I took my water skin off my belt and downed it. I knew I either had to hurry and get to the top of the mountain to survey the land to see where the force that shattered the ground came from. I got to the point where I could see over the mountains and my heart immediately sunk.
There was not one place where the ground had broken, but five. Each spanning from each region. All reaching into the mountains. I swallowed hard, wondering what I might find where all the cracks met.
There was an immense hole in the ground where the cracks met, so big that I feared if I fell in I would never reach the bottom. The earth quaked beneath me once more and a mighty claw sprung from the hole and dug it's talons into the dirt. It was soon followed by a second enormous one.
"Finally." A voice rang out so deep that it almost shook me. The language that it spoke was not of my own, yet somehow I managed to understand it. A head rose up over the ledge and I recognized the scaly red face immediately. "Freedom." It spoke.
This was a dragon. I'd only seen them drawn in pictures, but nothing could prepare me for seeing one in person. The only one I'd ever heard of being able to speak though was...oh no.
Azareth.
I froze in my spot, unable to run. I knew it would be futile, there would be no escaping from this beast's grasp. My eyes flicked between its emerald eyes with serpentine pupils. My heart was beating out of my chest as I continued to look the creature over.
It pulled itself out of the hole and its long spiked tail waved behind it as it stretched its wings. The wingspan was nothing short of impressive. A single wave of his wings sent a rush of air to wash over me.
I knew I needed to let the other knights know of this brewing danger, but there was no way for me to contact anyone. I didn't know enough magic to speak telepathically to someone from a distance, and I definitely didn't have the opportunity to send a carrier pigeon.
"What brings you here...human?" Azareth spoke with smoke trailing out of his nostrils with sparks of flame licking at his lips. His head swayed back and forth as he lowered it closer to me. I was inches away from the maw of this beast. It was as terrifying as it was astounding. "Tell me why I shouldn't kill you where you stand."
"I'm too easy of a kill for you." I didn't know if flattery would work, but I sure as hell was going to try it. "A dragon like you needs a true battle." I tried to slow my breathing as panic continued to consume me. It was as if the weight of the world was on my shoulders and there was nothing I could do to eliminate it.
"Perhaps." Azareth spoke in his signature deep voice. "I have however been in slumber for the past thousand years, and I am famished." His pupils turned to slits as he focused in on me. I took a step back, doing it regardless of what kind of difference it was going to make.
My palm hovered over my sword, and Azareth noticed swiftly. He let out a genuine chuckle. "Do you really believe you can take me down with a miniscule sword like that?" His tone changed dramatically. "Don't be stupid."
Without another word, Azareth spread his ruby wings, crouched down then leapt into the air. It only took a single thrust of his wings to get him airborne. The sheer power that I knew he had to hold to maneuver such a large body was impressive. I watched as he disappeared into the thick clouds. My next thought went to where he was going.
I prayed to the Gods he wasn't about to go towards my region or perhaps even towards my village. I knew he was most likely going to head to the largest city he could find and wreck all sorts of havoc. The scene flashed through my mind of fire and destruction overtaking everything. The screams, the terror, the fear.
I knew that there was nothing that I could do to stop it. It made me feel helpless. There was no way that I could get to the city faster than Azareth, so my agenda changed to warning my home region first. That way the elementals would be at the ready to protect.
Something had to change. I hated the feeling of being unable to help. Only being there to ward off small beasts and enemies, but never anything that was so much bigger than myself. It was saddening. My life felt as though that was my only purpose, just getting by.
I stepped towards the large crater in the ground and examined it. As I stood on the ledge, small pebbles and rocks fell into the bottomless pit. I couldn't even begin to imagine how deep it was. Eventually I heard the faint click of the rocks as they finally reached their final destination.
I ran as fast as I could down the mountain, the quicker I could get to my village the better. I feared for Athena. I knew she was back on her way towards the city in the north. The same direction that Azareth had sped off in. The crippling helplessness overwhelmed me. At that moment I knew exactly who I needed to see. They would be able to help me.
