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Twisted Night: Chapter 20

Fractured whispers slithered out from a darkened cloud, wrapping Hadariel tight and clawing angrily at his ears. Yet as his insides squired and begged for life, he found himself paralyzed. Like winter had swept it's icy tendrils inside him he shivered, swearing even the marrow of his bones were frozen. Memories scuttled about like tiny insects, darting away from his ever-grasping fingers.

Was that him calling out for his mother? Then to his teacher, and lastly to Arctic wind. Each one filled with ever more desperation, heart wrenching if it wasn't him. For countless torture his pleading drivel tickled him, pulled at his heart. Then came silence, sweeping in like an invading army and chasing everything away.

He tried asking for help but no sound came. No matter what he shouted, who he begged, it was lost before it'd even left his throat. All that remained was the void, the absolute nothing around him, and the ever gnawing sense of fear in the back of his mind. He could track the racing of his heart in his ears, the ever quickening of his breaths, and how each thump against his chest he swore his insides where going to burst out.

Why could he smell iron? It filled his next few breaths. His fingers that'd been so cold flared with warmth, like someone was dripping comforting bathwater on his icy skin. It spread like an unchecked fire, gobbling up what cold was left within him. Even the fog around him began to brighten and take shape, fuzzy pictures replacing the amorphous clouds.

In the distance he heard a faint scream, one; that to his horror brought a smile to his face.

The waking world burst through he dreams like a giant's thrown rock, summoned as if by Artic Wind's stern voice.

"Wake up." The white dragoness nosed at his chest. "Get dressed. We havn't much time to speak. Her eyes darted left and right, as if searching for an unseen foe."

"Huh...what?" He sat up, holding his swirling head. He found himself in his bed, blankets tossed to one side. How had he ended up here? Why was she so full of agency? He stared at his hands, trying to piece together what had happened. Catching sight of the fresh scars upon his arm he scowled. That at least he could remember. Did it have to do something with him? The last thing he could remember was letting the doors to his mind open. Then everything went black.

He shivered as he desperately tried to wrack his thoughts. There was the smell iron...some cracking noise. There was blood? His fingers trembled in a silent horror. Was it him? Did those scars get more deep? Or was it the teacher that was tormenting him?

Again, the scream sounded and made his heart skip a beat.

Did I do something to him?

He turned to Arctic wind, but her cerulean eyes proved no more answering than a wall.

"I said hurry!" She snarled as drew lines across the stone with her talons. "Yet there you sit, like a memorized fool!"

"Where are we going?" This time he slipped out of his sheets and started to dress, nearly putting on his robes backwards. He had to nearly sprint after her as she strolled towards the exit of her home.

"Somewhere we won't be monitored." She whispered, though she didn't slow. Only stopping to bring life to candles on their path with a wave of her claws.

"How early is it?" He rubbed his eyes, not fighting the coming yawn. "I've never seen you light these before."

"Hopefully the other mages are as sleep loving as you." She curled her head back, eyes locking onto him. "You were passed out when they dragged you back to my home. Your speech was all jumbled and filled with soft groans. I tried to wake you, but you were far too gone. "She tilted her head, sniffing and searching his robes for something. "What did they try? What happened?"

"Oh..." He blushed at her concern. Or perhaps it was damage to her investment? He admitted that everything was mostly ablur, though someone got hurt. "It all started when I tried what you said." He frowned. "Think it worked to well. Was it supposed to take away my memory?" He winced as a flash of crimson crossed his eyes. His trainer's table lay before him, a wet pool of blood slowly crawling towards him like a twisted pond. "I think someone died."

"Is that so?" She stopped at a large doubled gate, coated in spiraling runes of the brightest green. She ran a claw along the surface, chanting a hissy tune as ice formed on the surface. With a click the air heated, the runes flared a near blinding yellow. They sprung open with a thunderous crack, the morning breeze bringing a light coating of sand.

Where were the walls? Were they in one? He stood transfixed on the sight he didn't think he'd see. The endless dunes stretched out before him, an aura of orange about their tops beginning to eat away at the twinkling stars in the distance. The dry breaths he took, tasting so much sweeter than he'd ever imagine. He almost cried, frozen in disbelief. Yet a dragon has a way of breaking one out of things.

"Again you stall. MOVE!" Arctic wing toppled him over into the sandy ground. "Its like you wish to be caught." She strode out with a snort. As her tail flicked the doors slammed as loudly as they opened, kicking up a plume of sand in their wake.

He glanced left and right, only finding the curved walls of the fortress he was kept. From those rose the many pronged towers, speckled with windows of various shapes. How mundane it looked with simple spiral roofs, or perches for flyers to land. If not for being the source of his torture it might look like nothing more than another wizard's school.

Her wings ruffled as she broke the silence with a growl, "Theren is coming for you."

"Yea?" He shrugged, avoiding her piercing gaze. "He does that every day, how exactly is this supposed to be _new_news? I don't really like it, but alas." He dramatically held the back of his palm to his head with a groan. "That's what being a prisoner cracks up to be."

"Perhaps if you were as quick with those quips you could make out what'd happened." She swept past him, covering him with sand. "Our foe denies you information. Clever. Though it will work against him."

"How is that?" He wound his arms around his chest.

"Cause I can be a fountain of knowledge." She turned with a smirk, resting a claw on her scaled chest. "Before he can twist you to his side of course."

"So you can twist me to yours instead?" He met her gaze, remembering his mother's words. He wished his defiance lasted a bit longer, it crumbled when she growled. As he shied away she tossed back her head with a throaty rumble. Why was her pleased sounds even more questionable?

"How naïve you reveal yourself to be." She paced around him with a swaying tail eyes never leaving him. "Each one of us has our plans child. Best you figure out whom you want to side with. Before Theren can utter his lies to you, I figured I'd share information he'd best not want known."

"On the assumption that _you're_not lying to me?"

"Have I ever lied to you?" She mockingly gasped, "I don't recall taking you from your home, torturing you. When you asked for help who gave it? Then when you were lonely." She paused and met him with a look as hard as steel. "Who brought you to see your mother."

"You." He had to admit, looking away a she rumbled her victory. " Though it sounds like your buttering me up."

"In a way I suppose." She flicked her attention to the sunrise, "But think of it like an investment. It's entirely in my good interest to see you succeed. I have no reason to hurt you."

