Erik:
I wake just in time, to see Sorix carrying Givontair in a princess carry. The dragon looks paler than usual. His white hair is matted to his scalp. He looks like he has gone through Hell.
I take off the blankets from around me, and settle them on the ground, so Giv can lay on them.
"What happened?" I ask. Sorix places Givontair on the spot I prepared for the dragon.
"First rule of being a champion, kiddo. Everything your deity gives you, comes with a price," I don't like the way Sorix is trying to redirect the question. I scrunch up my nose at him, until he speaks again. "The Dread is not a fluffy deity. Giv is healed, but closer to death's door, than he has ever been."
"How could you do something like that to him?" I am careful not to yell. Giv is asleep, and looks like he needs to rest.
"There weren't any alternatives. Look, kiddo, as long as we hide, Ajax will have free rein over the world," Sorix's words don't soothe my temper. Givontair coughs next to me, and there is now blood on his lips.
My eyes widen at that. Just what happened?
"He needs his rest. I am certain that, once he wakes, he will heal himself," Nathaniel says. I look at him, as if I see him for the first time. Do neither of them care, that Giv is suffering?
"I don't like this," Nathaniel says, as he sits on Giv's other side. "But there is no other way. Givontair is strong. Once he gets some sleep, he will wake up."
"What sort of damage is he suffering from?" Elias asks. He is perched on a branch, up in the tree, under which I slept.
"We don't know," Sorix says. "It is not like we are healers."
No, they are not healers. But Sorix should have known, that what they are doing is dangerous. Yet, he still did it.
A silence falls in the clearing. Norrix is soon in his bottomless bag, as the skies color crimson. I go, and lay next to Givontair. If I lose another parent so soon after mom, I don't know what I will do. Just why does this have to happen?
Around noon, Givontair finally opens his eyes. He stretches, and then begins to unwrap himself from the blankets. I look at him, trying to size him up. He doesn't seem any worse off than when they carried him here. In fact, there is a clarity in his blue eyes.
He looks at me, and places a hand over my head. He gives me a couple of pets, before I push his hand away.
"Did you know that you will get hurt? Is this why you didn't wake me up?" I ask him.
"You wouldn't have understood," I narrow my eyes at him.
"What wouldn't I have understood? That you are ready to die, in order to kill Ajax?" If this is indeed what he didn't believe I can understand, then he is right.
"This goes beyond Ajax," he murmurs. I try to urge him with my eyes to continue, but he gets up. He looks around, and then goes in the direction of an open space. He sniffs the air, and adds. "Now that the dungeon core is no more, the labyrinth is gone as well."
"We can go forward?" I ask him. He nods. Yet, my questions still irk me. I run after him, and take a hold of his sleeve.
"What can't I understand? What is your plan?" For surely, Giv does have a plan. I don't know, however, if he plans to survive it.
He turns towards me, and offers his hand. I take it, and he leads me away from the camp.
"I am only going to tell you this because if something happens to me, you will be in danger," I don't like the sound of that. Not one bit. "There is more to my prophecy, than simply eating souls. It was foretold, that I will have a son. A son who will bring eternal darkness."
I blink at that. Surely, no one meant me, when they make the prophecy?
"I know what you are thinking: this doesn't refer to me. Yet, it does. I can't have children, Erik. The only way I can have a child, is if I adopt. For the longest time, I didn't want to do so. Out of fear, that I will have to fight my own child to stop him or her from destroying everything."
"But I will not do as the prophecy says," I argue.
"Prophecies are fickle things. The more you try not to fulfill them, the bigger the chance is, for them to happen," Givontair sits on the grass, and then pulls me to sit next to him. "But I couldn't just leave you in that ruined town. You have lost so much, that I wanted to give you something back. To hell with the consequences."
"Why are you telling me this now?" I ask him. Surely, he should have told me when he adopted me.
"Because Ajax knows about the prophecy. He is my father. Even though he never rose a finger to be there for me, he knows all about my destiny," he takes in a deep breath, and continues. "Ajax doesn't want to be the king of the ruins. What he does want, is for our world to be ruled by dragons once more. No matter the cost."
"Does Ajax have a prophecy hanging over his head?" I ask. Givontair chuckles.
"He does. Which is why he didn't want to raise me. It was foretold that he will be the best and strongest, dragon king for a millennium. Then, he will have a son from his blood, who will be his end," I frown at that. If the prophecy says that Givontair will be Ajax's end, then why didn't the king of dragons kill his son in the cradle?
"How come you are alive now, then?" I ask my father.
"Simple. Ajax used to have a grip on his sanity, back then. It also helped, that he didn't trust in such things as prophecies. Yet, with the fall of his empire, he has become selfish and unhinged. Do you understand now, why we need to get you to Khuzd?" Givontair looks me in the eyes. There is fear in his blue orbs, but there is also the strive to win and protect.
"I promise I won't get in the way. Just promise you will come back from that fight," I hold up my pinky, and wait. Givontair chuckles at my action, but he does complete the pinky swear.
