeson's Dream~~~~~

Arkeson forced open his eyes and they immediately widened in shock. Gone were the plains and the rock, all that was around him was an endless inky darkness, seemingly reaching out to swallow him. He found himself floating in the air, a faint white aura enveloping him, casting a ghostly pallor on his surroundings, doing little to calm his nerves.

"Where am I?" Arkeson yelled, his voice raspy, his throat dry. He really didn't expect an answer.

This is a dream, Arkeson. Your dream.

Arkeson jumped. The voice was deep and ancient, and seemed to be coming at him from all directions.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Arkeson demanded warily, glancing around. He heard a brief chuckle before the voice came again.

I have no physical form, hence I can only communicate with you through telepathy. My name is Drias, the God of Dragons. Arkeson, pay close attention to this dream, for it holds the answer to your question.

"Question? What question?"

What am I? Who am I?

Arkeson whipped around. There was nothing, except the same darkness reaching out towards him. He cursed briefly under his breath, his eyes darting about warily. Then there was a burst of light from all directions, and Arkeson shielded his eyes with a cry of surprise. Then the light faded, and Arkeson forcefully opened his eyes, blinking. Then he took in a shuddering breath and stumbled backwards.

"T-this is impossible…" He stuttered. "Impossible!" Tears flooded his eyes, and he tried to avert his gaze by turning away, but the vision before him somehow managed to remain fixed ahead of him. Even shutting his eyes didn't work.

You cannot deny the existence of what lies before you, young dragon. Open your eyes and embrace reality.

Arkeson sank to his knees and pounded on the space below him, strangely solid.

"Damn it!" He cursed bitterly, choking back his tears. "Damn it!" He repeated vehemently.

For before him shimmered the crystal clear image of his homeland, Dogar, the sky burning a brilliant shade of blue, the fiery sun shining brightly, clouds white and pure, floating along casually, almost as though without a care in the world. Below that was the flying land the dragons called home. A huge piece of lush, well tended to of land, with mountains and streams wrapping around it, enhancing the heavenly beauty that existed in this sacred realm. Wisps of clouds clung tightly to the ground of Dogar, fascinating the juvenile dragons. The crystal clear water sparkled in the sunlight, creating a myriad of diamonds shining in Arkeson's vision.

The tears fell from his face, dripping all over his hands. Drias watched the dragon before him in mild anxiety. He understood how the young one felt, and felt compelled to help, but the other gods had disallowed him to do so. Grimacing, Drias watched in silence. He never knew that the mere sight of his homeland would affect Arkeson so. But then again, he could not be blamed, since it had indeed been many years since he had laid his eyes on the majestic beauty of his home.

Arkeson… Stand tall and study the dream carefully.

Arkeson nodded slowly and staggered to his feet, a look of grim determination on his face. He glared at the vision before him, and then he seemed to speed closer towards the Dogar, until he was standing upon the grass. He blinked and looked around. At first he saw nothing, and an expression of bewilderment appeared on his face.

Turn towards the cavern at the river.

He did so, and stared at the dark cave opening carefully. Then his eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open.

"T-that's impossible…" He stuttered.

On the contrary, it is very possible. This took place in your childhood. However, you have no memory of what happened because your parents erased it from your mind.

"What are you talking about? My parents don't know how to use magic!"

Be silent, and watch the dream. Then everything will be made clear.

~~~~~

A young boy, looking no older than ten, was running with every ounce of strength he had, splashing and tripping in the shallow regions of the river, casting horrified glances behind him. Chasing him were a group of slightly older children, holding sticks and rocks in their hands, yelling loudly. Then the young boy tripped and fell into the water with a loud cry, the breath knocked out of his fragile body. He clambered to his knees and turned around slowly, his face pale. At closer inspection, bruises and cuts could be seen all over his face, and his eyes were wide in fear. The other children closed in, their faces threatening and menacing.

"P-please… l-leave me alone…" The young boy whimpered, curling up into a ball. "W-w-what did I d-do to you?" One of the other children, a burly boy with jet-black hair, stepped forward and grabbed the young boy by his collar. The latter let out a startled yelp and started squirming, but to no avail. The older boy brought up one fist and brought it crashing across his face, and the young boy flew through the air and landed back in the water, a trail of blood following. The other children laughed, and began pelting the young boy with their rocks and sticks.

"You're an outcast, and you'll always be one, Arkeson." One of them sneered.

"Yeah! The one with the taboo aura will bring only death! You deserve to die!" Agreed another. Arkeson curled up tighter, tears dripping from his face.

"Why did your parents ever give birth to a beast like you? They must be idiots!" Arkeson's eyes flared open, his teeth ground together, his fists clenched tightly. Nobody had the right to insult his parents. Nobody!

The children laughed and continued to throw objects at him. Had they been more observant, they would have realized that everything they were throwing was bouncing off an invisible barrier surrounding Arkeson. The young dragon's mind was cleared of all thoughts, of all doubts, and was filled with only anger, hatred… and the desire to kill. His eyes faded away into a pale yellow, then an unholy red shone from deep within its depths. His teeth lengthened into fangs, his hands twisted into claws. The children simply continued to laugh, completely oblivious to the startling change in Arkeson. Arkeson got to his feet slowly, and turned around to face the children, an insane smirk on his face. Wind whipped around him, and the water around him rippled unevenly. He took a step forward, and that caught the other children's attention. They stared at him in a mixture of horror and anger.

"His aura… it's gotten stronger… a lot stronger." One of them murmured uncomfortably. Then they all caught a strange sound. Arkeson was cackling, the sound seemingly coming from all directions. The children stared at him, but could see nothing on his face. It was shadowed by his hair. Then Arkeson raised his head a little, and the red glow from his eyes came into view. Arkeson didn't stop laughing, his shoulders quivering.

"Let's get out of here." Another muttered, and they turned around to run, but then there was a blur of colors, and Arkeson was suddenly standing in front of them. He had finally stopped laughing, but the smirk was still there, and was wider than before.

"Leaving? So soon?" He asked in a mocking tone, his voice deep and eerie. He brought a claw up to his face and rubbed the many bruises absent-mindedly. "I still have to return the favor." The children screamed and began to flee at breakneck speed, but Arkeson was faster. Within a second, he sped in front of the burly boy and lifted him into the air with a word of magic. The boy tried to escape, but Arkeson, with a deft twist of his hand, sent the boy sailing through the air and crashing into a tree with a groan of pain. Arkeson then turned around and lifted up his hands. The ground glowed, then stones from all over rose into the air.

"Here, have a taste of your own medicine!" Arkeson grinned, and spread his hands in a wide arc. The stones began to fly at intense speed towards the children, showering them with pain. Within moments, all of them had fled into the distance, leaving Arkeson standing there, alone. The young boy reverted back to his original form and slumped to the ground in a dead faint.

~~~~~

The dragons all had a gift, the ability to sense the aura of another dragon. This was considered a blessing, for anyone could tell who was a friend. But to Arkeson, this was a curse. He had been born with a unique aura, an aura the elders deemed as unholy, and everyone shunned him. The poor young dragon never understood why everyone was so cold towards him. Each time he tried to be friends with others, they would push him away. Quite possibly the only friend he had was Revlis, and his parents. Arkeson soon grew to be rather fearful of stepping into the open, and took to shutting himself in his room. After that particularly frightful incident by the river, Arkeson came running straight home and immediately locked the door to his room. He then flung himself on his bed and started to sob.

