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Through the eyes of the Midnight Blue Dragon Chapter 12: Death and Destruction

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I have no memory of ever falling to sleep, but I must have since I woke up to find that I had entered the normal time-flow again and that Rasani was standing in front of the table, glaring at me.

I stood up guiltily and looked her in the eyes. She glared at me for a while longer before turning her back and walking out the door. I sighed to myself and slammed my fist down on the table. Everything that was happening was destroying my relationship and putting me in an awkward position. Do I lose Rasani and gain Avyn and Zathari or do I lose them and keep my wife? I knew that I loved Rasani more than anything else, but I could not shake the feeling that this marriage was not really working out.

I decided to fly over to Avyn's to see if she had a potion that would be able to calm down my body and allow me to continue getting on with my life without worrying about Bloodwulf constantly.

I landed out the front of the training ground and watched coldly as eleven Black Guardians shuffled out of the building, noticed me, and ran down the street. I walked into the building and headed downstairs towards Avyn's room.

As soon as I neared the room, I could sense a dark, evil power coming from close by. I tensed up and drew in my powers. A low growl left my throat and my vision went purple as I slowed time down. I placed my hand on the doorknob and quickly ripped it open as I drew my Dragonblade from is scabbard. The scene on the other side of the door was complete chaos. The room was trashed and there was blood and other substances everywhere. In the centre of the room stood Avyn and another dragoness. I watched, in utter shock, as the blade slowly went through Avyn's body and emerged from her back. Her body slowly slumped on the blade and collapsed to the floor. I roared and suddenly time sped back up. The other dragoness turned to look at me and I immediately recognised her.

'Nirilana! You shall die for this!' I roared at her, noting the fear in her eyes.

'Darkstar Sarum, we meet again. If you want my blood, then you are going to have to catch me first!' She screamed and rushed for the door. She stopped running when she realised that she was not moving and that her feet were no longer touching the ground. I grinned and walked over to her.

'I have picked up some new tricks Nirilana, I now realise the extent of my powers and am willing to use them if necessary. Now, tell me, why did you kill Avyn?' I asked angrily.

'You will not need to know that Darkstar. You have nothing to do with this so keep out of it. It is not your problem, it was hers!'

'Ok, that is where you are wrong. By killing Avyn like you did, it suddenly becomes my problem. So as you can see I am going to find a way to deal with it... and you.' I glared at her.

There was a rumble of thunder outside and a dozen Black Guardians rushed into the room, distracting me long enough for them to escape with their leader. I roared in frustration and ran over to where Avyn lay on the ground. She was barely alive and I knew that I had no hope in healing her this time.

'Darkstar, leave me. I have led a good life and have shared my body with you on many occasions. I know there is nothing you can do at this point in time but there is something I want you to promise me.' She whispered into my ear.

'Anything, just name it and it is done.' I sobbed, knowing that I had failed her.

'Kill the bitch that skewered me!' She growled before choking and slowly dying in my arms.

I raised my muzzle and howled with anguish and anger. I slowly lowered Avyn's corpse to the ground, stood up and walked over to the door, picking up my Dragonblade along the way. I felt the anger coursing though my body and I tapped into it, drawing strength and power from it. Outside the building, it was raining and lightning streaked through the sky, burning a path through the clouds and rain. I looked up, the rain feeling cold against my scales, and leapt into the air, spreading my wings as I did so. The wind howled around me and stung my eyes, but I ignored it. I only lived for the hunt right now. There was no way my prey was going to escape me this time. Nirilana's blood was mine and I was going to extract it slowly from her body, taking great care to inflict the most pain possible.

The rain and wind howled and attacked me as I flew through the air. A bolt of lightning suddenly flashed in my vision and I reacted instantly, slowing down time and rolling out of the way. I watched the bolt course through the air where I had been before hitting the ground and disappearing.

Using my knowledge of the city and its surrounding areas, I formulated a number of ideas as to where the entrance to the Hornet's Nest might be. The first two ideas, at the gladiator's arena and near the town hall, turned out to be false, but at the third; near the place in the market where I got ambushed last time, I found a pair of massive oak doors that had an ancient script written on them. I could sense Nirilana and the other Black Guardians somewhere deep inside the labyrinth on the other side of the doors so I carefully opened them and stepped through into the Hornet's Nest.

