Talon's of Life & Death

7

"Did Flora get a good send off?" Adrian ponders as we all gather in the same classroom as yesterday.

"Yes." Nikos confirms for us as he stands at the head of the room with Adrian. Together they stood as hard as the earth, a rocky duel that anyone would fear.

"Will you miss her dearly, Sky?" Kessa says to the youngest Alexia. Sky offers her a slanted look, there was enough ice in his gaze to tell he was in no mood to be pushed, even by her. Kessa and Maddox had a swift, teasing nature to them, Kessa's aura went beyond annoying, but it was clear to notice the softness in their hearts for the wild winded Rider.

"We all will." Adrian grunts. Nikos raises his eyes at him, but the teacher offers him a grim smile in return, to shake off any sentiment his words caused.

"So! What are we learning today?" Kessa quizzes, seated on one of the desks, with her legs swinging underneath the table.

"We are learning history, for Sith's sake that is."

Everyone groans, they even have the cheek to look at me sharply. But I would not be phased. I wanted to learn every possible thing I needed to. This was my life now, accepting was simple, but the learning would be difficult.

"Afterwards, we'll go flying—" They start to cheer. "—No cheering!" Adrain finishes with a snap, right as the door opens.

"They should be excited!" Mei enters the room, her red curls glowing. She wore a long tight fitted deep blue gown, modest but daring.

"Darling," Adrian sighs.

"Let's learn some history!" Mei claps her hands, her gaze quickly spotting me. "For Sith's sake, we'll start with the basics." She explains, taking centre stage in the room, Adrian and Nikos standing to the side and letting her lead. "Sith, I assume you know about the war?"

In the corner of my eye, I notice Nikos shuffle, and the distant look lingering in Adrian's eye. I did not need to glance at the others to notice the same. Even Mei's eyes were dim, odd looking for someone like her.

I shrug, "I suppose."

"Well, twenty years ago, the Dark Fae went to war with the Mages and Riders, led by a Dark Fae named Sephtis Trejo..."

Everyone knew this tale, whispers of darkness and nightmares still ruled Caleer and those who were alive to witness, and to be a part of. Nikos was almost twenty, he had probably been conceived in the heart of the war. Mei and Adrian were old enough for me to consider that they had been a part of it. Especially Adrian.

"...Sephtis was the rightful heir to his fathers' throne, the true King to the Dark Fae, but the mystery surrounding his birth is still unknown. The King's Wife, his Queen, was not Sephtis' birth mother. Somehow, Sephtis was destined to be a Rider. But not just any Rider, his Dragon was revealed to be an Obscurian, the rarest of all Dragon breeds, and the most destructive. Only two Obscurian's can ever live at the same time, with the power of life and death, twins, not hatched from the same egg, but made by the same tether." She continues. Now she had my attention, I knew nothing of Dragon's, and had barely wanted to with Ivan. But hearing that Sephtis possessed a Dragon with intense power, the power of life or death?

"Which did he possess?" The question breathes past my lips.

I already knew the answer, but hearing it made the story all the more real. "Death," She swallows, her gaze faraway as she continues with the tale. "Can you tell me more about the Obscurian's Sky?"

Sky straightens at the question, he barely looks at me when he answers. "It is said that the Obscurian's were bred with the Goddesses powers, for when life was created, so was death. One cannot walk among the earth without the other. Over time, the Obscurian's only appeared when it was a time of great chaos, their Rider's possessed the rarest of abilities that bought peace, saviours to our people. Until, Sephtis, the last recored case of the Obscurian Dragon's existing was hundreds of years ago, even then, they did not live long."