Auron was still in disbelief as he observed his reflection in the vanity mirror back in his room.
He made a goofy grinning expression that revealed rows of razor sharp teeth with his slightly protruded maw.
He was both amused and intimidated at the same time.
It was still hard for him to fathom that this very reflection was indeed him.
To think that magic was capable of making such a drastic change to his physical appearance. Not a trace of his old self was visible through this scaly reptile body.
Although.. He appeared to have five digits on his fingers and toes whereas dragons typically only have four.
Could that be the only thing that carried over from his previous form?
Some time passed as he found himself lying on his back, resembling a dog on a hot summer day.
Vassirth told him to get some rest, but he found it to be impossible with his mind filled with concerns of his his father, his friends and his very own existence.
He questioned endlessly of how he can continue this facade.
Auron was never the deceptive type, he rarely ever told a lie to others. His father had his share of liers and cheaters in his line of work. Therefore Auron understood his father's perspective and sought to live an honest life.
But now he has to pretend to be anyone but Arther. Needless to say he lacks practice of such dishonesty.
Can he possibly bare the weight of such a heavy burden?
"Auron, can you come downstairs." Vassirth's voice carried through the halls leading to the bottom of the stairs.
"Hm?"
Auron scuddled downstairs, nearly tripping over himself as he descended.
Upon arriving to the landing, he turned to see Vassirth in the living room area adjacent to the kitchen. She was stationed upon a large pillow, relaxing.
Not long after, Auron heard a familiar voice greet him from his side.
"Hey kid, It's about time you got out of bed."
"??" Auron quickly whipped his head around to see a man clad in red with pointed ears out the sides of his head. It was none other than Vincent who leaned against a wall, seemingly concealing his presence up until now.
"Wait.. We met in the town square, didn't we?" Auron asked with astonishment on his face.
Vincent was stone faced as he gave a serious response. "I don't know what you're talking about, this is the first time we met."
Auron's confusion became prevalent on his face as he struggled to remind Vincent of their past encounter.
"What? No, we DID meet eachother before! Remember, you're the guy with the talking bracelet! I accidentally bumped your foot with my ball.."
Vincent cracked a smile and was at the verge laughter.
"Mhmhm! Kid, you're not going to last long if you continue to be this dense."
"Huh?"
Vincent sighed as he pushed away from the wall. "Haven't you forgotten that Arther is supposed to be dead? I've never met this drakling standing before me right now.."
Auron's eyes widened with embarrassment. "Oh, yeah.. that's.. right.."
Vincent smirked with words of caution leaving his lips. "Don't be so careless, kid. You're lucky that I'm aware of your condition, otherwise, you just outright jeopardized you and your family's lives, including Vassirth here."
Auron's heart filled with guilt. It didn't even cross his mind at the time, he was just surprised to see Vincent again.
Vincent turned his attention to Vassirth. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Vassirth? This kid's kinda slow."
Vassirth gave a slightly threatening gesture towards Vincent.
"Watch your tongue, Vincent. That's my child you're talking about."
Vincent playfully chuckled. "Hehehe, scary~ someone's fully committing to their role, I see."
Vassirth grunted as she shuffled towards Auron. "Besides, Auron just became conscious today, so don't expect him to be fully versed after his world turned upside-down in an instant."
"Tad bit protective, no? Anyway, I didn't come here to test the kid's comprehensive abilities. I actually came here upon a request from a certain someone."
Vincent reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a long red scarf with tassels on each end. "Your father asked me to give this to you, apparently it has some sentimental value."
Auron's amethyst eyes widened with joy.
"That's.. My late mother's.."
Vincent lowered his head with a soft smile. "I see.. So this must be Important to both you and your father. This must be his way of wishing you great fortune in your new life."
Auron tilted his head at Vincent. "Great fortune?"
Vincent chuckled lightly. "Hmhm, sorry. The drow had a belief that possessions of a deceased family member holds great power. Although I doubt your father shares beliefs of the drow, but perhaps what he does believe is that your mother will watch over you through this scarf."