"Why am I different? Why?!" He screamed. Then there came a gentle knock on his door.

"Arkeson?" Came a female voice, filled with concern. "Did those kids bully you again?" Arkeson fell silent. He could not tell his mother what had happened to him… could not tell his mother of the transformation that had taken place.

"Arkeson?" His mother knocked on the door again.

"Leave me to die…" Arkeson choked, twisting his body away from the door. Outside, his mother sighed, and exchanged a glance with her husband. They both nodded and raised their hands to the door, reciting a spell. The door swung open. The two adults stepped in, Arkeson not paying them any attention. His mother impatiently brushed her blue hair aside and sat down on the bed next to him, his father standing next to them, his red hair lightly blowing in the gentle breeze coming in through a window.

"What happened?" Arkeson's mother asked gently. Arkeson looked up at her with his tear-streaked face, knowing that he couldn't lie. And so, he started to blubber out all the events that had taken place tearfully, and when he was done, he was shaking with fear, rocking back and forth on his bed, tears streaming down his face. Both his parents' faces were ashen, their mouths hanging open. His mother rose suddenly, and pulled her husband to one corner.

"It's happening… at last…" She whispered faintly. Her husband nodded weakly.

"But… should we do it?" He asked. Arkeson's mother shook her head.

"He's too young… He might not be able to take it." Arkeson looked from his mother to his father, wondering what they were talking about. But he decided that it was best if he just remained silent.

But, sometimes, keeping silent was not the best thing to do…

~~~~~

Arkeson's face was pale as he stared at the vision.

"T-that's not possible… I don't remember any of that ever happening!" He cried out to the unseen god.

Just because you do not remember it does not mean it has not taken place.

"You lie, damn it!" Arkeson snarled. Then he felt a sudden numbness taking over his body, and he was soon frozen in place, unable to move.

Be silent, and watch. There is more to learn.

~~~~~

An adolescent Arkeson strolled down the mountain path, followed closely by his friend Revlis, and his elder sister, Amber. The sky above them shone with the brilliant ambience of the ocean, the sun casting its warm rays down upon the trio. Arkeson had grown from a fearful, paranoid lad, into a young and carefree adult. He and the rest of his family had moved away to a quiet region of Dogar, along with the orphaned Revlis, who had been adopted by Arkeson's family. Amber was seemingly a guardian to them both, making sure that neither of them got into trouble, since they were rather prone to doing so. That day, the three had decided to travel around the mountains for pleasure, rather than just laze around in the forest shade near their home.

"So, what are we going to do now? We've made a trip round the mountains already… we've jumped off a couple of cliffs… we've fallen off a waterfall, no thanks to somebody…" Revlis grumbled good-naturedly, receiving a nervous chuckle from Arkeson in reply.

"Well… at least the waterfall wasn't tall… we didn't get hurt, did we?" Arkeson returned. Revlis let out a derisive snort. Amber rolled her eyes and began to mutter to herself. Despite being good friends, they always seemed to start an argument every day without fail. The two looked to be complete opposites from afar, and watching them argue often proved to be amusing. Arkeson had long, blue hair tied back in a ponytail, while Revlis had short, spiky, silver hair. Arkeson had blue eyes while Revlis had red ones. Revlis was also the taller of the two, but Arkeson was better built. Arkeson also preferred to dress in a shirt with long trousers and once in a while, a long coat, whereas Revlis simply dressed casually.

A sharp explosion in the distance interrupted the argument, and the three snapped their heads up, looking at the mountain peak where the explosion had originated. Bits of rock showered down on them, and above, the clouds began to swirl, turning a nasty black as the peak of the mountain suddenly seemed to pulsate with a dark energy. Rings of darkness shimmered into existence, spinning around the top, glowing. The clouds had swirled into a large black circle in the sky now, and looked like a huge, black and unblinking eye staring down from the heavens. Then there came a mighty roar and a single pillar of purple light shot down from the sky, slamming with dreadful force into the mountains, sending the three sprawling to the ground. Everything disappeared, save for the swirling clouds, and then there was another roar, and a beast reared up from the peak, its eyes gleaming.

It resembled a huge dragon, only that it had four arms, four legs, and a total of six wings. Its eyes were narrow, and they glowed with a malevolence that made Arkeson shudder. Its gigantic jaws dripped with burning saliva, the razor-sharp fangs gleaming with the blood of its previous preys. One of its arms was tightly wrapped around a huge, single edged blade, while the other three arms merely twitched and fidgeted about, as though itching to grab something. Its tail was elongated and filled with venom-tipped spikes, and it swung from side to side. It shifted its great head to one side, and got a good whiff of the air around him. A grin came upon his face, and he began to thunder down the mountain, heading straight for one of the smaller towns on Dogar.

"Must… eradicate… Dragon Prime…" It moaned in a ghastly, eerie voice. The three looked at each other, bewildered.

"Whatever that thing is, we have to stop it! We can't let it go stomp on that town. Amber, you go warn the dragons, Arkeson and I will distract it… somehow…" Revlis commanded. Amber nodded and quickly raced down the mountain. Arkeson turned to his friend, and recognized the all-too familiar look of grim determination on Revlis's face. Arkeson sighed.

"You don't have a plan, do you?" Arkeson asked dully.

"Nope."

~~~~~

Unknown to any of them, the demon had been sent by Evaelc to destroy Arkeson, but the demon did not know where Arkeson was. It decided that attacking a town might help to draw out the young dragon, and lumbered towards a town in the distance, filled with gleeful thoughts of death and destruction. Its name was Mendaryle, nothing more than a biological weapon created by the dark god to serve his evil purposes.

Out of the corner of its eye, it spotted a blur speeding down towards the town, and it recognized the scent as a dragon's. With a snarl, it leapt high into the air with its four legs and landed with a thundering crash in front of Amber, forcing her to stop. She glanced upwards in horror, unsure of what to do, when there came a shrill scream from above, and a shadow quickly closed in on Mendaryle. The shadow soon revealed itself to be Revlis, screaming and flailing wildly in the air as he plummeted down from the cliff above to smack into Mendaryle's head. The demon stumbled and collapsed to its knees with a groan, while Revlis rolled to the ground in a daze. Amber glared at Arkeson from above, who adopted an innocent look immediately.

"What? He didn't have a plan, so I came up with one." Amber sighed in exasperation. Shooting a quick glance at the demon, she realized that it was still dazed and confused from the surprise attack, and she took the opportunity to quickly run to the town.

Halfway down the mountain, however, there was a flash of light, and a being appeared before her. Or rather, three beings appeared before her, appearing to be no more than colored shadows. The first, a shadow glowing a pale blue, spoke, his voice heavy and old.

"Amber Drake Goliathes, it is absolutely futile to continue further. The other dragons will not come to you or your brother's rescue." Said the being. "They place a great amount of distrust in your family, and it would take much more than you alone to convince them of impending danger." Another shadow, glowing gold, spoke next, in a melodious voice, her tone ringing clear in Amber's ears.

"If you were to proceed any further, not only will you endanger your life, your brother and his friend will be in grave danger as well."

"Who are you? And how do you of us?" Amber demanded, feeling an aura of holy power around the three, but she didn't dare to trust them.

"We are… gods." The third shadow spoke, his voice uncomfortable, his silver aura shifting about. It was almost as if he was reluctant to disclose this fact.

"Gods?" Amber echoed in awe.

"This is no time to talk. We have to act quickly. Amber, you must come away with us." The first shadow spoke sternly.

"What? Why?" Amber risked a glance back at her brother and the demon, and was surprised to see that everything had been frozen in place. The three shadows were indeed gods. But from their labored breathing, Amber guessed that keeping the spell up was rapidly draining their resources.

"If you were to reach the town, none of the dragons would believe your story. When the demon does attack the town, you will be in serious danger, and your brother would risk his life to protect you, as would his friend. However, the three of you would die if that were to happen, as will many other dragons. By coming with us, w can prevent this catastrophe from taking place." The female god said. Amber took a step back in shock.

"I don't believe you…" She whispered, not daring to believe what her ears had heard. The third shadow sighed, and then said a single word of magic. Images flooded Amber's mind, each horrifying. She twitched and tried to block them out, but to no avail. And she knew, with deep certainty, that all the images were real. She sank to her knees and began to cry bitterly.

"Will you come with us?"

"Will my brother and Revlis be safe?" She asked softly. The three shadows nodded.

"Then I shall leave with you…" The first shadow reached out a hand, and Amber took it. His grip was warm, fatherly, and Amber felt comforted. Then, with a burst of light, they were gone, as if they were never there at all.

Time resumed its course.

