“How much further?”
“If we continue at this pace, maybe, a day. But great one, we’ve already been running for two days, I don’t think we can continue like this”
A somber realisation, but one filled with truth
“Maybe, but we have to, a mistake made is a debt to be paid. You know this”
“I know great one, but... We have to rest, we’ll fall if we continue like this, then we will never make it home to save the human.”
Darn it
Why must the flesh be so weak, why where I not born of stone?
Unbending and firm, never wavering
This situation would have been so much better otherwise.
Holding my arm up, I gestured for us to stop
“You are correct, we shall rest here, gather our strength. But we can't stop our watch, she is still in critical condition”
“Yes, great one.”
They said in unison, three comrades I would trust with my life.
Three comrades I would share the burden of shame.
I sat down, gently resting the human on the ground, my clothes beneath her head.
Two other drank water before laying down, immediately falling asleep
I think I’ve might have pushed them too hard
Darn it.
Looking up, I shared a look with the third comrade, saying
“You should rest too, I’ll wake you in three hours.”
“No great one, I’m the only one with the skill to heal.”
Silence, I looked down on the human
A frown covering her face, eyes shut but darting beneath closed eyelids
Probably a dream
Maybe a nightmare.
“Thank you, please heal her“
A silent whisper, but loud enough for my comrade to hear
An knowing smile going up to her tired eyes, then she joined me, looking down on the human
A small glow emanating from her hands
The only light on this dark night.
The elders won't be pleased
I’m not pleased.
I just hope I’m the only one who will suffer the consequences.
I hope...
A small voice, coughing as something tried to speak, waking me
Roused from light slumber
Darn it, I slept!
Quickly opening my eyes, bending forward to look for the source.
Meeting the eyes of my comrade, pointing down at the human
“Hello?“
A small whisper, sounding like she had eaten nothing but sand for days
“Human, stay silent. You must conserve your strength.”
No movement, no indication that she had heard me
But I could see her twitch, eyes darting around, underneath closed eyelids.
Muscles twitching, but unmoving
“Help“
Pain, such pain
I grabbed my chest, trying to hold the weight.
Realising quickly that there was no weight there
Only the heavy beating of my heart
What have I done?
Turning to my comrade,
“Give her the elixir“
I whispered, being met with wide eyes, staring deep into mine.
“But, great one, she might die”
“It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
She looked away from me, uncertain,
Maybe
Unwilling.
“As you say, great one”
Then she turned around
Grabbing a bottle, emitting a dark red light
A holy artifact of age old
Only to be drunk by those foolish, daring, suicidal
Or desperate
The blood of dragons.
We’ve been give one each.
Only to be drunk as we fight the source of the blue flame
Giving us great power, filling us to the brim with mana
Giving us strength beyond anything
But always
Almost always, dying in the process.
A great source of power
Of unspeakable wealth
An ingredient in the ritual of immortals
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
But ridden in dark history
Which few know.
Shaking myself from my thoughts, I could see my comrade holding the elixir close to the human's mouth.
Looking up to me
Uncertain
I nodded, eyes focused, looking down on the human
My comrade bent down, touching the elixir to her lips.
Then shakily, letting it slide down
As the human noticed the warm liquid, she greedily started drinking
Tongue smacking around, wetting her mouth as it slid down
Minutes passed, and she soon fell asleep.
A slight glow starting to emanate out from her
Breathing turning calmer
A small smile covering her face.
Good, it’s working
Then I looked to my comrade, her eyes worried.
My eyes staring deep into hers
And then I drank
Staring into her wide eyes, maybe the last I’ll ever see
She stared back, eyes turning to shock
“What have you done?”
My comrade whispered.
“I must repay what has been done, even if it costs my life.”
I whispered back.
Then I stood up, pulling the human with me
A glow emitting
Strength collecting
Mana overflowing
...
I feel
Power
Then I jumped.
Landing several meters away, going off into a sprint
Wind rushing past
Ground crunching beneath my heavy footsteps
Muscles bulging
Cloths ripping
Such overwhelming power
Nothing could stop me
I sprinted, something that should have taken days, took hours
And soon I could see our city
Big stone walls surrounding it
I jumped.
Ground moving past me faster than I could properly perceive
Walls that should be unscalable, was easily jumped
A few guards noticing, quickly raising the alarm
But I had no time to explain
I had to take the human to the elder
The eldest of us, she would know what to do
She must know
As I landed, the ground cracked, forming a small crater.
I looked up, scanning the surrounding
A few Fauns had been blasted to the side
Others stared wide eyed, scared
Others recognised, but still looked scared
I took them no mind, trying to get a grasp of where I was
Then I remembered and took off in a sprint
Houses rushing past
Fauns falling over
Screaming at the unknown assailant
But soon I reached my destination.
A solitude house
Built like most, but left alone
Other houses built respectfully far away to not disturb
Looking like a lone island surrounded by a sea
I ran up to it, throwing open the door.
Inside was a mess, items, trinkets and cloths strewn about in piles
Seeming more like a massive trash pile rather than someone's house
Standing to one corner of this mess stood the elder
Having turned around by the sound of intrusion
“What the hell are you doing-“
But then she saw us
Eyes widening
Frown turning angry
“What have you done?”
“Great elder, please save this human.”
I bowed, putting the human to the ground.
Head held low
Staring down at the human
“You have started a process than can not be undone. How foolish can you be?”
Like a hammer hitting me
Piling up more on my already heavy heart
Making breathing hard
“I did not know what else to do. She was dying.”
I did not know
I’m so sorry
I don't know what to do
I know nothing.
I just wanted to save her
Please, I need help-
I-
A hand gently touching my shoulder
I quickly looked up.