Fuchibe Jemoni, the head knight and quite skilled in elemental abilities. I knew that he would be able to share some insight on this dire situation. I had a rather close relationship with him and he was somewhat of a father figure to me growing up even though I didn't get to see him all that often. He always wanted me to be a powerful knight, but without elemental powers, it kept me from ranking up. Hence why I'm still defending a small rather unimportant village.
It took me several hours to get back home and I was exhausted. There was, however, no time to sleep. I needed to ask around to see which village to see if anyone would know of where he might be. He was most likely touring the area doing a check up on things within the region so pinpointing his location was going to be difficult.
I wrestled with myself about telling the villagers of Azareth's return. If I told them, I might have time to prepare for his strike, but it could also cause chaos and panic. If I didn't tell them, then they wouldn't have to worry about it until it happened...
I mulled over the options in my head, deciding it would be best to keep it a secret for now. I would take care of this mess before they even had to worry about it. I would pretend that everything was normal for as long as I could. Elemental powers or not, I was going to figure this thing out.
I took a deep breath and realized how heavy on my feet I felt, yet my head felt light. How odd... I sat up against the stone just below the open window of the bakery. I let my head fall back against the wooden windowsill and let out my breath. It had been quite a while since I last slept and the exhaustion of the journey didn't make things any better.
I hadn't realized I passed out until I was awoken by some kids poking me with a stick. I grunted and swatted the stick away as they all yelled. "He's alive!" And ran away. I rolled my eyes and staggered to my feet. My head felt like hell and my body felt even worse. I knew I needed to push myself forward.
"Are you okay, Keiji?" The familiar voice of the breadmaker rang out and moments later she leaned out the window with a tilted head. "I saw you fell asleep, but I didn't want to bother you." She paused, looking me over. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Yeah, something like that, Ayuna." I sighed. "It's just been a long day is all." By a long day, I meant two days. Two days without sleep at that.
"Well, make sure to take a rest when you need it." She closed her eyes as she smiled, head tilting the other way. Her short red hair following her movements. Her personality was soft and warm, not unlike her baked goods. Her hard work and kindness reached everyone in the village. She was like a soft breeze on a warm day, much welcomed by all.
"Yeah, I know, I should have taken a break. I've just got a lot going on right now." I paused. "Do you by chance know where Fuchibe Jemoni would be?"
Ayuna hummed as she thought. "Well, I would check the village just north of here. A group of knights came through yesterday evening. They were assessing the damage caused by the earthquake." She leaned a bit further out the window to look around. "We were lucky not to have gotten too much damage considering how close we were to the split."
"Yeah, you're right." I furrowed by brow in through as I pondered how that could be. The closer we were to where the ground split, the stronger the effects we should have felt. Perhaps it wasn't quite a quake. I knew it was supernatural, but it's origin? I hadn't a clue. What I did know is they my journey was now taking me to the north.
"Take care Keiji." She smiled and I waved as I turned away looking at the long path ahead. Just north of my village there was a large hill that I had to travel over. The incline was intense but it was more time efficient to go over it than around it. When I reached the top, I could see the dirt road that split off into multiple directions, wooden signs there to guide me on which way to go.
To the East was Fujin and to the West was Homura. When I reached the split roads, I took the north path towards Mizuchi, the village of the water serpent. I was sure to make haste as I knew the knights wouldn't be in one spot for too long. They had many villages to check in on, and I had to be quicker than them in order to catch up.
The path that I traveled down was much smoother than the one that led into the mountains and had much more traffic come through. It was quite an often sight to see carriages coming through to bring supplies to my village of Tsuchigakure. Every week like clockwork the suppliers would bring things like yeast and oils for the bakery, blocks of metals for the blacksmith, and books for education.
