Chapter 14: Chapter Thirteen: Canyon of Flames

The canyon’s rocky walls were a dark, brownish red, yet shiny and as smooth as glass. The deeper into the canyon they went, the sky followed the gradient, shifting in colouration. More and more, the fiery red grew. Moments later, a sudden wave of heat shot past them and filled the air, gaining strength with each step they took. Even deeper into the canyon, they noticed the faint cracks which covered the walls, all giving off a magmatic glow. Aside from the awe of the canyon’s formations, Valdus and Ace also felt they were being watched.

It’s gotta be my imagination... It has to be...right...?
Valdus looked around but couldn’t catch a glimpse of anything watching them.

He then closed his eyes for a moment and focused, but he couldn’t sense the Essence of anything besides Ace’s and his own. Focusing a little more he could only pick up what felt and looked like streaks of fire flowing through the air, ground and walls surrounding them, but still nothing else. From that point on they traversed the canyon with more caution, but despite their efforts it felt useless. It wasn’t as if they were being watched anymore. They felt cornered, or rather, surrounded. Valdus and Ace unsheathed their weapons and stood back to back, looking around at the canyon walls. With glaring eyes, shadows emerged from the red fog and dust, which clouded the air. Valdus could now sense the Essence of the creatures, the sensation of their presence seeming like a plethora of bright flames and bulky stones.

The shadows came closer into view, down from the canyon walls to the ground where Valdus and Ace stood. Other figures even rose up from the ground below. The red haze gave way, revealing dragons. Each seemed to vary in their own ways, from slim-bodied with large wings, to bulky and wingless drakes. Some even stood like the Raptors from the plains, and others were wurms. They all stood at varying sizes, though a fair few were relatively similar to either Valdus or Ace’s heights. Majority of them had predominantly red scales.

Well, normally someone would panic in this situation, but... Holy crap! More dragons, and they’re freaking badass!!
Valdus couldn’t help but feel ecstatic at the sight of them. Still he remained cautious.
They don’t seem to be Cursed, either. Hopefully, they don’t intend on killing us...

The dragons snarled at them, eyeing them back. Neither Valdus nor Ace sensed the intent of striking, rather sensing that they were being warned off instead. That atmosphere was then cleared as a growl – much deeper in tone than the snarls of the surrounding dragons – followed from further within the canyon. A bulky dragon with dark, red scales approached the group. It had a scar across its left eye and faint blue patterns across the sides of its body. Its eyes and horns were of an amber colouration, while the membranes of its wings were a fainter shade of red than its scales. Its tail was broad and had a diamond-shaped spike at the tip.

“What brings you here into our canyon? In times like this it’d be considered almost idiotic for one such as a Human like yourselves to travel to such places.”
The dragon warned,
“Though this place is...relatively safe.”

It had a low-toned voice, but it didn’t sound aggressive at all. The other dragons no longer seemed alarmed by Valdus and Ace’s arrival and had lowered their heads to the dragon who now spoke. That dragon then gestured to them, and they raised their heads. With the atmosphere once again changed, now for the better, Valdus and Ace sheathed their swords.

“We’re exploring Eldoria to discover something that’s been going on about the realm. I wouldn’t know for sure if any of you know of this, but either way, we’re only passing by.”
Ace explained.

“Could you possibly be talking about the Corrupt?”
The dragon replied, lifting his head,
“If so, we’re more than aware of it.”

Their personality remained stalwart and serious, but not unwelcoming. The others seemed to only observe the conversation now. Ace then hurriedly stepped toward the dragon in front of him, almost in a leap - wanting to question him.

“You know about them?”
He asked,
“We’re trying to find a way to stop them!”

His sudden approach to the larger dragon raised the caution of the others once more, causing them all to enter a guarding stance as they let out growls and snarls. Ace backed up, and the dragon in front of him suddenly called out in anger.

“Enough, you lot! This is not how we treat guests!”
He roared, spreading his wings,
“Has a lack of visitors diminished your manners?”