"But then?" He tapped his chin, watching as the dragoness paced in front of him. He had to cover his eyes as the sunlight refracted off hers. How they looked like gems the more glances he took. Was this something she could do? Enchant with but her looks alone?

"Why would I betray such a useful ally?" She peered over his head, swishing her tail. "Theren on the other claw has nasty habit of disposing those no longer of use." Without Hadariel offering a rebuttal, Arctic wind padded over. "We've lingered here for too long. Come, we'll stall his search for us." Her claw sought him out, curling quickly around his torso.

"Hey...where are we going?" He protested but was pressed against her mighty chest. One front row seat to see each segmented scale of her torso. Without a warning to hold on she reared to her hinds, spreading her vast wings on either side. How small he felt right now. Nothing but a mere package to this dragoness. "Why can't I ride upon your back? Wouldn't that be better for everyone?"

"No one rides me boy." She snorted dryly. She jumped into the air, her membranes catching and pushing her higher, leaving all Hadariel's courage to tumble and rest upon the ground far below.

Terror clung to his every breath as she rose with the sun. He didn't dare scream lest the mages hear come swooping in upon them. Yet, despite the overpowering cold that clung to his nerves he couldn't look away. Flight's unmistakable beauty held him in sway.

Arctic Wind sailed up through the many spires that grew like stone branches from the magical prison. Sunlight winked across the pale glass that they were made of, stabbing brilliant daggers into anyone's eyes. She circled it with nary a sound, landing with a backwing that held more care than he'd ever seen her take before. It was almost like he was one of her young, held protectively in her grasp. She curled around him as she let him go, flicking her snout from left to right, resting on one of the many glass orbs around them. It wasn't long until silence hung about them like a fog, leaving all but the whistling wind far below to fill the time.

"Why must we be so far up? He broke the silence, taking long drags of the air to calm the ever racing of his heart.

"Use that brain of yours. We can converse here in private." She said flatly, flicking out her tongue. "Though the air stings my scales it suits our purpose." She glared at the rising sun. "Though we best hurry."

He leaned to stare out to the countless dunes of rolling sand. All it would take would be a single slip to send him plummeting to his doom. He padded closer to her scales, not daring to look again.

"Look at that." She smiled down at him like a knowing parent. "You cling to me like a wrymling. Now remind me again how I deceive you?"

"Nothing...You've made your point..." He averted her smug look upon her snout. "Tell me. What is Theren going to say that could sway my thoughts on him?"

"Now that is the question human. What silvery tale could he spin that would break your mind? Turn you against the dragoness that protected you, clothed you, and cared for you when no one else did?" The way she chuckled set the young mage's backhairs at unease. "Perhaps it would have to deal with that missing father of yours? Dreadful things those."

"My father?" He nearly let go of her in surprise. He expected it to be something to do with her. "What would _he_have to do with this?" He stared up to her shimmering slits, silently pleading for what information she could give on the man that sired him. Why did his chest feel cold all of a sudden? Didn't he see his father in a vision?

"Everything." Arctic wind hissed, curling her tail around him. "Poor Hadariel, it will break you to know he was a downtrodden slave. One without magic to call his own. How his soul called out for something more. Anything to bring an end to the cruelty of his masters." Arctic wind gazed out to the sands, staring off into oblivion. "One day he developed powers. Dark ones that some would call un-natural. With these he had the talent to challenge his captors, and fight back against their tyranny. He challenged them, and brutally responded when they tried to seek vengeance." She extended a wing to rest just below the shimmering form of a multicolored mana storm crackling on the horizon. "With his powers came these mana storms. Ever since the mages have looked for a way to end them. In your father they saw the key. The missing piece to end their destruction."

A freedom fighter? A slave? He was speechless as the dragoness curled back. Sympathy oozed from her scales, hung in her eyes. Yet her pride kept her from speaking. "And they captured him?"

Arctic Wind nodded with a soft sigh. "They spirited him away, tormented him to no end. You've see the extent the mages will go. He was but a reasource to be used, discarded when he was shriveled and beyond helping." The dragoness shifted upon her weight, letting silence linger between them. "With his death brought plans of their defeat, but your discovery brought renewed hope."

"Me?" He taped his chest as it thrummed with a phantom pain. "They-they think I can put an end to this craziness?" He didn't even ask how she knew all about this. Was she in on the plan? She was the warden afterall.

"Have you not guessed child?" Arctic Wind's troubled eyes fell upon him, like spectres in the morning light. "You've a devil trapped within your soul. You tapped into it's power the night before. Ripped the mage opposite you to bloody chunks." She couldn't fight back her toothy grin, "Proud of you if I have to say so myself."

Devil trapped within? That couldn't be right. It sounded false, like a trick to win his favor. He fell to his knees at her claws, holding his head in a deathgrip. Thoughts spiraled out of control as he tried to piece together this revelation. When did this happen? He didn't dabble with the dark arts! This couldn't be true! She must be lying! But when he peered up with trembling nerves she hadn't flinched. The dragoness was deadly serious like all the other times. "From the nine hells I take it?"

Her head cocked, "Is there another place the fiends can be from?"

"How..." He swallowed hard the lump in his throat. "How did this happen?"

"Isn't that the question," She mused with a lash of her tail. "Certainly the brainteaser."

This changed everything. Was _that_why he was so good with magic? Not on some built in talent but sapped from the hells itself? Or was this even truth? All of this some elaborate lie to shackle him to her side? He couldn't shake his mother's warning of this dragoness warden. He took a calming breath, trying shield himself with bravery. "Is there any proof to your claims?"

Arctic Wind only chuckled with a swish of an amused tail. She started to pace around him with a fluff of her feathery wings. "You doubt me hmm?" Have you not seen the blackened flames? How your touch shields you from my scales? Don't insult me with your incompetence. You can piece all the hints together. How they didn't trust you, why you feel a coldness in your heart." The dragoness curled around with her teeth on full, malevolent display. "You've a fiend in your soul human. There can be no running from it."

There was a fuzzy scream in the distance, a ghost of a memory trying to remain hidden. The longer he dwelled the more it came into focus, the tattered remains of his tormenting teacher. "I did what?" He recoiled from her scales as if he were burned. Each second started to replay, he could taste the iron in the air, feel the warmth of his blood painting his skin, relish the enjoyment as his tendons snapped like brittle wood. "I couldn't have."

"But you did." She rumbled, catching his back with a claw. "Ripped him limb from limb. Most gruesomely as the mages described. Painted the room with his blood, destroyed the desk with the many times you battered his skull into fragments."

