Chapter 6 – Secrets & Truths.
Sorene was in a lividly foul mood as she flew north back towards the capital. Everything had fallen apart when the Rider with the Prime had showed up, and they were still no closer to working out who she was. Before her appearance there had been no Primes in the kingdom at all, and her investigations hadn’t gotten her any insight into her origin, apart from the possible connection to the Witch, who along with the young man from Evergreen, had disappeared. She had shown up during the chaos, feigning injury, her dragon destroying the temple, and then disappeared again. While Myne had obviously known something, as the Prime Rider had been there for her, they hadn’t been aware of that at the time and hence hadn’t bothered to torture her for information before her conversion. And to top it all off, it seemed as if they had been waiting there for her, as they had isolated the villagers and spent their time protecting them.
The Prime Rider had lacked experience, her fighting full of openings that she had tried to take advantage of, but then she had been slammed out of the sky by the Prime Dragon, Zerifs being pinned underneath it while she had been thrown to the ground far out of the village, the attack catching her unawares and resulting in her taking a lot more damage than she should have, including a broken leg. She had caught glimpses of it fending off the demons, but it had appeared to be flickering in and out, which confused her, and as to how it had gone from there to above her was another unanswered question, and Melody had refused to talk on the matter. And that was the other issue. Melody had appeared beside her shortly after impact, dragging her onto her own dragon and moving her further away from the battlefield. It infuriated her that the Mask of Sound had been there in the first place. Did Zorthac doubt her ability? Zerifs had obviously then managed to escape the Prime’s clutches, joining them a short while later.
Zorthac did not tolerate failure from incompetence, and there was going to be a price to pay. Sorene did not know if Zorthac’s chains still bound Myne, as she had been fighting against him quite a bit. If they were then reclaiming her would be easy, but if they weren’t then her return to the tomb would be unpleasant, and something was niggling at her telling her it was the latter. First though, she would return to the central temple of the Clan. She needed to make a report to the rest of the Council members, and she also needed to vent and unwind.
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Myne slept solidly for the next day and a half, Izen sitting beside her the entire time. Following the mornings battle she had been taken to a room in the villages tavern, while Light had gone with Laphir and Shino to do a sweep of the surrounding area to see if any of the demons were still around. They had been unable to find any further trace of them, the tracks outside of the village disappearing completely as if someone had deliberately removed all trace of them. Villagers were stationed on watch as precautionary measure, Alice coordinating the clean up with the village’s elder.
Myne looked peaceful as she slept, obviously exhausted from all that she had been through, and Light and Ashling perched on the foot of the bed, watching them both. Well, Light at least, Izen was sure that Ashling was probably sleeping. His existence confused her somewhat, with Light just telling her that he had been with her for her entire life just like she had, and that he had also been summoned at the same time as her, but hadn’t bothered to actually take the final step in the process and materialize. Izen was happy that they had rescued Myne, the lack of worry a relief. Tired herself, at some point she must have dozed off, as she awoke with a start to a sharp pain in her neck, finding Myne awake and drinking her blood again.
“I thirst,” Myne offered as way of explanation, still feeding. “It’s a side effect of what was done to me. The need is overpowering, though your blood almost completely dulls it for a time.” She deliberately didn’t mention however that Izen’s blood instead awoke a very different desire in her.
Satisfied, she drew back to look at Izen, pushing Izen’s hair away from her ears and caressing the star seed earrings. “I made those as a gift for you, to claim you as mine. I’m glad you found them.” Myne smiled softly. “They look really good on you,” she added, Izen blushing in response.
“What happened to you?” Izen queried. “I can’t feel your gem any longer, and we haven’t seen Vel’nas at all.”
“He’s gone, consumed by whatever the demon king did to me.” Myne looked crushed. “It’s almost cruel,” she added with a teasing look as she glanced at Izen’s dragons, “I lost one, leaving a hole in my soul, and you seemed to have gained an additional one.”
“He’s always been there apparently, just too lazy to come out,” Izen replied. “You look like you’ve become a dragon instead, well, at the least a Dragon Feral,” she added.
Myne looked at the scales on her arms and felt the horns on her head. “I’m not sure if that’s a result of what was done to me, or a result of what was awakened in me because of the change, but that feels about right.” She held out a hand, a black flame forming to dance in her hand. “The Black Hellfire, just like the lady from my dream.”
She then looked up at Izen. “And your magic seems to be evolving to match the lady in white from the dream as well.”
