Chapter 350: Chapter 347: Unildyr

Chapter 347: Unildyr

 

  …As Undergrowth’s final tourney match came to a close, a clash of ancient powers unfolded in the southern hills of Dusk Valley…

 

  In the dark hours of the night the dragon goddess, Zavinti had flown to a small campsite near a rushing river. Her prey, a delusory fox goddess, had escaped and in its disappearance, Zavinti had met the mysterious god Caligo. Yet the ebon god had no answers regarding her prey, the only answers he gave Zavinti were the names of her lost fellow dragons and the ways he had murdered and tortured them.

  The azure dragon had roared in righteous anger and attacked the ebon god. Their battle shook the air itself in a maelstrom of magic. The skies above the hills had twisted and turned into the dark eye of a storm. What had been hills of lush green grass had transformed into barren scorched earth with deep craters sprawled through the land.

  Jade lightning crackled throughout the darkened sky and clashed with prismatic dragon fire. Boulders the size of small houses flew through the air in a tornado of ruin, colliding with true chromatic grey halos of destruction.

  Magic that had not been unleashed in centuries poured over the hills. The ground trembled and broke underneath the gods’ powers as if crying out in agony. Their divine duel stretched throughout the night and into the early morning hours, until a single seed of pure energy erupted from the ground in a spiral of jade light stretching out like the branches of a colossal tree into the night sky. The branches of light coalesced around Zavinti like a hundred spears piercing into her azure scales. Her magical defenses collapsed. She roared in pain as her flesh was burned and her wings were torn apart.

  Caligo watched her tumble down from the sky with cold indifference. She  crashed into the remnants of the campsite with a resounding bang like the sound of a hammer striking stone.

  Caligo folded his pale leathery wings and dived straight down like an arrow. Just as he was about to smash into the ground he opened his wings wide and landed softly on his bare feet. His breathing was rough and sweat speckled his brow, but his ever-changing eyes were clear.

  His wings melted away in a blur behind his back. He slowly walked around the wounded dragon and looked her over with a focused gaze. Blood oozed all over Zavinti’s body from where the jade lightning had burned through her sapphire scales. The bones of her wings were broken on several points and the leathery webbing had a multitude of scorched tears. 

  She opened her deep blue eyes weakly and groaned in anger, a deep rumbling sound. 

  “You are remarkable,” Caligo said tiredly. “I didn’t think I had to use the Tree of Luminance to defeat you… I was wrong.”

  Zavinti tried to stand, but her giant limbs trembled underneath her weight and she collapsed once more. 

  “And still you want to fight?” he shook his head.

  She growled in pain and glared at him, “I know… who you are…”

  Caligo cocked his head to the side. “Is that so…?” he whispered. “Then tell me, who am I?”

  Zavinti stared at the young boy standing in front of her. He seemed no older than fifteen. His grey hair was messy and his soft brown skin was covered in ash and dirt. He wore only a tattered cloak of black feathers. If it wasn’t for his eyes that constantly changed color, he would seem a scared, war-stricken child. It was then Zavinti realized that was exactly what the boy wanted.

  “…You pretend to be weak because you enjoy seeing others underestimate you,” Zavinti snarled. “You hide in the body of a child because it makes you seem harmless.”

  “Those are some serious accusations, princess,” he smiled. “We’re both gods, why would I need to appear harmless in front of you?”

  “Why indeed?” she mused grimly. “Even now, you pretend to just be an ebon god, a deity of this realm’s pantheon.”

  “I am an ebon god, the youngest certainly, but still, I am one nonetheless.”

  “But you’re not, not really. You aren’t like the others. You’re something older… much older.”

  Caligo’s smile fell and the light in his eyes grew cold, “Oh? And here I thought your father kept you in the dark like all the others.”

  “My father doesn’t like speaking of the past, he prefers to keep to himself,” Zavinti narrowed her sapphire eyes, “But you’re quite the opposite aren’t you? You enjoy speaking in riddles and of things that seem rubbish. And yet, amidst all your nonsensical words is the truth… You want people to know the truth, don’t you? You’re not a god of secrets. You told me yourself, your name isn’t Caligo.”

  “Is that right? I forgot,” he said light-heartedly.

  “I haven’t. Ever since I heard whispers of your true name in the circles of the elder dragon lords as a child. I never forgot the fear in my elders’ eyes. They thought you a mere memory, a bad dream they hoped to forget. But I think my father knew the truth, didn’t he? You were still alive all this time. The Dark Visitor, The Father of the Dragonbane, The Scourge of The Broken World… Unildyr of the Null.”