As her delighted hiss lingered on the air, he couldn't help but quiver as he imagined every sickening thud.

"I heard some of the mages discussing it. Hushed whispers of course. Of the devil child they wanted no part of dealing with."

"You...Must be lying." He said in a half whisper, uncertainty hanging on every word. How he wished her eyes would hold some lies, any mistruth for him to ling to. Yet just like before she was like a fortress, unwilling to be felled.

"You think I would lie about such things?"

"P-possibly." He couldn't meet her gaze. She pressed in further with her snout.

"Within you swirls great power Even restricted as you were by those shackles. They fear this power, wish to bind and control it." She gazed out to the shimmering clouds. "Yet how nature twists and turns out of their grip, such beauty will prove their undoing." The dragoness grinned, as if savoring a well-executed plan. "Their savoir turned to their very doom."

"So that's why you want to use me." He struggled to retort, resting upon her limbs. She had him right where she wanted, could toss him from the tower with little thought. He hoped whatever plan she had in store still needed him. "Just to turn your vengeance upon them. Kill those you loath with all your heart." He sighed, heart trembling. "I'm just another tool for you to use."

She merely regarded his stare like an amused mother. Chuckling in the back of her serpentine neck. "Of course you're a tool. Everyone has an agenda they want. Those that say they don't are lying." She dragoness growled deep in her throat, low and terrible. "Did I not share my tale of woe? What horrific deeds they inflicted to me and my kin? All of them deserve death! Down to the last apprentice! No longer is their room for pity in my heart. They sought to that." She was panting, eyes like a terrible storm.

"And what is this plan? You'd think the one in it would need to know." He crossed his arms, meeting her gaze with one of his own.

"And how I shape your thoughts." She chuckled to herself in amusement. "I have but myself to blame. If you must know, its ever changing with each day. Your progress shot things ahead by leaps and bounds. Just be warmed by the truth that you're still in it." She tightened her tone, murder bubbling about her slits. "If it didn't. Be none too mistaken. You'd be dead by now. I care not for these mages safety. They can burn in the pits of hell for the remainder of their days."

Now that sent a shiver crawling down his spine. As she grew silent and stared, he was aware of just how tiny he truly was. With but a bite she could end him. "And why speak now? Why not wait like everything before? Seems very convenient when I've just killed one of their mages."

"We've run out of time I'm afraid." She said flatly, perking up as a loud bang announced Theren's arrival. "You'll have to trust me."

The elf hovered in the air, glaring at them with a wintery aura about his brow. Hands that were known for their practiced movements and gestures now shook with an unbridled fury. Even his calm lips were pursed into a sneer most foul. But his eyes were not on Hadariel, but locked onto Arctic wind.

"What may I ask is the meaning of this dragon? Venture out here for a stroll? Unannounced and without supervision?" He waved his hands, several small pops signaling the arrival of at least a dozen other mages in the air. Unlike Theren their hands were already poised, ready to strike, nervously quivering. Even Hadariel could see the fear in their eyes as they flicked their attention from the dragon to him.

"How is it not obvious Theren?" The dragoness laughed, curling her tail around Hadariel without a thought. "Have you not seen the beauty of the morning sun? Tasted the fresh air wafting by?" She gestured to the horizon with a wing. "You expect so much grandness from him, levy the weight of the world on his shoulders. Why not let him dwell upon that beauty and wonder so that what's at stake rings true within him."

Elven eyes brewed with suspicion as their gazes met, sparks almost flying in the proceding quiet moments. As if a single sentence would set the air ablaze with spells and death. Theren sneered downward, almost as if contemplating bathing both of them in some arcane might.

"Oh Theren. All that indecision curcling between those pointed ears." Arctic Wind threw back her head. "Have you seen the multicolored hues of those storms? Would be an awful shame if those we'rnt' taken care of."

"That it would be." The elf growled. "A dangerous game you're playing dragon."

"And what game is that?" She met his gaze, and Hadariel found himself pulled tighter. "Only one here playing games are you. How far can you test this child before he snaps? And what power you trained is unleashed upon you?"

"Shes right." Whispered one of the mages above. "The boy will kill us all. You saw what he did to the other."

"Torn to pieces." Hushed another.

"Couldn't keep me meal down all day!"

But Theren was of tougher stuff. He didn't relinquish any ground. "I have everything under control." He sneered. "The boy will deliver us from them. Just you watch. Keep to your warding and cease this speculation on current affairs. It doesn't suit you. " He glided to the ground with a hardened look. "First the mother and now this. I'm starting to think the boy will do better to be removed from your care. If only to strip away your influence."

"And put an end to such progress? You'd have nothing if but for me. "Arctic wind didn't budge, with a deadly growl. "If I recall he is my treasure Theren. I'd best remember that if I were you. I saw fit to let him see his mother, to improve his morale. If memory serves it proved most fruitful, the meeting with your mage was much evidence of that." She smirked as the other mages twitched, staring to Hadariel with looks of utter fear.

"He was ripped to pieces."

"And what a stunning success." She chuckled. "I thought you'd be singing my praises to the end of time." Arctic Wind took a heavy stride forward, causing everyone to glide back. Even Theren flinches as the dragoness chomped her jaws. "Best to remember it wasn't_you who captured me Theren. I _surrendered myself to your care."

The elf took a deep breath, his brow twitching. The very air between them seemingly crackling with energy. But with a whisper of the wind it passed with a heavy sigh. "Of course, I misspoke. Though I think you have duties to attend to. Prisoners to observe?"

Arctic wind casually shrugged with her wings. "I suppose that would be the case." She stretched like a cat, slowly flicking her tail. "I hope you're good at what you're looking for. For all our sakes." Her eyes flicked from the boy to the shimmering storm in the distance before pouncing to the sky. "And bring him back in one piece!" She hollered back, "He _is_my treasure after all!"

Hadariel waved his goodbye as the dragoness curled around the tower. How he wished he could ride along with her. Escape what he was sure awaited him. On cue his heart began to race, all when Theren shifted his hardened gaze to him. It was like she'd left him alone with a den of lions. Waiting ever so patiently to dine on his flesh.

"What was the real reason she brought you here boy? Don't think for a moment I fell for her deceitful dreck. She was never one for long full looks to the sun."