Letting the flame dissipate, she turned to face Izen directly, and told her in detail of what had happened to her in their absence, and of Zorthac. She knew that he was the Demon King that she had seen in the dream as well, but she had no idea how powerful he was at the moment, nor what he was scheming, only that the resulting body count had been high. That Lady Knight Sorene was working with him was also a grave concern, but as she was a member of the Council, and neither of their records would be spotless they would have a hard time convincing anyone of her true allegiance. Her memories of the events post change were sketchy, the only events that were clear were those from when she had been struggling against Zorthac’s control. Izen in turn filled her in on her side of events, what she had seen, and what their situation was now. Someone had been helping her from the shadows, and while she had her suspicions as to who, the question still remained why.
“Well that’s enough talk for the moment,” Myne declared suddenly, pulling Izen to her, giving her a long passionate kiss as she wrapped her legs around her, Izen replying in kind. They spent the next while exploring the pleasures of each other, enjoying and making the most of being back together again. It was a new experience for them both, with Izen’s dragons pretending that they weren’t paying any attention to the pair.
It was late afternoon by the time they emerged from the room. After they had risen from the bed the issue of clothes had come up, Myne’s no longer suitable for her usual style given all the tears it now sported, and both of their armour having not regenerated at all from the damage it had taken before they had dismissed it earlier. As the armour was a reflection of the individuals power, personality, and sense of self, Myne had wondered if the state her armour at the least was due to the changes in her, so while still naked she had visualized a new style of armour as she resummoned it, similar to what she had seen on the Black Hellfire wielder in her dream, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it worked, the result much to her liking. The bone armour was now black and red with intricate designs on it, a lot more flexible, softer on her skin than it had ever been, and fit her even more closely. It covered her upper body, finishing just above her breasts, which were also covered by draconic like claws, leaving her upper chest and shoulders, and upper legs bare. She had stylized knee high heeled boots and a covering over her lower arms that looked to be as much offensive as defensive. A band that went around her neck, dipping slightly towards her chest, finishing in a point at the tip of her sternum. As she was no longer wearing any Skeon she’d have to either make sure she didn’t get hit on her exposed areas, or learn fast how to use her magic to defensively reinforce those areas more than she usually did. Of course she could always acquire some more Skeon at a later date, dependent on their relationship with the Clan, but for the moment she liked how she looked and felt. Myne’s success inadvertently put confusion on to why Izen’s hadn’t regenerated, as she hadn’t undergone any drastic changes since her change from him to her, which of course had given rise to her armours initial form. Izen’s best guess what that she was slowly learning more about her power, and the resummoning of her armour seemed to confirm that, the armour returning fully repaired, but with a lot more intricate details and designs on it. Instead of just being made of dragon bone, it now spoke of dragons as well, and whereas before the overall design had been somewhat neutral, the armour now had more of a feminine feel to it, and conformed to her figure more closely. Sporting their updated attire, they located the rest of the group.
Even with the new power having awakened with her, it turned out that Myne still possessed all that she had had before, and as they all gathered together outside in the remaining warmth of the day, she sent out her magic out into the surrounding area to check for threats. To her surprise her natural range was much greater than before, and she couldn’t locate any sign of the demons, confirming that they had indeed vacated the area. Myne and Kyla exchanged introductions, Kyla unsure what to make of the now Dragon Feral who was Izen’s lover. They were both quite different and unique, and yet in a strange way they also suited each other. Light was back to perching on Velvet’s shoulder, while Ashling had tentatively curled himself up on Myne's lap.
“It would appear that we have been dragged into something that is bigger than all of us,” Laphir opened, with a serious look on his face. “I would say inadvertently, but Charles, though I doubt that is his true identity, knew exactly what he was getting us into, even though we weren’t.”
“I’m sorry,” Izen apologized, “but I do really appreciate your help.”
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“You’re welcome,” Alice smiled. “Don’t feel bad about it. We would have helped you out even if we hadn’t been hired to do so, though I doubt we would have been as successful.”
“At the very least,” continued Laphir, “We will be seeing this job through to completion, and then we’ll take it from there. Charles was somewhat vague about the last part of it, but I am certain there is a lot more to it than meets the eye, just like what has happened thus far. What awaits us is not what we expect.”
Izen nodded. “We’ll take you to the ruins, which I am sure is what he had been referring to.”
Myne nodded in agreement. “It was very well hidden. For some reason Izen was able to see it tho.”
“My instinct tells me we’ll be together for a long time yet,” Laphir stated. “We have in essence left the guild, though they are yet to find out. Tourin was the last straw. So I would like us to travel as companions, rather than out of any business arrangements.”
