Quora flew.
Her heart pounded. She soared with a desperate speed in her bird of prey form, the wind pushing her forward. Her mind was consumed by that haunting sound from the Mountains of Moon and the fate of Moonfang.
Please be alright, sister...
The wind and sky had no ears for her plea.
Another mournful howl rang out across Aveldan, rattling Quora's chest. This time, she saw a dark, serpentine shape fly up from the Mountains of Moon.
"Muunfareng!!!" Quora called out telepathically, though too far beyond reach.
The dragon coiled as she ascended as if slithering through the air. Moonfang turned northward and flew from the Mountains of Moon, her size belying her speed. Quora's heart filled with despair as her sister became a black spot on the horizon. Being incapable of flight as a dragon, there was nothing Quora could shapeshift into capable of pursuing Moonfang at such speeds.
"Muunfareng! Come back, Muunfareng..."
If Quora could not follow Moonfang, there was only one thing for it - she needed to investigate.
----------------------------------------
Quora shifted to her human form several feet above the ground, hitting the stony path into Moonfang's cavern in a full sprint. Her eyes flared orange inside the dark tunnel, and her steps battered aside and crushed the stones that would have tripped her normally; indeed, she was willing to raze a new path through solid stone if she had to. Blinded by a furious need to know, Quora barreled into Moonfang's cavern. As her thundering steps slowed to a halt and clarity returned, the reason for Moonfang's sorrow was plain before her. Quora choked on her horror.
The hope of dragonkind oozed as lifeless slime from Moonfang's smashed eggs.
"No!!!" Quora's scream echoed through the cavern. Her knees gave way as she collapsed in a storm of emotions. Her mind was a whirlwind of despair and rage, unsure which to succumb to first.
"You idiot...I warned you, you idiot. All it took was one...And, now..."
Quora felt a magickal presence approaching her. She didn't react when Dreamford arrived from teleportation.
"Muunfareng, what is the meaning of..." his voice tapered off when he saw the eggs. Quora heard his shoes clicking as he came and knelt at her side, "...Qorrametz, I..."
"Dremfrrdon!" Quora threw her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder. She cried, "They're gone, Dremfrrdon..."
"I know, Qorrametz," Dreamford affirmed, holding Quora tenderly, "Shh..."
----------------------------------------
It felt like an age when Quora was finally able to pull herself from Dreamford's embrace. The two stared at the ruined dragon eggs, still awash in disbelief. Dreamford stood up.
"I see the curse on your true form is gone," said Dreamford. He let out a slight laugh, "Why am I not surprised? It figures you'd find a way."
"Dremfrrdon..." Quora muttered, "...Do you know where Muunfareng went?"
Dreamford sighed, "We both know the answer to that. Us dragons, we are a timeless race...but death must come eventually. Muunfareng flew far, far to the north, to a land where humankind cannot go—the Blacklands. I've not seen them myself, but I've been told it is a cold place of whipping winds and black sand beneath a curtain of permanent twilight. There, like our progenitors and their fathers before them, Muunfareng will find a spot among their graves...and will herself to die."
Quora broke into tears again - she knew, but she did not want to believe.
"The future of dragonkind is in our hands, now." said Dreamford, "What we choose to do with it...Well, I will say I've made preparations for if we decide to mate, Qorrametz."
Quora looked up at Dreamford.
He continued, "My kingdom is powerful, and my lands are safe. With humanity as their unwitting protectors, no harm would come to our eggs-"
"No. Never."
Dreamford recoiled, "Even now? You can't be serious. I'm not asking you to be my queen."
"I loved you once, Dremfrrdon." seethed Quora, "You used my feelings to ensure I would not interfere when you murdered Fafnarok. Now, all of my friends are dead." Her expression turned dark, "It would hardly be surprising if you had something to do with this, too."
She smelled a pang of fear in Dreamford as he stepped back. Quora stood up on instinct and advanced on the king.
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
"Hadtrane, was it?" Quora tilted her head, her hands shaking as she conjured a blade of raw magic in her hand, "Slayer of beasts great and small, hired by King Dreamford to ensure I was truly alone in this world. It makes too much sense."
Dreamford reached for his smallsword, "That's not-!"
"Perhaps you wanted her eggs for yourself." menaced Quora, her eyes flaring orange and letting her blade's edge drag upon the cavern floor, "If I won't give you any, you might as well steal some, right? You disgusting little runt."
Dreamford shook his head, "Qorrametz, I can explain, but you need to calm down!"
Quora's face pulled back in an inhuman berserk rage. She shrieked her bloody fury before she charged toward Dreamford with unnatural speed.
Dreamford barely drew his smallsword in time to parry Quora's swing. Her eyes flared like suns as she made brutal swing after brutal swing, having gone truly mad. All Dreamford could do was keep her at arm's length, sidestepping the blows he could not knock aside. Any blow he could land quickly knit themselves shut, only serving to make Quora angrier. The two fought with spectacular strength and speed, Moonfang's cavern crashing and ringing with noise as steel met magic. They clashed, and Dreamford cast a dispelling enchantment on his sword to make Quora's blade dissipate. Quora answered his magicks with brute force, landing a savage punch across his face that sent his rectangular glasses flying and crackling to the floor. Dreamford staggered back and recovered in time to work countermagicks against the rays of pure flame Quora cast at him. Snarling and foaming at the mouth, Quora charged Dreamford and seized him by the throat.
