Vada refused to be dragged along the ground, degraded the way her father was. Instead she walked tall with her head high while the eyes of the gathered crowd followed her. She had expected to see a gathering baying for her blood, calling eagerly for her death. The onlookers only looked over her with pity, a few didn't watch her at all, they kept their wary eyes fixed on the Highpriest's sinister smile. He seemed to be salivating with pleasure at the mere sight of his prey being led to slaughter. Though she wanted to be brave, Vada couldn't help the quiver in her legs and the swirling sickening, burning bile that rose up in her throat at the sight of his glimmering blade
The steadily rising sun broke over the walls of the upper village, bright, slightly blinding light poured into the square. Vada's skin tingled in response to the gentle caress of the golden rays. The day seemed too good go die, she suddenly thought, basking in the warm light. Her heart gave a heavy beat and her steps slowed to a stop alongside the prince's, hope blossomed in her chest even though her mind wailed against such foolishness.
There could be no escape.
Standing on the small stone dias in affluent, colourful robes, much more impressive than the rest of his brotherhood, the High Priest glared at the stationary party of guards. His bloodshot gaze flickered between Vada and the young Riska prince. The sickening smile he had worn only moments ago had fallen and now, with his jaw clenched tightly, his lips were pressed firmly together forming a pale, cracked line across his stony countenance.
Behind the dais the other princes stood in all their glory, a line of four tall intimidating warrior's, aside from the twins, each was very different in their appearance but the one thing that they all shared was a thick crop of striking blond hair. In the very centre of his sons stood the Chief, though grey with age, the presence of his strong jaw was evident in his sons and proudly proved their lineage. The Chief wore an elaborate gilt crown and the richest robes Vada had ever seen, but his face looked chalky even in the bright rays of the day, tones of grey painted his complexion and he leaned heavily on an ornately carved cane for support.
'Vada Pyrite, heathen daughter of Jaxon Pyrite, today you will return to your father and in doing so, release the dragons from his curse!' The Highpriest bellowed, his eyes bulging maniacally as he did so. Veins arose on his neck and forehead as his fist tightened around his ceremonial blade, turning his knuckles white.
From the corner of her eye, Vada noticed Takashi had turned to look at her, his expression was awash with guilt and his skin a little green.
'Highpriest Menos, this can't be-' Takashi began to protest, but the priest was stubborn in his mission.
'You see good people,' he cut in, 'one eve with the poison of the Pyrite clan and our dearest prince questions the priesthood. Guards, I command you to remove him, we must protect the clarity of his mind!'
The power of the Highpriest was clear as the guards rushed forward without protestation. Takashi resisted, thrashing left and right but unwilling to raise arms against his own men. Vada watched his struggle for a moment before walking towards the priest, desperate to prove the madness that guided her people even if payment was her own soul.
In those few short steps she thought back to her childhood and the last time that she saw the father she was about to meet again.
Vada recalled a fear of voices as a child, whispers she insisted that she heard in the wind. It scared her and Jaxon worried that the priesthood would dislike the things his daughter said. He uprooted the family, moving them from one modest home to another outside the village where no-one would hear Vada crying or witness her holding her ears desperately trying to block out the whispers.
The night he left them, Vada remembered screaming worse than ever. Her siblings screamed too, as clear as day she recalled the terrified face of her handsome young father, he had been so kind and witty, always entertaining her and comforting her in place of the mother she lost when Dani was born. But that night his usually happy features were twisted painfully. He drew her in close and he sang the song of her mother. Vada took a deep breath, tilted back her head and sang along with the voice of her father playing on in her memory. The words came easily, like they were etched in her blood and could never be lost. It was these words that brought her peace even in her darkest, most difficult moments and they were special to her family, though they couldn't translate the song it held immense meaning for all of them.
Menos seemed to be enraged by her acceptance of the fate that lay before her, taking her forearm he tugged her violently towards him, effectively ending Vadas soothing song in a gasp of pain.
'With your death I will be immortalised as the man that restored the dragons of the Rystwith Mountains' Menos hissed, 'your kind failed us, I will be the only dragonlord to reign over these lands-'
'My kind,' Vada spat, 'I'm just an average girl and I'm fine with that. But you, you will never be Dragonlord and it kills you!'
'Oh how very wrong you are, I am the Highpriest of the Order of the Ryst. Therefore, I am the keeper of the laws and legends of these lands.'