It was dark inside the entrance to the labyrinth that led to the centre of the Nest, I could only just see and yet, I was not afraid. There was only a heightened sense of everything as anger and rage flooded through my body. Images of the time I had spent with Avyn, the joy we had shared, flashed past my eyes and added more fuel to the bushfire that was my anger. After about ten minutes of wandering angrily down the paths of the labyrinth and not seeing anyone or anything that might help point me in the right direction, my anger got the better of me. I roared and raised a claw. Power roped through my body and a large beam of lightning flashed from my claw and reduced the walls around me to rubble. I walked through the wall to my left and smashed my way through the next one with another bolt of lightning. I continued smashing my way through, hoping to reach the centre, when I suddenly stopped as I smashed through a wall that had a group of five Black Guardians on the other side. They all stared at me momentarily before their minds jumped and they rushed at me, brandishing swords and axes. I reached over my shoulder and drew the Dragonblade from its sheath. I jumped over the heads of the five dragons and cut one of them down as my feet touched the ground. I then quickly ducked and spun, slicing open the shins of another, who fell to the ground, writhing in pain. I grunted with satisfaction before standing up and facing the other three.

One of the dragons quickly dashed forwards and tried to take me out. I quickly sidestepped to the right, swung out with the blade, and hacked off one of his arms. The dragon spun about, clutching the massive axe he was wielding in his remaining hand, and tried a clumsy swing at my head. I laughed as I dodged the axe blade and shoved my Dragonblade through his chest. Blood flowed from his mouth as my sword punctured his heart and lungs. He sighed and collapsed on the sword, causing me to curse as I kicked him off of it and spun around. The two remaining dragons had flanked me, one on my left and the other on my right. I quickly drew in my powers and made time slow down to a mere crawl.

This will be interesting. I laughed to myself.

I ran at the first dragon and watch him slowly open his mouth in surprise and try to raise his sword in time to counter my blow, but it was too late. My sword went through his skull with a crunch, crushing the brain and emerging from the back of his head. I twisted the blade which caused his head to slide off and allow me to focus on the last dragon. I turned around to confront him, but found that he was not there. I growled and allowed myself to re-enter the normal time flow. I could hear his flight down a corridor and knew that he was going to alert everyone to my position. It didn't really bother me as I wanted my position discovered as that would allow me to kill more of the bastards who had been inadvertently involved in Avyn's death. I knew that they were not the ones to blame but it no longer mattered to me as they were stopping me from reaching my true target, Nirilana.

I thundered down a hallway, swinging my sword experimentally to find the perfect grip. I stopped as I approached the set of three doors that I had seen in Stormsun's memories. I remembered that the ones on the left and right were the doors that would kill anything that stepped through and that the middle one led directly into the chamber of the Outer Sanctum. I wanted to leave something for them to remember me by so I drew in my powers, pointed the tip of my Dragonblade at the door and released my power through the blade. The door cracked and I raised my free hand to protect my face as it exploded. I growled and ignored the splinters of wood that had dug themselves into my arm and chest and continued on through the door.

I looked around the chamber of the Outer Sanctum and noticed Nirilana kneeling before the pillar of molten rock. I roared, raised my sword and rushed forwards towards her.

Without turning around, Nirilana suddenly started talking to me.

'Not one step closer Darkstar!' She yelled.

'Or what, Nirilana?' I laughed.

'Or I shall awaken him from his slumber and set him once more upon this world!' She was almost screaming now.

'You know what will happen if Bloodwulf returns Nirilana! Stormsun was the pawn, wasn't he? I am the one he wants and he will destroy the world if necessary in order to get me.' I said calmly, hoping I was right.

Nirilana started laughing. 'You fool! Bloodwulf is not who he seems. He was once a normal dragon, like yourse... well not like you, more like me. But he unfortunately stumbled across an object in the bottom of a lake. This object attached itself to his arm and started making this odd beeping sound. Shortly after that, Bloodwulf no longer existed as the object had erased his mind and soul so that the body could be entered by another presence. Bloodwulf is known as Bloodwulf because everyone is too frightened to utter his true name.'

