Viyara Nameless
I hadn’t even felt it when Layla had bitten me in her rage. Only when my senses had dulled and my mind had become clouded, had I realised that something was wrong. Reflexively, I had reached for Cassandra but I hadn’t been able to get through to her. As soon as I had focused on the spark of energy deep within me, pain had blossomed in my mind, as if there had been a wall of fire blocking me, and I had quickly let go. I had been anxious, then, but I hadn’t thought it’d be that bad. Considering the spells that had ravaged Alassara’s home, I had imagined it had been nothing but a side effect of the magic. In the middle of a vampire siege, there had been other things on my mind, anyways, and if I had been to distract Ahri, we would have had a host of new problems. Consequentially, I had kept my mouth shut.
Unfortunately, once Cassy had made her way down to us, it had already been far worse, but still I had held my silence. I had felt my body shut down and it had become increasingly difficult to keep the two vampires in check. For a moment I had toyed with the idea of letting them go and somehow get Cassandra’s attention, but… I knew her, her and her lover. They would have ignored everything else to tend to me and in the end, we would have been worse off. Ahri’s flames had been what had kept us safe and knowing Cassy, she’d have done something stupid which we would have come to regret, later. It had struck me as much better to simply wait until the worst of it would be over. “I’m a dragoness after all, how bad can it get,” I had thought.
Only when Alassara had regained her bearings, had I deemed it safe, but by then, the lingering pain in my mind had already spread through my body, tongues of fire singing my nerves. I had miscalculated, and then… I had keeled over and had barely avoided crushing Layla’s slim form beneath me. Darkness had risen from the edge of my vision and the last thing I had known before I had succumbed to sweet oblivion was Cassandra’s voice, reaching me from afar. She had seemed distraught but I hadn’t had the strength left to comfort her and I had closed my eyes.
For a small eternity, I drifted through blissful nothingness, the woes and wants of existence forgotten. There was no looming threat in my future, no feeling of abandonment or inferiority. I was content. If this was the end, it wouldn’t be half bad. But it wasn’t. Slowly, gradually, I became aware of something else, or rather someone else. A fleeting presence at the edge of my perception, a spark of colour in a grey, indifferent void, filled with memories and wishes. And it was calling to me, begging for me to come closer, edging me on, igniting a small spark of fire in my chest. And with the realisation came the memories, memories of where I was and what had happened. I had to wake up! The longer it remained stuck like this, the more likely it became that I wasn’t going to make it back.
I tried to move, but I didn’t have a body and it took me a while to figure out that I had to rely on my desires, my will, to change my position. Once I made the connection, though, I easily crossed a distance that was far larger than I had imagined. I couldn’t say how I knew, but I was convinced that I had crossed far beyond the boundaries of Alassara’s home, beyond Free Land, beyond Gaya herself. One instant I was still hovering above a greyish, dreamlike landscape that felt like the other side of reality, my friends blurry, abstract shadows, reflections cast into a hazy mist by a sinking sun, and the next, I was somewhere else.
Before me, wings of golden fire burned the aether, infinite and beautiful. Each single feather resembled a sun, dying and reviving in an endless cycle. Amidst the flames, at the centre of the glistening maelstrom, a regal woman stood. She smiled at me, her eyes the exact same colour as her wings, while a small, smouldering bird, it’s plumage sparkling with different shades of gold and red, circled around her.
“Hello, Viyara. We’ve never met before, but I’m…”
“I know who you are,” I interrupted her mentally. My reverence, when it came to transcendent beings with cosmic powers, had taken a dent ever since I had joined Cassandra and her group. While I very much realised that I couldn’t hope to match them in strength, I also knew that they were born from mortal souls and as such, they weren’t that different from the ancient dragons I had met. Powerful beyond belief, partly erratic and strange but still very much a living being. And this one here, the Lady of Dawn, was a friend. At least I thought so and I wasn’t going to waste my time grovelling. “Could we cut to the chase? I assume you know what’s happening to me?”
The tiny bird’s spherical cry, on second thought, she wasn’t that tiny, she just seemed that way in comparison to the towering figure at her side, filled the space around us with music and I had the distinct impression that she was applauding my nerve. The flaming goddess smiled in response and winked at me.