Vincent handed the scarf over to Auron who clenched it in his palms.
He stared into it feeling a stir in his heart.
"Would mother really accept what I have become? Would she still love this monstrous son of hers?"
These thoughts entered his mind as he was almost brought to tears. Oddly enough, Vassirth seemingly understood the thoughts he had at that moment as she reassured him.
"I'm sure she would've been proud. After all, a mother shares the soul of their child since birth. That love for said child will never waiver."
Auron felt those words as he held the scarf close to his heart.
"Thanks Vassirth.." Auron then turned to Vincent. "And thank you Vincent, for bringing this to me."
Vincent gave a relaxed shrug. "Eh? Don't mention it, kid. I was only doing it as a favor."
"How is my father?" Auron asked with cautious curiosity as he raised his jewel gaze slightly.
"He'll live. Give the man some credit, he's a lot tougher than he looks."
As Vincent explained, Auron wrapped the scarf around his neck. It draped down his back between his leathery wings.
It was strange, Auron felt comfort in his heart upon wearing such a simple piece of cloth. It was as if his mother was soothing his soul through the crimson fabric.
Auron opened his mouth to speak as he looked over at Vincent.
"So.. What do you plan to do now Mr. Vincent?"
Vincent folded his arm in thought.
"Hmm.. I've considered that I'll rest here for a few days before returning to Yorda citadel."
Auron's eyes widened in astonishment. "Woah, you came all the way from Yorda citadel!? What's that place like!? It must be amazing!"
The bracelet on Vincent's hand pulsed slightly as a voice echoed out.
"This kid is just full of exuberance, isn't he?"
"Hm?" Auron scuttled into a sitting position. "Oh? Artemis was your name, right?"
The voice giggled lightly. "Hehe! So you can still hear me, huh? Nice to see that hasn't changed."
Vassirth overheard the conversation and began to ponder. "So Vincent was right, Auron can hear dragonslayer arms."
Vassirth approached with an inflection. "Interesting, Auron, have you ever communicated with something like Artemis before?"
Unease was displayed on his Auron's face as he struggled a response. "Um!- no.. Artemis was the first.."
Both Vassirth and Vincent could easily tell Auron was lying, but could see he was deeply troubled and felt no need to push him for answers.
"Very well." Vassirth calmly exhaled as they almost awkwardly closed the conversation on the spot.
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Night rolled over the town of Domville as Auron tried to get some rest.
However it seemed impossible with his mind full of the events that unfolded in his life.
He thought endlessly of his father, his friends, his own existence.
It was hard for him to acclimate to his new form. He spent most of the day practicing the simple-sounding task of walking on his own four legs.
It wasn't easy, but he managed to figure it out to a certain extent.
As he laid on his back, he reflected on what Vassirth asked him earlier that day.
The truth is: he had encountered someone like Artemis before.
But his personality was far different than Artemis. So much so, Auron deduced that he was an evil being.
Auron laid awake in remembrance of that day, for it was also the first time he met Neirlylth.
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He remembered it was a day like any other.
A silver-haired child dashed through a dance forest in blissful freedom.
He enjoyed exploring every nook and cranny of these lands. Envisioning a world beyond this surrounding forest of his home, his heart desired more.
He's always reading various books that covered far away lands and cities. Therefore, he always desired to one day visit these lands because of these books.
With a heart burning with curiosity and anticipation, he frolics, imaging visiting far away places.
Today was a little different.
He was secretly going to go where his father told him to never venture.
The deep woods.
It was on the fringes of Domville's territory. Dense foliage where the daylight becomes dim upon entering.
Orcs, kobolds and wild beasts roam these type of areas.
Orcs and kobolds are mostly sentient and can be negotiated with.
However both are highly violent towards outsiders who enter their territory, especially humans.
Why would Arther wish to venture to such a dangerous area?
It was simply because of his childish curiosity.