'Wait... you are telling me that Bloodwulf is Kaos?' I was shocked.

'You are quick aren't you? Yes, he is Kaos and therefore he is invincible.'

'Ok. Well correct me if I am wrong, but if Bloodwulf is Kaos and he is hunting me, wouldn't that make me Havok, his sworn enemy?' I asked, still shocked.

'Bah! Fool! You are not Havok and never will be! You are both Kaos's and Havok's new enemy. You are a third-party. The One who shouldn't exist. They do not understand you and that creates fear. This is the first time fear has ever instilled itself in their hearts. You are an anomaly in the universe and they intend to deal with you quickly.' Nirilana turned back to the pillar and started muttering things under her breath.

'Nirilana, listen to me! Don't do it, don't summon them! They will bring nothing but death and destruction upon this world!' I pleaded with her.

She continued to ignore me so I began to creep forwards, inching myself towards her to stop her before she succeeded in summoning both Kaos and Havok from their slumber. I got just behind Nirilana and raised my sword.

She screamed once as the massive blade entered her back, but then lowered her voice and quickly started muttering again. I withdrew the sword from her and raised it once more. Nirilana started screaming out ancient words and I swung the sword. The last word left her lips as she died.

The pillar started glowing with an iridescent light and I ran to the opposite side of the room. It was lucky that I did as the whole thing exploded, spraying everything nearby with molten rock. I smelled cooked meat in the air and started gagging as I realised that it was Nirilana's body. After the molten rock had cooled and everything stopped smoking, I raised my hand from my eyes and looked around. There was a bright white light where the pillar had once stood and I thought I saw two dark shapes moving in it. Suddenly, the two dark shapes materialised in front of the light and looked around. One was the large silver dragon who I immediately recognised as Kaos Bloodwulf, the other was a weird creature. It had four arms and was scaled. It was a deep green colour and there was spikes running all down his back. I knew that this must be the form that Havok had stolen.

Kaos Bloodwulf looked over, saw me and grinned evilly.

'Welcome brother. It is so good to finally meet you in person.' He said evilly.

I just stared at them, my mind momentarily blank.

'What the hell do you mean by "brother" Kaos?' I demanded finally.

'Oh, you still don't understand, do you Darkstar?' He laughed. 'You see, when my other and I came into existence, this universe tried everything it could to stop us from destroying anything in our paths when we waged war upon one and other. It finally created a new weapon to use in its battle against us. This weapon is called the Heart Incarnate and apparently its heartbeat is the one of the universe itself. Being an immortal thing, this Heart Incarnate is sought by all for many different purposes. We want it to finally conquer this universe and end all life so that we may create a universe based on our laws and teachings. You are a part of this Heart, and therefore immortal. You are our brother in the broader sense of the term. You are not linked to us by blood, but you are by other ways. All three of us cannot co-exist in the same universe without dire consequences that will affect everyone and everything, including us.'

'Wait a second. You are telling me that I am this "Heart Incarnate"?' I was shocked and appalled.

'No, not the whole Heart. You are only a part of it, an essential part, yes, but still merely a part. There are three in total as far as we know. The soul, the key and the shield. You are the soul, obviously, and you know of the location of the key, yet you do not know the location of the shield, do you?' Said Havok in a guttural voice.

'I have no idea what this key is nor do I really understand what you are saying.' I half-yelled at them.

'Oh you will, brother, you will. But I am afraid it is time for us to say goodbye for now. We have a lot of work to do and a lot of time to do it in. Rest assured though, we will meet again soon.' Kaos Bloodwulf laughed. I lunged at them with my Dragonblade but was too late. Kaos laughed evilly before disappearing with Havok.

I roared at the ceiling, realising what terror I had unleashed upon the world. I knew that it was not my fault that they had both reappeared but that did not stop me from feeling the guilt at not stopping Nirilana sooner.

