Chapter 6: Dragons Divided
#7 of A Dragon's Final Song
Dragons Divided
Upon waking up, the first thing that came up in Shirdan's field of vision was the big vault, making him wonder of the content and his objective sleeping in front of the place. The yellow dragon didn't think about it last night, but somehow, he could see a big keyhole in front of the vault, which struck him as odd. Something with a keyhole with the size of a dragon's head couldn't be hidden that easily.
His line of thoughts were cut when Andelhaus started talking.
"Shirdan, you really need to talk to me about your vengeance. I kept thinking whose side you're on."
"I'm not with any of these sides, human, and I am not going to talk about it. Besides, what's my business to you? Humans are ignorant to a dragon's problems except themselves."
"At least talk to me about you killing that dragon, Shirdan."
"It's pure vengeance, nothing more."
"There's not even one history stating that the dragon was involved. He's just..."
"Shut your mouth or I'll show you how an annoyed dragon crush the skull of a little mammal," said Shirdan growling to Andelhaus. The human just made a sigh and said, "Alright, suit yourself. But, you're mistaken if you're saying that I'm a human."
"I don't care. If you look human, you're a human," said Shirdan with a huff. "I'm going hunting. Make sure you get some woods ready."
Ignoring the 'human', Shirdan opened his wings and started flying towards a nearby plain, where he could see some prey native to Southern Region. He snatched one fat goat-like creature and broke its neck, something he always did when he was trained by Cordandar. Thinking about him made him think of what the dragon was thinking the day when he was killed more than a century ago.
"He's not some mental dragon to follow a deranged father," thought Shirdan. "He's like a father to me, and he's not an evil dragon. Just what is wrong in your mind, Cordandar? Did Ceroz actually convinced you to do something regrettable? You idiot."
His kept thinking until he reached the place where Andelhaus had made camp. Unknown to him, though, the 'human', or more precisely, a bear, was putting some woods to the ground while next to him, a fresh group of fish, recently snatched from a nearby lake, was ready for eating.
"Never have thought your model is a bear, Andelhaus," said Shirdan while landing. "How long have you been a Shifter?"
"I was born a Shifter, Shirdan. Is there exist any other Shifters?"
"There were once some...but it was a very long time ago."
They ate their breakfast. While eating, Shirdan said, "You're not terrified of my presence and my history. Why? Is it because you're a bear that you think you can stand against me?"
"I think...whatever history you had with your father and how ruthless you are, you're not a real bastard," said Andelhaus while savoring his fish. "I am a pro-dragon, but as a bear, I got a hunch about your actions, as if it's for the best, not pure vengeance."
"Don't think about it that way," said Shirdan. "A dragon's revenge is a dish best served cold. I've waited for more than a century to take that old dragon's life, and to destroy the Order as I see fit. My vengeance is not over yet, Andelhaus, and your hunch...it's something that you should understand eventually, with your instinct."
As they finished their food in silence, Shirdan said, "Even if you're a bear, you know the capabilities of a dragon, Andelhaus. If you think this is not what dragon does in your mind, then get off and forget about me. I don't care, and this time, I won't return to save you when you slip."
"I know you won't. That's what real dragons do," said Andelhaus while cleaning the remains of the fish. "But you know, the Dragonsbane is ready for another war. The dragons in Western Region won't get the same victory as before."
"I don't pick sides, Andelhaus, but for preserving our race, I'm ready to even do what a dragon might not want to do, and that is to open this damn vault full of my father's secrets."
"When you try to find the answer, it's best not to find it in a straightforward way...that's what my father told me when I was still a young cub."
"Yes, but what is the not straightforward way?! The vault has a key, and the key that size is supposed to be a plain sight...wait a minute..."
"See what I meant? The key you're talking about is not the literal giant key..."
"But a key of a light dragon." Shirdan scoffed. "Even though he's the worst father ever, I never thought I'll respect him for that."