He most certainly wasn't going there to pick fights with these creatures, he just simply wanted to see the deep woods itself.
Running along the fallen over stumps, he finally reached the outside boundary of the deep woods.
He took a deep breath before stepping forward through the thick bushes.
Upon entering, he looked up at the ceiling of the trees which were thick, stealing away most of the daylight.
So much so, small rays of light trickled through the velvet emerald ceiling in sparse areas.
Even with such small sources of light, it was enough to somewhat light the surrounding area, with low visibility.
Arther observed this world with his eyes glistening in amazement.
Trees in these parts had massive root systems which spiraled around rocks and other tree's bases. Massive rotting logs had more trees taking root from the moss.
Families of mushrooms that hummed a faint glow of blues and purples also grew upon these dead trees.
These woods were far different from the ones that basks in sunlight. They gave off a vibe of ancestry, with how ancient these trees must be.
Arther walked cautiously along these roots that wrapped up rock faces. Upon reaching the top, he was greeted with a relatively open area with massive trees that still blotted the sun.
In short, it was simply breathtaking.
Arther was eager to get a better look down in the gull. Glancing down, he felt lightheaded with a sense of vertigo. After taking a deep breath, he then repelled down wall of vines towards the forest floor.
As he slowly descended, he gritted his teeth and cautiously counted every step down he took.
He huffed a sigh of relief upon finally reaching the forest floor.
Arther made his way around mossy rocks and logs. He swept his gaze until he caught a glance of something in the distance.
A faint flicker in the distance.
Arther approached this flicker until..
*crunch* His foot stepped on a small bone, crushing it into pieces.
He looked around and found himself surrounded by piles of bones. He didn't notice initially because these bones were partially covered in bright green moss.
At first glance, he assumed it to be a graveyard, but it was not entirely that.
These were the bones of both humans and dragons with rusted swords scattered about. This wasn't a graveyard, this was a long abandoned battlefield.
Arther looked about with unease written on his face. He kneeled before the bones of a dragon that was decorated in rusted armor.
The helmet had a what appeared to be a crest written in dranlic characters.
Arther couldn't translate such characters, but made note that it very well could be a clan crest. He made his way past the bones of the dead. There must've been at least a few hundred dead bodies in this area alone.
Abandoned weapons and armor pieces were scattered everywhere. Aside from that, nothing noteworthy crossed his path.
Until he reached a small glade that was illuminated by a circle of light settling upon a sword, standing separate from the others.
Arther approached and observed this sword. It appeared to be far different from the other blades.
This one had etchings written at the base of the blade. Covered in red rust, it sat stabbed into the grassy floor of this particular spot, isolated from even the bones around here.
Arther drew nearer and decided to reach out to feel the blade.
"BACK OFF, BRAT!" A voice abruptly resounded, causing Ather to fall backwards in shock.
Falling on his rear, Arther responded while frantically checking over his shoulder. "Huh!? Who said that!? Hello!?"
The voice echoed within the blade with surprise in it's breath. "Wait, child, can thee hear thine voice!?"
"Uh.. yeah?.."
The voice huffed a sigh of relief. "Haa.. How long hast it been since thine exchanged words with another?.."
Arther realized that these words were indeed coming from the sword in this glade. He slowly stood up and fixed his gaze upon the sword. "Wait.. Is the voice coming from this sword?"
The voice echoed with a faint pulse emanating from the writings embedded on the base of the blade.
"Indeed it is." The voice answered. "You are currently talking with I, Gilgamesh, the million dragonslayer blade!"
After he fell silent with mild confusion entering his gaze, he huffed. "Dragonslayer blade?"
"Yes! Yes! That is thee! Thou have no idea how thy longed for a conversation. I feared I forgotten the art of speech! One sat here for five hundred years so one could imagine thine *own* mind have fallen ill! Whahaha!"
Arther rubbed his eyes in disbelief looking up and down the blade and then swept his gaze into the surroundings. "Dragonslayer blade.. So are you responsible for all these dead dragons around us?"