I ran back through the passageways as fast as I could, hoping to reach the surface and warn my family before Kaos and Havok began tearing everything apart.

As I stumbled on a set of steps, the ground beneath me opened up and fires enveloped my body, dragging me downwards.

Not again! I thought to myself as I re-entered the realm of Hell.

Sure enough, once I stood up, I was face to face with the demonic Nano. I wondered why he had dragged me here this time, but I knew that I was bound to find out shortly.

'Welcome back Darkstar. I see that you have been rather busy since out last chat.' He said.

I nodded my head at him in a way of greeting and waited.

'You are wondering why you are here, yes? Well it is because of the two beings that have been unleashed upon your world. Although I am not permitted to interfere in the mortal world, I can assist you with information. The key of the Heart you shall come across very soon. In fact, you have seen it twice already. But the shield, well that is the more difficult one. It is the Gauntlet of Truth, lost in the memory of legend. The last known time it was seen was in the hands of Narcsis, the mighty necromancer from long ago. He was the first necromancer, the one responsible for discovering the powers of the undead. He was the creator of the Armour of Narcsis, a mystical set of shoulder straps that grant the wearer access to a vast range of powers that are used by necromancers. I suggest that you try and find both the Gauntlet and the Armour soon, as they would both help you out a lot in your battles against the ancient beings known as Kaos and Havok.'

'Thanks for the information, Nano. I greatly appreciate all the help you are giving me. But I have to ask one thing; would these necromancer powers allow me to bring someone back from the dead?' I asked; hope beginning to shine in my mind.

'Yes and no. Yes they would allow you to bring someone back from the dead without any real consequences, but not Avyn. She has been dead too long. You have one hour from the point of death to resurrect someone with their mind intact. After the one hour period passes, the mind deteriorates, so that if you then resurrect them, all you will have is a mindless zombie that will do what you say. I am sorry, Darkstar, but Avyn is gone.' Nano replied sadly.

I wiped a tear from my eye, now was not the time to grieve. There was a pair of ancient troublemakers on the loose and Avyn would not want me to stand here grieving for her when others like Rasani were in danger. I looked at Nano with an unspoken statement in my eyes and he nodded. Suddenly it felt like I was shooting upwards and I found myself kneeling on the steps out the front of the Kermani mansion.

I stumbled up the stairs and shoved my way through the door, not realising that I was still mostly covered in both Avyn and Nirilana's blood. I saw Bertain, Cynda and Rasani all sitting on the couches in the library as I stumbled through the house, my legs feeling strangely weak. They all stood up and gasped as the sight of me as I leaned against the wall, looking at them with unfocused eyes.

'Must... warn... danger... escape... murder... Avyn... killed... Nirilana... Kaos... Havok... reawakened... danger...' I managed to say before collapsing to the ground as Rasani rushed over. My vision went black before I had even hit the ground.

I awoke much later on. Jyn was sitting on one side of me, while Rasani was on the other, clasping my hand in both of hers. It was strangely comforting that after all I had been through in the past few hours, there was still a family who loved me and a city that was oblivious to the terror that had been unleashed.

'Looks like you have decided to wake up' Rasani joked.

'What happened? I remember stumbling into the room and collapsing.' I said, frowning.

'You have spent too much energy and power without getting enough sleep. It could have been a lot worse for you had you tried to use more magic.' Answered Jyn.

I sighed and relaxed on the bed. Sleep, that was all I really had needed. A simple sleep deprivation caused me to collapse in the middle of warning them about... I quickly grabbed Rasani's arm and dragged her closer.

'Rasani! Listen to me! Avyn was murdered by Nirilana, Queen of the Black Guardians. I managed to hunt her down to the Outer Sanctuary and had to blast my way through the labyrinth. I confronted her in the heart of the Outer Sanctuary and managed to kill her, but not before she finished the ritual she was performing when I found her. She has summoned Kaos Bloodwulf and Havok back to this world! They must be stopped! I must find the key and the shield before it is too late!' I said quickly.

Rasani went pale and stared at me before running out of the room to find, I hoped, Bertain and Cynda to repeat what I had just told her. I watched her leave the room before sinking back on the bed and relaxing.

