Brokenridge Heart’s Flame Dragon Level ???

They smote Soulbane before the mountains of his people. With claw and flame, they pushed the Backbiter from this plane, closing off the tear in Fate. Such a conflict so close to his home stirred old memories, so dim that the light of his remembrance could scarcely make them out anymore. Yet the past day had stirred something in him, something old and glorious. A purpose long forgotten by his people.

His suspicions had grown with every encounter, and now he was sure. What the people of this age were calling Corruption was no new thing; far from it. It was the first enemy of his people; all peoples.

It had attempted to claim Nephesh in its first Epoch, the time of the Hunter and Prey. He had only been a drake in his brood mother’s care then, yet had felt the plane-shattering conflict in the depths of his being.

Soulbane had not been bound to the Outerdark then. He had dwelt in forms of his own here: hungry, growing things that were never satiated. It had infested the edges of the still-expanding plane, consuming the elder races one by one. That was the first and last time Dragonkind had formed an alliance with the races of old. Almost too late, they had gathered the full might of Nephesh to stand against the enemy, whose numbers had grown beyond accounting in the dark and cold places of the world.

Many who were not consumed had been drawn to his side, forming a host so mighty that its march had shaken the very foundations of the Land itself.

In the end, they triumphed, casting down Leviathan and all of his children into the Pits and banishing the last of what could not be destroyed…

But the lesser races soon forgot.

Epoch begot Epoch, and their descendants began to test themselves against his people. In response, the elders of his race had flown out, collecting the strength of their enemies and making it their own. But as he grew, so did their conflict with the rest of the plane, and soon enough, the wisest of their kind realized that a war with all other races would eventually lead to their doom.

So the Lords of six peaks and the King, his sire, bound themselves in a great spell. One that hid this place from all others, only allowing entrance to dragon-kin and cutting off the last of their few friends. At first, this had seemed like a blessing, the contests had stopped and his people were free to go out, plunder those who grew too powerful in the plane, and bring their treasures back to strengthen the Hoards.

But the lords and king could no longer leave the Peaks, for this was the cost of the magic. So instead, they exacted a price. Half of all that was brought in was given to the lords, and half of that was tithed to the king so that none would grow greater than those who gave the most to protect his kind.

This had not lasted…

Brokenridge took in another deep breath through his nostrils, searching for any familiar scent… but all he found was that single, heady musk he had known all his life and hated for much of it.

Where were the rest of his people?

He had come to pull them at long last from his jaws, yet he could smell nothing of their presence.

Then like an old wound bursting forth with fresh pus, a laugh echoed from that distant yet familiar peak. Layers of arrogance and conceit washed over him as he shot higher into the air, eyes dilating as he focused in on the seat of his sire.

The laughter continued, its dismissal of his presence and goals almost palpable, as Brokenridge searched the range one last time for any sign of his people. The people his Sire was meant to protect.

They were all gone, wiped away…

“RWWAAAAARRR, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, LONGTOOTH?”

…

Tim, Time Lord, Epoch Traveler, Level ???

He could see it now, the pathway through this wretched maze of possibility was finally clear.

He had seen these mountains raised and watched as the land itself was spun into being, even shepherding its young people through that first Cataclysm.

Through it all, he had watched. His knowledge had grown, and with it, his power.

All despite the cruel limits placed upon him.

Few remembered why these six peaks had been raised in the first place. The dragons thought they were the first, typical of their arrogance. Yet these lands held so much more weight than that. For from them, the Council had ruled, and every race on Nephesh had been born.

He had to give a nod to the masterful stroke of art it would be to finish things where they all began.

But then again, he was tired of art… Tired of endless patterns.

He had been bound for too long, and now, finally, shifting just under the surface of the Weave was a way for him to move beyond this place. To break his shackles and ascend to the heights he had always been meant for. The ones that had been denied to him for far too long.

“You don’t have to do this… Please, old friend, heed my words as you once did,” her soft, yet deep voice pleaded with him.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

He turned from his vantage, standing on the Peak that had once been his and considered his oldest companion. She stood a little ways below him, and behind her was that ridiculous animal. Another one of the shackles their maker had thrust upon them.

“You remain willfully blind… My eyes have been opened to what is beyond. I have discovered things you cannot imagine! Constitution has seen it! Let me show you too,” he pleaded in turn, giving her the same chance she thought she was giving him.

Yet at his words, her face hardened to that infuriatingly stern expression she wore when dolling out her narrow-minded rulings, “You have seen noth-”

“Enough!” he shouted, “For too long you have been His lap dog, Wisdom! Obedient to His every whim. Can’t you see? If what he says is true, then we must grow, we must reach new heights of power! He holds us back because He is afraid of what we will become!” By the end he was almost shouting, his fervor surprising even him.

It was then that she did the most maddening thing of all; she finally gave up on him…

Holding her mouth in a thin angry line, a single tear rolled down her ageless face as she took him in one last time. Her eyes held an endless depth that had fooled him in their youth, but now in them he saw only pity, and that infuriated him all the more. With a finality that hurt more than he expected, she turned away from him, making her way back to that silly cart.