Gilgamesh answered with a boastful tone.
"Indeed one is! Thou haft vanquished countless numbers of these beasts! That is what thine was designed to do!"
Arther dipped his head then raised it back at Gilgamesh. "Well then.. it was nice meeting you, but you sound like a evil weapon, so I'll take my leave.."
"HOLD ON, CHILD!" The sword continued shouting as Arther turned away. "Does one truly haft no interest in thine power? After all, thou seems to possess a unique power to hear thee."
Arther huffed and turned back at the sword with mild disgruntlement on his face. "I don't care! I'm not after power! Especially from a weapon designed to kill dragons!"
The sword fell silent with confusion entering it's voice. "What troubles thee? Thou hast no enmity with their ilk?"
"No! Ofcourse not! We live in an era of peace with them!"
"Impossible.." Disbelief left Gilgamesh's voice as Arther began to run away from him as he called out frantically.
"KID! DON'T LEAVE THEE HERE! RETURN AT ONCE!"
His voice became faint as Arther ran into the woods. Arther felt that he absolutely needed to get away from that thing. Something about that weapon deeply bothered Arther.
After gaining some distance, Ather stopped to catch his breath.
"Huff.." After a few moments passed, Arther looked in his surroundings.
He was in a sloped area with many twisting roots draping downwards like locks of hair. Arther then proceeded to walk along the edge with great intrigue on his face.
A few minutes passed until he hear the deep bellows of a beast.
It was faint but it was nearby, just around the bend.
Arther cautiously peered around the corner to see an adolescent crimson dragon, pinned under a small boulder.
He could hear it breathing in frustration, possibly ashamed to be in such a situation.
Arther could see that this drakling was snared in some kind of boulder trap. There were scorch marks surrounding the area, possibly was this dragon's doing.
Curiously, this young drakling had silver spiked bracelets complete with a collar.
The boulder was rested on her left side, pinning her wing down.
Arther slowly came out into the open, letting his presence be known upon speaking. "H-hey.. do you need help?-"
"BACK OFF! I DON'T NEED NO HELP FROM ANY HUMANS!" Her voice was full of fire and fury as she directed a threatening glare at Arther.
Arther tried to be diplomatic as he calmly approached. "Relax.. I mean no harm."
"STAY AWAY! OR I'LL FRY YOU!"
Arther still continued to approach with a submissive expression. "My names Arther. What's yours?"
"SHUT UP! I'LL KILL YOU!"
"!!" Arther managed to get within arms reach of the wild beast.
For some unknown reason, her temper quelled the moment he made contact with her face.
"..Neirlylth.." She exclaimed calmly with a queer feeling in her heart.
She didn't understand this feeling..
Why and how did this human manage to calm her temper with a simple touch?
Nevertheless, Arther returned a nod. "Neirlylth, huh? Do you want my help, now?"
"..Sure.."
Arther straightened his back and examined the boulder pinning her down. "Hmm.. This appears to be a kobold trap.. Probably.."
"Probably?"
"Nevermind. Give me a moment." Arther considered that with some leverage, he could safely remove the boulder from her wing.
He then proceeded to find a long branch and then attempted to do such.
*Snap!*
The branch bent and snapped under the weight of the boulder.
"Any other bright ideas?" Neirlylth snidely remarked.
"Hmm.. I need something stronger. Maybe something made of metal.."
"Well? Hurry up and do so, my wing is getting numb.."
"Okay! I'll be right back!" Arther said as he rushed off.
Neirlylth thought to herself. "What am I doing? Letting a mere human help me.. What would father think?.."
Arther backtracked to the abandoned battlefield were Gilgamesh rests.
He glanced at the other blades that were frail with countless years of rust. He then set his gaze on Gilgamesh, who seemed to have the least amount of rust in comparison to the rest.
Arther approached him as he quickly responded to his presence. "Hah! Back again, I see. Truly thou hast recognized thine power and wish to utilize thee."
