Dagon shot upright, hunching forward, gasping for air. He had that dream again, if his father, except this time he too had been swallowed by the shadows. He could only assume that it was some sort of sign…
"You've woken." Sephtis growled. Dagon could feel the rumble of the dragon's voice against his back and he turned to see that, when he'd gone unconscious, Sephtis had taken him and Gena to some sort of cave and had laid down with Dagon against his body. Most likely to keep him warm.
The cave was not very large, maybe just big enough to fit four dragons. It went on in one direction, turning left and disappearing out of sight, while the other way stretching on into darkness.
Gena lay across from him and Sephtis, her head propped up on her talons and her wings tucked in. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was even. It was nostalgic to see Gena returned to her former glory. It brought back memories from when he was young, before the war.
"Gena? You awake?" Dagon asked.
Two golden eyes opened and peered directly at him. "Yes. I am awake, sadly." Dagon never understood why all dragons had to be so serious and dreary.
Even the scar on her eye had been healed, he noticed.
Dagon let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad we managed to save you. I was worried there that you'd be killed, or that the black magic would destroy you."
Gena let out a harumph. "It did not destroy me, but I can still feel it's presence. It's tainted me. And it will never go away, like a replacement for all my healed scars."
"At least you are not under its control anymore." Dagon said. "And you are alive."
"Dark magic has a deeper effect than you'd think, Dagon." Sephtis growled. "It impacts the soul, corrupting it. It removes your emotions and kills your heart."
"What? You mean..?"
"No. My emotions still exist." Gena spoke, lifting her head, "But they are somewhat repressed. It's a strange and frustrating feeling. It's depressing."
"I see… is there a way to repair it?"
"No." Sephtis rumbled, "The effects of black magic are permanent."
"It is not an issue." Gena snorted. "Do not concern yourself with it."
Dagon was quiet for a moment. A thought was bouncing around in his mind and he wanted to ask about it.
"Gena… did you meet Mourtas and Zickarys there?"
"Yes. But I would say 'met them', as I already knew them well." She responded.
"Who… who is Mourtas? Why is his name so familiar to me?"
Gena let out a low rumble, avoiding Dagon's eyes. "He… is your father's brother."
Dagon's heart dropped. "….what..?" He said quietly.
"Mourtas is your uncle." Gena spoke firmly, looking Dagon in the eyes.
"You mean… the man that killed my father.. is my uncle..?" Dagon couldn't wrap his head around it. How could his father's brother betray him like that…? How could someone kill their own family and show no remorse..?
"Why…?"
"Because, the Four Kingdoms offered him bountiful rewards." Sephtis spat. "Greed corrupts everything it touches."
"You are not wrong, but there is more to it than that." Gena growled.
"Oh?" Sephtis spoke, "You sure you want to tell Dagon of that?"
"Of what?"
"The truth of the war." Gena spoke.
"The truth?"
"Yes. While it is true the main reason the war began was because the humans were scared of the power the dragons held, there was not true reason for them to do so. The humans and the dragonic races were at a relative peace, getting along well. We would trade, hold councils, celebrate together, etcetera. But there was something the humans had done unbeknownst to us."
Sephtis let out a growl as Gena explained.
"In secret, a group belonging to the Annuran kingdom had captured and killed a dragon. The dragon had done nothing wrong and was actually quite young, there was no real reason to kill it. This group was called the Black Rose. And when they killed this dragon, they brought it to their chambers and began to conduct research on it. They experimented the effects of black Drakeagen on it as well as the effects of black magic."
"Wait, how could they do that without a dragon kin?" Dagon asked, perplexed.
"That is where Mourtas comes in. The Black Rose had promised him immeasurable power, wealth and fame. They told him if he joined them he'd become a king among kings and rule all dragons."
"What.. did he do?"
"He is the one that helped conduct the experiments. And in the end, the black dragon had been resurrected using the lives of twenty men. When the dragon was resurrected, it had been given immense power from the black magic, it's scales changed to black and its essence became corrupted. It formed a pact with Mourtas, and from then on it began to grow stronger and stronger every waking moment."
"That is the story of how Zickarys was created." Sephtis growled.
"Yes." Gena nodded. "And then after, the Black Rose informed the king of what they'd accomplished. Initially, the Annuran King was enraged and fearful of the wrath this would incur from the dragons and their Kin, but greed took hold of him. When he realized that using black magic they could create an army of dragons directly under his control, he decided to allow the research to continue. But he feared the consequences if the dragons were to find out, which led to him coming to a decision.."
"To prepare for war." Dagon assumed.
Gena nodded. "Over the span of eight years, they managed to create three other dragons and recruit a corrupted Kin for each of them. Then they reached out to the other three kingdoms, informing them of their plans and the power they held. They promised each kingdom a dragon if they joined, and they did. One dragon, each almost as powerful as Mourtas and Zickarys, was gifted to each kingdom, and then, two years later, twelve years ago, the war struck. The kingdoms attacked the dragons at a gathering in the valley of scales, resulting in what you see every night in your dreams."
"So this whole war…" Dagon growled, enraged, "was because of the greed of one group.?"
"Yes."
Dagon was fuming. He stared down at the black metal wound about his arm. With a rage filled heart, he stood and walked up to the rough, cold wall of the cave. He placed the whole length of his arm against it, the Drakeagen stone pressed against the wall.
"Sephtis. Shift to me." Dagon growled through clenched teeth.
"What?"
"Just do it!"
Dagon's Drakeagen stone began to glow and he felt the energy from it. Then he placed his other hand over his arm, took a deep breath, and casted a spell.
*SNAP*
"DAGON!!"