My village definitely wasn't of the elite, but it was home and I'd do anything to protect it. It was however a strong Earth elemental village, which often made me question why they would even need me, someone who was a non-elemental for the majority of his life. Did they keep me out of necessity or pity? I hadn't thought about it too much before. Just thinking about it brought me down so I tried to push the thought to the furthest corners of my mind.
Mizuchi was around ten miles ahead. I knew it was going to be a trek from the very beginning. The sun was beating down hard, heating up my metal armor and making them hot to the touch. They weren't burning, just simply uncomfortable to come in contact with.
The tall grass swayed as I made my way down the path as I was thinking of what I would tell Fuchibe about Azareth. I didn't fear that Fuchibe would be afraid, no, he was a stronger man than I. He's seen war, unlike myself, and that gave him a certain lookout on things.
Thinking of Fuchibe, I thought about how long it had been since I'd seen him. He moved North not too long ago, making sparse visits even less. He was a man that one could have long conversations over tea or a beer with, He fancied both.
My heart dropped into my stomach when I realized that Fuchibe was going to be the ones leading the Knights to Azareth. They wouldn't stand a chance, even with all their elemental powers combined. It took a special kind of elemental to subdue the dragon prince.
A special elemental like Sinsui, the one that sealed Azarath away one thousand years ago during the great war. Azareth drove us all apart, plotting us one against the next until we couldn't stand to be in each other presence any longer. So, they left.
Five regions we were split into, and five we would remain as even once the dragon was put into slumber. As far as everyone knew, the seal was a permanent fix to the problem. Only the elite knew otherwise, and it was a burden for them to carry. Most of the older knights didn't care too much because they knew they would probably be dead by the time it happened. Others worried for their descendents. What was the world going to turn to when Azarath reigned once more?
On the way to Mizuchi, I passed several carts, horses, and carriages, all heading towards the south like I had expected to see. The horses were beautiful, one with black and white splotches over their bodies and one solid brown. I would have to purchase a horse one of these days so I didn't have to walk everywhere. I thought for a moment how nice that would be, but I didn't have the money, so therefore, no horse.
By the time I was in the final stretch from the village, the sun was beginning to sink into the horizon, bidding me farewell. I realized how tired my legs had grown but tried to focus on the short path I had left. Once I told Fuchibe of the happenings, I was going to find an inn and rest for the night.
I took in a deep breath the moment I crossed into the village. It had a distinct scent to it, different than my village. It was the scent of lemongrass, iron, and smoke all mixed into one. It was an interesting smell that's for sure, but to the people here, it smelled like home.
It wasn't long before I spotted an armada of knights carrying flags on tall horses in the distance, traveling the same direction that I was. I ran swiftly to catch up with them, calling out for them to wait. The leader must have heard me because he raised his hand without looking back, alerting the rest of his group to stop.
"Fuchibe!" I called out as I made my way to the front of the group, hoping that this was indeed Fuchibe's clan. I wasn't sure until I heard him call back.
"Keiji?" He questioned, looking down at me with a surprised expression. He blinked a few times as he gathered his shock. "What are you doing here, is everything alright?"
"Yeah...we should really talk about it." I paused. "Privately preferably." I eyed the other knights, their static unmoving expressions were somewhat intimidating. They all looked straight forwards as if I weren't there.
"Very well." Fuchibe gave a nod before dismounting his stead with grace. He walked alongside me until we were far out of earshot of anyone. We were in the midst of a large green pasture one of which one might expect to see cows wondering about.
I explained everything to him. The earthquake, my trek of the mountains and what I found. I told him about the seal being broken and Azareth heading towards the northern region. The more that I told him the whiter his face grew. His once fearless eyes showed a hint of dread as I finally closed my mouth.
All he could do was shake his head, eyes locked on the ground. What was he thinking? Did he fear for his family? Did he fear for me? He took in a long breath as he seemed to be attempting to compose himself on the inside. He looked me dead in the eyes then he spoke.
"Only a descendant of Sinsui can seal him away once again." He paused. "There is something I should have told you a long time ago..."
Comments (0)
See all