'Until your resurrection plot fails, that is.' Vada laughed heartily until the back of the priests hand collided with her face snapping her head to the side painfully, the skin of her mouth split and her face immediately began to throb and swell as her mouth filled with blood and she fell to the earth, scraping the skin off her knees.
Menos's long fingers weaved through Vada's hair, gripping her head he forced her to remain on her freshly wounded knees. Suppressing a hiss of pain, Vada vaguely registered the speech Menos now gave to his appalled audience. Impassioned by his own words, Menos tugged her body roughly and as the sharp stone stung her new wounds blood dripped from her mouth onto the dais. Vada's vision blurred with the tears as she watched the crimson liquid running into the grooves between the stones.
'Father, this isn't right!' Takashi bellowed still wrestling with the guard.
'The ceremonial blade,' Menos ordered, holding his hand out to a shaky young priest who hesitantly followed orders whilst casting furtive glances at Vada.
'Sacrifice often do we?' Vada chuckled struggling to her feet, determined to face death standing with a defiant grin despite her tears.
'Even if this doesn't work, you clearly won't be a great loss to the tribe,' Menos hissed so low that his words only touched Vada's ears.
'You'd take a life on a hunch and yet call yourself a keeper of laws!' Vada snapped.
'Leaders must make tough decisions, however, the more you speak the lighter this blade feels' he spat, holding the knife aloft briefly blinding her as the sun glinted off the blade.
'Chief!' A voice cried out urgently.
The knife had begun to slice through the air towards Vada's throat, she gulped and held her breath.
'CHIEF!' The blade stopped as a man burst through the crowd, falling onto the cobbles as he did so, 'we're under attack!'
The sound of blades clashing, terrified screams and pounding feet caught the crowds attention then as they rose up from the lower village.
Vada saw an opportunity, the chance to see her brother and sister to safety herself, she turned on her heel to make a dash for freedom but before she could take a single step Menos had caught her wrist in a vice-like grip.
'Not so fast little lamb!' He laughed mirthlessly, slashing the knife towards his target as she struggled against him.
Vada felt the cold silver split the skin of her chest and gasped as her blood sprayed across the cobbles.
Menos raised the blade again, aiming to finish her off, but enemy soldiers poured into the square, his fellow priests seized him and began dragging him away.
Vada stared down at the pool of blood and pressed a hand to the wound as she caught her breath once more.
The fight was well and truly underway and it was impossible to tell who was winning. As she was about to run headlong into the fray, the ground began to shake. All around the dias men fell to the ground, friend and foe felled by the earth and laying in heaps here and there. It would have been comical if Vada hadn't been terrified. Soon the ground didn't only shake but rose up, once solid rock cracked and crumbled, rolled and roiled like the sea rather than the sedentary mountain that she knew.
'Blood of my blood!' A deep thunderous voice echoed through Vada's mind. Eyes wide she struggled to her feet. Riding the waves that rippled beneath her, the earth lifted her into the air as the mess of dislodged villagers and villains looked on in shock.
Despite the abrupt movement, Vada found her body responded instinctively, no longer troubled by the motion, she didn't fall or stumble, her feet seemed almost glued to the earth.
Working his way out from beneath a heap of enemy Grasslander's, Takashi searched for any sign of the sacrifice. The earth where her blood and body had been was no more, it had risen up and was taking shape, it looked as though the rough and jagged rock was but a thick sheet beneath which a large creature writhed, desperately trying to break through the surface.
Standing tall, her hips rolling in time with the monstrous mountain, Takashi found the pale face he'd been searching for. Her dress now scarlet, stained with her own blood, knees scraped of skin and long brown hair waving like a banner in the wind. She looked like mother earth herself, raised up by the mountain she appeared to command, wreaking vengeance on the foolish priesthood for staining the beautiful landscape with innocent blood.
As he gaped the beast beneath the mountain began to break free, rock and earth crumbled away until he found himself staring wide-eyed at a great steely grey dragon with scales pieced together from the mountainside and eyes that shone with the fire of the sun itself.
Two great taloned claws crashed into the earth, narrowly missing both Grasslander's and Takashi's tribe's people who scattered left and right in terror, casting gaping glances over their shoulders as they scrambled to escape to the lower valleys.
'The blood of my blood is sacred,' the haunting voice echoed through Vada's mind once again, 'the pact that bound us is broken!'