Reis was shocked by Aurora's confession.
"It can't be. No, it doesn't make sense! How can you be the Saggeesian Princess when…you've always hated Saggeesians" Reis said with a confused expression on his face.
"Listen to my story Reis. After that, you can draw your own conclusions" Aurora said seriously.
Reis nodded.
"My parents, King Hiram and Queen Celestia Saggeese lived for many years without having any children. They knew that the Saggeesian bloodline would have to continue in order for the Twin Saggeesian Sabres, the only physical weapons which stood a chance against Armageddon's power, to maintain the powers they had. My parents were becoming desperate until one fateful day…
EIGHTEEN YEARS AGO…
"Your majesty, you have a visitor" one of the king's servants announced to him.
King Hiram and Queen Celestia were in their early thirties. King Hiram had bright orange hair and crimson eyes. Queen Celestia was a very beautiful woman with long blonde hair and the kindest blue eyes. The King and Queen sat on their thrones, unaware of the life changing events that were about to begin.
"Who is this visitor?" the king asked.
"She calls herself Kamikaze the Dragon's eye" the servant announced.
"Call her in" the king said.
Moments later, a younger Kamikaze in her early fifties appeared before the King and Queen. The King stood up from his throne to greet her. She looked worn out and tired.
"I am sure you are famished. Servants, bring this lady the finest food and wine we have!" the King ordered.
Lady Kamikaze tried to protest but the King and Queen insisted. They offered her the best hospitality.
ONE WEEK LATER…
"King Hiram, Queen Celestia, the surviving dragons have heard of your kindness. Alpha the Dragon Sovereign has sent me to you with this message. 'Exactly a year from now, Queen Celestia shall carry in her womb twins, the children of the King. Their destinies will be intertwined with the true Dragonhaӓrt's however…a while after their births tragedy will follow. Do not despair, for it will be by their faith in the Dragonhaӓrt that Ryugaeia will be 'Dragon Earth' again!" Lady Kamikaze announced.
The King and Queen were overjoyed. They never doubted Lady Kamikaze's words.
PRESENTLY…
"It sounds exactly like what the voice in my dreams keeps telling me" Reis thought.
"Is anything the matter Reis?" Aurora asked him for he looked utterly serious.
"Nothing, please continue" Reis said with a smile.
"Lady Kamikaze's words came true and a year later, Jared and I were born. I came out merely seconds before he did. We were both healthy so there was great rejoicing in Saggeese. However, unknown to the King and Queen, someone very evil had heard everything Lady Kamikaze said. It wasn't surprising that Jared and I had many attempts on our lives as we grew up. The last fearful attack on our lives marked another turning point in our lives.
TWELVE YEARS AGO…
Jared and Aurora were five years of age. Due to the constant protection their parents showed to them, they were not allowed out of the castle. Guards were stationed everywhere around the castle, especially near their rooms. Jared and Aurora did not understand why they were not allowed to go outside so they would sneak outdoors when security was low. As part of the royal family, even though they were young, they were taught all the secret entrances and exits of the castle so outsmarting the guards was child's play, literally.
Jared and Aurora had managed to outwit the guards yet again. They decided to explore the fields behind the castle. As young and innocent as they were, they had no idea of the possible dangers that could befall them. When they finally arrived at the fields, they decided to play to their hearts contents. There were quite a number of trees surrounding the field and at the edges of the field, there stood a few highlands such that the field resembled a basin. Jared and Aurora played a number of games ranging from tag to hide and seek. They raced, pranced and frolicked about the field till they were tired.
They were unaware that a sinister presence was watching them.
"Have you had enough play Jared and Aurora Saggeese?" a cold voice asked them.
They turned around and saw a man with infernal crimson eyes and blonde hair, clothed in crimson armour and holding two fiery swords that looked like demon swords.
"Have you had enough fun to leave you with no regrets in this world? Are you prepared to die, Aurora and Jared Saggeese?" the man asked with a sinister smile as he approached them.