~~~~~

Arkeson leapt off the cliff, stumbled on the rocks, skidded to a halt next to Revlis, grabbed him and began to tear across the mountain path madly as Mendaryle came thundering after them, roaring and hissing. Both of them were flung to the side when Mendaryle slammed his huge sword into the ground, sending powerful tremors through the rocks, cracking and heaving the ground about. Both of them picked themselves off the ground, and watched as energy was drawn into Mendaryle's great jaws.

"Run!" Revlis screamed and the two of them jumped off the edge of the path, skidding and sliding their way to the bottom rather painfully. Behind them, Mendaryle roared and fired a large beam of fire at them, shooting past their faces and crashing into a boulder ahead, reducing it to a pile of ashes. The great demon didn't stop. Showers of fire and ice rained around the two, burning them. Everywhere explosions could be seen, and soon the two found themselves skidding through plumes of thick, black smoke. Above them, Mendaryle leapt high into the air, and brought the blade down into the mountain with devastating force, sending a massive crack heading their way. Revlis grabbed Arkeson and they both tumbled to the side, just millimeters away from falling into the crack. Finally, they both struck a large rock, and went sailing off the mountainside and onto the grass below. They wasted no time in getting to their feet and running towards the town.

Throwing a glance behind, Arkeson saw that Mendaryle was quickly catching up. Looking back in front, Arkeson was considerably startled to see that Amber was nowhere in sight. It was impossible for her to have reached the town already, but if she wasn't there… where was she? Arkeson thought back to Mendaryle's attacks on the mountain, and he wondered, for a single, terrified moment, if Amber had been killed. He tried desperately to sense Amber's aura, but came up with nothing. Amber was gone. Arkeson clenched his fists as tears welled up in his eyes.

"I'll avenge you, Amber. I swear it." He vowed silently.

"Revlis!" He yelled, and drew the other dragon's attention. "Go to the town and inform the dragons there."

"But Amber's already there!" Arkeson struggled to keep his emotions from showing.

"Just in case." He managed a tight grin. Revlis nodded and sped off, while Arkeson slowed down, and turned to face Mendaryle, his face contorted in anger. There was a tree near him, and he ripped off a sturdy and long branch. He held it poised in front of him, a blue aura slowly starting to swirl around him. Mendaryle slowed to a halt and glared at the young dragon, sensing his power. Then he was suddenly aware that the young dragon in front of him was the Dragon Prime. His hair was bristling with cackling energy, his fangs bared, his eyes dilated.

"Die." He spat and charged with incredible speed. In a split second, Arkeson had leapt off the ground onto eye level with Mendaryle. He then slammed the branch into Mendaryle's eye. The demon stumbled backwards with a roar of pain while Arkeson simply kicked off the ground again, and dealt a powerful kick into the demon's belly. Black blood spurted out from the demon's mouth as his roar turned into a bubbling cry of agony, Arkeson unrelenting in his assault. Mendaryle grabbed his blade and swung it with all his might, and let out a roar of triumphant as he felt it connect with something. His eyes registered the scene before him: the blade had sunk deep into the side of Arkeson. But then Arkeson vanished, and Mendaryle realized that he had been tricked.

"You missed." Arkeson grinned broadly as he brought a fist crashing across Mendaryle's face. The demon, despite its huge size, was sent slamming to the ground with a moan of pain.

That was when Revlis and a group of rather unconvinced dragons showed up. They originally intended to help, but they froze at the sight, and stood there with their mouths hanging open. They watched as Arkeson landed neatly on the ground, letting out a burst of insane, high-pitched laughter. Then Arkeson picked up the huge sword with ease, and leapt high into the air. Arkeson impaled Mendaryle with the huge sword, and watched in sick, twisted pleasure as the demon writhed in torment before him. The demon managed to gasp out one last sentence.

"You… I will… destroy… one day…" So saying, the demon escaped with a spell, returning to Evaelc to heal his wounds. Arkeson stood still on the ground, unmoving, a grin still plastered to his face.

Then one of the dragons found his voice.

"Beast! That lad is a beast! We must des…" He fell into an awkward silence as Arkeson whipped around and gave him a death glare. His eyes held nothing but the promise of death, and coupled with the insane grin, Arkeson looked prepared to destroy anything in his way. The other dragons quickly ran off to report to the elder, while Revlis simply stood there quietly. He, too, had realized, at last, that Amber was missing.

The blue aura around Arkeson faded away, and he slumped forward in exhaustion. Revlis quickly ran to help him.

"Revlis… Amber… S-she's…" Arkeson's voice cracked. Revlis bowed his head.

"I know…"

~~~~~

The day was a dark one. The dark clouds continued to swirl over Dogar, strong winds blowing throughout the land. Arkeson's family grieved for the loss of Amber, his mother inconsolable, his father left speechless upon hearing the news. Revlis stood at one side, tears streaming down his face. Amber had been as good a sister to him as she had to Arkeson, and he missed her dreadfully. As for Arkeson, he was nowhere to be found after the traditional ceremony of guiding Amber's soul to the stars (of course, Amber wasn't truly dead).

His family found him later, to their surprise, on the same cliff where Amber, him and Revlis were separated. He was standing there silently, his expression unreadable, a sword in his hands. They watched as Arkeson used the sword to carve graceful words into the rock.

"Amber Drake Goliathes: May your soul find eternal peace."

With that, Arkeson slammed the sword, as hard as he could, into the ground, embedding it there. Then he stood back, and his shoulders quivered as he fought to keep back his tears. Revlis went up to him and placed a hand on Arkeson's shoulder, trying to comfort the dragon, but to no avail.

Behind them, Arkeson's parents exchanged uneasy glances, wiping away their tears. Arkeson's mother spoke in a faint whisper, her voice trembling.

"Should we do… it?" She asked, her eyes darkened with sorrow.

"It's time." Arkeson's father murmured. "These memories are too much for Arkeson and Revlis to withstand. We have to… do it." The two went to stand by the two, and they both uttered a word at the same time. Two large bubbles suddenly wrapped around Arkeson and Revlis, and lifted them into the air.

"W-what are you doing? Let me out!" Arkeson demanded, hammering on the wall of the bubble, trying fruitlessly to break free.

"What's happening?" Revlis demanded, suddenly afraid upon seeing the expressions on Arkeson's parents' faces.

"Please forgive us…" Arkeson's mother said softly, stroking the side of Arkeson's bubble. Arkeson shrank back, his eyes wide with fear. Revlis cringed and prepared for the worst. Arkeson's parents then raised their hands and chanted fiercely, the bubbles spinning faster and faster with each word. They began to glow with a white light, then there was a burst of brilliant light, and the bubble burst. Arkeson and Revlis fell to the ground, unconscious, their bodies glowing with an unnatural energy. Then there came another brilliant flare from both, and everything settled down. They opened their eyes slowly, and sat up with groans, putting their hands to their heads, as if in pain.

"How are you feeling, you two?" His father asked in concern.

"I-I'm fine… just that… it feels like I've just woken up from a long, long dream." Arkeson responded. He stood up and stumbled a little, his head spinning. "Strange… my head feels so… blank…"

"So does mine." Revlis muttered, trying unsuccessfully to gain his balance on the rocky ground. Then their eyes feel upon the sword, and the words on the mountain wall. Both of them stared at the words blankly for a few moments, blinking in confusion. Then Arkeson turned around.

"Who is Amber?" He asked, puzzled. His parents burst into tears.

All Arkeson and Revlis could do was stare at the two adults, wondering what was happening…

