Aether stood alone in the empty room, his tail curled up tightly against his feathery body. He looked around him. The room was built with marble and some type of dark-colored wood that was glazed with resin. The wood must've been somewhat of a reddish hue because the young wyvern's eyes saw that it was oddly gray. Whether gray or red, it didn't matter. The wood was built into the building for some purpose after all.
He noticed the absence of any lantern or light at all. Maybe it's due to the large window that opened his eyes to the view ahead the moment the sun's rays started to overflow the sky after dawn. The light had overflowed so much that he had to squint just to get a view of the single strand of wheat growing outside.
He continued to look at the space around him, at the curtains that draped beside the windows (that were most definitely either red or gray), of the swirling marble patterns of the floor, and how every noise seemed to bounce back right into his ears the moment he makes a sound.
The room glittered in light as he gazed up at the wooden ceiling that was stained and scarred with scuffs. He noticed how the ceiling loomed over him like a sky that was far from reach. His eyes stared at the little details and drawings that formed a circular pattern at the top of the ceiling and how it seemed to cascade downwards like a waterfall, seamlessly blending in with the rest of the marble walls-
"Hey, chicken!" a harsh voice broke his trance. Startled and scared, the young wyvern turned to find the source of the sound, only to find a familiar pair of scary, pitch-black eyes that glared at him with annoyance. Alongside her was Stygian who had their tail surrounding her protectively.
He could only freeze in both awe and fear as Stygian nodded at his presence.
"Aether isn't it? Welcome to the Stronghold." he spoke to him, nudging his junior gently with his tail, only to receive a pout from the latter.
"As...you may have already known from a tumultuous encounter yesterday, this is Adonia. I am her guardian. She will be your new guide in this Stronghold and I will supervise the both of you to see that things would go smoothly."
Aether glanced toward Adonia, who glared at him.
"What?" she groaned. "Can you go one second without staring?"
Aether stepped back nervously at her response, looking down in shame. "Sorry.." he uttered. Seeing how tense the atmosphere was, Stygian sighed and approached him slowly.
"You alright?" he asked gently. Aether nodded.
"Yeah. I'm just nervous, is all.." he said. "She seems....rather aggressive.."
Adonia, hearing this comment, glared at him angrily. "Oh, so that's who you think I am?! Let me guess, you think I am a monster, too?!"
"What? No!" Aether was quick to defend himself. "It's just that...you were hostile towards me and my mom yesterday so--"
" Don't give me that excuse! You're just like everyone else. Pathetic little cuckoos who squawk the same annoying noise every day." she hissed at him. Aether could only look away, confused at the reason for her hostility towards him and his mom the other day even though they didn't do anything wrong.
Stygian gave her a sympathetic look. "I know that we all got off on the wrong foot, but let's focus on making Aether's transition to this Stronghold as smoothly as possible. We can't afford any lost hours, after all," he said calmly, looking at the both of them. "But, since rushing to the part where he starts his training won't do any good for the both of you, it seems, let's start with introductions." He then turned to Aether with a gentle look. "Aether, you first. Just tell us your likes and dislikes, your hobbies, perhaps? Any stuff of the sort so Adonia can know who she is working with, here."
Aether nodded and gulped nervously. "So...I'm Aether. I like to read and draw. I don't have anything that I dislike, but I'm scared of...being alone for long periods." he said, his tail twitching and reacting to the nerves he felt at that moment.
His response prompted a scoff from Adonia. "Afraid of being alone? What, can't stand being away from your mama?" she taunted. Stygian glared at her in rebuke.
"Adon." he spoke, which caused Adonia to clear her throat in response.
"I'm just saying that unlike you, I have the guts to head out all alone, sometimes even for many moons. It seems that you still don't have what it takes to be a student here..."
"Adonia." Stygian spoke sternly at her. "Don't make him more nervous than he already is. We are here on friendly terms."
"You know that I'm not here to make friends.." she groaned. Stygian sighed.
As expected....since you aren't willing to be friendly on the get-go, a different approach is in order. And here I thought that doing this in a more private setting would calm her a bit...Stygian thought.
"Well, Adonia. I did arrange with the General...that if you had completed the task of being Aether's guide, successfully, without any mishaps or reports of hostility whatsoever, he has a reward made just for you," he suggested. Immediately, Adonia perked up.
"What...kind of reward..?" she asked. Stygian replied, "Only one way to find out, right Adon? But! Only if you complete your task."
All the while, Aether listened to their conversation, evermore curious at their predicament, as he stared at them with his deep gray eyes.
________________________________________________________________________________
"So, where is that prophecy dragon now?" a frustrated voice echoed throughout the dark, empty cave as he barged his head and pried his eyes into the basin filled with clear waters. His subordinate clicked his tongue in frustration.