The aura that emanated from his body was enough to petrify them. Aurora and Jared stood frozen. They could not even think of running. All they felt was the infernal aura emanating from the man's cold stare. Soon he stood before them.
"With your deaths, nothing can drive the Dragonhaӓrt to stop Armageddon" the man said as he raised his swords.
Just as he was about to slice through Aurora and Jared, a great force crashed between him and the young successors. The evil man leapt back and frowned. There was a great discharge of lightning and Aurora and Jared had to shield their eyes.
"Looks like I made it in time" a kind voice said.
"Are you alright, Aurora and Jared Saggeese?" the kind voice asked.
"That despicable form of lightning. It's you isn't it? Lightning Blade Jinrai!" the evil man roared.
Aurora and Jared opened their eyes and saw a man radiating with lightning standing before them. He held a sword that seemed to be charged with the power coming from his body. He had silver hair and broad shoulders and was clothed in silver armour.
"After all these years you haven't changed one bit, have you Galigaos?" the man called Jinrai said.
"Jinrai! I haven't forgotten how you ruined my plan to destroy the Village Of Shades thirteen years ago!" Galigaos growled.
"I always knew you were evil Galigaos but you're downright despicable. You would even go so far as to harm defenceless children!" Jinrai roared.
"Say that to me with your sword!" Galigaos challenged.
"Fine, I'll best you and prove to you just how low you've sank this time!" Jinrai said.
"JINRAI! DON'T THINK THIS BATTLE WILL GO LIKE THE LAST ONE!" Galigaos declared.
"I know you've become stronger Galigaos…but I'm not the same as I was then either!" Jinrai roared as he charged to attack Galigaos.
Galigaos lifted his sword just as Jinrai did and they clashed blades. The sound of the clash of their blades was as terrible as the clash of a thousand blades. Aurora and Jared had to cover their ears and shut their eyes as a huge amount of fire and lightning flew into the sky. Galigaos leapt back and charged in again. Jinrai raced towards Galigaos. Galigaos swung his first blade hoping to behead Jinrai but Jinrai ducked to evade and attempted to strike Galigaos in the side but Galigaos somersaulted over him, landed and performed a one-eighty degree reverse lateral strike. Jinrai did the same and their swords clashed again causing an explosion. When the explosion cleared, both men were nowhere to be seen but Aurora and Jared could still hear the clashes of their blades.
"Where did they go?" Aurora asked.
Jared listened to the clash of the swords.
"Above!" Jared pointed.
Aurora and Jared looked into the sky and saw multiple discharges of lightning and fire.
"Let's get out of here!" Jared ordered and the twins began to flee.
They hadn't gone far when Galigaos and Jinrai crashed in front of them.
"Do not move from there Aurora, Jared" Jinrai ordered.
The twins nodded.
"It is pointless to protect them! They will die here with you!" Galigaos declared.
"We'll see about that!" Jinrai declared as he suddenly appeared behind Galigaos and delivered a back fisted blow to the side of Galigaos' head.
Galigaos flew into the air and crashed into a tree. He stood up and spat out some blood.
"You really have grown stronger Jinrai" Galigaos said.
"If you're saying that now, then you've grown weaker Galigaos" Jinrai said with a serious glare.
"We'll see about that" Galigaos said as the flames surrounding his body turned black.
His hair grew dark as well and horns grew out of his head. His feet became like those of a lion and his nails became sharp claws. Two black bat-like wings grew out of his back.
"What's this?!" Jinrai exclaimed in shock.
"This is my blood resonance form, Ashkelon. No one has seen this form and lived to tell the tale. It is a form second only to Irik the Devil's blood resonance form. The demonic power that comes from this form is limitless. Why don't you try your strongest attack? The one from thirteen years ago" Galigaos said confidently.
"Fine, if that is your wish. Don't regret your decision" Jinrai said as fire began to escape from his body.
The flames from his body mingled with the lightning and flowed into his sword. Jinrai shut his eyes.