All at once, dozens of eyes fell to him. He'd not thought he could ever seem smaller. But not even when Arctic Wind cast her gaze did it feel like this. Was he to lie to them? Choose Theren over Arctic Wind? The silence was maddening as Theren sneered down at him, waiting an answer.

"Nothing important." He lied, figuring to give them an inkling of truth. "Just about my father, and if I remembered what happened yesterday."

"Is that all?"

"You could always try to read my mind." He replied with an aloof shrug, enjoying the whispers of all the mages behind him.

"No." theren grumbled, waving off their chatter. "That will be fine. But information did she reveal about your father? Dragons are known for their treachery."

Here was the moment he'd decide. The mages that kidnapped him, or the dragoness that might be playing him for some unseen game. Though she'd been aloof and growly, she hadn't taken him from his home. She'd kept him, protected him, and proved a shelter in this storm of terror. While she didn't get to enjoy his reveal, he'd chosen her. "That he was a mage, and it was thanks to him that I'm here."

"Hmmm." Theren was quick to rub at his thin beard. "Both of those things are true. At least in a certain way. I apologize. It seems as though her silvery tongue decided to tell truths instead of lies this day."

"Who would have thought?" He shrugged. "Perhaps you've misjudged her?"

"That certainly appears to be so." Theren hissed, gesturing Hadariel to follow. "You'll forgive my suspicion. We needed to know. Yesterday's triumph was only but the tip of the iceberg. We need not anything slipping in these precarious moments. " Theren eyed him with a glint of pity. "But what the dragoness neglected to mention was your father was a criminal. No crime was beneath his blackened heart. He killed numerous mages during his life with fiendish delight. Wickedly took pleasure at others misfortune and suffering. His capture brought much relief, and we set about fixing what he brought." He pointed out towards the twisting mass of crackling energy in the distance.

_The mana storms? That was him?_Silence lingered between them. Somehow he'd expected something far more grander. If this was a lie, Theren was doing well. So he played along as if he'd thought it over. "That so? Why would he?" He rose his brow in fake interest

The mage guided him to an invisible disk, whipped up with a rotation of his arm. "I know not of the madman's mechanizations. He dealt with devils child, clearly his mind was warped."

But according to his books, devils were the ones who made deals. Demons just happened to take and destroy. "What did he get in return?" The question weighed heavily in the air, though Theren merely replied flatly.

"Only the criminal would know. He took it to his grave, unwilling to undo what he'd done." The elf's hands gestured to the horizon, the shifting mases of unstable energy flashing chaotic lightning bolts to the air. "In time they'll grow and grow. Destroying whatever remains in their path. In the meantime they bring destruction, turmoil, and gateways for demons and devils to wage their unholy war on one another. Unless something is to be done they will envelop everything. Our world will become _just_another avenue of their hell."

"And that's where I come in?" He hated to admit it, but the wizened elf almost seemed truthful. When Theren waved for the disc to descent he was frozen in bewilderment. Who was he to believe? What was once as clear as a running stream was now like a bubbling bog. He was to test it. "Why didn't you tell me sooner." He searched Theren from head to boots. "I wouldn't have turned down the opportunity to help my country. Why the pain? The torture?"

Theren merely sighed, rubbing at his temples. "Because of the devil within you child. How we feared it lurked behind your eyes, waiting patiently for its moment. I stress the direness of the situation. All we need is the unholy beast to warn it's allies, and our cause would be in jeopardy. Tis a shame that it came to this. One can not choose their father, and sadly yours traded your soul for some unknown reward. Destined to be flayed and tormented for all eternity. But what can one expect for cultists?"

Ice gripped his blood. He was bound to some unholy master? This only made Arctic Wind's information all the truer, with even darker implications. He pressed his palms to his temples like a vice as the desert swirled around him. He wobbled and nearly fell from their platform, getting caught by Theren's vigilant hand.

"Cease your troubled thoughts. That problem can also be solved in time. Your father's sins won't fall to you. Not while we have anything to say about it." Theren guided him inside the moment the platform landed, leading the shocked teen through the halls.

Was the elderly elf just telling him a story? The dragoness had warned him of the incoming lies. But what was the falsehood? Some of it lined up with hers! Silence gripped his throat as the other mages quickened their pace behind him. Hadariel eyed portraits of other mages along the corridors, seemingly following the group with their judgmental eyes. Back and forth the painted figures seemed to recoil and whisper to their neighbor, warn the others that the devil was swiftly approaching.

"It's a lot to take in I know." Theren coughed, "Extreme circumstances require harsh methods. You will suffer but we will succeed. In the end we shall all be delivered from their evil. I must ask you Hadariel, when dealing with the extermination of everything...Why would be hinder ourselves by pety morals? Who would be left among the dead to say at least we kept our morals."

The look Theren was giving him, obviously was to appear sympathetic, to win him over. But he'd already seen that look before in Arctic wind's eye. The desire to use and control.

"Of course." He nodded, trying to maintain an aura of calm. "And when can I expect my mother to be released? Now that we are making progress?"

"Once we get rid of that portal and you prove your loyalty to us. The mind shielding was just the first step."

He nodded, nearly gulping as he remembered the mage's tendons snapping. "And what of the one I slew? The power that I found?"

Theren was calm and eerily cold. "Inconsequential was his life. He delighted in pain so he ended in pain. I take grim satisfaction that in the end I was right." The elf led him along a series of steep marble steps, waving along his mage guards behind. "You will find your days filled with more studies. Though today we have yet another physical test for you. These powers you accessed. They are wonderful, delightful, a diamond in the sea of trouble we find ourselves."

"You call that wonderful?" He wrinkled his brow, shaking his head as the mage's screams plagued him.

"You think too simply of course. True it is horrific to some. But think of what good can be achieved with it? You, but a boy were able to tap into the spells of a greater devil? Can you imagine the applications that could achieve in the future? What magical wonderments could be sought after with but this tiny step?"

"I thought the devils and demons were something that needed to be stopped?"

Theren's answer was quick. "And they must. But I would not look this gift human in the mouth."

Up and up the stairs went, seeming to shift and churn with each step. He nearly slipped, forced to hold onto the railing that lined the walls. Where had they hidden this before? He'd never been here. Perhaps it was another room that shifted and changed, or perhaps one of the towers he saw with Arctic wind? Without windows it was hard to tell. Against his better judgement he peered over the center, instantly wishing he hadn't. He snapped his head away, vowing to not look again. "

They came to a halt before a door of hardened oak, golden latches bolted into it's sturdy frame in the shape of flying doves. Painted upon it was a pegasus in flight, soaring high above a countryside of vibrant blues and greens. How could something so delightful herald a coiling in his gut? Hardariel grimaced as Theren's hand rested on his shoulder.