Met with two eyes, glowing like the moon in a dark night
Glowing with an eery glow, piercing into mine
Looking, searching
Finding something inside of me
“I know, young one, I will save her”
...
“You will?”
“Yes.”
Vision turning blurry
Arms turning weak
Chest feeling lighter
She will be saved...
I’m saved
The tears fell
Falling from eyes that had never turned moist
Sobbing without control
“But I need your help. The ritual has already been started by your foolish actions, now we must continue it or else she dies. We will have to do the same to you, but I’m guessing that you are ready for this?”
I nodded
Rubbing away the water flowing
“What can I do?”
“First, you will have to carry her. We will need to bring both of you to a secluded place. There you will experience pain greater than anything, and if the ritual is a success, you will be reborn. One of the elders”
I bowed at her words, a little awkwardly as I still held the human
I knew what it meant to be reborn
A ritual told to all aspiring warriors, a ritual that few were even giving the privilege to do
And even fewer who survived
I was one of them, the most likely to get chosen
But that should not have been for at least eighty years
Probably never.
I looked up at the elder.
She looked back, as if following my line of thoughts
“Follow me.”
Saying that, she whispered something, moving her hands around then going outside
Me following closely behind
The city had turned to a behive of activities
Soldiers running about,
Fauns group together, seeking shelter
And some running from the non-existent threat.
We ignored them, moving past in haste.
And as we did, none glanced at us
Even moving out of the way as we passed
Soldiers running around as they searched frantically for the culprit of the raised alarm.
I gave a quizzical look at the elder
I thought such magic was forbidden
But I guess her being the oldest does make her less constricted by our laws.
Making our way through the city
I felt myself weaken, the blood almost running its course
And soon I would die
But I would not stop, I could not stop.
During our walk, I chose to speak
To try to make the elder understand why I did it
Why I would risk so much for this human.
I told her of our meeting.
Of how confused I was
Of my failure.
Why did I do this?
I don't know, the elder seemed like she already knew
But somehow
The act of talking, lightened my load
My chest feeling lighter, heart not as heavy
If I were to die, I wanted to die. Unburdened.
The elder just nodded, an knowing smile on her lips
I found myself in a deserted place near the middle of the city.
Standing just outside a circular clearing
An unknown place, somewhere I had never been
Somewhere few could even know of
“Where are we?”
The elder did not look to me, instead, staring into the circular clearing.
Hand held high, looking focused
“We are at a place of old, something built even before my birth, a place of power.”
A place of power?
This?
It’s empty, I feel nothing; I see nothing.
Still holding the human in an embrace
I waited for
Something
And something happened.
As if watching water, the very air itself started to ripple
Forming waves, draping the clearing
Then something appeared.
A giant pillar of stone, then another, and another
Repeating six times.
All pillars standing a few meters from each other, surrounding the circular clearing
But what shocked me the most were the carvings on top
Carvings of dragons
“What is-“
“No questions, you will have time later.”
Adding in a whisper
“If you survive“
She then pointed to the middle of the clearing
“Move there, put the human to your left.”
I hesitated, still staring at the carvings of dragons
“DO AS I SAY“
A shout of power
I stumbled, feeling weak
Feeling fatigued
But I nodded and hesitantly took a step into the circle.
Entering, I felt a flow of mana.
An immeasurable amount of mana contained within the clearing
As I took yet another step, the mana started licking my body.
Filling me up, entering me, newfound strength welling up.
Then I found myself in the middle, putting the human gently down beside me.
I then looked at the elder.
Seeing the elder chanting, arms held far above her head
Eyes closed
Feet dancing
“We are ready elder”
The elder took no notice of what I was saying.
Maybe not hearing or ignoring.
So I waited.
Standing still in the middle
Thoughts wandering
But never staying clear
Feeling nervous
I looked down, seeing the human. Her face looking peaceful, still smiling
Then I felt something
Something, creeping
Body heating up
I raised my hands, staring at them.
Then it felt like my body was burning
I started sweating, feeling the blood inside my body burning
No, boiling
Steam started to form on my hands.
Skin rippling like water
Old scars deforming, disappearing
I fell down on my knees
Throat gasping for air
Staring wide eyed at the ground
My whole body burning in pain
I tried to scream
But the voice was stuck in my throat.
I tried to move
Finding myself unable
The only thing I could do was stare
Stare down at my hands and knees
Waiting for the pain to pass
But pass it did not
Just growing
Mind growing dimmer
Vauger
I was
Dissapearing.
Then I heard a scream.
And my mind cleared
A scream that made me think of something else
Something other than pain
I tried to see the source.
Staring up at the elder
Seeing an expression of pure horror
Wha-
Then I looked to my left
Seeing
Blood
Bones
Flesh
All where they should not be
Legs had grown, only to fall off
To then be regrown
Repeated over and over
The scream was primal
Louder than anything
...
What have I done?
My pain seemed trivial
Trivial compared to this
How could I ever have done something so cruel?
Making her suffer through this.
Time did not move
Endlessly stuck in this moment
Seeing her scream
Loud enough to force the elder to her knees
Arms still up, chanting
Too late to stop
Even when something had gone so terribly wrong
Why must she suffer
Why can't it be me?
Then something happened. His body tightened in response.
His mind was hijacked
He felt foreign in his own body
And he felt something unknowable, something truly strong enter his mind
And it spoke to him as if it had spoken this very thing thousands of times.
'The Blood of Dragons has been assimilated'
'You have performed the Ritual of Dragons and survived, for this you are granted the strenght of Dragons. But be carefull, even Dragons may die'
'Fire resistance. Aquired'
'Immortality. Aquired'
'An element of your choosing may be assimilated'