"I'm counting on you Sabre-fang" he thought.
Sabre-fang awakened within Jinrai and the flames around Jinrai's sword became intense.
"GET READY GALIGAOS! TAKE THIS! CRIMSON MOON KAIGNIS BARRAGE!" Jinrai roared as he raised his sword.
Darkness covered the sky and the moon became visible. The silver moon turned crimson and Sabre-fang's from overlapped with Jinrai's blade. Jinrai swung with all his might. All the energy escaped from his body and crashed into Galigaos but Galigaos simply absorbed all the energy.
"Darkness absorbs everything" he said coldly.
In a flash, Galigaos stood behind Jinrai. Jinrai realized this and attempted to strike Galigaos but Galigaos caught Jinrai's sword easily. Jinrai stared at Galigaos in shock as Galigaos stretched his other hand towards Jinrai's face.
"It's time for me to repay the favour Jinrai, take this, EXCELLION!" Galigaos roared as an intense beam of black flames engulfed Jinrai.
When the flames disappeared Jinrai was nowhere to be seen.
"Hmmph! Defeated so easily Jinrai? You are a disappointment" Galigaos said coldly.
"You've traded your humanity for power haven't you Galigaos?" Jinrai's voice sounded from above.
Galigaos stared in the direction of Jinrai's voice and saw him standing on a tree.
"I see, the one I incinerated was an illusion created by you. How shrewd" Galigaos said calmly.
Jinrai leapt from the tree.
"That power of yours…will be your undoing Galigaos" Jinrai said as an intense force began to engulf the area.
"TREMBLE BEFORE THE MIGHT OF HEAVEN!" Jinrai said as the air seemed to seethe with the pressure coming out of his body.
The earth quaked in response. To Aurora and Jared, it felt like an outpouring of great strength. To Galigaos, it felt like the horror of infernal torture.
"What are you doing?! Stop! Stop it at once!" Galigaos screamed.
"When I said I'd gotten stronger, I wasn't just talking about discovering a new technique. My spirit has also grown stronger!" Jinrai declared as a strong golden light caused Jinrai to levitate. As the light grew stronger, two beautiful white wings spread out in perfect symmetry. When the light disappeared, a mighty angelic warrior stood in place of Jinrai.
"Behold the Golden Drakengaӓrd! The hand of Divine Retribution!" Jinrai declared.
"Wow! An angel!" Aurora exclaimed in excitement.
"How can this be?! How can you always surpass me?! JINRAI!!!" Galigaos screamed in a rage as he flew to attack Jinrai.
Jinrai stared at Galigaos.
"Why do you always look at me like that?! Why do you look at me as though…you pity me! HOW DARE YOU LOOK DOWN ON ME?!" Galigaos roared as he attempted to strike Jinrai with his claws.
"...." Jinrai said calmly.
Galigaos opened his eyes in shock as an intense beam of light from Jinrai overshadowed Galigaos.
Galigaos laughed maniacally.
"You cannot change me Jinrai! Behold! The Royal Family Of Saggeese has fallen. By now, Erikkus Di Devilli has slain them and taken control of Saggeese. I bet you didn't see that coming since…you've been under a terra illusion since the beginning of this fight. Witness your own failure and regret it for a lifetime!" Galigaos said as he disappeared.
The terrain suddenly changed and Jinrai saw the truth of Galigaos' words. Everything was engulfed in fire including the Saggeesian Castle. There were loud chants of victory. Jinrai quickly carried Aurora and Jared and flew towards the Saggeesian Castle.
When he arrived at the castle courtyard, he saw the people of Saggeese chanting.
"Hail lord Devilli! The King and Queen have fallen! By the fire of his flames Saggeese shall be born anew!" Aurora and Jared stared at the castle in shock and saw their parents lying dead outside the castle walls.
"Mother! Father! NOOO!!!" Aurora screamed.
"Put us down! Put us down!" Jared ordered.
