This was a now or never scenario. He had to do something before whatever inhumane experiment was to begin..... But with Kaneko right beside him he couldn't just rush in powers blazing before having told Kaneko any of it. The machine hummed to life as an unknown gas filled the glass chamber where Herke was strapped in. 'It's advisable for the subject to be unconscious for this procedure' a voice said through a speaker which the other personnel in the reactor room nodded in agreement.
"I get the feeling we should be helping that dude" Kaneko stated making Rhaegah go eyes wide.
"You think so too? I've been thinking about it since we stepped into the room"
"Yeah but there's nothing we can do right now..... We'd need a mirac-" Kaneko was cut short by the blaring of a different siren that given the reaction of the personnel, Rhaegah was sure was a serious problem. The reactor room was empty in seconds as they all scurried out faster than Rhaegah thought possible.
'I ADVISE YOU BOTH LEAVE THAT LITTLE SHACK AND GET MOVING. THIS WILL ONLY BUY YOU LITTLE TIME!' Anna's voice came through a speaker in the room Kaneko didn't even know was there.
"There's our cue..... MOVE!" Rhaegah hurried sliding Kaneko's key card opening the door leading into the reactor room.
'THE BLUE LEVER' Anna's voice came through once again and Rhaegah instantly followed while Kaneko watched the exit. The glass chamber rose and Rhaegah wasted no time freeing Herke from the braces, wires and restraints carrying his unconscious body over his shoulder.
'MOVE NOW' Anna's voice came once again and they both dashed down the corridor with steps so light one would think they were ninjas. Rhaegah expected his footsteps to be that silent, but Kaneko made almost no sound making Rhaegah question what he'd been up to or what training he'd been undergoing.
A click not far off from the oncoming intersection snapped him out of it as they both stopped instantly sticking to the wall. Three security personnel rushed past hurrying elsewhere not noticing them. The moment the third one went by, they rushed out heading in the direction the soldiers came. Already out in the open, they lock eyes with a fourth soldier who paused due to obvious shock having no clue who they were. Kaneko lunged forward flipping over the soldier grabbing his rifle. He landed behind him and knocked him unconscious with said rifle dropping it afterwards "Keep moving" he simply stated at Rhaegah who was now the one frozen with shock.
They navigate through the maze with Anna's guidance dashing through an open door with a tag 'AREA 3' boldly placed above. Anna had directed them deeper into the facility than even Kaneko had been. They stop at a door with a tag 'DR. MANSDAK' placed on the side of the door. The metal door slid open right as Kaneko moved to touch it revealing Anna in a more casual attire compared to her usual formal clothes. "Would you get in here?..... Staring like weirdos" she exclaimed and the two rushed in, the door sliding to a close behind them. Kaneko after a thorough breakdown of the events that just transpired, remembered he had something important to do "More important that what he's just discovered?" Rhaegah thought but for the sake of building a sound explanation for him later, he chose not to question it.
Now the current challenge was what to tell Anna. She not only knows he's been through that portal but she witnessed him use magic as well. He hadn't been thinking before then and was now too deep inside his mind to use any speech functions. Heading to the spot where Herke would lay, his only explanation was the truth and that was not an option. Laying Herke on the bed, the gauntlet on his arm let out a dim glow giving him a way out. Anna headed over with drinks handing one over to him with a look that clearly stated 'Let's hear it'
Rhaegah explained that he had been taken and that clip was indeed of him but he remembered none of it. "I came to and already had this thing on" he raises his right arm with the gauntlet "This bound me and works somewhat like a collar cos it hurts like hell when they need it to" he went on seeing this as the only way to even slightly reduce whatever insane suspicion she had of him. Furthermore if she indeed believed him he'd have another person with near infinite resources working on a way to take it off. "He is my handler but he's all right. There are others that are not so friendly on that side. But for some reason they need me alive cos they let me use the gauntlet for magic use so as to protect myself"
"It's.... It's.... It's REAL?!" Anna was beyond astounded to know that she was indeed right about the existence of magic "But still" her voice went calm "Why would they go through so much to abduct you and furthermore go so far as to grant you access to something like that?"
"I honestly have no clue cos I've got no real answers. All I know is info on their world.....and it is beautiful"
The glimmer of light in Anna's eyes assured him that he'd diverted her attention to something she'd want much more than the information of his affiliation with them.... Information about another world. He spoke of only the basics like the regions, the geography of the world, the races he'd encountered but nothing about dragonborn or the fact that said world was headed for ruin. "It's only a matter of time before they realize that something went wrong and are forced to take action"
"With the gauntlet? You mean they could actually still hurt you even from over there?"