"Qorra...metz..!" Dreamford choked the closer she came to crushing his neck. He dropped his smallsword and prepared magickal energy in his hands. Quora's speech was nonsensical gnashing of teeth. She thrashed Dreamford in her hands.
Dreamford released the energy he had built, unleashing an explosion of magickal power point-blank. He and Quora were thrown head over heels from each other, clattering to the floor as smoking heaps, their clothing ruined. Dreamford was first to struggle to his feet.
"Fine, then." Dreamford coughed, "You know of my human daughter, Cordelia - I will have to accept that the future of dragonkind lies in that union of dragon and human, a human royal family blessed with draconic blood. Ironic, I merely saw her as a fascinating pet until now."
Dreamford pointed at Quora, who had sat up to lay on her side, "Qorrametz. From this day forward, my kingdom will see you as an enemy. You will not be welcome in my city - and we have plenty of countermeasures should you attack us."
He smiled grimly as he turned away, "...Unless, of course, you change your mind about us. Farewell, Qorrametz."
Dreamford vanished in a flash of white light, leaving Quora as a shuddering heap of dirt and smoke. Her chest heaved, and she collapsed.
----------------------------------------
When she came to, Quora didn't bother getting up. She lay on the cavern floor, staring blankly at the ruined eggs. She felt she was looking at a part of her that had died, the corpses of her hope within broken shells.
"Ten...She had ten..."
With this loss, something within Quora stirred—the roiling anger to destroy and dominate was replaced with something far more sinister—a heinous chill. The images of the horror she would unleash upon this world came flowing in, and she delighted in them.
"Dremfrrdon wants to protect the humans, does he?" Quora rose to her feet, "A world ruled by them does not deserve to exist. I'll bring ruination to all!"
The Visions of Fafnir suddenly weren't a warning of the end - they were a guide to bringing about Aveldan's doom. She went to Moonfang's library, where all the volumes she had found were kept and laid them before her.
Volume II
The arcane and the divine,
Clash blades in one last dance.
The old king rises with an invincible army
To claim his vengeance due.
The one damned beneath heaven's gaze,
To the peal of lion's roar,
Ushers he the quiet of shadow.
Volume III
To man she once promised light,
To man she brings silence.
His greatest companion faces heaven’s wrath
And lives to deal a final blow.
Volume V
At last, she whose heart has forgotten all but its rage,
She stands at the edge of the future and threatens Man's triumph.
The one who has survived death shall silence her heart's drum
And so shall lead the rebirth!
"Cyrus must have the last two volumes," Quora concluded, "He would not have sent me awry if he didn't already have what he wanted."
She could take them whenever she pleased, but something about Volume II stood out. Quora assumed Volume III to be a reference to Myratel, which meant...
"I need to damn someone from Myrellia."
She produced the vial of chimera blood, and a smile crawled across her face as she recalled a suitable victim. She felt around the bookshelves and pushed when one gave way. The shelf turned to reveal an alchemy table. Quora recalled Moonfang's practice with alchemy and nearly felt a pang of regret for the despair her tools would be used to cause. Quora lit the burner with a puff of conjured flame and set to work with the chimera blood.
----------------------------------------
The outskirts of Myrellia...
Julia happily played in a meadow outside of the holy city, with her stuffed toy Chippy sitting at the base of a nearby tree. The tall grasses had taken on a yellow hue, and a soft breeze played across the reeds. Tall flowers managed to peek above the grass, adding blues and magentas to the land. The sky was slightly overcast, and the sun had ample opportunity to lend its light. Julia had picked a particularly large dandelion, its seeds just begging to be blown.
"Lookit, Chippy!" said Julia, "One, two, three..."
Julia took a big breath and blew as hard as she could, sending all the dandelion seeds drifting away on the wind. Satisfied, Julia dropped the dandelion stem but noticed someone approaching through the cloud of seeds. When they got closer, Julia recognized her immediately and ran through the cloud of seeds.
"Pretty lady, it's you!" Julia exclaimed.
Quora had a soft smile on her face, though her clothes were a bit more ragged than what Julia remembered.
Julia asked, "Want me to go get Caerven? He's gonna be real happy to see you."
Quora shook her head and beckoned Julia to come closer. Quora knelt for the little girl, and she tenderly ran a hand through her hair. Julia seemed confused at first, but she quickly took in the moment with Quora.
Quora raised her other hand and blew a dark powder in Julia's face.
"Hey! What're you-" Julia's face turned red, and she began to cough uncontrollably. The child fell to the ground, her body seizing and her cough taking on a whooping sound as she struggled to breathe.
"Julia?" her brother Caerven shouted as he came running, "Julia! What's happening?!"
By the time Caerven had arrived, Quora was already gone.