FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

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Fallon smiled and watched Ruari and his friends play on the icy river that had been a beach a few days prior. They laughed and slid around as they attempted to see how far they could slide across the ice. There were a few others playing around too, but compared to the crowd that had been at the beach, it was miniscule.

He lay down on a frigid slab of ice to cool his scales and relaxed for the moment while Keira and Mara were finding some food for them. With his legs kicked out comfortably, he formed more icicles that clung to his ebony scales and chilled the bottom half of his body.

The festival was in its fifth day already. All the work of organizing and setting it up seemed like a distant memory now, but Fallon was proud of the outcome. Everyone seemed to be having a great time, and the turnout this year was far greater than the previous years. It helped that their research for environmental control was a success, so now they could control the weather for the city and a surrounding mile outside of it, giving life to each theme of the day.

Like the city's garden, researchers discovered how to encompass a larger mass using Light magic to form an invisible barrier. The barrier doesn't do much aside from blocking magic from leaving or entering it. So, by having many groups of Fire-dragons and Ice-dragons periodically use their magic, the temperature inside the 'dome' may be changed at will. Now, a team of researchers were working on discovering how to create precipitation too.

Fallon was proud of the modern ingenuity his city was capable of. It made everyone's lives easier and allowed for even more progress.

But now, his primary concern dwelled on the possible threat of an attack.

Before going into all of the detail and planning of the festival, Fallon and his council had to decide whether or not to have a city-wide celebration this year. The festival would be the perfect time and place to wreak the most havoc and cause the most mayhem. One Fire-crystal could wipe out over a thousand dragons at once, if placed in the right position. Even after a week's worth of research, no one had discovered how to create one yet, so if there was a threat, he would have to rely on a Water-dragon to disable it.

Wanting to not cause panic, the council voted on keeping the discovery in the dark and let this year's festival go as planned. However, many water-dragon guards were placed in meticulous locations, as well as countless other spies and lookouts, to prevent a crisis. The council was confident that would be enough to stop or deter any sort of terroristic threat, and so far there wasn't a single sign of anything dangerous.

Even so, Fallon was still worried. His family spent most of their days at the festival. At any point, it was possible that they could all die. If that were to happen, he wouldn't be able to live with himself--if he didn't die too. It would have been his fault for each and every life lost.

Mara bumped his snout and brought him back to reality. Fallon shifted his wings and took in a deep breath before smiling at her and taking a frozen fish on a stick. He eagerly licked and nibbled on it--it was one of his favorite treats!

"You had that look again," she said softly. "What were you thinking about?"

Fallon rumbled and ate a chunk out of his snack, crunching on it loudly. "Just sort of daydreaming," he answered. Keira stepped toward the frozen pond and hesitated as she looked around. Fallon wanted to urge her on, but Aidan came sliding over in seconds and greeted her with a smile. It warmed Fallon's heart to watch her play with him. They kept to each other and let Ruari and Desmond play together.

"That wasn't your daydreaming face. That was your 'I'm worried that I made a mistake' face," she said and laid a warm wing over him.

He glanced over at her and sighed. "You're right as always," he mused. "I'm just afraid something terrible may happen, and it'll be my fault if it does."

She squeezed him with her wing and twined their tails together. "You can't always blame yourself, you know."

He frowned and turned his head away. He set down his frozen fish and stared at it. "I am the one responsible; therefore, I am the one to blame when things go wrong."

"And you're also the one who is credited when things go right," she returned as she nestled her snout into his neck.

"Lately, it seems that I am making the wrong choices," he mumbled. "The council seems against me, and I keep making mistakes."

"Do you see how happy Keira is right now?" she asked with a soft purr.

Fallon saw a huge grin across Keira's muzzle as she laughed with Aidan. It was the happiest he had ever seen her. "I do..."

"Without you, she would either be left dead or struggling to survive on her own. It may have been hard for her, and the council didn't agree about it, but look at her now and tell me that it was a mistake."

Fallon bit back a tear and smiled at his mate adoringly. He took her talons in his and squeezed her paw firmly. They rubbed their heads together to express their affection. "It wasn't a mistake," he said.

He exhaled deeply and stared in front of him. "There's too much going on that it's hard to keep track of the important things. Even with a council, I feel that the responsibility of leading falls directly to me. Each day brings another ultimatum."

"And I couldn't imagine anyone more suited to make those decisions."

Fallon rumbled and leaned against her. He finished his snack while watching the dragonets play.

Then he caught a flash of silver in the sky before it dove down toward him. Worry and panic started to settle in, and he clenched his teeth. He stood up and shook his body free of the ice before Metzger landed next to him and kicked up a flurry of snow.

With the bend of his neck, he approached Fallon and said, "It's urgent, sir."

Fallon nodded and looked to Mara. "Take the younglings to our house for a while. Don't leave until I come back... please."

She opened her mouth as if she were going to question him, and then snapped it shut as she nodded. "Be careful, Fallon."

He nuzzled her and leapt to the skies. "What is it?" he demanded over the wind and sound of wings flapping.

"We caught one. We've got him locked up in the capitol."

A sense of relief washed over him, but concern bubbled inside his chest. What if there are more dragons than just one? What if he already accomplished what he set out to do? "Is everyone okay?"