"I cannot do that young heirs. You cannot die here. We must try to find people who still remain faithful to your parents. You must regain the trust of your people and fight for this fallen kingdom. Save my beloved home…from evil" Jinrai said as tears flowed down his face.
PRESENTLY…
"We searched all of Saggeese but found no one who remained faithful to my parents. Lord Devilli had poisoned them all against my family. We underwent many trials. We were treated as outcasts and Jared became so sick that he temporarily lost his ability to speak. Jinrai kept travelling with us all around Saggeese. We had to stay away from people. Then one day, Jinrai told us about his family. He had just received a letter announcing the death of his wife. The letter stated that his son had become so traumatized that he had fallen into a coma. I had never seen Jinrai look so depressed before. It made me realize just how much the people of Saggeese had made us suffer. Jared and I renounced the kingdom of Saggeese that day. Jinrai decided to go and see his son. We decided to go with him so we followed Jinrai to the town of Rylus. There we met Jinrai's father and his son. Jinrai spent two days and nights at his son's bedside. On the third day, Jinrai's son regained consciousness however he had lost his memories of the past. Jinrai decided that he could not allow his son to relive the pain of losing his mother so just before we left, Jinrai instructed his father to teach his son the way of the sword. 'When he comes of age, give him this blade'. Jinrai said as he handed his sword to his father. He also told his father not to tell his son of his whereabouts. 'If ever my son asks of me, father, please tell him that I died with his mother' Jinrai said.
Jared and I didn't understand it then but as time passed, we came to realize just how much Jinrai had sacrificed for our sakes. Eventually, Jinrai decided that Saggeese won't be safe for Jared and I so he wanted to bring us to the Dragon Rangers' Guild in Novatio.
However, we were pursued relentlessly by Galigaos. It took us two years before we could finally leave Saggeese safely. Jinrai taught Jared and I swordsmanship because he believed that our fates were intertwined with the Dragonheart's. Jared was serious with his swordsmanship but I abandoned it because it was frustrating. Just when we were finally approaching the Rangers' Guild, Lord Galigaos confronted Sir Jinrai again. Before fighting Galigaos Jinrai said these words to me,
'I am sorry for what I'm about to ask of you Aurora. Since I rescued you and Jared, I've had to stay away from my family. It will not be long before the people of Saggeese begin to hate my son because I stood against Erikkus Di Devilli. I have no doubts that our paths will cross one day. When they do, please return to him the joy he lost when he lost his parents. I'm counting on you Aurora. Follow your heart' Jinrai pleaded.
'I promise…Sir Jinrai, I will always be there for your son. I will protect him so please don't worry' Aurora promised.
'The Rangers' Guild is right over that hill. Run as fast as you can. Aurora, Jared, live on…for it will be by your faith in the Dragonhaӓrt that Ryugaeia will be Dragon Earth again' Jinrai said as he confronted Galigaos.
By the time we finally made it to the Rangers' Guild, it was dawn and what a gloomy dawn it was. The sky was crimson and it was drizzling. That was the last time I ever saw Sir Jinrai" Aurora concluded her tale.
Reis stared at her in sorrow. He had an angry look on his face. Aurora noticed it.
"I can understand if you hate me now for the sorrow I caused you when you first arrived in this guild" Aurora said sadly.
"How can I hate you Aurora? I feel angry, yes but not at you but…Erikkus Di Devilli. He actually turned the whole of Saggeese against you but…Aurora, don't you see it's all according to Armageddon's design?" Reis said sadly.
"What do you mean?" Aurora asked him.
Reis approached her till they stood face to face.
"Your hatred for Saggeese, Saggeese's hatred for Novatio and Novatio's distrust of Saggeese. Armageddon is turning humans against one another. The Dragons cannot protect us like they did before if humans themselves cannot unite behind one another. The pivot of all this however is your hatred for Saggeese. Only your bloodline can unify Saggeese and Novatio behind the Holy Saggeesian Blades" Reis explained.
Aurora stared at the ground.