"I don't know, sire. I've already sent Barak on the trail for it, but he hasn't returned." the subordinate replied. "But I assure you, he will return soon."
"Oh of course! He will return soon..." Malivor chuckled in amusement. "That..is what EVERY! DRAGON! UNDER MY WING TELLS ME!" he snapped as he whipped his tail, rippling the surface of the water and hitting his subordinate straight into his chest, causing the dragon to fall back, wincing in pain as his scales dissolved, forming a nasty, deep scar. The dragon staggered and held his claws to his chest as chunks of flesh fell out of it. The larger dragon towered over him, taking deep breaths to calm himself down.
"This prophecy dragon has been under our radar for the past sixteen moons and now you're telling me that we have lost it and one of our comrades?!" he yelled at him. "How pathetic are we as the organization that managed to vanquish all of the kingdoms eons ago?! Is this the army that I have set out to build?!"
Malivor glared at his inferior, who was shaking and grunting, trying to hold back the pain from his wound. The inferior dragon looked down, his eyes glazed with a familiar fear as the dark magic burned through his flesh like fire.
"N-No sir...your army is strong, We are the strongest army ever built in the last century alone, and we had all of the kingdoms under our claws at one point.." the subordinate muttered, almost pleading with his master.
"At one point..." Malivor spat out, clicking his tongue. "At least the kingdoms have had a taste of our wrath."
Suddenly, two more dragons entered the cave: a wyvern and a four-legged dragon with torn wings. The wyvern carried his comrade as it leaned on his side.
"Malivor! Our array of spies sent to Aspa Aaru has been discovered and he is the only survivor. Please, help him!" he pleaded. Immediately at his request, Malivor rushed to his fellow soldier and examined his wounds. His wings have been torn and burnt to a crisp and there were boils all over his body.
"Pesky serpents..." he cursed under his breath. ", how long did the others last?" he quickly asked.
"I don't know, Malivor...but I found him the moment I infiltrated the palace's prison chambers," he said to him in a hurry as he carried the battered body to his superior. "Please...he is barely hanging on.."
Malivor then sighed and placed his claws on his fallen soldier. His dark eyes bore into the soldier's body like a mole digging through the soil.
His mind was searching..finding...analyzing...
He could sense his pain...his anguish, his fear, and disappointment, running through what was left of his veins as his heart beat irregularly under his flesh and ribs.
His claws dug into the dragon's flesh, crying out blood. Soon, shadows surrounded the dragon, filling the gap between his wings and flesh, closing them off like a large scab. As the shadows filled his being, the dragon gasped for air and jerked awake.
The shadows then molded and merged with the dragon's body, filling the gaps between his scales with an eerie purple glow. His eyes were bloodshot, yet he began to breathe calmly as he was stirred into the waking world, no longer hanging onto the thin thread of life.
Malivor glanced at the dragon coldly, yet the sight of his wyvern subordinate rejoicing over a life saved softened his gaze.
"You shouldn't have received this power so early." Malivor jeered. "Be grateful that you have received my dearest Obadiah's mercy. I would've chastised you otherwise."
Malivor then headed over to his other subordinate whom he scarred, and healed up his wounds as well. The other subordinate quickly ran to the four-legged dragon and locked him in a long embrace.
"I told you to be careful, you idiot," he said to him. "Don't ever scare me like that again."
"I was careful, frāter.." he said to him, looking at him with annoyance. "But those guards were tough on us, you know that."
Obadiah then walked beside his Master. "Malivor, so what now..?" he asked him. "What will we do with this prophecy dragon?"
Malivor gazed at his dear servant. "Hm...since the chosen one has been kept hidden...let's use that trick as well."
Obadiah looked at him in slight shock before chuckling solemnly. "Are you seriously copying their move? That's so unlike you.."
Malivor looked at his servant with a hint of surprise before letting out a sigh, a grin on his face.
"If we kept ourselves unknown as well, we would let their guard down. However, my infiltration to Aspa Aaru would continue. I just have to think of a more....silent approach, it seems."
He turned to Obadiah coldly. "Obadiah, send the other spies to this cave immediately. I have a proposal to make. But keep the spy I've healed here. His mission isn't over yet."
Obadiah nodded and obeyed him, sending the other subordinate away with him as the spy was left behind with the towering wyvern.
The spy looked at him. "So...what now?"
"We wait until the rest of the spies arrive here. Until then..." he then stepped towards the spy in an intimidating fashion, his eyes cold, piercing through his very soul. The spy froze under his gaze, his guard up.
"Tell me..everything you know in Aspa Aaru," Malivor commanded him. "And don't think that you can hide what you've found from me."