Metzger gave him an uncertain frown. "We'll fill you in with everyone else."

Fallon sighed and mentally prepared himself for the possibility of anything. "Very well."

The capitol soon came into sight. It was a large, square building built of stone in the center of the city, resting atop a small hill. Pillars supported a roof that surrounded the edges of the building. They touched down at the front entrance, where two guards opened two big, pine doors for them. Stepping into a corridor, they hurried down a wide flight of stairs that led beneath the building, where prisoners were held.

Thankfully, the prison rarely had any use. Most of the dragons that ended up here were exiled, killed, or locked up for a short amount of time because of a petty crime. The dark, dank prison always felt unsettling to Fallon; he didn't enjoy being here, but this time there was a discerning chill that crept beneath his scales. The air vibrated with magic, teeming with tendrils of energy.

Inside one of the cells was a golden and copper dragon with a vicious glare. A faint, magical glow surrounded the cell as Elder Turi cast a barrier over it, to suppress the prisoner's magical abilities. Fallon was glad to see his familiar face after the month he had been missing. The white, pebbly scales of Turi's face were scrunched in concentration.

The rest of the council was here but his missing brother. Kevion was clutching a freshly bandaged arm, and Ryke looked furious. Two guards stood at attention, awaiting orders. Metzger took his leave, most likely to find Dorian.

"What happened?" Fallon asked and peered at the golden dragon. Blood was splattered across his face and smothered his lips and claws, none of it his own. But it looked like his wings had been broken as well as his right forearm.

"The coward tried to drop those crystals from the sky," Ryke growled. "He knew he stood no chance, so he tried to hide himself in the clouds."

The dragon stared at Fallon directly. He had soulless, gray eyes with a desire to kill, a tangible, manifested feeling that made Fallon have to look away. "Were there casualties?" He looked to Kevion.

He glanced away and nodded. "Five of our own guards and lookouts," he mumbled. "I didn't get there in time... He left me and two others wounded before we could take him down."

Fallon gritted his teeth. How could one dragon kill five of our trained soldiers, and then have the strength to wound three more?

"He's not normal," Evelyn stated. She looked at the dragon with disgust, her chin tilted upward. "We confiscated all of the crystals that remained. The others that he dropped were neutralized."

"Can I see one of these crystals?" Fallon asked.

"We put them somewhere safe," Kevion answered. "What are we going to do about him?"

"I can't hold this barrier for long," Turi strained. "We need to question him now. Find out who he's loyal to: his purpose. There's no doubt that he is tied with this mysterious organization."

Fallon nodded and approached the cell. The dragon stood up and hobbled over until their snouts were just a foot apart. The same malicious glare stared Fallon back between strong, metal bars. "Can my magic go through the barrier?" Fallon asked.

"Yes. I am isolating him and using the barrier to absorb his energy before he can cast it," Turi responded.

Fallon studied the dragon closely. He looked no different from any other dragon, but he could feel the animosity and sheer hatred seeping from him. "Why did you attack us?"

Silence.

Fallon growled and bared his teeth. "What is your purpose here?"

Silence. Those gray eyes didn't move. Not a single muscle budged. Fallon hissed and shot an ice shard into his broken forearm, causing him to wince and stagger back.

"Tell me or you die!"

A harsh laughter came from him. "You think I would tell you anything? Your pathetic attempts to threaten me are laughable."

Fallon shot another icy bolt into the same arm. Blood spilled down it after the icicles disappeared. "Who do you work for? Who is organizing these attacks?"

He grinned evilly as if he didn't feel the pain, chuckling beneath his breath. "There's no point in telling you anything when you're all about to die."

Fallon took a step back and looked at the others. Fear moved through them all, except for Ryke. "You're bluffing," he hissed. "Tell us or we will make you suffer."

He shook his head. "Anything short of killing me is useless. End my life now before your friend's barrier fails, unless you wish to die quicker. Then I can arrange that myself."

Fallon's scales tingled. Something felt wrong... something felt off. Even with all of his council here, each one of them possessing powerful, magical abilities, he was worried that this dragon could somehow cut through them, that perhaps he wasn't bluffing. They needed to know the answers, and killing him would mean throwing the opportunity away, but if they all died there wouldn't be another opportunity.

"I'm going to kill him," Fallon stated and held up his forepaw.

"No!" Ryke rejected with a hiss. "This is our only chance to find answers! How foolish do you have to be to not see through this charade?"

Uncertainty welled inside Fallon; his talons twitched. "We can't risk it. He'll die before he gives us any answers."

"Kill him and you lose this opportunity. You risk countless more deaths that we could have prevented."

Tentative thoughts pounded at Fallon's mind. He couldn't shake this fearful feeling bubbling inside him. He panicked and slipped a long shard of ice right into the dragon's chest to pierce his heart. The dragon yelped and growled as he collapsed onto his side, and then Fallon saw a glint of a small, red crystal in his mouth just as Turi was lowering his barrier.

"Crystal!" Fallon shouted, but he was too late. The dragon gave one last, triumphant grin as he died and the red crystal flashed brightly before he chomped down on it. In a last-ditch effort, Fallon threw up an icy shield around the cell, but it shattered into thousands of pieces, and he was suddenly flung backward against the wall from the force of the fiery explosion.

Everything went black.