Once Fyrlia and I had managed to stop the bleeding and clean his wounds as much as possible with what little we had available to us, we flopped down on some grass to relax.
My whole body burned and ached, sometimes in places I hadn't known was possible. I couldn't sleep yet though, I had questions, so I slowly pivoted to face Cryhn where he was relaxing in the sunlight.
He met my gaze with a small grin. “I assume you have some questions?”
I nodded and asked the most important one by far first. “What was that?”
He chuckled softly and replied, “It’s what everyone calls ‘bloodlust’ though as I already told you and as you just witnessed, it doesn't require blood to be present for it to happen, just rage. And, before I continue, don't feel guilty for what happened, and don't take the things I said to heart. I did it all to trigger the rage, and I knew the risks full well.” He stared at me expectantly, and only once I had nodded in acknowledgment did he continue.
“It used to be called Zarag in the old tongue, based on the names of the two most deadly gods — Zythin and Ragathone. Eventually though as that language died and the common tongue was born, the name died too. We then took to calling it simply what it was: the rage. Now it's called bloodlust, but they're all the same thing, and all activated the same way.”
He paused, gaze distant, and I remained silent, patiently waiting for him to continue. It was Fyrlia who shattered the silence, asking, “So why does it happen? What does it do besides give you super strength?”
Cryhn opened his mouth to speak, but I quickly cut him off before he could, my curiosity becoming the best of me. “Super strength?”
Fyrlia replied, “Yeah, you threw Cryhn around like he was as heavy as a pile of twigs. You don't remember?”
“No, I don't remember a thing. Is that normal?” I asked Cryhn, turning back to face him.
“First of all, to answer Fyrlia’s question, it’s thought that Zarag is the only thing we retained from when dragons were more…primal. Besides our different species and elements, of course. As for what it does, it temporarily enhances your body beyond what it is usually capable of. That also makes it extremely dangerous to frequently use Zarag or to do so for extended periods — you could destroy your body bit by bit. And yes, in the beginning, it's common to not be able to remember anything that happened. With practice that will improve. Soon you’ll be able to remember everything that you do and slightly influence the things you do in that state.”
“Slightly influence?” Fyrlia and I asked in sync.
“The key to Zarag is not complete control, that’s impossible and only ever leads to Zarag being highly weakened — at that point, there's no benefit in even calling upon it to begin with. The key is to give in and trust it, fighting back will only make it more difficult to control and even more difficult to progress with it.”
Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!
“So you surrender your body to your primal instincts and hope that you might be able to influence a few aspects to prevent yourself from doing something very wrong?” I questioned skeptically.
“Yeah, that about sums it up,” Cryhn said cheerfully.
At our wary expressions, he added, “Don’t worry, I’ll help both of you learn how to use it, it gets easier with practice.”
Thanks a lot, Cryhn, because that makes me feel better knowing I’m likely going to tear you to bits again.
“Anything else you want to know?”
Fyrlia asked this time. “The prophecy. You said you’d explain it today.”
“I forgot about that, but yes, we can talk about that now. Here, how about one of you write it down so we can look at it while we’re talking?”
I stood, walking over to a patch of dirt in front of Cryhn. Using my talon, I etched out each word, asking Fyrlia from time to time where each line ended and where the stanzas were split apart since I had never seen the physical version.
Once we finished we lay down beside Cryhn, looking up expectantly at him.
“Tell me what you were told it meant, Fyrlia, and then we’ll go from there,” Cryhn requested.
“Well, ‘of dark and fire, of black and red’ is pretty self-explanatory, it's saying there will be elemental hybrids born from a dark element and a fire element, one parent will be colored black and the other red. ‘Our fate is dire and may soon be dead’ means that ‘normal’ dragons might be killed by the hybrids. The next stanza just says the hybrids are scared of other dragons that are trying to kill them, and the final stanza says that ‘normal’ dragons will be angry until all the elemental hybrid dragons are killed. After that, everything will return to being peaceful and calm.”
Cryhn nodded his head slightly before beginning to speak. “You got some of it right, but the line ‘our fate is dire and may soon be dead’ is from the perspective of the hybrids. They might die, not other dragons. That is part of what makes this prophecy so unique — there are two parts to it. If Rylar and his sister had died as hatchlings, then the prophecy would have been prevented from happening. Even now, if they’re killed the prophecy could be stopped. In the next stanza — which is written from the perspective of ‘normal’ dragons — the lines ‘one flees the dark, the other the light’ is quite cryptic and there’s no way to definitively decipher it until it comes to pass. You were correct about the next two lines though. However, the final stanza is not as literal as you interpreted it. ‘Rage’ and ‘calm’ are symbols for Rylar and his sister, one of them will eradicate the ‘scum’, or evil, on Etrythia while the other will unite and lead Etrythia.”
Silence reigned through the plains, broken only by the faint chirping of crickets. The sun was slowly sinking behind the horizon, leaving vibrant hues of orange, pink, and purple in its wake, and every second it got darker more and more fireflies began to flash, illuminating the plains in their soft golden light.
“So Nemyra and I will unite Etrythia?” I asked, breaking the silence.
Cryhn grinned at me. “Yes, you two will. It might take ten years, it might take a hundred, but it will happen, and I’ll make sure of it. No one’s killing either of you on my watch.”
I’ve felt overwhelmed before when I had tests in Instruction the next day that I had left studying for at the last minute, or after a particularly difficult-to-understand lesson, but nothing like this. For the first time in my life, I was truly overwhelmed and there was no quick fix, no way to make it go away. As Cryhn had said, it might be ten years it might be a hundred, but no matter the amount of time the weight of Etrythia would be resting on my shoulders throughout it all.
No, our shoulders. Nemyra will be there to help me, and I to help her. Together we will cure Etrythia of any evils that have plagued this continent and unite the continent under our rule.
My gaze hardened in determination and I nodded to Cryhn. I knew then, that at every chance I had, I would train until I had reached my limit, and even then I would still try to climb higher. My resolve burned deep within me, and as I settled down for sleep that night, I swore I felt my soul expand slightly and a faint flash of power to accompany it. But before I could truly register it I was fast asleep, my fatigued body finally receiving its much-needed rest.