He then walked toward the vault, and imagining a key, he reformed the light to make a hard-light key to unlock the vault. As the key clicked in place, however, there was a very loud roar coming out from inside the vault, which surprised both of them.
"That's not what I expected."
As the door to the vault opened, Shirdan gasped upon seeing the interior.
Inside a massive room, there were many dragons sleeping, presumably in a frozen-induced coma. Yet, when Shirdan stepped one of his claws inside the room, one of the dragons opened its eyes, and roared in a mighty force never before seen by the dragon.
"What is this place? Ceroz...made something like this?"
"Ceroz?!" a booming voice called out. "That wretched dragon put us here for his contingency plan but instead of doing that, he locked us up!"
"He's no better than those western dragons!" said another voice. "To think we, the feared drakons, would be tricked by a traitor of his kind."
Shirdan then felt something, and he realized what he had just done. In horror, he saw the sources of the voices were giant dragons twice a normal adult dragon size, at least for a western dragon. They were walking towards the light, and this caused Shirdan to back off.
"You, little western, state your intention," said the biggest one. "Only Ceroz knows of this place."
"I-I'm his son, Shirdan."
"Then your purpose here is to destroy the world as we know it? We followed your father because he followed our plan, but then he tricked us and lock us inside that giant room, induced in a sleep. He said he's going to let us out when it's time to take over the world, but he isn't going to fulfill that with a son representative!"
"He's dead, northern dragon."
"Dead?! Hah! Serves him right! Now, without any further ado, we'll take the air of freedom that's taken from us for so many years!"
Shirdan tried to say something, but they shoved him off and flew away, leaving a great air current that almost threw Andelhaus off if not for the combined effort of his bear form and Shirdan's save. As they left the cave, Shirdan was left dumbfounded, while Andelhaus scratched his head and said, "Well, dragon, I think we've just unleashed the doomsday machines."
Meanwhile, back to Avila...
"So, what might possibly make Shirdan become like his father? I know someone driven by revenge, and all I could think about...is Seraphor himself."
"Yes, so you know what a dragon might do for revenge, Avila," said her father while groaning. "Every dragon, driven for revenge, won't back down until he gets what he wants. You're a fortunate one Seraphor fell for you and not killed by him. He's capable of that. But for Shirdan, even though I knew Cordandar was a vile dragon in his own rights...he was once a very good dragon."
"That maniac was once a good dragon. Talk about your own self."
"He was reluctant to follow us, but Ceroz manipulated him...through me. He helped Shirdan to find a better father, before he succumbed to darkness. Guess Shirdan followed his father's footsteps."
"I won't be so sure if I were you, dad."
Xiciro made a smile. "Then I trust you know a better judgement than me, Avila. For now, I really need a rest."
Avila bid her father goodbye, yet her heart said that she was actually worried of her father. With Seraphor out of the picture, her father was the only one she could lean on. Many thoughts raced inside her, thinking of what the hell would the dragon achieved by killing one of his friends and hurting her father? Revenge is one thing, but then, these acts would only make him exposed to every dragons there.
Just as she wanted to open her wings, Terrador walked to her and said, "How's your father, Avila?"
"He is going to make it. But I thought you're the one tending to him?"
"As much as I want to help, Xiciro urged me to follow you, and to protect you at any cost."
"That's my father, blaming over the past."
"So what are you going to do with the dragon that killed my counterpart?"
"Until we can find him, we need to understand what he is planning. Not only that, my friend told me of an impending danger coming to us, and again, I am really sorry if you're drawn into our world's mess."
"It is always a guardian's duty to help with every dragons, even if they are not from this world. Seraphor saved us many times with Spyro, and now it's our turn to repay him."
Avila made a nod before opening her wings and flew away. The night was a calm breeze with no strong winds at that moment. As she flew, she watched the giant moon and some distant howls, thinking about what the world would be if there was going to be another war.
She doesn't want to live through three wars in her lifetime, and especially after she had her precious little ones to protect.