"I know. Quite lovely. We don't use it often, but it will do for what we need."

"Wont I need my spellbook? He padded at his robes in a daze, he'd not prepared any of his spells this morning. Arctic Wind's insistence had ruined that. He'd only be left with basic cantrips, little spells that would hardly have the world altering effects that thy wanted. If this was to be a physical test of his abilities he'd be at a vast disadvantage.

"That won't be necessary." Theren waved away his concern. "We seek the power you found. Somehow it was able to break the wards of the room, seeped through your shackles. I'm certain that you will prove most cunning."

"But...But...That was an accident! I" He spouted, hating how Theren chuckled at him. "I haven't the foggiest how I did that!"

"Neither do I." He offered a gracious nod, his lips curling into a nefarious smile. "Lets find out together shall we?"

His fists clenched, fire stoked in his veins. "I take it I don't have a choice?"

"This is the process." Theren sighed, glancing onto him like a loved child. "Greatness often finds those that don't seek it. Only through great struggle can the strong emerge. I understand your reservations, but whats at stake merits them." He pressed his palm to the door's surface. "While your approval is nice, its sadly not needed. How I wish this wasn't so. " Theren hung his head with a heavy sigh, "We musn't let our morals get in the way. With your sacrifice millions of others could be saved. Do you think that's worth the struggle, the pain, and the misery?"

Several mages coughed behind him, disrupting the lingering silence. Theren merely went to work, opening his arms wide and beginning his spell to open the door. It involved lightning that coiled and crawled over the paint, melting the tapestry like a vial of acid. It burned and filled the hall with acrid smoke, eventually opening the door with a dull thud that shook the hallway.

"Sir." One mage sputtered from the back. "Is it wise to experiment such as this? One of us has already died because this subject has proved uncontrollable."

"The boy is right!" A sunbaked man with a scarf length beard barked, shaking his fist. "We must find another way Theren. How unstable this power was. Surely you wouldn't trade our lives for this knowledge!?"

The elf turned with the ire of an oncoming thunderstorm. His voice was tight and cold, practically chilling the very air. "What did I just get done informing the boy? I'd trade _all_your lives if it means stopping those storms. Not even one of us is more important than this task. Do well to mind your rebellious tongue Darrius, before you find it ruining your career in one fell swoop."

"Now then." Theren dusted off his hands, as the mage slunk back defeated. "Now that that's settled." He rolled his hands as the door slunk open at a snail's pace. "Welcome to the room of _manipulation._Forged from magics of the ancient dragons, we will find out how to harness this power inside you." He gestured to nothing but a blackened void before them. "Where anything is but a flick of the wrist away." Theren clapped his hand, and the room exploded in colors.

From the void burst vibrant hills of breathing grass, towering mountains of stone like teeth. Forests sprouted on command, topping with brilliant ambers, striking crimsons, and dotting all around with vibrant oranges. Birds suddenly were flocking in the sky in misshapen swarms, chirping away in an unknown song. The sun was shining brilliantly overhead, delighting the air with the warmth of a pleasing summer's day. With a gentle breeze it brought the aroma of cut grass, laced with a hint of dandilions.

Hadariel was shown inside before he could even utter a word. He couldn't move, his jaw was close to hanging out. Could anything be shifted within here? He mentioned the dragons, they had the power to construct such things? For a brief moment he forgot what was to come, and he stewed with at least a dozen questions.

"Ah yes. Splendor and wonderment." Theren beamed with pride. "How'd Id forgotten my own reaction to such things. To be young again, but remember boy. We're here to focus. Not to lose oneself to the sight and sounds." Theren snapped to a pair of elderly men. Maro, Theilel. You may begin with the boys test."

Begin with what?

Combat of course. To harness the devil's power within.

He'd just managed to leap back as twin firebolts streaked past his robes. His fingers already primed themselves, coiling into familiar shapes to bring spells in return. He whipped around, eying the two elderly opponents, casting him with hardened looks. He made them flee with a firebolt of his own, then quickly extending the distance between them.

"Not like that child!" Theren shouted as Hadariel traded shots with his foes. "Find the creature within! Not these paltry spells!"

That was easy for him to say! He didn't care about the holes burning through Hadariel's robes. Or the ones close enough to catch his hair alight. He'd just ran another good distance when the ground began to shake and quake.

Like a monolith the stone rose, towering well above the young mage's head. It bore only the crackle lines of creation magic as it slithered out to create a makeshift arena for them to battle. There would be no more running, for better or worse they were trapped together. With a racing heart Hadariel turned, ready to face what was to come.

The gnarled twig of a man named Maro made the symbol for fireball, clearly not wanting to mess around a second longer.

"Fireball?" He shouted, trying to hug the stone wall behind him. "How is this fair? I'm to die!"

"All part of the test my boy." Theren smirked down. "Perhaps adrenaline will invoke what we seek? Danger, stress, uncertainty of life. Like how you came about your capture."

The second mage held out his hands on either side, stomping the ground in an exaggerated way. The earth shot up as if a wheel was below the surface, rolling out from his boot and quickly towards the younger mage.

Hadariel was forced up and down, crashing to the hardened ground. He just managed to roll to what safety he could get as the fireball struck but mere feet away from his resting spot. But the pair did not give him a moment to get comfortable. Within a breath they were racing towards him again, lightning and fire curling around their limbs.

"Come on boy, stop you dodging!" One mage yelled, growing from his palm a whip of thorns. It flung out, closed the distance like a snake, and sliced through Hadariel's cheek.

He slammed to the ground, his head spinning. He spit blood and they attacked him anew. This time it came in the explosion of ice shards at his feet, slicing and pelting his limbs with sharpened fragments. He couldn't help but yell his pain, yet any mercy was not given. He was left, groaning and smoking as everyone watched on. Pain was the only feeling to fill the moments of silence around them.

"You've done better than this boy." Theren sneered, crossing his arms across his robes. "I suppose pain to _you_is not to get the job done. Alas, I thought that would be enough."