In an instant all the other dragons lowered their heads yet again and backed away from the exchange.

“Moving on... As I had stated, we’re more than aware of it. You can rest assured that the dragons here are working together to fight them off, as well.”
The dragon sounded surprisingly relaxed.
“Now, now. The rest of you; off you go. Ignis would be displeased to hear of this... These two are to now be our welcomed guests, so don’t go treating them like suspects or Corrupt, all right? If something’s wrong, the scouts and I can deal with it.”

A few of the dragons huffed while the majority of them sighed, even seeming apologetic toward Valdus and Ace. Having been dismissed, they all then flew off, leaving the commanding dragon with Valdus and Ace. He smiled at the pair before walking off further into the canyon and signalling them to follow him. Somewhat reluctant, they tagged along.

As they followed him, he occasionally made small exchanges, hoping to relieve any tension.
“By the way, I’m Mythriln Viribus. I'm known as the Canyon Scout Leader here, so guarding this place is my top priority.”

Valdus and Ace stayed silent for the time being, though. Mythriln didn’t mind too much but glanced back at them every so often. He then stopped at the entrance of a large cave, connecting to a towering, mountain-like rock resembling an oddly shaped volcano. Ace felt a sense of suspicion about the dragons, but Valdus decided to walk right on into the cave. There, in the middle, a much larger dragon sat. It had amber horns, bright red scales, and a beige underbelly. It also had amber eyes. The membranes of its wings were a fiery orange.

Valdus felt a sense of familiarity and trust resonating from the dragon. The rest of the cave was rather simple, lit up by a few torches which held vibrant, strong flames. Behind the large dragon was a bed of rocks that were calmly lit, much like a fireplace. The flames rose high, and faint smoke drifted out of the cave from a small exit above it. Valdus glanced back to see Ace enter the cave, then looked back at the much larger dragon.

"Well, what might we have here? Isn’t this a surprise! What brings you two to the Canyon of Flames? Hopefully, the others did not seem all too cautious..."
The dragon greeted,
“Do give them some time, it’s been a few years since we’ve had visitors we can welcome, and the Corrupt have made many attempts to attack our home.”

Valdus tilted his head, and he and Ace then sat down. The heat felt almost unbearable for Ace by now, but Valdus didn’t mind too much. The moment they sat down though, the dragon smiled softly, and the heat began to cool. Confusion began to spiral through Valdus and Ace’s minds.

"I should mention that my Affinity grants me the Ability to control this very canyon. I am Ignis Cor, King of the Canyon of Flames. Now, since you two are our first visitors in so long, I feel you should be more than welcomed. What are your..."
Ignis seemed to pause as he glanced at Valdus, then continued,
“...your names?”

Valdus pondered but dismissed the pause. Ace introduced himself first, then Ignis looked at Valdus again, raising his head and an eyebrow. Glancing away momentarily, Ignis seemed to mutter something inaudible, before facing back to Valdus once again and speaking up.

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“Apologies for my disrespect. Who might you be?”
Ignis asked.

“I-I’m Valdus Aetherius. I’m not from Eldoria, though... I came from a different realm.”
As Valdus spoke, an idea flashed in his head, and he jumped to question Ignis without a thought.
“Hang on, Ignis! Do you know about a purple dragon? Anything about them?”

Ignis suddenly looked both shocked and puzzled by the question, and Valdus only now considered how bizarre and out of the blue his request was.

“Not from this realm you say? You surely are strange...and how do you know of a purple dragon?”
Ignis replied.

“How...do I know...? Well, it’s a confusing story... I caused this thing called a Realm-Link, and that allowed this purple dragon to almost send me insane, and then, soon after, I ended up here.”
Valdus explained,
“There’s a lot more to it, but I’m terrible at explaining...”