~~~~~

Arkeson's eyes were wide, his mouth was hanging open as the vision before him froze in place.

"So… the reason why I don't remember anything is…" He gasped.

Yes. Your parents sealed away your memories. They did not want you to remember the events that took place. They wiped out all traces of your memory of Amber.

"What happened to Amber?"

She… escaped from the heavenly realms, back onto Ralos, through one of our special magic devices. Her whereabouts still remain unknown… I am sorry.

"I… I see." Arkeson was filled with a surge of hope. Perhaps one day he could meet his sister again…

"Why is it that whenever I get angry, I turn into that… demon?" Arkeson asked abruptly.

That… Listen closely, Arkeson. You are the Dragon Prime, a level of dragon higher than ordinary dragons. The Dragon Prime is born with a unique aura, one that sets him apart from all other dragons. There are some with the strange aura as well, but the Dragon Prime's aura remains the most powerful and prominent of all. The Dragon Prime is born only once every few hundred thousand years. However, the Dragon Prime's powers are very unstable, and can burst out in random moments, especially when the Dragon Prime is experiencing a strong flow of emotions.

Arkeson was rendered speechless.

But… remember this well, Dragon Prime… Your powers are currently limited. When your parents sealed away your memories, they placed a barrier within your mind, which erases all your memories of you in your Dragon Prime state. However, by doing so, they unwittingly and unknowingly sealed away some of your powers as well. Also, not everything can be solved by your powers. You have to learn the might of other forces… Know this. The strongest power is the power of the mind, and of the heart. Once you can master that, there is nothing you cannot do.

"What of the tradition of the dragons?" Arkeson asked suddenly, his voice bitter. The question came out of his mouth so fast that he surprised even himself.

The tradition is false.

"What?"

The elders predicted, many years ago, that disaster would strike Dogar, and they immediately accused you of being the bringer of doom. They demanded that your parents banish you to the world of Ralos, and your parents were left with no choice but to do so. Before they sent you away, they prayed to the gods, prayed that you would be safe in the world before, prayed that nobody in the world would ever be shocked by the appearance of a dragon. They feared for your life.

"What happened?"

We answered their call. Using the last of our powers, we helped to protect the Dragon Prime by altering the history of Ralos very slightly. The supposed tradition was thus born.

"S-so… I'm the only dragon, aside from Amber, here on Ralos?" Arkeson sounded frightened. He had always been looking forward to meeting another dragon, but it seemed that his hopes had been dashed.

No. There are other dragons here. They, like you, were born with the unique aura. They are therefore known to most dragons as exiles, and they were sent to this world.

Drias sighed.

I hate to say it, but dragons are caught up in too much of their pride. Anything that disturbs their treasured balance is automatically eradicated. And I, the God of Dragons, am unable to do anything about it. You, Arkeson, are the one who will show the dragons the truth. You and your companions, and also all the dragons who are here, on Ralos.

"Me?" Arkeson asked incredulously.

Yes.

Drias's voice was getting fainter. It was evident that he could not remain in Arkeson's dream any longer. The vision vanished suddenly, and Arkeson found himself floating in the endless darkness once more. Then he felt a tugging on his body, and he felt himself being dragged away from the darkness. Before everything went blank, he heard Drias's voice for the last time.

Remember… your power isn't everything… learn the value of other strengths, and there is nothing you cannot do…

~~~~~End Of Arkeson's Dream~~~~~

The chamber was completely unlit and gloomy, the darkness throbbing with an unholy power, the sound resonating all over the seemingly endless area. The only source of light was a faint aura of deep purple surrounding a shadow seated upon a throne, a black, freezing cold mist spreading over the smooth floor, originating from the shadow itself.

"Mendaryle. I trust you are ready." It wasn't a question. The voice was flat, ancient and powerful. The demon before the shadow bowed respectfully.

"Yes, my lord."

"Good. See to it that you do not fail again." The figure raised a hand and clenched it tightly with a crunch. Mendaryle winced and involuntarily took a step backwards.

"As a simple reminder, I shall show to you… what I do to failures." The shadow stood up, a cloak floating eerily around his body. A pair of glowing eyes appeared, and Mendaryle shivered. The shadow then snapped his fingers, and a tube, filled with a strange liquid, appeared, Nidale trapped within it, barely alive. He was awake, his eyes wide with terror, his hands reaching feebly for the edge of the tube. When his hands did reach the walls, he began to claw at them desperately, trying to break free. The shadow snapped his fingers again, and the pale green liquid changed to a boiling molten red, and Nidale began to scream, his screaming muffled by the liquid. His body began to break apart into tiny black particles. Behind the shadow, Mendaryle watched, his head frozen in place, unable to tear his gaze away from the ghastly sight before him. Nidale's skin was slowly tearing off; blood was oozing out of various wounds on his body. His eyes began to fade to white.

Behind Mendaryle, a large figure shifted his bulk uncomfortably. Mendaryle did not have to turn around to know that it was the dark dragon, Gyria. Much as the dragon and the death general had argued and fought against each other, the two of them shared a certain bond. The two of them had once been partners together in battle, and they fought their way up the ranks to where they were today.

With one last agonized cry, Nidale's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and his body went limp. In no time at all, his body had broken into the tiny black particles. The shadow swung his hand in a swift arc, and the tube walls shattered, the liquid splashing in all directions, some of it landing on Mendaryle and Gyria's bodies. They both let out stifled yelps of pain and hopped backwards. The liquid, upon touching the ground, vanished instantly. The black particles hovered in the air for a moment, then all of them entered the shadow's body. In Mendaryle's eyes, it seemed the shadow suddenly got darker, far more intense and frightful than their surroundings. The shadow began to laugh, and then he whipped around and fixed Mendaryle with a cold glare.

"Go." That was all the prompting Mendaryle needed. He quickly clambered out of the dark chamber, leaving Gyria alone with the shadow. The shadow settled himself back into his throne, and conjured up a glass of wine. He sipped at it, and smirked.

"Tastes like blood."