'That's good, get some more sleep. You will need a lot more before you are in a fighting shape again Darkstar.' Jyn said calmly and put her hand on my head. I looked at her closely for the first time. She was a small white dragoness with a kind face and her eyes had the look of someone who has a secret knowledge. I slowly drifted off and fell asleep with her watching over me, making sure that I got the sleep she said I needed.

I awoke much later and noticed that I was once again alone. I slowly got up out of the bed and stretched as many parts of my body as I could; trying to wake everything up. Events of the previous days flooded through my mind, jolting me into a state of readiness. I decided that Tim and the rest of the Crusaders needed to be warned before anyone got killed by Kaos and Havok. I grabbed my sword, strapped it on, and ran down the stairs and through the halls of the mansion, heading towards the entrance. I almost ran into Bertain who was walking the other way.

'Whoa! Where do you think you are going in such a rush?' He asked me, smiling.

'No time to explain! Must warn the Crusaders. Ask Rasani what is happening, she knows.' I said quickly before running out the door and taking flight.

I flew over the city and landed out the front of the tavern that Tim had brought me to last time. I walked over to the back rooms and to the door that we had passed through last time. I knocked three times and waited for a second.

'Azan kerina meazn isseat oggiea trya astoth.' I said, hoping that I had correctly remembered the password.

The door silently opened and I ducked inside. I was grabbed by two dragons that held me against the wall.

'Who are you and how do you know the password!' They demanded.

'My name is Darkstar and I am a recent member of the Crusaders. I need to speak with the leaders about some information of grave importance.' I said.

Tim came around the corner, spotted me, and rushed over. 'I will vouch for him. He will come with me.' He said as he neared.

I looked at Tim, then at the two dragons that had let me go and backed off, then followed Tim down the passageways.

'So why are you here?' He asked me once we were away.

'I have really bad news for the leaders. This is something they need to hear.' I said sadly as we walked along the tunnels.

We soon entered the large circular chamber that the leaders usually gathered in and today I noticed that there were only five dragons in there, not including myself or Tim. They all stood up and looked over as we entered the room.

'Welcome back Darkstar. Do you have news of the Black Guardians that you wish to share?' One of them said.

'Nirilana, the Queen of the Black Guardians has been killed. Killed by me.' I said coldly. 'Yet that is not all.' I told them about the reawakening of Kaos and Havok and then told them about the Heart. I did not mention that I was the soul, but I did say that I had knowledge of the whereabouts of the key.

'You know where this "key of the Heart Incarnate" is?' Another demanded. 'You must tell us!'

'Why "must" I tell you? I am not going to give you one piece of the Heart because I was warned not to trust anyone, no matter whom!' I said angrily.

'Since we are the ones who own the Gladiator Arena, we can remove you from all Arena combat. Darkstar, from here on, you are removed from any and all Arena Battles under pain of execution! This is the price you pay for disobeying us!' Said one of them angrily.

'Look, if you want that bitch you call a wife to live, you will tell us what we want to know!' Yelled the one who had first spoken to me.

I suddenly went cold inside. 'You would threaten my wife to get what you want? You are no better than the Black Guardians! You do not deserve my help and can get lost! You are not getting the location from me and I am no longer a part of your organisation.' I said; my voice like ice.

'I am sorry Darkstar, but when you join the Crusaders, you join for life. There is one way to terminate your "membership" though... by killing you! Bring her in!' Yelled a third dragon.

A hidden door on the far side opened and two dragons marched in, dragging Rasani between them. I gasped and then growled at the dragons that called themselves the leaders of this organisation. I took one threatening step forwards then suddenly spun on my heel and faced the two guards and Rasani. I reached over my back and drew the Dragonblade from its scabbard, loving the steely rasp as it slid out.

Grinning evilly, I drew in my powers and slowed time down much more than I had ever done before. The purple haze intensified as time grew slower and slower. My vision suddenly went black and then perfectly clear. No one was moving and I could see the dust in the air just floating there, not moving at all. I raised my sword and quickly cut down the guards holding Rasani hostage. I then pried her out of their hands, created a pile of rubble to block both doors into the room, and disarmed the leaders. I then stood back and looked around. I could see the guards eyes begin to widen in surprise as they just realised that they had been stabbed and moved. I quickly moved myself back into position and sped up time.