He realizes this is that moment people call a golden opportunity as he focused inwards and disrupted his mana flow by vividly recalling the encounter with Tierra raising the chaos in his mana. And with that his plan was put to fruition as the gauntlet began reacting to the disruption in his mana flow and lashed out with the same dark violet glow that burned his arm. He screamed in pain as this shock therapy exceeded what he had anticipated. He succumbs to the pain and passes out.
He opens his eyes looking around to see Anna's room completely engulfed in flames. He could feel the heat creeping into his skin and stabbing him with countless needles. The feeling was similar to his dream of his class on fire. This time though, he kept getting flashes of a figure amidst the flames.....A figure with blue flames. He shuts his eyes focusing on bringing his consciousness back and wake from this dream. The heat gnawed at his concentration with the temperature rising steadily. He focused harder until he could feel the swirling flow of his mana and reaches for it. Soon after a bright light shone covering everything in sight leaving him in a void of bright light. He felt the light diminish and felt no heat. Letting out a sigh, he opens his eyes to see a vast region engulfed in flames.
He stumbled as he took in the endless landmass burning brightly. He wiped his face and felt no sweat, in fact he felt no heat from the flames that burned very closely around him. He reached out to touch a burning plant feeling its healthy leaves and no heat whatsoever. He looked carefully around to see that the region was completely unharmed but was only coated in flames that burnt none of it. He looked ahead seeing a large volcano ahead and a tower of burning magma standing in the volcano. He instantly realized he was on Primordial Island once again. "This dream is getting way outta hand"
BLAZE REGION - PRIMORDIAL ISLAND
Rhaegah considered going to find the others and fill them in on what happened, but he was already this close to the Ember tower. "At least this way nobody else gets hurt helping me" he convinces himself and heads towards the volcano. Walking further still fully cautious of these seemingly cold flames, he could not rule out the possibility of the physics of this region regain its sanity. "Hold up..... Is it getting hotter?" he begins feeling the burns creep in. He then realized that the closer he got to the volcano, the hotter it was getting. He forced himself to push through as this was his only option.
He stops for a moment having come up with a great idea.....He surmised that he only needed to cover the distance before his body is badly affected by the heat. "Why does my lightning cloak exist if not for a moment like this" he stated confidently activating his lightning cloak which was to his own surprise, felt even more powerful. He had determined that the area the cloak covers, is how thick the barrier function of the cloak would be. Seeing the wide area the lightning covered assured him. He felt his body temperature stabilize as he took a crouched position facing the volcano. He let out a breath and the boom from his launch signified his sprint to the volcano.
Having gone a little distance in that state of extreme speed, he could feel the burning sensation creep in once again. Moving with that much speed with his blurred vision, a generous side effect of the pain of tingles down your skin. He had gone in without thinking. What logical statement proved that he would be successful with vague information used on another world. The worst part, he was actually back in Valoren cos this was not a dream as he had earlier thought. He couldn't dare look back now because tripping on this ground in this heat after running in pure flames. But he was here, and would surely finish. He would conquer fire. He would conquer fire with his Lightning Cloak. He felt the words and his spirit was lifted..... Yet he could not give the same message to his body now red with burns.
His joints were fast becoming unstable making his once straight trajectory now a combination of curves. His vision blurred even more, and all he was really seeing were the larger structures in the area completely engulfed in fire. He was in the thick of it now shooting up the volcano which was a mountain in itself. He had disregarded everything not relating to his current position. He began losing all feeling in his limbs as the strain was higher climbing a mountain. "I should've never left with Nygel" he thought tripping over who knows what. The thought of rolling up a mountain is one that would surely involve a lot of pain from the impact of a force that is strong enough to push you upwards. All this on a surface that made his skin blister upon contact. One thought alone "Don't stop" was his chant as he chiseled his was up.
Now barely conscious his adrenaline was off the roof but his body couldn't do anything with all that energy so his cloak ate it all up and shrunk in size now focused on simply movement. His body was now a flash of white light with a soft blue glow. He was already going up the mountain so the cloak shot him up further with each collision. It would connect with the nearest thing and ride the slingshot moving even faster until he was hurled over the top into the volcano. With each spin over the top, he would always catch a glimpse of something bright flashing down there. He crashed onto solid ground that ate at his skin on contact. Dead ahead he could see the light that flashed.....his mind needed to focus on something so he wouldn't pass out. Straining his eyes as best he could, the shock from what he saw was what knocked him unconscious.