~~~~~

Lunar sighed, her eyes going to the pillar of light in mild annoyance. She picked a rock off the ground and tossed it at the pillar. It bounced right off with a sizzle. Thgan, Ralin, Heyior and Amelia were a short distance away, discussing what they could do to break through the pillar.

"I say we attack it!" Thgan proposed, waving his sword about. Amelia snorted.

"I'd say you've taken a drink too much, you overgrown dolt!" Ralin muttered. "If we attack it, we may end up hurting the dragon as well." Amelia nodded in agreement. Heyior actually looked thoughtful for a moment.

"How about using magic?" He spoke up.

"Lunar already said that it wasn't likely to work. Even if it did, the chances that Arkeson will be injured in the process will be high." Thgan sighed. "Damn! Isn't there anything we can do?"

"You can die." A voice snarled, and the ground in front of them exploded. All four of them went tumbling backwards, Lunar leaping to her feet. Dust went flying everywhere, and the five of them choked, coughing violently as they tried to see how was attacking them. There, standing in the middle of the cloud of dust, surrounded by huge shards of rock forced upwards due to impact, was Mendaryle. His four hands were tightly clenched, his huge sword stabbed into the ground. He had gotten more intelligent since his last battle with Arkeson, his eyes, while still gleaming with malevolence, was filled with a certain degree of intelligence and cunningness as well. His six wings spread open and began to beat, sending powerful winds whipping around him, the companions barely able to keep on their feet.

"Who are you?" Thgan yelled over the howling wind.

"Who I am does not concern you. All I want is the Dragon Prime!" He roared and brought his sword crashing down on the ground, scattering the companions. He fired random bursts of fire all around, and succeeded in burning Ralin and Heyior, both of them stumbling to the ground in pain. Thgan quickly grabbed hold of Ralin and pushed him out of the way as one of Mendaryle's claws swiped through the air at them. Heyior hopped to a side and fired an arrow at Mendaryle's eye, but the demon blocked it with one of his wings. The demon did not escape unscathed, though. His wing membrane was ripped open and he roared in pain. Amelia tossed her daggers at him, but he knocked them aside, and they clattered to the ground.

"Dragon Prime? What is he talking about?" Lunar mused as she lingered near Arkeson, praying that he would awaken soon.

"Hand over the Dragon Prime!" Mendaryle roared, and swung his blade in a wide arc, crashing through the ground. Shards of rock stabbed into the companions and they all winced in pain. Rocks bounced off the pillar with sharp sizzles and cackles, and then Arkeson twitched in the pillar, his hands slowly releasing their tight grip. Lunar paused for a moment, staring at Arkeson. Mendaryle spotted her, and recognized Arkeson immediately. Without wasting any time, he reared his head back and began to charge energy. Lunar spotted this only too late, and it was too late to do anything. She quickly braced herself for the impact, when there came a scream.

"Look out!!" The voice shrieked, and quite suddenly, before anyone could react, a blur of red and black slammed into Mendaryle's side, and the beam of energy went awry, speeding off in another direction, exploding some time later. Mendaryle growled as he regained his balance, and then his eyes fell upon what had assaulted him. It was a tiny dragon, probably no larger than a child, but it was emitting an aura of power all around it. Its scales were largely red in color, with a single black stripe at the tip of its tail. Its bat-like wings were as large as its body, and they were spread wide open. The dragon's mouth was set in a snarl, its claws gleaming in the sun. But perhaps the most astounding feature of the dragon was its eyes. They were large and shaped like almonds, its left eye gold, the right eye red. It was more of a humanoid dragon, standing only on its hind legs, which had only three claws each. Its body was lean, its claws looked formidable. Its long snout was twisted in a scowl.

"A dragon?" Mendaryle was amused. This dragon was too small to do any real harm. Or, at least, that was what he thought until the dragon breathed fire into his right eye. He shrieked in pain and swiped at the dragon with immense speed, trapping the dragon. Mendaryle used one hand to pin the dragon down, another to cover his bleeding eye, and one to hold his sword steady as he prepared to decapitate the dragon. Lunar and the others were too stunned to do anything.

That was when Arkeson's eyes flew open. The pillar shattered and Arkeson fell to the ground. Within a second, he had the Sword of Raenas in his hand, his other sword strapped to his back, and he began to dash towards the dragon. Even in his dream state, Arkeson had heard everything that had gone on, and he was determined to rescue the dragon. He sped past Lunar and the others, all astonished to see him up and running. Mendaryle lifted up his claw, leaving the dragon lying on the ground, bruised, and started to swing his great blade down…

There was a resounding clang as the blade slammed, hard, onto Arkeson's two swords. Arkeson grimaced in pain as the force of the attack embedded his feet in the ground.

"Run!" He yelled to the dragon as his hands started to tremble. "I can't hold him much longer!" The dragon got to its feet and quickly ran to a side, where Lunar was standing.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" She whispered to the dragon.

"I sensed a fellow dragon here, and came to check…" It replied in a clearly male voice. It was similar to the voice of a young teenager. It wasn't too surprising, however, considering its tiny size. "But we don't have time to talk, we have to help him!" The dragon pointed a claw at Arkeson, whose face was dripping with sweat as he struggled to avoid being crushed. She nodded wordlessly and began reciting a spell, while the dragon prepared to charge.

Thgan and Ralin got to their feet, grumbling and trying to locate their weapons. Mendaryle, half-blinded, was going on a rampage, and was starting to destroy everything within reach. Thgan grimaced. If they allowed the great monstrosity to escape, he might endanger the people of nearby villages. Thgan picked up his sword from the ground and nodded to Ralin, who had his axe in hand. They slowly began to creep up from behind Mendaryle.