As soon as I entered the normal time flow, I jumped forward, kicked both guards, grabbed Rasani and moved her behind me. I waved my sword threateningly at Tim and felt Rasani's claws digging into my shoulder in fright. Tim looked uncertainly at his leaders before placing both hands on the hilt of his massive sword. He drew the bland and held it up in the light. I grinned, moved myself away from Rasani, and stepped forward to fight Tim. We stood there, staring at each other for a while. Each of us was daring the other to make the first move and commence the battle.

I leapt forward and ducked, making a quick slash at Tim's shins. Tim jumped back and responded by jumping to the left and attempting to drive the hilt of his sword into my chest. I rolled forwards, missing the attack and jumped to my feet behind him. As he began to turn to face me, I leapt over his head and cut his left shoulder with the tip of my blade. Tim growled and spun about, slashing at my right arm as he did so. The pain, as the sword cut deep into my arm, was incredible, but I tossed the Dragonblade into my left hand and shut out the pain in my right arm. I found that fighting with my left arm came more naturally to me. It was easier than using my right. I made a number of quick slashes and thrusts at Tim and was rewarded with a cry of pain as Tim tried to move his left arm to protect his muzzle and neck. Using the momentary pain to my advantage, I stepped up my attack, launching attack after attack. I flowed from my normal fighting style to a more rapid and aggressive one. Tim was slowly being forced back, and I knew that I was going to win this one. Suddenly, flying from out of no where, a dagger lodged itself in my already injured right arm. The pain almost drove me to my knees and then I found myself on the defensive side as Tim began to fight back. I knew that one of the Crusader Lords must have thrown the dagger at me and I promised myself that I would deal with them as soon as this was over. I shoved my entire weight against my blade as I blocked an attack from Tim. Our blades clashed and Tim lost balance as I forced my blade forwards. Tim slipped, lost his footing and hit the ground. I walked over and placed my sword against his neck.

'I am giving you this one chance to surrender, Tim. You have proven yourself to be a good asset to the Crusaders and you are an expert swordsman. It will not be considered cowardice to surrender as no one outside of this room will know of our battle' I said calmly, hoping that Tim would take my advice and surrender so that I would not have to kill him.

Tim raised his muzzle off of the ground, spat at my feet and said; 'you might as well kill me as defeat is something I cannot handle.'

I hesitated, not really wanting to kill him and that gave Tim all the advantage he needed. He raised his arm and slashed at my legs with his blade. I dropped to my knees and shoved the Dragonblade through Tim's heart, ending his life. I was not proud of what I did, but as I told myself, it was necessary. I looked sadly at the body of the dragon that I had once called my friend and stood back onto my feet. My legs and right arm burned with pain and I noticed the others in the room cowering in fear. I growled and flicked most of the blood off my blade. I then ran one claw over my cuts, healing them and leaving angry red scars in their place. I slowly walked forwards and stopped in front of the cowering bastards who called themselves the leaders around here.

'What goes around comes around. You have been hurting me and others for too long and now it is time for you to be finished. By threatening me, you turned me against you. By actually capturing and threatening my wife, you started a war that you were not ready for. I have been trying to explore and understand my powers for a while now and I have discovered that they are only as evil as I make them seem in my mind. If I do not use them for evil, then how can they be dark powers? I am willing to use them in anyway necessary to accomplish what I need done and it doesn't really bother me that I used them to kill a whole stack of Black Guardians, just like it didn't bother me to use them against your guards. Do you know why I killed Nirilana? It was because she killed Avyn, one of my dear friends. I was going to cut her down where she stood but she managed to escape with the help of others. I tracked her down and murdered her as she reawakened Kaos Bloodwulf and Havok from their slumber. As she died, so did the Black Guardians. So as you all die, so will the Crusaders.' I told them, growling the whole time.