“I do. Don’t fret, you’ll be fine, but you managed to take in a spark of my power. I assume the child, what was her name again, Layla, bit you?” I nodded. “You’re either one of the luckiest creature I’ve ever known,” she continued, “or you’re honestly cursed. Except for her and Aurelia, there isn’t a single being left that contains enough of my essence to… maybe I should explain what’s happening to you body, beforehand.” Her wings fanned out, setting the horizon ablaze, before she folded them again. A sphere of light surrounded me for the fraction of a second, and I felt my body again, the way it used to be, hearty and whole.
“There, that’s better, isn’t it? Talking to a spectral presence has always been disturbing for me. Anyways, where was I? Right, Lu… Cassandra’s power is… unique. It doesn’t budge, it doesn’t change and it doesn’t take kindly to anything that comes near it. Right now, the energies in your carbuncle are cleansing your body, chasing off an intruder. Me. It won’t take long, but unfortunately, your body isn’t strong enough to cope with the fallout. The transcendent energies are tearing it apart as we speak. Your… essence, your magic, won’t be touched, it’s already changed to a degree that makes it immutable, but your flesh… that’s another matter.”
“Same thing that happens to you, or rather to all immortals, if your core develops prematurely isn’t it?” She seemed surprised.
“Indeed, Cassandra must really trust you. It isn’t often the case that we divulge the secrets of our development. You’re right, in any case, except for one crucial distinction: we can’t turn back and you, my dear, you can. It’s not success or death, in your case, you simply have to hold on long enough for my spark to vanish or until I take it out. Which I’m going to do as soon as we’re done here.” I couldn’t very well verify what she was saying, I had not the faintest idea how immortal powers actually worked, but I was still inclined to trust her. Nevertheless, I wanted to know:
Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
“Can I even hold on for that long? Mephisto once told me that my appearance would change as soon as I’m starting to get used to Cassandra’s energy. It hasn’t, yet. Doesn’t that mean I’m… too weak, that I’m dying, right now?”
“Yes and no. You aren’t dying, since you are still on the verge of closing your eyes. We’re… time isn’t flowing congruently and right now, it’s slow enough for us to have a little chat. I thought you’d prefer it… the alternative would be suffering through every instant until my spark is gone.”
“You said you could take it out. Couldn’t you have done so, already?”
“I wasn’t aware of it until you collapsed. And you aren’t in any pain right now, are you? There are a few things I’d like to tell you… or rather, ask of you. You’re bound to Cassandra.” It wasn’t a question, but she still gave me the opportunity to reply.
“You know I am. In more ways than one,” I added under my breath but I assumed it didn’t make much of a difference. We didn’t speak, in the literal sense, and whispering didn’t help. She chose to ignore it, though, and pressed on. Or so I thought:
“Then I want to start with a simple question: are you in love with her?” If it had been possible to blush in an illusionary body, I would have turned into a red dragon right then and there. My first instinct was to deny everything, but it only lasted for a moment.
“I… probably,” I admitted. “She thinks it’s going to blow over soon, but I’m not so sure. Why?”
“I wanted to make sure,” she sighed. “Almost every time an immortal binds a dragon… it’s nigh impossible to not fall for the being whose essence you carry in your chest, isn’t it?”
“I… that’s part of it. But… Sarai, she saved my life, more than once. She was there for me when I thought I had been abandoned, she cared, she listened… I don’t think it’d have turned out any other way if she hadn’t bound me. I most definitely love her, I’m just not fully convinced I’m in love with her. But I still don’t get why it would matter. Care to explain?”
“Unrequited feelings are more dangerous than you can imagine. War and treachery follow after broken hearts and hurt pride like flys follow after horses. I won’t arm you, if I have to fight you somewhere down the road.” I blinked and my next question caught her off guard.
“What’s a horse?”
“Oh, right, they aren’t common around here… A big, smelly creature,” she chuckled but became serious again immediately after. “But that’s not really important now, is it? You know what I’m getting at, don’t you?” I shrugged.
“You’re afraid I might turn against Cassandra… don’t. She hasn’t given me any reason to, nor has she led me on. I won’t promise that we’ll always see eye to eye, but I can assure you, I’m never going to hurt her willingly.”
“Have you thought that through? Really gnawed on it?”
“What do you mean,” I quickly asked, a tinge of worry clouding my mind for the first time since we had started talking. She sighed and quietly watched the phoenix circle around her.
“You know who she is… what’s coming. You still have family on this planet, don’t you? Maybe even friends? It’s your home… and war is coming.” I tried to interrupt but she raised her hand.