He tried to mouth protest, but it was stifled with a quick whip across his back. Rivers of blood dripped in the wake, coiling the young mage on himself as he shuttered. Didn't they know he couldn't do it? The first time had to have been a fluke, dumb luck that they were trying to replicate. Would they kill him in such pursuits? He took another whip and nearly passed out from the mind fragmenting pain. "Please...I need you." He pleaded to the unknown, tears forming in the edges of his eyes. Yet his cries remained unanswered as the whip ripped another ravine through his flesh.

"I can't...do it." He cried after torturous minutes of this, his voice all but gone. "I...don't know how to call it...Please, just stop."

"But I might." Theren cruelty rose his voice, pulling everyone's attention. The elf was standing straight, Hadariel's mother clutched tight within his frail arms. She was bound tight, a gag in her mouth, and eyes square on her bloodied son.

She tried to shout something but it came as a muffled mess. Her body squirmed and flailed as fire burned in her eyes. Yet Theren held her tight, unwilling to let the fired-up woman go.

"Look to me Hadariel, and realize what your incompetence brings."

"I'm trying!" Hadariel screamed, his voice cracking as he rose. Pain shot through him, making him stumble with his next step. He could hardly breathe, how he was still standing was beyond him. Even now he could feel himself slipping, any second from fumbling over. "What is she doing here? What happened to feeling sorry? To doing this pained you?" He waved to the mages, nearly falling over in exhaustion. "I think you're full of nothing but shite!"

Theren was unphased. Still replying with the calm tone. "I never lied child. I told you what is at stake." He caressed his mother's cheek with the back of his palm, sighing like a disappointed parent. "But as you struggled so feebly I thought back to what you saw within my mage's mind. Your father bruised and beaten. Collapsed over in pain." His eyes locked onto Hadariel's own. "Clearly there is an emotional trigger that was lacking. I've come to rectify that of course."

No

His mind already put together what lurked within this elf's blackened heart. He shouted with what strength he could muster, his voice crumbling with every continued syllable. "Then we keep trying. We will find another way! I'm begging you, we can...Will suceed!"

Theren sighed, rubbing at his temples. The weight of the whole process clear as the morning sun. "If optimism was all we needed. Look at yourself boy, think of what needs to be done. Clearly what we're doing now isn't working. We need to duplicate the sensation. The exact circumstances that triggered your awakening. Though with the lack of your father around..." He gestured to Hadariel's squirming mother. "We might have something far greater." He pulled a knife from his robes that winked malevolently in the light. In a heartbeat it's sharpened tip kissed his mother's throat, stilling her movements. "How family can help us grow in times of need."

As despair closed in at all sides the teen's legs buckled beneath him. He fell to his knees, as tears swelled in his eyes. How his chest ached, like a giant's boot were placed upon it. Everything narrowed to his mother's widened eyes. "Give me a chance to try!" He screamed, "Arctic wind will help us! Shes smart, she's helped before! Just don't cut her throat!" But his moving words fell upon deaf, pointed ears.

"Then you know how to stop me my child." The blade tasted a drop of crimson that slithered down its length. "Make the connection. Wield those powers you tore my college to pieces. I believe in you Hadariel. One way or the other one of two things will happen."

He couldn't move, everything else was frozen to his core. Each breath just a reminder he was truly helpless. This was going to happen. He screamed to himself to do what was required, make this connection they were going on about. But no matter how he thought or pleaded to himself, nothing came.

"Pity." Theren gave a disappointed sigh. "I almost thought you could've done it." He slashed across his mother's throat in one brutal flash. Blood sprayed across the ground as she was flung forward, kicked into the dirt like trash. There she lay, arms flinging to her throat, desperately trying to staunch the thick flow of life's precious liquid. "And now we observe."

Like an Arctic storm, cold swept through his flesh. Fingertips iced over, the sensation in them dulling. Veins once hot and filled with life now were cold and like blackened ink. It creeped across every inch of his meat, burrowed into his bones. When he screamed it was his of course but mixed with an inhuman rage begging to be released. But he was still in control. Within the span of a breath he was to his mother's side. "You bastard!" He dropped to his knees, ripping a part of his tattered robed for her to wrap tight her wound. But it only would delay the inevitable. The valley of red that was her throat was too deep. She would die without help. He turned to Theren, practically snarling as a cold fury was glared his way. "Put an end to this! Heal her! I've done what you've wanted!"

The elf's reply was colder than Arctic wind's chill. "That remains to be seen."

His mother clutched at his arms, her knuckles deep white and all but a sliver of color drained from her face. She was relaxing backward in his arms, her eyes rolling to the back of her head. She tried to gurgle a few last words buy Hadariel shushed her.

If Theren wanted more, then he would show him more. Let him choke on every bit that he summoned up. He stood without a word, embracing the cold that lurked within him like a lover. He treated it no different than the magic he'd practiced before. Let his body guide what he could summon and let fly with his movements. He thought back to the other night, remembered the tiny daggers that crawled down his spine. He helped guide that sensation down, twisting it around his legs, letting it settle into every single nerve. His eyes widened, their color drained, and what was left was nothing more but two pools of blackened, wet ink. Revenge was the only thing on his mind.

He rose his hands with deadly intent, growing twin shards of thickened ice from the very air. They flew towards his two tormenting wizards, forcing them to try and defend themselves. Though this proved fruitless, as with two sickening thuds their hearts were pierced, what life was dwindling now. They fell in aghast, still struggling to process their fatal wounds.

"The stimulant worked!" Theren practically leaped for joy as the other mages around him entered defensive stances. "You've done it Hadariel! Good show!" The smile on his elven face couldn't get any larger.

But Hadariel wasn't sedated by mere words. Blood was to be spilled, hopefully Theren's. His body moved as if on its own, guided by cruel purpose. Unlike last time he chose to let it guide him, killing any foolish enough to stand against him. The ground beneath his feet twisted around him like a lengthy snake, racing towards his prey. It was sliced and diced by various spells, but it got the point across, and painted fear on all their faces.

"We've seen enough!' One mage shouted, joined by another. But they were only things placed with Hadariel's way. Both were dispatched by blackened runic symbols appearing on their chests, exploding the pair into crimson mists.

Death became the only constant as spells flew through the air. Many colors that tried to slice through his skin, but rolling off him like harmless water. One after the other he dispatched them with gruesome spells. Person after person, falling like chafes a wheat to his now scythe like arm. The ground was painted in swathes of darkened blood, their discarded organs strewn about like a twisted artist's project.