Heyior crouched behind a rock, fixing four arrows in place, readying them. Amelia was nearby, retrieving her daggers, and coating them with a layer of poison. She then handed the vial of poison over to Heyior, who carefully covered the tips of his arrows with it. He then rose up and took aim at Mendaryle's hands, while Amelia began to sneak, amongst the clouds of dust, towards the great beast.

~~~~~

"What's the matter, Dragon Prime?" Mendaryle sneered, applying more pressure on the straining Arkeson before him. Arkeson let out a grunt as he stared back defiantly, his hands shaking violently. "I thought you were far stronger than this. Why don't you summon your power?" Arkeson was struck by the question. Indeed, why didn't he summon his powers and destroy Mendaryle? He had nearly done so back in Dogar…

"I won't use it!" Arkeson spat vilely. "I can destroy you just as nicely in this form!" Mendaryle let out a short laugh.

"You seem to be losing, Dragon Prime. How can you defeat me this way?" Mendaryle was just about to finish Arkeson off when a burst of freezing cold wind and ice shards hit his arm, numbing it instantly. He released his grip with a yell of pain, and his sword fell to the ground with a crash. Arkeson collapsed to his knees, breathing heavily, his arms sore. Lunar was using as many spells as she could to damage Mendaryle, and to allow Arkeson to get away, but he was too weak to do so. The red dragon launched himself at Mendaryle, yelling wildly, clawing at Mendaryle's face. Thgan and Ralin both sunk their weapons deep into Mendaryle's tail, slicing off the section coated with venom. Heyior released the arrows, and each one found its mark in Mendaryle's four arms. Amelia, using her swiftness, darted about, slashing his legs and allowing her poison to do the rest of the work. Within moments, Mendaryle was on the ground, the poison from Amelia's daggers and Heyior's arrows spreading through his body, weakening him.

With a growl, he swung his tail, and it connected heavily with Thgan and Amelia, and they both went flying into a nearby rock with cries of pain. Amelia slipped into unconsciousness, while Thgan started forward, trying desperately to get in another hit. Mendaryle smacked him to the side again with his tail. Thgan skidded and rolled on the ground for some distance before coming to a halt, face down. He did not get up.

"You'll all die for interfering!" Mendaryle roared and reared his head back, a pale blue orb appearing at the tip of his jaws. It happened too quickly for anyone to react. Mendaryle snapped his head forward and fired wave after wave of cold energy, freezing everything in its path. Lunar barely avoided the attack by putting up a magic barrier, the dragon behind her. Everyone else was hit by the spell. Cold, white mist spread throughout the plains, temporarily blinding Lunar and the dragon. Then the mist dispersed, and Lunar took a quick glance around. Ralin was on the ground, fighting back tears as he grabbed at his frozen leg, trying to warm it. Heyior had been blasted backwards, his clothing and face rimmed with frost, his bow frozen solid. As for Arkeson, he had taken the brunt of the attack, having been right in front of Mendaryle's jaws. He stood still in his place, an icy cold statue, his eyes wide with shock, his hands thrown in front of his face in an attempt to block the spell. His feet were frozen to the ground, which now resembled an ice wasteland. Spikes of ice surrounded Arkeson, preventing anyone from getting too close.

With a thundering cry of triumph, Mendaryle raised his sword and prepared to shatter Arkeson from where he stood. The red dragon gasped, leapt out from behind Lunar, and unleashed a burst of fire upon Arkeson. The flames enveloped the ice, and a split second later, the sword crashed into the ground, the ice cracking upon impact, shards of it flying into the air. Lunar and the red dragon stared intently. The ice settled, and revealed… nothing. There was nothing left, except the cracked ice.

"No…" Lunar and the dragon both whispered in horror. Mendaryle began to laugh. Then there came a shout.

"You missed." Arkeson grinned. Lunar looked up and spotted Arkeson perched rather precariously on the blunt edge of Mendaryle's sword. The demon's eyes widened at first, then narrowed. He started to swing the sword around to knock Arkeson off, but the latter had already started off in a sprint down the edge of the sword towards Mendaryle's face. The large blade whistled through the air, and Arkeson leapt high into the air. He brought one sword down, trying to attack Mendaryle, but his attack was blocked. Mendaryle grinned.

"You failed, Dragon Prime."

"You're forgetting something, demon," Arkeson stated, twisting his body around, his eyes flashing, "I have two swords!" Arkeson, while holding the first sword down tightly, twisted his body and slashed the Sword of Raenas straight across Mendaryle's eyes. The demon shrieked in pain, clutching his bleeding eyes, facing nothing but darkness. Arkeson's attack had blinded him. He stumbled backwards, groping for his sword, furious, wanting to destroy everything. Arkeson fell to the ground with a thud and lay there, quite still, breathing heavily.

That was when Lunar realized that Arkeson was a lot more injured than she had thought. She started forward as Arkeson tried to get to his feet rather unsteadily. He used his two swords to support him as he stood up.

"That ice spell hit me a lot harder than I thought." He mused to himself silently. A sharp coldness ripped through his body and he collapsed to one knee, gritting his teeth. The fire had not melted all the ice just yet. His attack on Mendaryle had been a stroke of luck and adrenaline combined together. Arkeson highly doubted he could pull it off again. He looked at his right hand dully. It was partially encased in a block of ice, and it was rapidly losing all feeling. Arkeson also realized that his upper torso was still trapped in ice. Not good. The layer of ice was thin, but it was dreadfully cold, dreadfully painful, and if he didn't do something soon, Arkeson was pretty sure he would lose consciousness.

"Arkeson!" Lunar yelled from a distance away. Arkeson looked up sharply, and discovered, far too late, that he had been too distracted to notice that Mendaryle had retrieved his sword, and was towering over him, poised for a killing blow. He had no time to react. Quite possibly it was yet another stroke of pure luck that Mendaryle was blind, and could not aim properly. The sword connected with his chest, hard, and Arkeson was flung off his feet and into the ground some distance away. Blood spilled all over the flowers as he lay there, his mind blank, not feeling any pain. The ice had made sure of that.

"I see my breath attack is getting to you," Mendaryle sneered, still looking around, unsure of where Arkeson had landed. "Don't worry. It'll end soon. Although," The beast's voice turned bitter and lowered to a venomous hiss, "I'd like to rip you limb from limb for giving me this damned injury!"

"Thanks for the compliment." Arkeson said sarcastically, his head spinning. The ice was spreading all over his body now. He couldn't feel anything anymore; save for a tiny tingling sensation that told him that he was still clutching his swords tightly. Mendaryle laughed.

"No matter… you will die from the breath's effects. As long as there's still a tiny amount of ice on your body, it will continue to spread and eventually freeze you to death!" Arkeson did not say anything. He struggled to get to his feet, but he couldn't control most of his body. His head fell back onto the ground limply, and he lay there. He was tired… so very tired… he started to close his eyes…

A tight slap landed on his face, jolting him awake. He forced his eyes open and looked up, feeling a faint throbbing where the slap had landed. Lunar was standing over him, her hands poised for another hit, the strange red dragon crouched on the ground behind her, his eyes dilated, emitting low growls as he glared at Mendaryle, who was still groping around.

"Don't you dare fall asleep now, dragon…" Lunar uttered under her breath, glaring at Arkeson with eyes that made him shudder. "Don't you dare die." She held her hands over Arkeson, and he cringed slightly, expecting another slap, but was pleasantly surprised when he felt a warmness spread throughout his body, the numbness slowly fading. Lunar had her eyes closed in concentration, reciting the spell over and over. However, he wasn't quite ready for the pain that hit him the moment feeling returned to his upper torso. The bleeding at his chest had not stopped yet, and the pain was excruciating. Arkeson let out a soft cry of pain as he twitched, his hands dropping the swords and gripping at the ground tightly, tearing out the grass. The blood began to gush forward again, splashing over his body and hands, and a few drops landed on Lunar's fur, breaking her concentration. She opened her eyes only to see Arkeson lying on his side, his hand tightly clutched at his chest.

"Arkeson!" Her concern got the better of her.

"… Ow…" Arkeson managed to cough out. Mendaryle's ears twitched and he whirled around, having finally pinpointed the location of his enemy.

"You'll die now!" Mendaryle's four legs swerved around and he began to lumber forward. Lunar quickly scooped Arkeson up and leapt to the side while the red dragon timed his jump carefully, and landed neatly on one of Mendaryle's legs. Mendaryle skidded to a halt and began swiping at the red dragon, snarling.

"Where's the Dragon Prime? Where?!" One claw hit the dragon just as the latter got off a fire breath. The flames connected with Mendaryle's chest, but it was small, since it was interrupted halfway through. The red dragon crashed to the ground, and lay there in a daze. Lunar looked around the area and grimaced. Nearly everyone was out of commission. Thgan and Amelia were still unconscious. Ralin was trying desperately to stop the ice from completely devouring him, but his strength was being sapped rapidly. Heyior was unable to attack still his bow had been destroyed. He was crouching in a corner, carefully reconstructing a makeshift bow.

Mendaryle wasn't doing very well either. He was severely weakened, blinded, and he had multiple wounds lining his massive bulk. Blood was streaming down his body in various places, and he handled his sword weakly, seemingly without energy.

"Since I can't find you… I'll just have to luck out!" Mendaryle bared his fangs and tossed his sword into the ground as hard as he could. The ground exploded, the red dragon tumbling away, Lunar and Arkeson sliding backwards until they hit a large boulder. Then a huge chunk of land was ripped out of the ground and started to fall towards the two. Arkeson noticed it first.

"L-Lunar! Watch out…!" With the last of his energy, he managed to shove her out of the way, and come stumbling after her.

"T-thank you…" Lunar said awkwardly. "Are you alright?"

"Ugh…" Arkeson groaned in pain and collapsed. His breathing grew shallower. When Lunar saw how Arkeson was faring, something snapped from inside her, and a rage filled her mind, unlike anything she had ever felt before. She whirled around on her heels, and began launching all the spells she had in her arsenal. Balls of fire, streaks of lightning and shards of ice ripped through the air, stabbing and blasting Mendaryle. The impact caused the demon to collapse onto the ground heavily, and even then, the spells kept coming, and his groans of pain soon grew to a shriek.

After a few moments, Lunar stopped and looked forward wearily, trying to peer through the mist caused by her spells. Heyior and the red dragon were both watching in wide-mouthed awe. Ralin had finally been freed from his icy confinement, thanks to a wayward fireball that had landed on him instead of Mendaryle. Unfortunately, he was too drained to do anything.

The smoke and flying debris cleared, and revealed a huge charred patch on the ground, Mendaryle lying there, his eyes white, motionless. He appeared to be dead. Lunar, Heyior and the dragon crept up to him, examining Mendaryle carefully. Then, the dragon got too close.

Mendaryle's eyes swiveled back down, his eyes flashing red. He opened his jaws in the most dreadful roar any of them had ever heard, and one of his claws suddenly swiped forward, grabbing the dragon, and lifting him into the air by his neck. With a snarl, Mendaryle started to tighten his grip, and the dragon choked, trying desperately to squirm out of the death grip. Mendaryle had a demented grin on his face. Even without his sight, he could still sense that his prisoner was the dragon.

"This is what you get for interfering with business that doesn't concern…" A sudden flash of light and a piercing pain in Mendaryle's forehead interrupted him, and forced him to drop the dragon while trying to figure out what had hit him. He reached up to his forehead and pulled, the object falling to the ground with a clatter. It was the Sword of Raenas. Heyior and Lunar turned around only to see that Arkeson had moved slightly from his original position, and was now lying facedown on the ground.

Heyior nodded to Lunar, and launched his last arrow at the same spot where the Sword of Raenas had struck on Mendaryle. Lunar began reciting a powerful spell as quickly as she could, a chill blue aura enveloping her hands.

The arrow's tip began to spew forth a massive amount of elemental energy, spiraling around the arrow like a miniature twister. Lunar's chanting got faster and louder, and the metal tip of the arrow sparked with flames and lightning. Ice formed around the tip of the arrow in sharp shards, gleaming. Heyior and the red dragon watched with their fingers crossed. Finally, with one last word from Lunar, the arrow buried itself deep into Mendaryle's head, and exploded in a brilliant show of various shades of the rainbow. Arkeson just had enough strength to lift his head and watch.

Mendaryle let out an unholy shriek as he began to writhe and twitch in torment. And then, he collapsed to the ground with an earth-shattering cry, and his eyes closed. Before he died however, he managed to gasp out his last words, such that Arkeson could hear them.

"Thank you…"

