Mourtas held his hand forward and a cloud of black formed behind him, shifting and churning in a violent storm of shadows. From this storm, strange shapes resembling serpents, dragons, demons and an assortment of other nightmarish beings would shift within it.
"Parade of a Hundred Demons." Mourtas said grimly, and as soon as he did, the storm of darkness exploded forward, crashing to the earth before thundering forward, approaching the dragons below him like a tidal wave of the abyss.
Gena leapt forward, her scales brimming with a scarlet fire as a wave of flames burst forward to meet the rush of demons and shadows. Ellira jumped up beside her, lighting bursting from her body and arcing from her mouth. The bolts exploded against the shadows, shooting about in wild bursts.
"Where is Sephtis?!" Bella roared over the ear shattering sound of the attacks meeting. "Damn coward, he left us!"
— — —
Dagon could see nothing within the darkness of the tunnel. All he could tell was that he was moving fast, flying down the tunnel at a frightening speed, the rock around him rubbing his skin raw and leaving scabs. He tried using his feet and his hand to slow his fall, but it was no use, he couldn't slow himself down at all.
And then, he could see a faint light below him, and as he emerged from the tunnel, he tumbled out and fell into a huge cavern. His fall was suddenly halted by an unseen force, slowing him and lowering him down to a floating rock hovering above a massive body of water.
Dagon collapsed to his knees upon the rock, observing his surroundings and recovering from the fall. He still felt as if he was moving, still falling. His senses were all over the place and he was offset.
Around him, a multitude of rocks and structures hovered in the air, drifting aimlessly above the water below. The walls were a pale, tan stone with strange depictions engraved into them. Waterfall fell from holes in the wall all around him, filling into the cavern. Ivy and vines clung to the stone in spirals.
And then his eyes set on the massive stone pillars and platforms at the far end of the cavern, upon which was a massive dragon with a long, coiled, serpentine body. It had brimming gold eyes, antlers, and scales coated with dirt and ivy.
"Are you… Phenor..?" Dagon asked, completely captivated by the fascinating dragon.
"I am, and you are the son of Ayden Maddris, Dagon. As you wish to be Dragon King, and to change the world, you come unto me for guidance, am I mistaken?" The dragon spoke, his voice booming through the cavern.
"I-yes.." Dagon was at a loss for words and felt stupid as he spoke. He didn't know what to say. He was taking to a literal Dragon God. What was he supposed to say? 'Hello, I am Dagon and I need you to give me a scale, maybe some powers too, maybe help me get stronger, yeah, nice to meet you'?
Dagon shook his head. He needed to show respect and reverence to the dragon.
Dagon bowed his head, staying knelt to the ground. "Phenor, God of the earth and the sky, I seek your guidance. I wish to become the Dragon King and free this land of the tyranny of man, I wish to bring about an era of peace and prosperity and to bring down the royals of the Four Kingdoms. I beseech you for your guidance and strength in my quest." Dagon spoke. He was satisfied with that, feeling that he had been respectful.
"I know of your goals, child. I am bound with Ald, so I know of your intentions. I will help you, yet, I am curious of something." Phenor hummed.
"And what would that be, my lord?" Dagon asked.
"Why do you bow your head?"
Dagon's heart skipped a bear. "I-you are a god. I wish to show you my respect."
Phenor raised his head, looking down on Dagon. "A king bows to no one, you'd do well to keep that in mind."
Dagon suddenly felt awkward, his cheeks flushing red. He slowly rose to his feet, uncomfortable.
Phenor gave a chuckle, a repetitive hum in his throat. "You do not yet have the confidence of a king, child. Do not worry, it will soon come to be natural."
Phenor lifted a talon, his scales crackling and grinding against each other like stone, as if he had not moved in centuries. He dug a talon beneath one of his scales, then wrenched it free, blood oozing from the hollow spot left where the scale had once been.
The dragon held out its huge talons to Dagon, who held out his hand. The scale landed deftly in his palm. It was roughly the size of his hand and when it touched his skin, he could feel a strange energy flowing from it.
"Hold it safe, Maddris. That scale will lead you to your destiny, and one day you will think back on this, and you will think back on this question…"
"Question?"
"What kind of King do you aspire to be?"
This question struck Dagon more than he thought it would. Was he certain he could be a good king? Could he lead his kind to an era of peace? Would his people be happy beneath his rule? Or would he become a corrupt tyrant like the current kings… Was he even good enough to be king at all? These questions flooded Dagon's mind, he began to imagine himself upon a throne, he tried to imagine how he would treat his people, what his duties to them would be.
"I think-" he began, but Phenor gave a slight growl.
"I do not want an answer. I just want you to think on it. I do not trust words, none of us Dragon Gods do, I want to see you become a king through your actions. I will judge you based upon how you act and how you go about becoming the Dragon King. Until then, I must bid you farewell, but first.."
Phenor reached out a talon, "lift your shirt and turn your back unto me."
Hesitant at first, Dagon did as the dragon told him to. When he lifted his shirt, he felt Phenor's talon against the center of his back. And then he felt a burning sensation begin to spread out from the talon, curling outward in shapes and forms as a mark was engraved into his back. He suddenly felt a wave of energy rushing through his veins, he felt more powerful than he'd ever been in his entire lifetime, as though he could decimate an entire army with one motion.
When Phenor pulled his talon away, Dagon lowered his shirt and turned to the dragon.
"What.. did you do to me?" Dagon asked.
"I empowered your Kinship with your dragon. You should be able to access much stronger magic now, and you will find you have better control over your spells as well. It shall serve you well. Now, go, your allies are in need of you. But be forewarned… the black dragon awaits you."