Erik:
I wake just in time, to see Sorix carrying Givontair in a princess carry. The dragon looks paler than usual. His white hair is matted to his scalp. He looks like he has gone through Hell.
I take off the blankets from around me, and settle them on the ground, so Giv can lay on them.
"What happened?" I ask. Sorix places Givontair on the spot I prepared for the dragon.
"First rule of being a champion, kiddo. Everything your deity gives you, comes with a price," I don't like the way Sorix is trying to redirect the question. I scrunch up my nose at him, until he speaks again. "The Dread is not a fluffy deity. Giv is healed, but closer to death's door, than he has ever been."
"How could you do something like that to him?" I am careful not to yell. Giv is asleep, and looks like he needs to rest.
"There weren't any alternatives. Look, kiddo, as long as we hide, Ajax will have free rein over the world," Sorix's words don't soothe my temper. Givontair coughs next to me, and there is now blood on his lips.
My eyes widen at that. Just what happened?
"He needs his rest. I am certain that, once he wakes, he will heal himself," Nathaniel says. I look at him, as if I see him for the first time. Do neither of them care, that Giv is suffering?
"I don't like this," Nathaniel says, as he sits on Giv's other side. "But there is no other way. Givontair is strong. Once he gets some sleep, he will wake up."
"What sort of damage is he suffering from?" Elias asks. He is perched on a branch, up in the tree, under which I slept.
"We don't know," Sorix says. "It is not like we are healers."
No, they are not healers. But Sorix should have known, that what they are doing is dangerous. Yet, he still did it.
A silence falls in the clearing. Norrix is soon in his bottomless bag, as the skies color crimson. I go, and lay next to Givontair. If I lose another parent so soon after mom, I don't know what I will do. Just why does this have to happen?
Around noon, Givontair finally opens his eyes. He stretches, and then begins to unwrap himself from the blankets. I look at him, trying to size him up. He doesn't seem any worse off than when they carried him here. In fact, there is a clarity in his blue eyes.
He looks at me, and places a hand over my head. He gives me a couple of pets, before I push his hand away.
"Did you know that you will get hurt? Is this why you didn't wake me up?" I ask him.
"You wouldn't have understood," I narrow my eyes at him.
"What wouldn't I have understood? That you are ready to die, in order to kill Ajax?" If this is indeed what he didn't believe I can understand, then he is right.
"This goes beyond Ajax," he murmurs. I try to urge him with my eyes to continue, but he gets up. He looks around, and then goes in the direction of an open space. He sniffs the air, and adds. "Now that the dungeon core is no more, the labyrinth is gone as well."
"We can go forward?" I ask him. He nods. Yet, my questions still irk me. I run after him, and take a hold of his sleeve.
"What can't I understand? What is your plan?" For surely, Giv does have a plan. I don't know, however, if he plans to survive it.
He turns towards me, and offers his hand. I take it, and he leads me away from the camp.
"I am only going to tell you this because if something happens to me, you will be in danger," I don't like the sound of that. Not one bit. "There is more to my prophecy, than simply eating souls. It was foretold, that I will have a son. A son who will bring eternal darkness."
I blink at that. Surely, no one meant me, when they make the prophecy?
"I know what you are thinking: this doesn't refer to me. Yet, it does. I can't have children, Erik. The only way I can have a child, is if I adopt. For the longest time, I didn't want to do so. Out of fear, that I will have to fight my own child to stop him or her from destroying everything."
"But I will not do as the prophecy says," I argue.
"Prophecies are fickle things. The more you try not to fulfill them, the bigger the chance is, for them to happen," Givontair sits on the grass, and then pulls me to sit next to him. "But I couldn't just leave you in that ruined town. You have lost so much, that I wanted to give you something back. To hell with the consequences."
"Why are you telling me this now?" I ask him. Surely, he should have told me when he adopted me.
"Because Ajax knows about the prophecy. He is my father. Even though he never rose a finger to be there for me, he knows all about my destiny," he takes in a deep breath, and continues. "Ajax doesn't want to be the king of the ruins. What he does want, is for our world to be ruled by dragons once more. No matter the cost."
"Does Ajax have a prophecy hanging over his head?" I ask. Givontair chuckles.
"He does. Which is why he didn't want to raise me. It was foretold that he will be the best and strongest, dragon king for a millennium. Then, he will have a son from his blood, who will be his end," I frown at that. If the prophecy says that Givontair will be Ajax's end, then why didn't the king of dragons kill his son in the cradle?
"How come you are alive now, then?" I ask my father.
"Simple. Ajax used to have a grip on his sanity, back then. It also helped, that he didn't trust in such things as prophecies. Yet, with the fall of his empire, he has become selfish and unhinged. Do you understand now, why we need to get you to Khuzd?" Givontair looks me in the eyes. There is fear in his blue orbs, but there is also the strive to win and protect.
"I promise I won't get in the way. Just promise you will come back from that fight," I hold up my pinky, and wait. Givontair chuckles at my action, but he does complete the pinky swear.