~~~~~

Gyria cringed as the shadow stormed, watching the death scene play before him in a misty screen hovering in the air.

"That blundering fool!" The shadow raged, "He could have defeated the Dragon Prime! Complacent idiot." Behind Gyria, a humanoid figure snorted in derision, the tone almost mocking. Gyria swallowed hard, and prayed that the person did not get the whole lot of them killed. Thankfully enough, the shadow, although he heard the sound, had missed the mocking and sarcastic tone.

"Hm? Do you have anything to say, Amber?"

"No, my lord." Amber struggled to keep the loathing out of her voice. The shadow sensed it immediately, but brushed it aside. He was amused by her behavior.

"Indeed. Do not forget the mission assigned to you." The shadow chuckled, and vanished in a spray of purple mist. Gyria relaxed considerably, a low sigh of relief escaping him. He had assumed his human form, finding it smaller and therefore easier to keep out of the shadow's sight. He whipped around and fixed Amber with a stony glare.

"Amber, one of these days you're going to get us all killed." Gyria groaned.

"Hmph." Amber turned away and watched the viewing screen in dreadful longing. She had seen her brother for the first time after so many years of being separated from him, and she wanted to reach out to him. That was the reason why she had joined Evaelc's army in the first place. After escaping from the realm of the gods, she had wandered around the continent, searching for any sign of her long lost brother, but to no avail. Time and again she had to be extremely cautious not to be caught by demons, and finally she joined Evaelc's army, realizing that being part of his army would enable her to move about freely without having to worry about being torn to bits by the demons. Knowing this, she rose quickly through the ranks, and the demons began to keep away from her, for injuring a general of Evaelc was punishable by death.

However, Evaelc seemed to have discovered her secret plans, and confined her to his dark palace, assigning her the duty of taking care of one of his latest biological projects, something of utmost importance to him.

"You know very well that…" Amber started to say.

"That you don't give a damn. I know, I know." Gyria sighed. How many times had he heard that before?

"But we have to at least put up a front…" He argued. Amber answered with a furious glare. Gyria sighed again. Although they were working on the side of darkness, there was still a certain bond holding the generals together, but it seemed to be weakening. Gyria had grown to be enemies with his once best friend, the Death General Nidale. Or at least that was what everyone thought. In actuality, Evaelc had, on the faithful day of the battle at Setia, ordered that Gyria attack the city ahead of time. Gyria was aghast, but was left with little choice. When Nidale confronted him, Evaelc ordered that Gyria remain silent about the matter or risk losing his head, and once again, the Dark Dragon had to follow.

He was forced to lie to his friend, but when the argument got worse, Gyria grew mad, and at that very moment, severed his friendship with Nidale, leaving him to die. He was still angry, but most of his anger had dissipated when he witnessed the gruesome demise of Nidale at Evaelc's hands.

Then he snapped back to reality. Gyria shook his head violently, trying to clear his mind of those thoughts. He was turning too soft. He growled and cursed under his breath, and then left the chamber, leaving Amber standing alone in front of the screen. She did not even notice him leaving. She slowly turned her eyes to a faint red glow behind the screen.

The glow was coming from a bright red liquid held within a large tube. Suspended in the liquid was a man, floating limply, his dark hair hovering in wisps around his face, his eyes tightly shut. His breathing was even, air bubbles floating up from his body.

Amber walked up to the tube and stroked the side tenderly.

"You look…" She whispered, looking intently at the face of the man. "Just like… him."