EARLIER ON - PRIMORDIAL COMMON REGION
Nygel in his debate with Symmone, had been wondering why he could not sense either Rhaegah or Herke as their mana suddenly disappeared. He chose to not bring this up as it would support Symmone's fears. "The Pillars have never been portrayed as kind, and furthermore the one to cause that war based on their teachings long ago was another dark dragonborn" Symmone voiced out "Who or what can stop them if they decide to take vengeance on him for the crimes of another?"
"Symmone the boy will not be harmed. So long as the ones we have decided to place our trust in can assure me of that" he looked towards the two dark elves, released an aura that shook them to their knees
"I assure you on my life..... They will not kill him. Though I cannot deny that they will be rough on him" Almer replied with a bow
"I assumed as much"
"Nygel we cannot simply trust the words of a dark elf who could be on a suicide mission. What if they never intended to leave this situation alive?"
Symmone was right to think this way. It is not unheard of for the dark elves to do such a thing if convinced to. But his instincts have not failed him yet..... He was old fashioned that way "Symmone the boy will be fine. We've known each other for ages do I sound as though I know not what I am doing?" Symmone calmed himself after those words knowing that indeed Nygel had never been wrong in any situation.
"You had better be right Nygel. For our very future depends on it" he says storming out of the room. "But whenever you are wrong, the consequences are too severe". Auia said nothing through the entire argument which worried Nygel. Suddenly he senses a huge mass of mana being accumulated somewhere on the island far from their projected destination "What in the world is happening"
Rhaegah after seeing the Soul Space as he chose to call the castle within his soul, did not mind the change in decor looking into a frozen throne room with no torches and everything completely frozen over. The now darker look of the room drew him in broken only by the light cutting through the broken section on the wall. Another thing he had come to realize was that it was always nighttime whenever he arrives here. One thing was certain though..... He was not dead yet, though the freezing cold could use a serious break. He shivers walking towards the throne which looked totally unaffected by the cold. The throne gave off a pulse of light that could only signify warmth. He braves it and continues ahead. His feet begin to freeze over and his steps became too slow. He needed to pick up the pace fast or he's definitely freezing. He rushes ahead not wanting to die since he had no idea how much this realm affects his body now. The frozen ground cracked as he stepped along, the cold making the floor like glass. Now Rhaegah was unsure as to what if this floor is really just one layer leading to something under. Not only did he need to hurry, he had to hurry carefully.
Tiptoeing across the floor in his boots he could really feel like the floor was actually glass. He began to see through the floor and all that was there was a gaping hole leading into deep darkness. The ice cracked more and more the more steps he made. His anxiety had trumped his cautiousness making bold steps fleeing from the death cold. With a strong jump the ice broke launching him to the stairs leading up to the seat. The warmth of the throne was now stronger and the cold was nonexistent there. He climbed and sank in the seat looking at the large hole in the ground where the floor had been.
Still panting, a shadowy form came from the throne and wrapped him tightly in place. Realizing his struggle would be futile, he gives in feeling immense pressure choking him. He raises his head to see the shadowy figure on the throne a while back who had the gauntlet "Wait..... The gauntlet" he looked to his arm as the figure raised its own arm, revealing the gauntlet as though it read his mind. The figure hovered just ahead of him as though waiting for something. Suddenly he heard a heard a low growl followed by a rumbling from the hole. His near death experience had made him forget that this realm was not his alone. The rumbling increased and in no time at all, the dragon shot out of the hole much smaller than he last saw it. It was now about the same size as a wyvern is popularly known for.
It flew in a circle and landed on the side of one of the pillars in the throne room, hanging shakily while flapping its wings for stability. In that moment he noticed something he hadn't before.....there was a flow of mana between the dragon and the dark figure. Still immobile, he focused on the mana and realized the dragon's mana was flowing into the figure at a slow but constant pace. "It's absorbing the dragon?" he thought before looking towards the dragon that seemed more like a trained animal than a dragon even though he could still clearly feel the tenacity and viciousness of said dragon. Not only had this realm been taken over, but now the dragon was being taken as well. Just what was this creature that could accomplish all this inside someone else's mind.