Arther looked up and down the blade and put on a fake smile. "Gilgamesh, are you truly as strong as you say you are?"
"Ofcourse!"
"Fair enough!" Arther then grabbed the sword and pulled it from the soil were it sat for countless years. It was fairly heavy, so Arther dragged it along the ground due to his own physical limitations.
"Finally!" Gilgamesh spoke with glee. "Thou haft no idea how long thy waited to finally be rid of this area!"
Arther tirelessly lugged the sword all the way to Neirlylth.
Upon reaching Neirlylth, Gilgamesh began to understand Arther's intent. "Oh, I see.. Thou wishes to take the life of this foul reptile! So be it!"
"Shut up.." Arther whispered as he drew nearer to Neirlylth.
Gilgamesh began to raise his voice. "What are you talking about? Kill it! Why does thou hesitate?"
Arther propped the blade under the boulder and began to pry it aside.
With a thud, the boulder rolled aside off of Neirlylth's wing.
Arther dropped the sword and rushed to Neirlylth's side. "Are you alright? How's the wing?"
Neirlylth returned to her feet and felt her side. "I don't think anything is broken.. I suppose I should thank you.."
Arther smiled brightly. "Don't mention it!"
"One does not understand.." said Gilgamesh as he laid on the forest floor in anguish.
"Humans and dragons.. living together in peace? What hast happened in the past five hundred years!? Thou'st should be rending thou asunder! Not talking as equals!-"
Arther quickly ran to the talking blade and promptly threw it down the nearby ravine in a fit of rage.
As Gilgamesh fell, he bitterly cried aloud
"-Bastard!!!~"
Neirlylth was puzzled by Arther's sporadic behavior and approached to his side looking down where the blade fell.
"What was that about? You have a thing against weapons?"
Arther quickly turned to Neirlylth and nervously responded in the most unconvincing manner. "Oh! Uh! Yeah! That's the reason!"
Neirlylth could easily tell Arther was not giving the full story.
But she could care less as she swung around with a sigh.
"Whatever.."
Arther and Neirlylth made their way out of the deep woods into the open air. The sun was setting, filling the surroundings with it's saturating colors. They took a moment looking at the sunset silently reflecting on the events that occurred earlier.
Neirlylth clenched her wing, still feeling a slight soreness within.
"How's it feeling?" Arther curiously asked as he rested his eyes on her.
Neirlylth looked away with a stubborn huff. "None of your concern, human."
"My names Arther, not *human. Now let's take a look at that wing." As he said this, he approached and softly grabbed her wing."
Neirlylth nervously flinched away from him. "W-what are you doing!?"
Arther shrugged innocently. "Come on, Neirlylth! I can't help you if keep running away!"
"That's not it.." Neirlylth said as she looked away in embarrassment. "To us dragons.. touching anothers wings is an intimate gesture.."
Arther equally became embarrassed as he struggled to response. "O-oh.. I didn't know that.. sorry.."
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Shaping back to reality, Auron laid on his back, reflecting on these past events.
Auron shuffled to his side and set his amethyst gaze out the window in ponder.
"The mysterious blade, Gilgamesh. Was he evil? Or not?"
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Meanwhile back in Cravenhearth.
Neirlylth sat on a balcony, looking out into the night sky, basking in the moonlight.
Slinking up next to her was Nubiru, asking. "You okay, Neirlylth?"
"Hm? Yeah." Neirlylth responded with indifference in her voice.
Nubiru was confused as he followed up with another question. "Are you sure? I heard the news about Arther.. aren't you upset?"
Neirlylth turned to Nubiru.
Oddly enough, she wasn't upset in the slightest as she aimed a slight smile his way. "Arther isn't dead.."
"W-what?" Nubiru responded with shock and curiosity. "How do you know-"
"-I can't say.. There's no way of explaining how I know.. it's just.. a feeling.."
She gazed into the moon, feeling an unusual sensation moving within her being. She couldn't explain how she knew of Arther's fate. Deep down within her soul..
Neirlylth knew.