  “…Names are a powerful thing, aren’t they, Zavinti?” The young boy smirked, “How a single name can terrify even the mightiest of dragon lords.”

  Zavinti pulled her lips back in a growl, revealing her sharp bloody fangs, each the size of a shortsword. “You think I am afraid of you?” She laughed, as painful as it was, and glared at him, “You were once the greatest enemy of my people, yet now here you stand, exhausted, your powers pushed to their limits. How the mighty have fallen.”

  “Fallen?” he raised his eyebrow. 

  “Deny it all you wish. You are not what you once were, your power has been greatly diminished.”

  “Diminished? Your body lies broken because of me. The Dragonbane walk the land once more because of me. Does my power sound diminished to you?”

  Zavinti smiled, “And yet you said I am a threat. That doesn’t sound like the Unildyr who once waged against the entire world. The old Unildyr would not have struggled against me. He wouldn’t be standing in front of me, out of breath, hiding in the form of a child.”

  “Perhaps you’re right.” He chuckled, “Perhaps the Unildyr of old would have defeated you with ease. And perhaps he would have ripped your head off that pretty blue neck. But we’ll never know, will we?”

  “I guess not. What I do know is that my people defeated you and your dragonbane in the Age of Titans. This time we’ll do it right and rid the world of your existence once and for all.”

  The young boy slowly smiled, though there was no warmth in his eyes. “It wasn’t only the dragons who ended the war. Your kind had help. The Queendom of Vesir, the titans.” He glanced around pointedly. “Where are they now? Where are the titans who aided your kind in defeating the dragonbane? Where are the titans who saved your people?” Caligo bowed his head and stared at the ground quietly, “Ah, yes… They died. Vesir is gone as are its people. Your dragon brood is alone.”

  “And?” With a painful wince, Zavinti raised her head proudly, “My people have weathered the Ages alone and still we remain. How? Because dragons understood true unity comes from within. We are strongest together, without the intervention of outsiders. We don’t need the titans of old, not their lost power nor their broken Sword.”

  “Broken Sword…?” Caligo suddenly burst into laughter. “Is that what your father told you happened to the Sword of Vesir? Well, I don’t fault you for your ignorance. I blame your cheeky bastard of a father for that. Kaleidrog always had a penchant for lying.”

  “My father is not a liar!” she hissed angrily.

  Caligo smiled with mild surprise, “Ah, you look up to Kaleidrog, don’t you? I see you, Zavinti; A proud daughter who believes in the wisdom of her father and the strength of her people. What a fool you are.”

  “You think I’m a fool?” she said disdainfully. “Are you so alone that you think believing in others is a weakness?”

  “You know nothing of solitude, do not proceed to lecture me on it,” he said coldly. “And you are wrong, dragons are not strongest on their own. Dragons are weaker than they have ever been. More and more eggs never hatch and even the ones that do are… lacking. I know, I have seen it; dragons born without the power of all the chromatic magics. Your kind grows weaker with each passing year and you can do nothing to stop it.”

  “You know why it’s happening, don’t you…?” Zavinti whispered.

  “And you clearly do not. Something else Kaleidrog refused to tell you I see,” he shrugged.

  “Enough!” Zavinti roared. “If you insult my father one more time you will regret not killing me sooner.”

  Caligo leaned forward, a cold smile on his lips, “Why would I kill you?”

  “What?” she asked, confused.

  His cold smile widened, “You know, I wish I had been there when your mother died. I wish I had killed her. I wish I had gotten the chance to rip the wings off her back, claw her ribcage open, and tear her throat out with my bare hands. I wish I could have seen the look of horror on your father’s face as she died…” Caligo sighed, “Instead, I’ll have to settle with you. I’ll keep you alive, broken, but alive, until I meet your father.”

  Zavinti growled and tried to stand to no avail. “…So the stories of your cruelty are true. I have heard the dark stories the elder dragon lords whispered about you. I’ve heard of the horrors you inflicted on the Night of Ruin…”

  “Are you afraid?” he whispered.

  She grinned angrily, “I’m not afraid of your cruelty. To die like my king would be an honor.”

  “…The Dragon King Vismarya,” Caligo whispered, a slight tremble in his voice.