"Such raw power! You've truly tapped into the devil's spirit my boy! Far beyond what you spell repertoire is capable of!" Theren was almost laughing as he leaped backwards, using what magic he had to distance himself from the angered child. "Tensers transformation? Power word kill? I'd say this worked out far better than I'd ever hoped!" He snapped to the remaining wizards to counter his spells, try to disable what enchantments were about.

Slice horizontally, try to take his head, avoid their return fire. Hadariel didn't leave Theren's proximity for the slightest of moments, denied by the elf's speedy reflexes. But it was only a matter of time, he couldn't dodge forever. All he had to do was get in one good slice, one good spell, and what ailed him would finally be done. He tried another rune to explode his chest, but Theren countered it with a flick of his wrist and sly smirk.

"Your mother is going to be fine."

Lies. He snarled like a beast, keeping at Theren as more spells washed off his form. He felt blinding spells, binding spells, some illusions to try and ensnare his mind. All of them he simply resisted or cast away with but a glare. He was going to kill Theren. End him, put an end to this once and for all. His blade like arm sliced a thread from the mage's robes.

"You think I'm not prepared for this?" Theren blinked a distance away, dusting off his robes. "This is a wonderful advancement. Should we have a new name for this? Celebrate in our moment of triumph?" When Hadariel didn't reply and raced towards the elf he merely sighed. "Ruining this accomplishment with thoughts of murder. Look to your mother if you don't believe me! With this sacrifice our country won't be overrun by fiends!"

A moment of clarity cracked through his murderous rage, and drew his attention to his mother's corpse. But that's not what greeted him. Her eyes were fluttering with life, a blonde hair woman by her side in green vestments. From this woman's hands were twisting bands of shimmering light, swimming like eels upon the air. The light caressed and massaged the ravaged area, starting to close what had been ripped.

"See child? All is well."Theren's words padded through the air, trying to calm the young wizard down. "You've succeeded...Your mother is safe...The others..." Theren gestured over the dead bodies of his colleges, waving them off like discarded trash. "Sacrifices that needed to me made."

Everything slowed before his eyes, the deep cold started to thaw. This was all just another test? All of it? His transformed arms fell to his sides, the weight of what he'd done slowly dawning on him. He'd slaughtered all those people in his rage. Ripped or exploded some to bloody chunks right before his eyes. "How could you do something like this?" He practically roared, fumbling to the earth. He didn't even have the energy to prevent the ground from intimately smashing his forehead.

"How could I not?" Theren was stroking his chin, wiggling his brows. "I know it's a tad cliché for you to be effected by your loved one, but clearly we achieved the wanted outcome." He glided to Hadariel's now gasping mother, giving the cleric of Loki a nod. "You needn't worry child. We will find the trigger so that we can get what we want without resorting to such barbaric methods in the future."

"M-monster." Hadariel's mother hissed, nearly coughing up her lung.

"Not monster human." Theren sneered, "The word you're looking for is hero. I'll save this damned world, even if I have to drag the lot of you kicking and screaming. Get some rest, the both of you. We have wonderous things ahead of us."

Hadariel tried to sneer but slumped, swiftly losing consciousness.

*

He awoke to his warm bed, smothered in nearly every blanket Arctic Wind had given to him. The room around him was filled with dozens of flickering candles. No darkened corner could be found within their light, nor cold hide from the overpowering warmth floating about the air. There was a pristine wooden table to his left, a steaming bowl of soup in an ornate clay bowl and a tankard of what looked to be brownish water lay waiting for him. No dragon was to be seen.

He rose, robbing at his head, clutching at his sides when pain struck at him like a pack of wolves. Undoing his blankets revealed thick bandages wrapped around his torso. They were sullied and browned, clearly from the blood he'd been forced to spill.

Theren. He scowled, remembering every lash of pain they'd done to him. Even now he could still feel it, crawling along his mutilated flesh like some twisted bug. How he burned thinking about that elf. How his eyes didn't flinch as he nearly killed his mother. What even made a person like that? Willing to do whatever it was required to achieve his noble goals. Had Theren given up after years of trying? Warnings fallen on deaf ears? Hadariel shook his head and continued to growl, it didn't matter now.

He sniffed the drink, it wasn't water by the scent of that heavy aroma of hops. It was some form of ale!" He warily tasted it, finding the bitterly drink earthy, and how it lingered past the gulp. He coughed and coughed, nearly wheezing when Arctic wind's surprisingly soothing voice came from her perch from above. She'd seemed to appear seemingly out of thin air. Had she been simply biding her time? Invisibly watching over him?

"Good, you're awake. I feared the worst." The dragoness sniffed the air before glancing away with a fluff of her feathery wings. "I didn't cherish the thought of having a dead treasure."

He scoffed and placed down the tankard after forcing down a few more mouthfuls. Hopefully it would take his mind from the pain. Was this meal from her or conjured up Theren's servants? He met her comment like she might. "Oh, now you're worrying about my safety now? That's certainly rich." He straightened up, cupping the bowl with his soup in both hands. He could see carrots and various vegetables peering through the steamy broth.

The dragoness growled, pulling her head away with a savage snort. "Believe it not, you're important to me. What that creature of a wizard did was barbaric."

"Yet effective." He grumbled, glaring daggers at his meal. At the memory of his mother's horrified face he nearly lost his lunch. "The madman got exactly what he desired." He set down the bowl.

"Drink the soup." Arctic Wind boomed. Her eyes like imposing cerulean walls. "I didn't poison it."

"You made it?"

"Indeed."

"Hmmph." He eyed it, then found a spoon she'd left for him. "Why are you doing this? What makes you even care?"

"Well." She settled her head onto her claws. "I spent days helping you. I'd like to know if I wasted my time on some ungrateful little brat."

"You cooked this?" He eyed her with suspicion, of course questions abounded. "How? Everything you touch-"

"Turns to ice. I know." She grumbled, shifting her weight. "Use that brain of yours. The spell telekinesis allows me to manipulate objects without touching them."

One answer down, but another bubbled to the surface. "And...you cook...A dragon..."

"What's so confusing of having a hobby?"

"Just trying to wrap my head around it is all. I thought you liked your food raw?"

"Is that me or all dragons?" She growled back, slowly rising.

He didn't say and she fixed him with a fiery glare. Perhaps he should just enjoy that she was willing to do something for him. Something that didn't involve pain or killing of his mother.