“A Realm-Link? That would explain quite a bit... And this purple dragon... A Blight Dragon, surely. A species of dragons who lived in isolation, cast away from others due to the events that occur when they hatch. They’d seep very little of the Essence of flora around them. To not wither any more of the Cardinal Plains than they once did they took refuge in mountains afar...but they’re long gone from what I’ve known... The one in particular you speak of - I may know of him, but...there’s not much I can tell of him in particular...especially to you, Valdus. All I can say is that he’s far too dangerous for a child like you.”
Ignis cautioned,
“This may seem like an adventure lying ahead, but that Blight Dragon is something you mustn’t approach.”

Valdus felt a little hurt and suddenly raised his voice.
“I’m not just a child!! I’m fourteen! And either way, I’ve already faced what’s going on in this realm!”

Ignis sighed and continued to speak,
“Take it as a warning then, as I feel no right in stopping you from doing as you wish. Just be careful, if he ever does find you..."

“Well, a warning’s a warning... Whether or not you heed it and stay back is your choice, but just know this; if you’re holding anything against the Blight Dragon, don’t let that emotion control you.”
Ace said with a smirk, patting Valdus on the shoulder,
“And know that I'll be by your side, kid.”

Valdus nodded and looked back at Ignis. Ignis simply returned a smile. Mythriln then entered the cave, carrying a large bag filled with reasonably-sized slabs of cooked meat. He gave a grin before dropping the bag and opening it in front of Ignis. Immediately after that, he exited the cave. Valdus looked at Ignis then back at the cooked meat. The hopes of learning about the Blight Dragon soon left him at the first sight of the food.

“Go on, eat up. I’m sure your journey’s worn you two out quite a bit. Feel free to stay in the canyon to rest as well. As I said earlier, you two are to be welcomed here.”
Ignis insisted, sliding some pieces over to Valdus and Ace.

“Hell yes, thank you!”
Valdus cheered and immediately grabbed a slice, taking a single bite. He let out a sound of pleasure, smiling brightly, then swallowed before speaking again,
“This definitely tastes like pork!”

“Plains boar, to be exact. Our scouts went out hunting for some large ones earlier today – mind you they were much-much larger than you two.”
Ignis mused,
“They’re surprisingly aggressive.”

“Yeah, we fought one or two, but Valdus struggled a fair bit.”
Ace commented,
“That aside, I’ve gotta admit, I think I’d quite enjoy staying here to rest!”

Ignis smiled softly, feeling glad to have heard that last comment. As they sat and ate, the three of them continued to chat, all the way into the night. When it was time to sleep, Valdus felt restless, and sat awake while Ace was fast asleep. The fire from the torches were out for the night, while the flames from the bed of rocks were a lot fainter, but still present. The warmth of Ignis’s den was lowered for comfortability too. Ignis didn’t seem to rest at all though, watching over his guests.

Unable to get the thought of the Blight Dragon out of his head, Valdus pondered,
What if he could bend reality the same way he did back then...?

“You seem rather restless, Valdus. Best not to worry too much. If this is about the Blight Dragon...worry and fear may alter your path, even just a little. Do be careful of that.”
Ignis spoke softly.

So far, most of the things I’ve been told since I got to this world has just been filled with warning after warning...
Valdus continued to ponder as he listened to Ignis,
...but I feel they’re also leading me somewhere.

He took a mental note of what he heard, then sighed.
“All right... I’ll try. Goodnight, Ignis.”

“May you rest well, young one.”
Ignis replied.

Valdus closed his eyes, and a short moment later, he finally fell asleep. He reopened his eyes soon after, awakening in his dream to find himself standing in a small cave on a floating island. From the entrance of the cave, grass flourished, reaching out to a ledge. Past that – and down below – were large, puffy clouds. Other islands floated about the vast sky as well, and off in the distance was the sun, sitting up high in the open sky, like a sunny day frozen in time. Smaller clouds painted the blue sky as well.

On the other islands were small critters, living inside their caves. Birds flew around, singing to each other, while the others played. Valdus sat down on the ledge and turned to look at the cave behind him. Three small foxes with peculiar features were curled up together. It looked like a family; a mother, a father, and their child.

Valdus smiled and looked toward the sun again.
No idea how my dream’s like this now, but I can’t complain... They’re no longer what they were before...

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