Dagon felt frustrated by the fact that Gena just couldn't give Sephtis a chance, but at the same time he understood why she reacted the way she did. After all, he did used to hate her once upon a time and he had blamed her for the death of his father. But he'd gotten passed that and forgave her. He didn't understand why she couldn't just do the same for Sephtis.
"It's of no importance." Sephtis spoke. "Do not concern yourself with the past. I have no wish to speak of it."
"Except that I can't help you be forgiven by the other dragons if I don't even know what you did." Dagon retorted.
"I don't need some child to help me with my own problems." Sephtis hissed.
Dagon groaned in irritation. "Fine. But I will find out some day."
"You won't. The only reason I made Kinship with you was to free the dragons and myself. Soon as that has been completed, we will part ways." Sephtis growled, his scales shifting as he turned away, clawing at the ground before laying down.
"I see." Dagon said sadly. He was disappointed, but not that much. Something told him that wasn't true. He felt that, given time, Sephtis would open up with him. Gena had said most dragons are reluctant to bond.
Dagon turned to stare at the sky, remembering what the view had been like from all the way up in the clouds. He shivered. He enjoyed that feeling, of being so high up and out of reach of the greedy talons of the world below. He had felt free up there.
Then his eyes spotted something off in the distance. He squinted his eyes to see better, and when he was able to make out what it was, his heart dropped.
"Gena…" he mumbled.
"What?" Sephtis growled.
Get up. Now. We need to go."
"Hmm? What are you going on abou-"
"NOW! THEY HAVE GENA!" Dagon roared. Sephtis followed Dagon's gaze and his scales rose in hackles when he saw it.
Five black armored dragons were all carrying Gena in the air behind one large black dragon. Dagon had thought Sephtis was the largest dragon he'd ever seen, but the black dragon in the distance was at least double Gena's size.
"Zickarys…" Sephtis hissed venomously.
"Who?" Dagon asked.
"That black dragon's name is Zickarys. He betrayed all the dragons, committing far worse sins than I have. He is also the dragon who killed your father." Sephtis explained. "And his Kinship is named Mourtus. A dark mage."
"We have to stop them! They'll enslave Gena just like those other dragons!" Dagon exclaimed.
"No. There's nothing we can do."
"What?"
"For one, there are five drakes, for two, Zickarys is stronger and larger than me. And lastly, and most importantly, you have no experience in aerial combat and you have no clue how to use Kinship magic, while Mourtas is quite possibly the most powerful dark mage in all of Seryad." Sephtis spoke, rising up and looking down on Dagon. "We are not going."
"Then what? Sit here and twiddle out thumbs helplessly?" Dagon asked, "You expect me to just watch as Gena is taken away?"
"Would you rather go and get us both captured with her?" Sephtis hissed, bearing his fangs, "Do you wish to die? Is that your wish? To give up everything Gena raised you to do, everything your father left you, simply for one broken dragon?"
Dagon clenched his jaw, glaring at Sephtis. "She is not broken."
"She has not aged well, boy, and she has lost all her former power. She is not the Gold Fury anymore. If you can't see that, then you are blind."
Dagon clenched his fists, turning away from Sephtis and watching the dragons gliding through the air in the clouds.
"It is smarter to wait. I will train you to be a powerful Kinship Mage, and when I deem you prepared enough, we will go and save Gena from her fate. It is the only choice we have." Sephtis growled.
Tears began welling up in Dagon's eyes. He bit his lip, drawing blood. He dropped to his knees, frustrated, confused, and weighed down with guilt.
Sephtis walked up behind the boy, his barbed tail curling around Dagon in a wide circle.
"I am sorry, Dagon. I understand how you feel. I've been through a similar situation, and I've seen many of my kind taken. I was helpless to stop them. We will save her, but first, you must get stronger."
"How..?" Dagon asked, "How do I get stronger? I want to get strong as fast as I can…"
Sephtis let out a low hum. "I think I may have a way."
— — —
The Drakes (smaller dragons) dropped Gena on the hard metal ground. The dragon growled as her wings were crushed below her and her broken bones ground together and cut at her flesh.
The Drakes all landed on the ground and split off into metal passageways, barred gates slamming heavily behind them. Gena's eyes turned upwards. She had been set inside some kind of box shaped cage. Above her, the seal was still pulled open.
"The Gold Fury.." Zickarys scoffed, smoke rolling from his nostrils. "How far you've fallen, Gena. Once upon a time I viewed you as a worthy adversary, and now you are no more than a soul shattered dragon residing within a decaying corpse. I guess age was not all too kind to you, was it?"
"He will… bring you to your knees.." Gena growled, "You do not stand a chance against him…"
"Against who?" Came a human voice. Mourtas had clambered down from Zickarys and was peering down through a black mask at Gena. "Ayden's son, or the failure of a dragon Sephtis? Because I am not concerned about either of them."
"Sephtis." Zickarys growled. "His very existence insults me. I wish to see his corpse at my talons."
Mourtas placed a hand on Zickarys's snout. "Do not fret, he will be slaughtered soon enough."