The figure hovered higher after seeing that it's target was completely immobile, spreading its arms wide as the mana flow became even faster. The dragon cried out in pain as its life force was being drained. Rhaegah had thought the dragon had joined sides with the figure but it had in fact been tamed instead. The figure stopped the absorption, the black miasma around it spreading farther around it. It stretched its arm towards Rhaegah as several mandalas appeared in that split second. Having such power in this realm was one thing..... But now magic? How was this any different than being in the physical world. "The physical world? What's happening to my body there? The last thing I saw was..... Wait what I need right now is-" Rhaegah was cut short by the massive blast of fire that the creature shot at him. He screamed as his eyes opened to a blurry sight. He could still clearly see that he was up in flames but he felt warm like the sun on a summer evening just gently brushing the skin. A figure of blue shone brightly ahead of him.
His vision cleared to see a man.... Well yes a man.... Staring closely at him on a throne of ice. His body was similar to that of Annai with his body showing cracks like with molten rocks and slits that ran down his body in patterns. His eyes a bright white light and he wore only pants made from some sort of traditional fabric, and to crown it up..... He was covered in bright blue flames. Rhaegah looked at himself calmly seeing the blue flames burning constantly all over him but felt no extreme heat. He looked around to confirm his guess and indeed he was was at the centre of the volcano. The ice from the throne spread out creating a wide floor of ice. At the edge of the icy floor, lava flowed endlessly not affecting the ice in any way whatsoever. "It is indeed as you see" the fire Pillar spoke "This is indeed ice, and you are indeed on fire"
"How is that possible? How is the centre of a volcano a region of ice that this much heat can't thaw?"
"Before anything..... It has been quite some time since I had a visitor I had no hand in creating. Tell me..... What is your name?" the Pillar spoke
"Rhaegah..... Just Rhaegah"
"I am Hanaq..... Which translates to Light of Creation in your tongue"
"I'm sorry to move on so suddenly but my mind can't rest easy till it understands what's happening here" Rhaegah spoke hurriedly
"And I must say that it takes either an impossible amount of courage or complete madness to look over the endless flames that cover the Blaze region and still venture forth. Whichever it is, I commend you greatly" Hanaq said with a slight nod. "You really are the spitting image of Karnaq. He was also one of both great courage and a little more insanity. When he landed on our shores I knew he could not be trusted. As one known throughout the lands as the bringer of chaos, I can very well tell when chaos exists in a person and whether or not it is prominent. Chaos was all that dwelt in Karnaq"
"Tierra told me what happened with him. I am truly sorry" Rhaegah said with a bow
"The events lost in time are of no consequence now. But this very spot is one that cannot be forgotten, for this is the very spot where we all attacked, and lost to the demon dragon" Rhaegah was now much more confused than before but he wouldn't dare interrupt now. He had already gotten over seeing himself on fire and since he wasn't actually burning.... He'd just Johnny Storm this story through. "When we arrived, Iara had engaged the demon dragon.....her blast of ice is what remains here till this day. The land died that day and she was even more devastated for this land bore the most beautiful flowers in all of Primordial. When we decided to seclude ourselves I insisted she dwell anywhere else and I would claim this land. I tried all I could to melt the ice which is what resulted in the inferno you see before you. The burns you felt on your way here were not burns from heat, but frost burns hence why you are cloaked in fire to counter the cold"
Rhaegah couldn't possibly believe what he just heard. But the fact that he was indeed on fire, staring at a region of ice that all this heat couldn't melt assured him otherwise. He now recalled how heat burns and frostbite have similar symptoms. "But what about the flames all over the Blaze region? They just don't burn?"
"Fire is not only destruction. For fire is the spark of life and therefore restoration. The landscape was frozen in an instant retaining the shapes and structures of all that dwelt there, and the flames are my constant effort to thaw said ice without damage to the structures themselves for whenever the ice does thaw. The mortal races only obtained the knowledge of creating fire through magic but no knowledge of how to perfectly control the fire they create. As every element can be used for countless purposes besides violence, the same can be said of fire"
"I'm not sure I'd say there are countless uses besides violence..... What else can fire possibly do besides burn and maybe shed light?"
