"I… am not sure, honestly." Gänhir spoke, placing a hand to his head. "I was knocked out almost as soon as the fight began. It's.. fuzzy. And I have no idea what happened after. But…" Gänhir looked about at the ruined city, "I assume it didn't go well."
"So what exactly was going on before you were knocked unconscious?" Elmond asked. Goyle curled his body closer to Elmond, his head lower beside him.
"We were trying to buy for Dagon so he could get the Scale of the Dragon Goddess Queen. But… Mourtas's army arrived before he made it back. The first to appear was Keagor and Nargash. We were able to successfully defeat them and burry their ashes under the earth. Then came Abyss and Myru. She is the one who put me out of the fight, so I'm not sure what happened after."
'Damnit…' Elmond thought. 'So he was beat by Myru. Meaning he has no idea what happened to her…'
"Gähnir. Abyss's corpse is laying out in that battlefield. Do you think Myru could still be alive without him..?" Elmond asked.
Gänhir was quiet for a moment, averting his eyes. "No. If a Kin's dragon was defeated, then it is almost certain they were as well. She is most likely dead."
Elmond's face went pale and he grit his teeth. His eyes narrowed and a shadow of sadness came over his face as he looked down, clenching his fists.
"I knew this power would lead to her demise…" Elmond said softly. He looked back up at Gähnir. "You have any ideas as to what might have happened to all the Kin and Dragons that were here?"
"How did you know about that to begin with?" Gähnir asked in surprise.
"There was a full blown war here, between two sides. It was simply an assumption." Elmond responded.
"I see. Well, my best guess? If they weren't killed, they were captured. Most likely, they have been transported to Annura to be enslaved." Gänhir surmised. He looked into the flames. "So then. It really ends like this… we've been defeated. There is no hope left now…"
"Without hope there is only despair." Elmond spoke. "As long as you breath, there is always something to strive for and work towards. And as long as you keep that goal in mind, there is hope. All you have to do is keep taking one step forward after the other. The moment you give up on your ideals, is the moment you fall into despair."
"Nice speech. But in all reality, what are we supposed to do? I've no idea where Dagon is, and all of our forces have been killed or enslaved. All we have is the two of us and our dragons-which-by the way, how do you have a dragon at your side?"
"Oh, you mean Goyle? I freed him from the black armor. He was sent to kill me, but, after freeing him, he decided to be at my side."
The dragon gave a low growl.
"His name isn't Goyle. It's Sindel." Gänhir spoke.
The dragon gave a grunt.
"But he has grown attached to the name you gave him."
"That's right. You are a Dragon Kin, so you can actually understand him." Elmond said, looking over at the dragon.
"Yeah. He also said something about there being some tracks, like an army marching, as well as tracks from what seemed like carriages. Most likely the transport cages for dragons and Kin."
"I see. Well, you said that Keagor and Nargash were buried, right?" Elmond asked.
"Yeah.. wait.. don't tell me, so you really want to reawaken them?" Gänhir's eyes narrowed. "Don't be an idiot. He'd just kill us out of rage. We wouldn't be able to fight against him."
"No? I presume you've never seen me fight before then." Elmond smiled, grabbing his sword and lifting it. Gänhir's eyes widened when he saw the Drakeagen embedded in the sword. "I am a master of the sword, and I use Drakeagen to empower my attacks. I actually used this very sword to free Goyle."
"It would be foolish of you to expect that sword to work against one of the dragons of the Four Kingdoms, especially not with the rider as well." Gänhir said. "Nargash can use fire magic, and you are no Kin. If you were to even get close to him and his dragon, the heatwaves alone would be enough to kill you."
"You sure?" Elmond smiled kindly. "You underestimate me." Elmond grabbed the edge of his cloak and pulled it away of his body, revealing a brilliant set of silver armor, firelight shimmering across the metallic surface. Drakeagen was embedded into the armor as well. "This armor protects me from the spells of Kin. You forget, ever since Mourtas corrupted my wife, I've always been cautious of him. And so, I took every measure possible to make sure I'd be able to stand my own ground against him if the time came."
Gänhir sighed. "I guess there is a reason you earned the title of Dragon Slayer during the first war."
Elmond's eyes seemed to die, losing all their light as a sad expression came over his features. He grabbed his cloak and threw it back over his body as he bowed his head, his hair hanging over his eyes.
"I am not proud of that title." He said softly. "I feel the pain of guilt and sorrow for every dragon and Kin that I killed back then. At the time… I felt that I had no other choice but to join sides with Mourtas and the other kings. If I hadn't, my kingdom would have been targeted and brought to ruin… just like…"
"The Valley of Scales." Gänhir spoke, his tone brusque and emotionless. "Home to the dragonic races. Now no more than a ruined graveyard of bone, ash and decay."
Elmond was silent. Memories of the war came flooding into his mind as if through a dam being broken down, letting a wave of thunderous water through. Every dragon, every Kin… every mother… and every child he had killed back then. Did he really have no other choice? What if he had sided with the dragonic races back then? Would it of made a difference..? No. His people, like all humans, feared and resented the dragonic races. They would have revolted and overthrown him. He'd be dead.
Elmond rested his head in his hand as he bit his lip, drawing blood. 'Why..?' He thought, 'why must this world be so riddled with war?! Why can't we just be at peace?! Why, why do we have to kill one another!? I just don't understand…"