  Zavinti smiled malevolently, “You are right, names do have power. Even now Vismarya still terrifies you, doesn’t he?”

  Caligo glared at her, “I fear no dragon.”

  “Yet you feared him, didn’t you?”

  Caligo scoffed, “Did your father tell you that?”

  “He didn’t need to. I know King Vismarya’s legacy, I know his story. He was the greatest of all dragons and it was he who led the war against you. It was Vismarya who defeated you on the Night of Ruin.”

  “Vismarya didn’t defeat me, he died that night.”

  “Our king died defending his dragon lords from your magic and with his last breath, he wounded you! It was that wound that weakened you enough for the dragon lords and the titan queen to strike you down! Say what you will, but King Vismarya was the true victor that night.” 

  Caligo sighed, then smiled, “…You’re right, Vismarya was the greatest of dragons, but you are not like him. You will not die a hero. You will die screaming, alone, and helpless.”

  “We shall see,” Zavinti hissed.

  Suddenly, a horn blared in the distance. Caligo looked up in surprise. At the top of a nearby hill stood a line of centaur warriors, each carrying a rider clad in armor.

  “What is this…?” Caligo frowned.

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  “I told you, you would regret not killing me sooner,” Zavinti said.

  One of the centaurs raised a horn and blew it once more. A second horn resounded from the hill behind the ruined campsite. Rider after rider began to appear all along the hilltops until the entire campsite was surrounded. Several of the countless riders carried familiar banners that flew in the wind behind them.

  What are they doing this far south? Caligo wondered.

  Without hesitation, the centaurs charged down both hills, an army of soldiers behind them. Caligo watched in surreal surprise as thousands of soldiers flooded the area and surrounded the ruined campsite where Zavinti and he stood.

  Caligo glanced at the dragon, She was buying time…

  He had been too focused on his battle with the dragon and their conversation. He hadn’t noticed the spell Zavinti had sent out to the nearby hills, nor the armies marching towards them.

  I was careless… Caligo thought. 

  Three riders dismounted their centaurs from the front line and stepped forward. The forefront rider was a human with long brown hair, tied in a ponytail. 

  She sent a curious glance at the young boy standing next to the wounded dragon, before bowing nervously to Zavinti, “I-I… I am an envoy of Hollow Shade! B-Behind me stands L-Lord Veres IX and Lady G-Glaz—”

  “Oh shut up, you useless idiot,” Lady Glaz snapped.

  “We’ll do the talking,” Lord Veres said and gently pulled the envoy behind them.

  The young envoy blushed but nodded gratefully.

  “Forgive us for the human,” Lady Glaz bowed to Zavinti courteously, “My name is Ayda of the Great House of Glaz and this is Eldrin of the Great House of Veres. We are the heads of the Ruling Families of Hollow Sha—”

  “—I know who you are,” Caligo interrupted. “Why are you here?”

  “I was speaking to the dragon.” Ayda frowned, “And if you know who we are you should speak with more respect, boy.”

  “Ahem,” Eldrin coughed, “I think what my companion is trying to say is that we received a call for help in the form of a spell from the dragon in front of you. We could hardly believe it ourselves, but after our scouts spotted the unusual storm in the distance and the dragon falling down from the sky, well… we came as fast as we could.”

  “And lo and behold we find a ‘too-curious-for-his-own-good’ farm boy who has wandered too far from his village,” Ayda said, annoyed. “So why don’t you stay quiet and out of the way, child.”

  Caligo glanced at Zavinti who hadn’t spoken a word. Her eyes were closed, focused. It was faint, but he could feel the magic growing like a fire inside her body. She was readying herself for one final counterattack. If it was just her, he wouldn’t be worried. They both were exhausted, but she more than him.

  If it was just her… Caligo cursed silently to himself.

  He was exhausted, his mana was spent, and his body’s form was reaching its limits. 

  Caligo was aware of what an army, even a mortal one, could do with sufficient numbers. Worse, he knew what these mage lords were capable of. Lady Glaz in particular was said to be as powerful as the Noir child, Elzri. Not a problem under normal circumstances, but in his current state…

  They can’t kill me, but I can’t fight them all off either… Caligo thought irritatedly. Do I have to retreat…? If Lin Lu was here at the very least I could… no… it doesn’t matter…

  Eldrin Veres glanced at Zavinti and bowed his head, “Your draconic eminence, it has been a long time since one of my House has met one of your kind. So please, forgive me for my rudeness, but I couldn’t help but notice your injuries. Our scouts couldn’t see your battle well from so far away. If the monster you clashed against still lives, we’d greatly appreciate it if you told us which direction it flew off to. We need to be prepared if it comes back.”