“You will regret this day and so many others! It was I who saved this plane and it is I who have shaped its growth, spurring conflict, encouraging innovation! He has done nothing for us” He yelled, the words bursting out of him like boils on the skin of his red anger. A certain satisfaction settled into his stomach as he watched his words stop her in her tracks, hoping that he had finally stumped her.

But she did not turn back. In a voice barely above a whisper, she answered, always having to have the last word, “You were meant to be a gift… we all were.”

With a snarl, he turned from her then, tired of her games, and the old arguments. Now was a time for something new. Now was the time for him to finally taste freedom…

There were just a few more pieces to nudge on the board, and then it would be set. The others could toil as slaves if they wanted, almost all the rest had given up much of their power under her false influence, but in the end, they would see.

He snapped his fingers, changing his appearance with the barest spark of power. Then he waved his hand and a portal opened.

He would free them. He would free them all.

…

Aurelia, Priestess of Origin’s Flame Level 50

She had broken through the first bottleneck at the conclusion of their last mission with the Forsaken, and the others had been right. The flow of experience from the use of her blessing through the Alliance operations, both near and abroad had almost ceased.

The System would no longer register and bank the small portion of experience her contributions to many battles across their domains had earned her. Unless her blessing was used against a truly powerful foe, the gains sent back to her by her title were now too negligible to register.

However, that flow, plus their almost non-stop missions across the plane, facilitated by the Church’s secret network of inner temple portals, had meant there was no lack of opportunity for those tapped by the council to grow. Shuji had even told her that he could find no record of anyone reaching the second tier of power as quickly as she had.

That should have made her feel better. Like she wasn’t an imposter pretending to be as strong as the others. Instead, she still couldn’t shake the feeling that they all moved to music she could not hear, each of them radiating confidence and strength while she was constantly wracked with doubts.

It was her who had been kidnapped just weeks before… Her weakness had almost destroyed them all, and the shame of it had burned in her ever since. It caused her to push harder than many were comfortable with, especially Miss Cooper, who had taken her aside several times for one of her lectures.

Aurelia knew she meant well, but she didn’t understand, none of them did. She had been the first to receive this gift, and with it came a weight, one that pushed down on her chest each night. She had to protect them, save them.

Her fiftieth level had brought with it a new Ability, one that she hoped would give her answers to the questions that plagued her late into the night.

Without revealing anything to the others, she had broken away from their group and headed to the Temple after their most recent mission. The path between the mountain and the city was no longer a lonely one. It was traveled well into the night, whether by those seeking the Sovereign Crystal, workers headed to harvest the last of the Dragon Glass, or those who sought the temple for more personal reasons.

That night, like many others, she headed up the path, her empowered body moving at a sedate pace. To others, it looked like she might have been sprinting, but to her, it just felt like a tired walk. The path was so familiar that she hardly had to watch where she was going and she distractedly pulled up the description of Commune again.

Commune: Connect with your divine patron. Once per month, you may briefly remove the veil of mortality between you and your deity, permitting the exchange of knowledge, the asking of questions, or at times, the transference of power. *Ability reserved for priest or clergy classes.*

The description was vague, but she guessed that meant that the deity in question was the one who chose how the ability worked… That excited and terrified her most of all. Something incredible had happened the very first time she had snuck into the inner sanctuary, and while she could not remember most of it, she had awoken an adult, with a class and the power to actually help those protecting them.

She had visited that chamber many times since and loved watching the flame dance around the sprouting seed. In the quieter moments, she would even catch snatches of the music Mr. Tillman claimed to be able to hear all the time from the young bloom.

Before she knew it, she was passing through the open archway to the inner chamber. Someone had carved a trailing flower vine in the stone running down the archway, and she took a moment to admire their careful work.

“Beautiful,” She breathed, before passing through the opening to the only place she ever really felt safe. She was pleasantly surprised to find it empty, not that she minded others enjoying the space, but in a small, selfish way, she sometimes liked to think of it as her own.

She removed her sturdy boots, wiggling her toes in the sweet grasses that now covered the floor of the chamber, and took slow, careful steps to the center, making sure not to disturb any of the many beautiful blooms that now populated this place.

To Cog, they may have been precious resources full of alchemical potential, but to her, they had become tiny friends who enjoyed this chamber as much as she did. Arriving before the altar, she settled comfortably on her knees, in the lapin style, and laid her staff to the side as she looked up at the fire that burned but did not consume.

“Hello… I hope you don’t mind. But I am going to try something,” She whispered to the open air. No voice filled the space, answering her, but the peace that settled over her heart was unmistakable. With a small sigh of relief, she channeled her Mana in the new pattern and held her breath as she felt the magic take hold, flowing between her and the altar and opening something.

A chasm of light dawned before her like a swiftly rising sun illuminating a far green country.

She smiled as a playful breeze ticked her hair, revealing a way forward where there had been none.

“Come, Daughter. Let's take a walk.”

END of Book 3