“Listen, I’m not talking about the conflict you’re in the middle of. Sooner or later, Cassy will have to make a decision concerning us, her family and… Viyara, she won’t hide. I’ve known her for aeons, that’s just not who she is. And she’s not strong enough to get through unscathed. There are going to be crossroads where every path is dark. Sometimes you have to choose the lesser evil. She’ll have to sacrifice more than either of you, young as you are, can imagine. And if… when it comes to that, are you quite sure you won’t hold it against her? Even if it’s going to cost you your world, your family, everything you know?” I chuckled quietly but it soon turned into full blown laughter.
“You don’t know much about me, do you,” I finally asked when my mirth had subsided.
“It seems that way,” she replied hesitantly. “Care to explain?”
“Without her, I’d have nothing. My own race has turned against me, regarding me as a price to fight over, to kill for. I already lost everyone who was dear to me and the only being I’m related to who’s somewhat close to me… he’d pluck my scales if I were to even consider betraying Cassy and Ahri. He never said it plainly, but he knows as well as I that I owe them and we take our debts seriously. And that’s just the practical side. I… everything I have left, it’s tied to them. If they have to burn this world, I’m damned sure there’d be a good reason for it and even if they wouldn’t tell me, I’d willingly light the torch. For better or for worse, I’m going to stick with my angels.”
“And what would happen if you were to meet a dashing young dragon? Would your answer change?” I mulled that over for a while.
“No,” I finally said. “I… you knew Lucifer and Aurora but you don’t know the beings I’ve met. If I were to truly fall in love, they’d make sure we’d have a chance. They’d protect whoever it’d be just as much as they try to keep me safe and I’d never hold it against them, if they failed. Besides… it’s not like I really have much of a choice in the matter, do I?” Her eyes went wide.
“Come again?”
“I don’t know how a bond between an immortal and their dragon usually works, but… until your power screwed it up, I was linked to Cassy’s… thoughts doesn’t even cover it. Soul, maybe? I know her, I can still feel her, even now. I… with a little time I think I’m going to know her decisions well before her, since I actually see what goes through her mind, and while she’s reckless, dangerously so, she always tries to do what she thinks is right. There’s no fault in that. Even if I was the one to ultimately pay the price, she wouldn’t… she couldn’t force me into it. I’d do it willingly and there’s no chance in hell that I’d hold her responsible.”
“How old are you again? That’s an perspective I’d have expected from a wizened, old man but not a child with the temper of a dragon.”
“I’m no child,” I growled. “My father’s death put to rest all illusions of being sheltered. Now that we’ve dissected my motives in more detail than I’d have liked, could you finally tell me what this is all about?”
“Sure. The spark of my power… Cassandra will devour it in a few seconds but I can use it, beforehand. More accurately, I can try to undo the damage I’ve inflicted on Aurelia. But, it’s not pure. It’s diluted… channeled through you. Can you guess where I’m going with this?” It took me a few moments but when I remembered what Alassara had told us about vampires and the origin of their strength, it clicked.
“She’ll be bound to me, won’t she?” Sarai nodded with apparent satisfaction.
“You’re quick. Yes, she most likely will. And aside from Cassandra and Ahri, she’s most likely the most powerful creature on your world. Considering how little the two of them know about their own heritage, yet, she might even be more dangerous. Not in a direct confrontation,” she added when she saw the disbelief in my eyes, “but everything else… I wouldn’t put it past her to… it doesn’t matter, you’ll find out for yourself, soon enough. So, that’s my question: do you want me to? Do you want to hold the leash of a creature you can’t hope to match until you’ve fully transformed into an immortal steed? She’ll be your responsibility.”
“How does that work? She’s already attuned to your energies, isn’t she? How’s that even possible?”
“You underestimate what’s growing within you. I’ve said it before, your magic is already immutable. Even as we speak, I can feel it pecking away at my influence and it won’t stop. Sure, if I was there, my own power pouring into Aurelia, it would be different, but as it stands, I’m almost certain that’s the way it’s going to turn out. So, what do you say?”
Most of my kind would have immediately agreed, the allure of power much too strong to resist, but I had learned a thing or two over the last weeks and I wasn’t going to let my greed dictate my actions. “You said I’d be responsible for her, what does that mean,” I finally asked.
“She’ll heed your words, she probably won’t even be able to deny you. It basically means I expect you to do much better than I ever did, or I’m going to flay you within an inch of your life.”