“Form a party huh. I like that.” Izen smiled. “I would be more than happy for us to do so.”
“Our family grows,” Shino teased as Izen and Laphir shook hands, making it official.
“And we’re an odd assortment at that,” added Myne as she stretched, toppling Ashling off her, who then proceeded to move to Kyla’s lap.
“So we have a few things on our plate then,” Alice observed. “We need to go to the ruins, and discover what is the secret there that Charles was hinting at. Which may or may not be the truth behind the job that we were given.”
“We also need to find the Witch, as she’ll likely be able to provide some answers,” Myne added, “and we may want to consider giving the Clan a warning at the least. Not that I want to see them at this point, but Lady Knight Sorene’s involvement is very worrying, and Zorthac likely has quite a number of followers.” Her blood boiled at the thought of the Rider.
“They may not even listen, given that she is a member of the Council, and it is quite likely that she will have poisoned them against us already, not that we were in their good books in the first place given my awakening,” Izen commented, sighing. “She’s at least a day ahead of us, and while wounded it seems probable that she had assistance leaving. I think our best next step is the ruins.”
“While I do recognize the Lady Knight’s name, I don’t the other. Who are they?” Alice asked, looking at Myne quizzically.
“My best guess is that he, going by the name of Zorthac, is the Demon King from the great war, or closely connected to him. The how and why of his return I have no idea, nor do I know where he is located, but he is dangerous and powerful,” Myne answered.
“He did this to me,” Myne continued, baring her fangs, and motioning to herself in general. She then produced a small black flame in her hands, that danced along her fingertips. “This however was always mine it seems, awakened as a result. At a great cost though. I am a Rider no longer.” The pain of Vel’nas’ loss was still very raw and hurt like hell. Taking a deep breath, she composed herself.
“He did also chain me to his will,” she added, “but Izen was able to tear the chains off me, and so I am my own again. In the between however, there has been a lot of bloodshed.”
“I may have been underestimating exactly how big big was,” Laphir mused, “but that doesn’t change anything. How far to the ruins from here?” he asked.
“Hmm. I’m not actually sure, as I’ve been travelling all over the place,” Izen replied. “Perhaps a half a day’s worth of travel on Light and Ashling. It is somewhat centralized to everywhere we’ve been, and they fly a lot faster than most dragons.”
Laphir nodded. “Then we leave in the morning.”
“Sounds like a plan,” agreed Izen.
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Kyla sat on the rooftop of the village tavern, legs hugged up close to herself as she watched the sunset, the last rays of light slowly slipping away to be replaced by shadows of the night. With how peaceful the village looked it was hard to imagine that Myne’s rescue had happened here two mornings ago, ignoring of course all the damage that had been done. So much had happened in such a short space of time that she was feeling lost and overwhelmed. Yes, she had wanted, nay needed to escape from where she had been, but it was almost as if she had jumped from one fire to another, and this one had even higher stakes. Velvet had warned her though, and perhaps in them she might be able to find close friends, or even a new purpose in life.
Being born a slave, that was the only life she had ever known. She didn’t remember her youngest years, but as soon as she was able to work that was what she had done. She had served a number of masters, first a nobles estate in the capital, then a textile factory once she was old enough to separate from her family. Weak from undernourishment, she had then been sold off to an old eccentric man from the Brotherhood of Craftsman, who had kept her, along with a number of other girls, to look after his estate and workshop. While he had physically looked after them well enough, he was constantly reminding them of how insignificant and worthless they were. It was a relief when he had finally passed away a year ago. Then she had been bought by the tavern owner, to wait on and service his patrons, both male and female. The treatment hadn’t been great, but it had been bearable, and there had been some reward in a job well done. But then six months ago her gem had awakened, she took on feline features, and everything instantly became worse. Unable to show any other magical aptitude, her owner had refused to dissolve the slave branding, citing her as utterly worthless except for serving his patrons. The interest of the patrons in her skyrocketed, but their treatment of her had become excessively rough to the point where he had had to provide nice clothes for her in order to hide all of the bruises while she was in the public eye and still maintain their interest. It had all come to a head the night that Velvet Izen arrived and the head bruiser had tried hitting on her. He had deserved all that he had gotten, and not wanting to to upset a potentially powerful patron, she had tried to make amends with her. However the bruiser had later returned and beaten the information out of her, planning to take his revenge. That of course hadn’t gone as he had planned, and on the desperation of the moment she had asked Velvet to take her with her. Even now she was still sure she would be dead if Velvet had refused.