The face was that of her brother's.

~~~~~

The grass rustled as the companions staggered through to get to a nearby town. They could see the plumes of smoke in the distance, and they wanted to get to the town as quickly as possible. Thgan and Ralin walked at the front, trying to put up a brave front when actually their injuries were hurting. Next came Heyior and Amelia, Heyior, as usual, excited and `overly happy', as Ralin had muttered in disgust. Amelia was more subdued, and her face was contorted in pain. Finally came Arkeson, Lunar and the dragon. Arkeson had one arm around Lunar's shoulder, Lunar supporting him as they moved along. Arkeson had blushed furiously, hurriedly refusing the offer, but Lunar forced him to accept her aid anyway. The dragon was seated, quite comfortably, on Arkeson's right shoulder, surprisingly light.

"So… what's your name?" The dragon chirped after a moment of silence.

"Arkeson Drake Goliathes. I'm a dragon, too." He responded weakly, sensing the dragon's unspoken question. The dragon looked astonished.

"A dragon!" He exclaimed in excitement. "This is the first time I've ever met another dragon here! By the way, my name's Flare."

"Flare?" Arkeson echoed. Most dragons had more… exquisite names. Flare nodded sadly.

"That's all I can remember, unfortunately. I can't remember a thing about my past." His voice was soft.

"Why?" Lunar inquired. Flare shrugged.

"I don't… know…"

"You're young, that much I can tell. But why are you in dragon form, unlike Arkeson? I thought all young dragons could not stay in dragon form for long." Lunar asked further. Flare scratched his head.

"I'm not sure… I've always been this way since I last remember…" Arkeson and Lunar were bewildered, but decided not to pursue the issue further.

"So… why did you come to our aid? Not to be rude or anything, but you could have avoided a lot of trouble…" Arkeson was curious. Flare was struck by the question, and he fell silent, thinking carefully. Then, he appeared to come to a conclusion, the expression on his face one of utmost shock.

"I remember now! I helped because I felt someone with a similar aura signature in this area, so I came to check!" Arkeson suddenly recalled what Drias had said to him in the dream. There were other dragons on the world, all with similar aura signatures as his… could Flare be one of them? Come to think of it, when Arkeson focused his energy to sense Flare's aura signature, he felt strangely at ease… Flare appeared to think the same way, for on his face was a look of peace as he sat on Arkeson's shoulder. Lunar was a little confused by the talk of aura signatures, not knowing what they were, but she chose to keep silent.

"Anyway… since I don't really have a place to go… could I tag along?" Flare asked pleadingly, his eyes wide, almost innocent. A tiny smile came onto Lunar's face as Arkeson fumbled for an answer.

"Okay." Arkeson managed to answer. Flare looked overjoyed.

"Thanks!" He squeaked.

"Hey! Why are you guys so far behind? Hurry up, we're nearing the town now!" Heyior called. Lunar urged Arkeson to move a little faster, but Arkeson could not move any faster without reopening the wound, which had been sealed shut by his dried blood. He did not want to drag the others behind, however, and he tried desperately to quicken his pace, but he merely succeeded in hurting his chest all over again. Lunar immediately switched her pace to match Arkeson's.

"Don't hurt yourself." Flare stated in concern. Arkeson was too busy muttering rude words to reply. Lunar's smile widened a little. The rest of the journey was silent as they made their way into the town just as night fell.

~~~~~

"The Dragon Prime has met up with the manifestation of his powers…" Hgale mused. "And it certainly wasn't our work. Perhaps luck has switched to our side."

"Or maybe it was just dumb luck." Lunor said dryly.

"Or that." Hgale agreed wearily.

"Don't be so pessimistic, you two." Drias snapped. "We must have faith in the Dragon Prime. And quit calling young Flare a manifestation of Arkeson's powers. He's a living creature too."

"Yes… but he is the manifestation of Arkeson's powers. When his parents shut out some of his powers, it remained around, growing in energy and ability, and eventually was able to take on a physical form. So it's pretty much just a physical representation of Arkeson's Dragon Prime powers." Lunor tried to argue. Drias rolled his eyes.

"I know that!" Lunor and Hgale both took a step back. Drias could be frightening when he was mad. "But stop treating Flare like he's some freak!"

"But he is one… he's in permanent dragon form despite his age…" Lunor's voice trailed off as Drias fixed him with a death glare. "Alright! I'm sorry." Drias relaxed a little.

"Flare is permanently in dragon state because he is generally Arkeson's energy put into a physical form. He has great potential, and is not bound to the laws of nature that applies to other dragons that way. He is part of the Dragon Prime, which means that he plays just as large a role as Arkeson himself." Drias said sagely, and Lunor rolled his eyes, while Hgale smiled. Drias did not notice. Nina was seated in a corner, watching them quietly, not wanting to get involved.

"Do the two know of each other's..." Hgale started. Drias shook his head.

"No. All they know is that they have similar aura signatures. What they don't know is that their aura signatures are exactly alike." Hgale and Lunor nodded.

"And once they both learn that… and understand their bond of friendship and power, Arkeson can attain his highest stage of evolution as the Dragon Prime." Hgale stated.

"Freaky." Lunor commented, and regretted it immediately as Drias turned towards him, energy cackling around his hands. Nina watched, amused, as Drias chased Lunor around, both of them yelling and screaming wildly, Hgale helping Drias whenever he could, a grin on his face. Nina sighed, and a smile came onto her face. Despite being gods, they could be such children at times.

She smiled. That was why she liked Lunor.

~~~~~

Arkeson let out a tired sigh as he sank into the steaming water. The healer had patched up most of his wounds, and advised him to take a hot bath, but he had no idea that even with Thgan, Ralin and Flare helping, it took them nearly an hour to warm the water and dump it all into the stone bath. Thgan was snoring at one side of the bath, his head tilted back. Flare was swimming about randomly, occasionally tossing water at Thgan face, watching in amusement as Thgan spluttered, looked around for a moment, and go back to sleep again. Heyior was out of the bath, a towel wrapped around him, fooling around with a plant. Lunar and Amelia had gone to the other bath. Ralin was up in the inn, drinking to his heart's content.

Arkeson scratched at the long bandage winding around his chest absent-mindedly, thinking about his dream, and about what Drias had said. Then his mind wandered over to the thought of his sister. His parents had erased all memories of her, but after watching the dream, the memories seemed to come back. Though they were vague, Arkeson could at once tell they were related to the visions.

"I wonder if I'll ever see her again… then again, even if I did, I wouldn't recognize her, probably. It's been so many years…" Arkeson whispered softly. Flare's long ears perked up. He splashed over to Arkeson and hopped onto his head, peering down into Arkeson's face.

"Why the long face?" He asked.

"It's nothing." Arkeson laughed. "And get off my head. You're heavy." He did not understand why, but he felt a kind of bond to the dragon, sort of like a brotherly bond. He could not find himself getting angry at Flare whenever he saw that pair of innocent, wide eyes. He pried the dragon off his head despite shrill protests, and set Flare back into the water. He closed his eyes and started to doze off, his body sliding downwards… downwards…

Arkeson accidentally breathed in water. A lot of it. He spluttered and splashed about, breaking through the surface with a gasp, and started to choke, Flare watching with his head tilted to a side, a broad grin on his pointed face.

"That's the last time I try to sleep in a bath."

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Okay, I know I took a very long time to get this chapter up, but I've had a lot of things happening in my life lately, and I'm really busy. My examinations are around the corner, and I really need to study. So, for now until probably November, I will not be writing anything. I hope you understand.

Chapter 8 Preview: The Awakening

The mysterious person Amber has been assigned to take care of has awakened from his deep slumber. Who is he, and why does he look exactly like Arkeson? Arkeson finds his homeland once again, but it is far from what he expects. Christmas is here!

Acknowledgements: Comrade Terror - For Beta-Reading

Rayamon - For Beta-Reading

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