Dagon thought back to the hooded Dragon Kin and the black dragon. Mourtas… why was the name so familiar to him? He knew he'd met the Dragon Kin before, but that was in combat with his father. But he could not remember hearing his name that whole time. So then why was it so familiar to him?
"Are you ready, boy?" Sephtis asked, snapping Dagon out of his thoughts. "I am going to Shift to you."
"Yeah, I'm ready. I think."
"You think?"
Dagon shrugged. "Just do it."
Sephtis gave a slight growl, then his scales became luminescent and the green glow set the sand a pale shade. The sand immediately at Sephtis's feet began to burn, turning black and ink-like.
Dagon's Drakeagen began to glow as well and as it did his horn and eyes brimmed with the same light. He felt a surge of power rushing through his veins, almost like when he'd first forged the Kinship, but this time it was different in the fact that he suddenly felt an urge to get that power out of him.
He raised his hand towards the pillar Sephtis had made and when he did a green aura began to shift around his arm. This continued for a moment until he felt the power completely dissipate from his body and he had returned to normal.
Dagon took in a gasp of air, dropping to his knees. He stared up at the pillar. Nothing had really happened, but the color and texture of it had changed, becoming silver and smooth.
"Hmm." Sephtis growled, observing the pillar.
Dagon stood once he'd recovered, then walked over to it. He placed a hand on the pillar, looking closely at it.
"What did I even do? That was honestly quite anticlimactic." Dagon spoke.
Sephtis stared at Dagon's hand that had touched the pillar.
"Dagon. How do you feel?" Sephtis asked.
"I feel fine. Why?"
"It was your first spell, don't expect it to be amazing, but, it is much stronger than you think."
"Oh?"
"You are lucky you are alive. I imagine you have poison resistance, but this is mercury. To be specific, it's dimethymercury, the most dangerous kind. Just having it touch your skin can be fatal."
Dagon's heart jumped, looking down at his hand.
"Don't worry, you are alright. You'd begin convulsing right now if you were not immune. But the only thing I'm confused about," Sephtis poked the pillar, "is how is it in a solid state? Unless frozen, Mercury has a unique liquid like state. But, even in this heat, for some reason it is solid like iron."
"How… strange is that exactly…?" Dagon asked.
"It should be impossible technically. But I guess magic does not obey the laws of the world." Sephtis hummed.
"Nor do we."
— — —
(Two days later)
Gena was able to move slightly, but she would not be in any condition to defend herself if someone tried to kill her. She was basically a corpse already, just that her soul hasn't left yet.
She doubted Dagon would come save her… after all, she is the one who let his father die and then kept him caged up for nine years. Why would he have any wish to save her?
Then she thought Dagon's words again. She'd pondered in them time and time again, what he'd said about Sephtis. Maybe the venom dragon did deserve a second chance, after all, he was young and gullible, every dragon makes mistakes. No, not just dragons, every living being makes mistakes.
It's a part of life and it's how one learns. Mistakes teach you wrong from right, whether you are good or not only depends on your actions after that mistake.
Gena had mixed feelings about Dagon and Sephtis being the ones this land depended on. They were both so young, if you were to take the lifespan of a dragon comparatively to a human, Sephtis would only be slightly older than Dagon.
She could only pray they would be okay… and in her opinion, the fact that they're oils that come save her was a good thing. If they tried, they'd only be captured just as she had been. That wasn't what she wanted. She'd rather be enslaved and cut down by the son of her Kinship than to be the reason the last hope of the dragons died.
But… deep in the back of her mind… she wanted to be saved.
Then a metallic click rang throughout her chamber. Her head rose to look above and she saw Zickarys and Mourtas there, glaring down. Another click came and the gates around her opened, releasing drakes covered in black armor from head to toe. Each day be of them carried in their jaws a black metal plate.
Gena struggled to her feet, bearing her fangs. She refused to lay down and accept her fate. But she didn't have a choice it seemed. Zickarys leapt down from above, slamming down on her. His talons dug into her shoulder blades while his other hand was crushing her head into the metal floor.
Zickarys let out a snort, smoke curling up from his nostrils. The drakes closed in, and they began to attach the black plates to Gena's body.
She let out a growl of pain as Zickarys dug his talons deep into her flesh.
"Don't worry, Gena, your wounds will heal once you are enslaved. And you'll return to your former power in order to kill that boy and his dragon! Isn't that exciting? The dragon of the great Dragon Kin Ayden killing her own master's only son and his dragon. How exciting!" Mourtas spoke, cackling to himself.
"I refuse.. to kill Dagon!" Gena growled, rewarding a painful skewer of talons into her spine.
The drakes began to fasten the armor pieces to Gena's body. She wanted to try and move, but Zickarys had paralyzed her and she was pinned and injured. There was nothing she could do, she was far too weak.
Mourtas leapt down to the cage, raising a hand and placing it on the last piece of metal armor placed over Gena's head. At the center of it, on her forehead, was a single black gem. All the armor plates were connected by glistening chains made from black Drakeagen.
Magical energy began to gather in Mourtas's arm, and that was the moment Gena realized, she was completely and utterly worthless.