So she was very grateful to her, but as Velvet had warned her, the path she walked was dangerous and she wasn’t what she seemed. Kyla hadn’t been sure what she had thought she was when she had first met her, except that she was very beautiful and a powerful magic user. While not everyone had noticed Light sitting there on her shoulder, she had, and to some degree she was also jealous, as her magic was so weak. She had been astounded when Light had taken on her larger size, and the thrill of riding her had been, and still was, great. She hadn’t been with Velvet that long, but even given that, she was still a complete mystery to her. She looked like a Rider, but didn’t act at all like one, nor did she even have the typical dragon. She didn’t really hold or act like a girl either, nor like a tomboy, but something in between, and given her looks Kyla was surprised she wasn’t flouting them more. She doubted any man would be able to resist her. She had wanted to see Velvet fight and use her magic, but at the village she had been with Alice helping defend the villagers, something that had made her feel worthwhile, even if she didn’t know how useful she would have been if she had to fight herself. Velvet seemed to be a bundle of secrets, and so too was her lover Myne. She had never seen a Dragon Feral before, didn’t even know that such a thing existed. But there she was in the flesh. Like Velvet she was stunning, and she was more feminine too. Her history and the talk of the changes that had happened to her terrified Kyla, and she was in awe of how strong Myne must be on the inside. Female lovers were uncommon in this world, at least outside of the Clan given that they were all female in the first place, but Kyla could see the chemistry between the two as clear as day and it was strong, even if they hadn’t openly admitted it.
And then there were the three formerly of the Bluemoon branch of the Fall Haven Guild. Their history together with Velvet seemed to be brief, the initial bond formed from a battle for survival, but Velvet had good friends in them, and Kyla liked them. They even treated her as an equal, something that she was not used to at all. Alice was the mother figure of the group. She was kind, attentive, patient, and very intelligent. She had been very nice to Kyla, treating her bruises and wounds with a salve of her own creation, and it had been instantly soothing. Kyla felt comfortable around Alice, and she had pretty much treated her as family from when they had first been introduced. She liked the clothes that she had been given. While the skirt and top were practical and in no way fancy, they were of really nice quality, with minor enchantments that Alice had weaved into them, and much better than anything she had ever had. The spider silk chain, which was also enchanted, she was completely enamoured with, and wearing it made her feel like she had some value to someone. Laphir was the leader of the group, and the personification of what a Feral was. He was strong, well built, and a highly skilled fighter, his attacks smooth and purposeful as he had worked alongside Shino to halt the advance of the dracokin that had been assaulting the building in which they had fortified the villagers. He hadn’t said much to Kyla, but Alice had said that that was his normal demeanour, and that he did approve of her. Shino was almost the opposite of Laphir, both in build and personality, and he had quite happily chatted with her whenever they had been together. He liked to talk about anything and everything, and when asked he had told her about their initial encounter with Velvet and the battle against the spiders. Shino informed her that he and Laphir had been together a long time, even before they had met Alice, being childhood friends from Mistfall, which was a satellite town to the capital. They had both been born to guild families, and their gems had awoken at the same time, during the rabbit incident. Kyla had asked what that was, and Shino had laughed, saying that there had been a lot of them, before he had been called away. He had also joked with her with a semi serious look on his face and said that she didn’t have to worry, that even though he was a dog, he wouldn’t be chasing her, before giving her a giant smile. His cheerfulness was contagious, as she always felt better after talking to him.
Kyla wasn’t sure of her place with them all, nor what she would be able to offer. She had worriedly approached Velvet that evening, to ask what was to become of her now, fearful that she would be discarded or left behind now that Myne had been found. Velvet had reassured her, telling her that she was welcome to continue with them if she wanted. By agreeing to take her away with her, Velvet had taken responsibility for her as well, and would see that the slave crest was removed at the least. Her life was now her own to lead. Velvet had reminded her that she couldn’t guarantee her safety on the journey or that things would go smoothly, and that she may well discover things that she didn’t want to know along the way, but she was more than happy to have her along. Even though she herself needed a lot of training, she would also teach her what she could. Alice, who had come in during the conversation, also echoed the same sentiments, and she had broken down in tears, gratefully hugging them both. Their kindness was not something that she had ever encountered before, but of course it was tempered by the situation that they were all in. As Laphir had said, they were tangled in something much bigger than them, and it scared her. But she wanted to be with them, so she wasn’t going to be backing down.