As I finished speaking, I felt a momentary flicker of pity for these dragons, but I quickly ignored that, drew in my powers and incinerated them. It was not a pleasant process and it left me feeling slightly sick and weak. Once I had finished, there was only five piles of smouldering ash and five burnt dragon skulls left. I sighed, gathered the rest of my strength, picked up Rasani, blew a hole through the roof, and flew off with her still in my arms. The breeze was cool against my scales as we drifted through the air. I had singlehandedly been responsible for the downfall of two powerful syndicates in less than two days. The thought was both amusing and depressing. It proved that desperate times called for desperate and slightly unorthodox methods, and it also proved that I could really do what ever I wanted now without worrying about getting captured by either side.

I flew slowly back to the mansion, Rasani held securely in my arms. I landed in the courtyard in the back and could immediately sense that there was something terribly wrong. There was just the feel of destruction hanging over the place and a sense of emptiness in the pit of my stomach. I placed Rasani back on her feet and we ran up the steps and burst into the house. There was a strong stench of blood in the air. I heard a groan next to me and looked over to find Rasani on her knees retching violently. I slowly pulled her onto her feet and half-shoved her out of the door and outside, away from the smell. I took my mind off the smell and walked through the house, fearing the worst. I ran into the library and stopped dead in my tracks. There, lying on the floor in a puddle of blood was Cynda. I ran over to her and placed my hand over her heart. It was still beating, faintly, and I breathed a sigh of relief. There was every possibility that I may yet be able to save her. I reached inside me and drew forth the brunt of my powers. I had never used this much power before and just having it sitting there, waiting to be used, made me feel like I was about to explode. I focused the power on healing the shattered remains of Cynda's body and murmured to myself, knowing exactly who did this. I swore to myself that I was going to slowly kill Bloodwulf and Havok for this. How two immortals that have been battling each other for control of the universe could have suddenly put aside all differences in order to kill me was beyond my understanding but it did not stop me from wanting to kill them both.

Cynda slowly opened her eyes and looked at me.

'Darkstar, how happy it makes me to see you alive and well.' She coughed. 'You and Rasani must find Bertain. He went off to the portal device that we found you near with some ideas in his head. Shortly after he left this giant green creature burst into the house and killed both Jyn and Aris before turning to me. Please, love Rasani and tell her how much I loved her. You have both made us proud. Goodbye Darkstar my son.'

Cynda coughed up a lot of blood and slowly died in my arms.

No! NO, NO, NO! I will not allow her to die like this! There has to be a way to save her! I thought to myself.

I drew in as much of my powers as I dared, hoping that the rage flowing through my veins would help me with this. I focused my powers on the one thing that I knew meant death if practiced. I turned to the ancient arts of necromancy. I knew the basis; all you had to do was will the cells in the deceased body to regenerate and heal the body, thus allowing it to be reinhabited by the soul as long as you hadn't waited more than one hour to regenerate the body. I poured my powers through Cynda's body and was shocked to find that it had very little effect. I roared in my rage and heard Rasani burst into the room. I started glowing a deep, sapphire blue as my powers roped through my body, through my claws and into Cynda's body. The strain that this was taking on my mind and muscles became too much and I released my grip on the magic. I sat there, panting, with Cynda's dead body on my lap. I felt Rasani's hand on my shoulder and looked up into her tear filled eyes.

'I am so sorry Rasani. Cynda was murdered by Havok and there is nothing I can do to bring her back.' I said as I stood up and wrapped my arms and wings around her, comforting her. She spent quite a few minutes crying into my shoulder, which was understandable.

'You know, we aught to go find your father.' I said worriedly. 'Cynda said that he had disappeared over to where the teleport ring I used to get here. Let's hope we find him.' I slowly lowered my arms from around her and led her out of the house.

We took flight back towards the beach where the ring was located. The city looked desolate and abandoned in the deep orange light. The sun slowly set over the edge of the horizon and darkness embraced the world. We flew silently through the air, both hoping to find some trace of Bertain that proved that he was not also dead.