"You are not to blame for your ignorance..... Don't you wonder what happened to your body upon arrival to this place? Though you will understand later on. Your predecessors only sought violence and taught you the same. That violence is what makes you all. As Karnaq came to us seeking only knowledge for the benefit of all beings, winning the hearts of all he met..... Even one closest to me"
Rhaegah suddenly began feeling hotter at the end of that statement. Then it hit him... He had only mentioned Iara among all the Pillars and why would he bother staying here when he could have been anywhere else on the island. "You loved her" Rhaegah said softly and Hanaq's silence confirmed it. Rhaegah now understood the unease he felt since Hanaq began his tale. He was the spitting image of the one who not only used their knowledge to desecrate the world, but also hurt the one he loved "How's he been so calm all this while... This can't be good"
"I understand your fear child. My initial course of action would be to let the flames consume you the moment you set foot in my region..... But I cannot throw away the one part of her she treasured, even if she has" his eyes grew cold at that "Begone"
Rhaegah was sent flying by a force that hit like a massive battering ram sending him out of the volcano far into the Blaze Region. The flame cloak was snuffed out and pain he had never imagined before, hit him all over. He was mouth wide but made no sound for the pain had wrecked his every nerve. Only one thing was sure..... He desperately desired that cloak back. He noticed his vision was moving in circles and felt his head was spinning, until he realized he had hit the ground and was tumbling farther away. His pain levels were already through the roof and apparently couldn't go any higher.
He finally rolled to a stop unable to move. The burning sensation of the frostbite kept him from passing out. He just lay there, his mind putting together every scenario where he would not die here. He thought beyond the point of magic and was already considering telekinesis or even flight at this point. His breath had become ragged and he could no longer tell what was what. Amidst the flames he noticed something moving, getting closer... A person was walking towards him. He saw himself get lifted and dragged. He had no idea who or what that was but as long as they didn't kill him right there... He was getting out of this hell. Finally having a very little sense of relief, he collapses.
SOMEWHERE IN THE BLAZE REGION
It is said that not many can reach the centre of the volcano that houses the Flame Pillar..... Fire elementals included. Only select few who have achieved an impossibly high mastery of fire can make it there. Thus in order to prove himself to his father, Ignis made the journey everyday striving to go farther than he did the previous day until he one day gets to the Pillar. No one would have heard that plan and allowed it for they all knew he could be reckless. For that very reason he cautioned himself to be aware of his limits and not foolishly endanger himself.
This day proved promising as his encounter with the one referred to as the Dragonborn the previous day, had lifted his spirits. He was well into the region and then confirmed something that had been bothering him since the first day he began this quest..... He was getting colder. It didn't make sense to him at first but with his fire slowly getting doused, and his joints starting to lock up he was sure he was getting colder. This made him even more eager to reach the Pillar. He was just about hitting his limit which was as he hoped, farther than the previous day. Something caught his eye..... Something oddly resembling a body. Going closer he noticed a person spread out in a bizarre position sizzling slightly with the cold that hit it. This person was more blue than pale in the midst of roaring flames. Looking at the face he was shocked beyond reason "Dragonborn!" he screamed picking Rhaegah off the ground and began making his way out of the blaze.
On one of his daily trips, Ignis discovered a cave close to the border of the blaze region and made that his base. He wasn't sure if Rhaegah would survive the trio to the common region so he stopped to see what he was dealing with. Looking upon the laid body he noticed not only the frost damage but also, Rhaegah had lacerations all over and bruises he wasn't sure one could get from any source. He decided to sort out the most dangerous issue..... The cold. As a fire elemental, this was something he could definitely solve. Over the years he had watched his father practice a certain fire technique that always left him in awe. The art of restoration through fire.
Even he could not explain how it worked but he knew exactly what to do as he had seen it being done countless times by his father on various creatures. He concentrated his heat to his palms and gathered mana as well and placed his palms on Rhaegah's head. No attempt at resuscitation was possible for one who was brain dead. The level of heat needed required extreme focus as he was constantly gathering mana as well. The reduced paleness was his signal to begin restoring his body. Maintaining the same flow, he held his hands over Rhaegah's chest. This was where the real work was to begin.
A certain level of heat applied to the body would serve to increase the body's blood flow as the temperature rose also. An increased flow of blood in the body means all the nutrients the blood carries are increased also, letting them flood the region where the healing was needed. The mana he focused on his palms served as the barrier stopping the blood from flowing out of Rhaegah's wounds while being the catalyst of the healing process. In basic terms, he was accelerating the body's natural healing process with fire.
He was oblivious to the details of this process but so far nothing was going wrong so he carried on. Rhaegah had become very still contrary to the shivering mass of flesh Ignis found earlier making the fire elemental a little more at ease. "Being completely still could also mean-" he nearly stumbled at the realization that this person was dead.
Thanks for following through with this trial version. I'm now aware of what the actual story will portray. Thanks again and know that Valoren Series will definitely return... Without fail.
Please be patient with me.
This story is a much more than you can imagine and will require a lot of work to properly build.
My goal is three books.... Look forward to it.