"I've had years to learn and read. Plan and search for ideas and spells far before you were born. What is life but an endless task to improve and learn? Or plan for inevitable revenge." She inspected the bottom of one of her claws. "Cooking is just one of my talents. I can also sing opera and paint such beauty that your artists would gaze in awe."

"How old are you?" He slurped down a bit of the soup, getting a rooty flavor that tickled the tongue. His shoulders slacked as it rubbed comfort through his limbs. "And how long...has it been since you've seen your family?"

She merely fixed him with an intrigued look, before chuckling in her growly sort of way. "Now isn't that the question. Wormed my way to be in your brain. Filling your every thought with my splendor. And here they say humans can't be charming to a dragon."

"They say that?"

"I say that." She placed a claw to her chest, flaring her wings. "But since you've taken another interest in _my_life." She started to scrape her talons along a nearby stone, sharpening them ever further. "My children are probably grown by now, their wings gracing this very world." Her eyes drifted upwards, as if to the flying dragons she couldn't see. "Their wings lifting them like angels to the heavens, their lives free of any harm, devoid of any mortals."

"What were their names?" He sat up, letting the warmth she was starting to speak fill him.

"Of my little ones?"

He nodded.

She merely chuckled, Indrass was my daughter, clever and thoughtful. Chaser of icy lizards that frequented our home. More than once we'd have to give chase, extinguish the lizard's bravery." She flung out a talon, pretending to slide it along an unprotected belly. "Eventually they troubled us no longer."

He gulped at the prospect, but laughed when she watched his reaction. Already she'd leaped to the floor, a bounce in her claws as she entered a crouched stance.

"My son Nordu was headstrong and brave." She sighed, wings ruffling. "Takes after me I suppose. He'd wiggle his tail in such a way that'd leave my scales all fuzzy. No matter the times, I couldn't bring it in my heart to tell him he wasn't frightful." As if catching her mistake she snapped her jaw. "Not to say that he wont grow into a frightful beast, but its hard to be intimidated by a dragon hardly up to your knees." She slowly stalked around the cavern floor, as if on the prowl. "He'd search our home with myself or his father, insisting that he'd prove his bravery to us."

"How old would they be exactly?"

The dragoness suddenly froze, her good cheer draining faster than a river. She composed herself with a snort, flicking her hardened eyes to him. "I think that's enough. Finish your soup."

He stared down at it, a floating carrot looking like his mother's eye. All at once he slumped, tears pooling down his face. Everything was so meaningless. How was he and his mother supposed to escape a terrible place such as this? They had all the cards! His bone still ached from the previous test. Horrified thoughts whispered at was to come next. Surely more torture and nightmarish ordeals that would leave anyone scarred. What was he, only a young mage supposed to do?

Would he be forced to connect _more_to that devil's power? Surely, for that glint in Theren's eye would accept nothing less. His thoughts spiraled out of control over the willingness of his participation. How he prayed the devil's influence would not rub off on him.

Arctic wind had nearly hopped back to her perch when she peered back at him, tentatively observing how he sobbed before her. "What is it you're doing?" She stepped forward with a sniff, lowering her snout. "Crying?" She sounded surprised. "You're not supposed to do that! Stop that this instant!"

But he couldn't. His hands hooked behind his head as the months of torment and torture poured forth from him into salty rivers down his cheeks.

"Your mother is alright. Your fine. Why on earth are you sobbing?" She stomped a claw with a lashing tail. "You should be grateful you're even alive!"

When he didn't reply she simply stood in reserved silence. Her only movement the slow swish of her tail. Though despite this she didn't stop him, nor insist that he cease again. The dragoness pinned her wings, letting him finish his mournful cry.

"You were right about things." He finally sniffed away his tears.

"Right about what now?"

He told her of Theren, about his father, especially the part of the devil. "Is that the lie he was going to tell me of?"

"Hmm..." She mumbled, slinking towards him. "From a certain perspective he was a criminal. Ever the villain they needed him to be. But what they don't say is he was born a slave, devoid of any power. They tormented and abused him and his ilk. Using his lack of magic as proof he was a lesser being. I gleamed that he disappeared into a dig site one day, vanishing for weeks. When he emerged he had terrible powers that could rival his masters." Her eyes locked to his, "They will tell you what they need to get what they want. Just look what happened to your mother. You think that your father would put you in jeopardy if he'd known?"

He averted his gaze. He didn't even know the man in question to make a choice. "How would I even know..."

"Precisely!" She hissed, "He's dead thanks to them. The story can be whatever they want it to be." She was beside him, curling around his bed. Her scales brushed against his sheets, forming a layer of thin ice.

Without thinking he flung himself to her head, wrapping his arms around her snout. He sniveled and shook, crying into her scales. Of course, they'd lied. They were never on his side. Yet despite her warning, he'd fallen for it just the same. Arctic Wind may have been crafty and using him, but she was on his side. "I'm sorry for doubting you."

She didn't say nothing at first, his announcement probably stunning her. She coughed, clearly pretending to not be with a casual flick of her tail. "Excuse me human...What are you doing?"

"A hug." He squeezed tighter, eyes clenching.

"Would you mind stopping it? You're frosting your clothes."

"Right." He pulled away, dusting off the forming ice crystals on his tunic.

Her head tilted as she searched him up and down. She wasn't growling, nor was she snarling. She was simply observing and waiting, finally breaking the silence with a low grumble. "Is there going to be any more of that?"

"Possibly." He met her gaze, wiping his cheek with a sniff. "Are you going to hurt me if I do?"

"Perhaps." She snorted, drawing the words out with heavy sarcasm. With a twist of her tail, she'd already begun to slink off back towards her perch. "Mark my words though my little treasure. Now that they got what they wanted there will be more of that."

"More of that?" His blood went cold. Of course, she had to ruin the brief glimmer of relief. Already he could see the scenes play before his eyes, his mothering whimpering and pleading as they cut her unmercifully. "What am I to do?"

Her response was quick and stern, "Easy." She shrugged with her wings, "Survive."

* ** * * * * *

Thanks for following on, again sorry for the delay. Hope the lot of you have had a good few weeks!

What are everyone's thoughts on Hadariel's story? Should I remove them and add them as their own tale? I was playing with the idea they were to be a bonus story. (Filling the Hadariel chapters here with more flashes of Infinity's past instead.) Anyway, let me know your thoughts and how you feel about these events playing out! By now we all know (if you read Darkened skies.) Who Hadariel is.