Why does death and destruction always follow me? Why did Havok and Kaos come here? What is it about this world that drew them here? And what is my purpose as this Soul of the Heart Incarnate? Many questions flowed through my mind, confusing me. I was not looking forward to facing either Havok or Kaos in combat. They were immortals and I was just a simple dragon. It seemed to me that there was no possible way for me to win this war without sacrificing everything I loved.

As we landed on the ground, I quickly glanced around, trying to work out where Bertain was. Staring at the sand around the ring, I could see signs of a struggle; kicked up sand, a body imprint, two sets footprints that often collided and some dried blood. I growled to myself and wondered what could have happened here. The most obvious thing to cross my mind was Bertain getting captured by either Kaos or Havok. Rasani just stood there, slightly grinning at my frustrated look, it was almost as if she knew what had happened here and was taunting me with that knowledge.

'What is it?' I demanded.

She laughed quietly. 'You are trying to find out what happened here, yes?' She asked and I nodded my head, 'well, if you had bothered to learn more about me in the time since we first met, you would know about my own dragon powers. My basic element is water, the blood of all life. I know that yours is fire, seeing as you lit my room on fire with your breath. My own specialized ability just happens to allow me to recall any event that happened at any location. Just give me a minute and I should be able to replay the past events.'

I felt a rush of power run along the ground, stirring the leaves and creating a small breeze. Rasani stood in the middle of it, the power wrapping around her like small tornado. The air around her began to sizzle and small green bolts of energy encompassed her body. She lifted her head and spun around, spreading her wings as she did so. Suddenly, images began to take form around the ring. I saw Bertain standing there with a frown on his face, staring intently at the portal. He jumped back as the portal powered up and the ring began to rise up out of the sand. There was a blinding flash of light and a figure stepped out of the portal and glanced around. It was a large golden dragon with huge horns and spikes covering most of his body. I gasped in shock, it was Bloodshadow! Bloodshadow had finally managed to activate the portal and get to Kiralan.

'Bloodshadow! Why are you here? This land is not under your control!' Demanded Bertain angrily.

'And who the hell are you?' Asked Bloodshadow, his voice like ice.

'I am Bertain Kermani, Councillor of Kiralan. Now answer my question; why are you here?'

'KERMANI! So you are the father of the bitch that married the runt that dared run away from me!' Bloodshadow exploded with rage.

'You mean Darkstar? Well of course, he is the most powerful dragon I know and he is a perfect match for my daughter. He has learned a hell of a lot since he left you.'

Bloodshadow began circling Bertain, growling and snarling at him. I knew that Bertain stood no chance of taking on Bloodshadow singlehandedly. Bloodshadow suddenly leapt forward and his fist connected with the side of Bertain's jaw. I heard the crunch of breaking bones and Bertain fell to the ground, blood coming out of his mouth. Bertain slowly got back up onto his feet and kicked Bloodshadow in the shins. Bloodshadow howled in rage and lashed his tail out, striking Bertain across the chest. Bertain jumped backwards, rolled to the left and punched Bloodshadow in the back of his head. Bloodshadow somersaulted over Bertain's head and bodily threw him to the ground. Bertain was about to get up when Bloodshadow reached forwards and pushed him back down to the ground. Bloodshadow dragged Bertain over into the ring and roared a couple of words. There was a flash of white light and Bloodshadow and Bertain disappeared.

Rasani gasped and released the powers holding the image together. It slowly faded and we stood staring at each other, knowing that we were going to need to go to Akarum and hunt down Bloodshadow.

'Rasani, my love, I swear that Bloodshadow will die by my hand for what he has done to your father. Bloodshadow is a problem that has plagued this world for far too long. It is time he was exterminated and replaced.' I said, trying to comfort her.

Rasani just looked at me, anger and hatred rippling in waves off her body. She slowly nodded her head and stood in the ring.

I walked forwards, stood next to her and played the scene of Bloodshadow activating the portal over in my mind, trying to work out the words used.

'Quot tergum Akarum azith!' I roared, hoping that those were the words needed.

Nothing happened and I replayed the scene again, thinking up different combinations that might work.

'Voth tragern Akarum azith' I said and the portal hummed with power. The world went white then black as we were transported across the world in mere seconds.

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