  Zavinti opened her eyes, “The monster is—”

  “—The Night of Ruin,” Caligo whispered. “Was not the victory your father described.”

  Zavinti slowly looked at the young boy, “…What did you say?”

  “Kaleidrog may be too ashamed to tell you the truth, but I am not.”

  “I didn’t think you were the kind who’d bargain for his life, Unildyr,” the dragon taunted.

  “…I remember, Zavinti,” the boy recalled quietly. “I was there that night when the dragonbane descended from the darkened skies and slaughtered countless of your kind. I remember when King Vismarya burst from the clouds in a storm of fire, his scales gleaming gold in the light; the titan queen Ananta riding on his back and his dragon lords at his side.” Caligo chuckled softly, “I remember as they fought bravely to defend their people… helplessly against the horde of dragonbane.”

  “And yet they still defeated you,” Zavinti snapped.

  “Did they?” Caligo asked.

  Zavinti narrowed her eyes, “…What are you getting at?”

  “Your draconic eminence…?” Eldrin called out uncertainly.

  “The stories your elders told you are true, Vismarya did wound the Father of the Dragonbane,” Caligo acknowledged. “But I did not kill Vismarya… It was only after the dragon king and titan queen used all their power to stop ‘Unildyr of the Null’ did Vismarya die… to his own dragon lords.”

  Zavinti glared at him, “…You expect me to believe such a ridiculous lie!?” 

  “Does it hurt?” Caligo asked. “To know that your king was betrayed by the elder dragon lords, chief among them, Kaleidrog the Azure Sky, your father.”

  “LIAR!” Zavinti roared furiously.

  “I remember, Zavinti…” Caligo said solemnly. “I remember when your father ripped Vismarya’s wings off his back, when your mother tore Vismarya’s throat, and when they still couldn’t kill him, I remember when the other dragon lords descended upon Vismarya and clawed his chest apart.” Caligo smiled bitterly, “ I remember as Vismarya died… protecting me.”

  “What…? That doesn’t make s—” Zavinti frowned, then suddenly stiffened, and her eyes widened in horrific realization, “You’re not… Unildyr…!”

  The young boy smiled softly, his iridescent eyes aglow with power. “The mortals call me Caligo, my enemies called me the Sword of Vesir, but my friends used to simply call me Ann.”

  The young boy stepped back from Zavinti, and for the first time in many years, he stopped trying to control his body’s form. Dormant power flooded into his veins as his body warped and shapeshifted.

  Zavinti turned to Eldrin and Ayda in a panic and screamed, “Kill this monster! Kill it now!”

  But it was too late. Lord Veres and Lady Glaz, and their armies all stood stock-still, and stared in awe at the towering beauty standing before them. 

  She stood thrice as tall as any man. Her cloak had expanded to accommodate her new size, but the feathers had burned away, revealing a mantle of lustrous black dragon scales underneath. Her smooth hair was a pale jade that cascaded down her shoulders and swayed gently in the wind. Her skin was a flawless brown that glowed with a faint warmth. But for all her beauty it was her cold iridescent eyes that transfixed the gaze of all who saw her.

  “Monster…?” The towering woman glanced at Zavinti and spoke in a measured voice of anger that reverberated through the air, “I am Queen of the Titans and Bonded of Vismarya. I am Ananta, the last Sword of Vesir!”

  “Y-you can’t be her! She died in the Sundering!” Zavinti screamed in terror.

  “You have been lied to,” Ananta said coldly. 

  Ayda Glaz turned to her soldiers and shouted, “Battle formations!”

  “No, wait!” Eldrin yelled in a panic.

  Ananta slowly stretched out her hand, “Heed my call, Honorem.”

  A black greatsword burst from the wreckage of the campsite and flew into Ananta’s grasp. In her palm the orichalcum blade seemed small, a dagger in the hands of a titan. 

  Honorem began to hum and glow with jade light as it pulsed with overflowing power, linked to its true owner. The hills underneath the armies began to tremble and crack as the clouds darkened and the sun was blotted from the sky.

  Ananta raised her dagger high.

  Zavinti closed her eyes in grim acceptance. Her world exploded in a searing flare of jade light.

 

Book 3 End

 

 

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