"Please don't Reis. Not when I finally learnt to love one person from Saggeese. Don't ask me to stop hating Saggeese" Aurora said as tears flowed down her face.
"I won't. Saggeese took Jared away from you, as well as your parents. I can't ask you to stop hating Saggeese but…I will teach you to love Saggeese! I won't rest until the day you can say, 'I love my homeland!'" Reis said as he wiped Aurora's tears with his thumbs.
Aurora stared at him in surprise and began to weep.
"Don't worry, I will be with you every step of the way! I will turn this world upside down to make Saggeese love you…and I won't let anyone, not even Armageddon hurt you because…I love you Aurora" Reis confessed again.
"Reis!" Aurora wept as she hugged him.
"Why don't we start now? I'll show you just how much Saggeese has changed. The people are beginning to change as well" Reis said.
"You mean, we should…go to Saggeese now?" Aurora asked in surprise.
"I want you to meet my Gramps and the people of my town. We'll fly half of the way and continue the rest of the journey on the back of Sabre-fang" Reis said.
Aurora nodded with tears in her eyes and raised her hands. In swirling elements of water, Marina appeared. Aurora mounted Marina and helped Reis aboard. Reis sat behind Marina.
"Marina…to Saggeese" Aurora called softly.
"Are you sure about this?" Marina asked for she sensed the uncertainty in Aurora's heart.
Aurora nodded.
"Yes" she said.
Marina spread her wings and took to the air.
As they rose higher and higher, Aurora could feel Reis trembling. She reached behind herself and took his hand in hers.
"Don't be afraid. You're safe with me" she assured him.
However they hadn't flown far, only roughly two hours of flight when they noticed strange clouds approaching in the distance. The swiftness and thickness of the clouds appeared strange and the movement was far too uniform to be natural.
"What are those?" Aurora looked concerned.
Reis looked ahead.
"Use my eyes Reis" a voice whispered to him.
"Sabre-fang?" Reis wondered. "Thank you" Reis thought with a smile.
"Eyes Of The Kaignis King" Reis called as his eyes turned crimson and assumed the likeness of Sabre-fang's.
Reis' vision was magnified and he saw an army of dragons. Riding atop them were soldiers. Atop one of the dragons was a man with blonde hair and cloaked in crimson cloak and armour.
"It's an army of dragons! And I think I know where they're headed. We've got to warn the guild!" Reis declared.
"Marina! Can you camouflage yourself and head back to the guild as quickly as possible?" Reis asked.
"I can" Marina said.
"Camouflage is one of my many talents" she explained.
Marina created an orb of water to surround them. The orb dispelled the light headed their way and created the illusion of invisibility.
"We won't make it in time" Reis said.
"What do we do" Aurora said.
She turned to face him. She had a panic stricken look on her face.
"I will warn Kyla and Shin" Reis said as he shut his eyes.
He concentrated on locating their auras. He had to expand the area of effect overwhelmingly while ensuring that he didn't alert his foes to his presence. His mind journeyed through the country searching for the Rangers' Guild and finally found it. Then he sought out Kyla and Shin and warned them of the impending invasion. Then realizing that there was a better course of action and that it would be selfish to attempt to conceal his power anymore, he warned the Dragonlord directly and relayed the images to his mind.
The Dragonlord in turn summoned Old Lady Kamikaze to Rangers' HQ. Using her psychic abilities, he relayed Reis' message to the rest of the Guild and called for a gathering. He understood that Reis had not done this himself because most of the guild did not still trust him.
"This is what we will do. First of all, we will evacuate the drakes to safety. They are not ready for combat yet. Priority will be given to the safety of the drakes. Dragon Guards will be responsible for the safety of the drakes. Captain Hiru, I entrust them to your care. All Dragon Masters and Dragon Students will prepare to engage the enemy over the forests of Novatio. We cannot allow them to bring the battle to the Guild. It would be perilous to fight a defensive battle. While we hold them off, you are to escort the drakes to the closest towns for safety. Old Lady Kamikaze, contact Novatio's castle and request that the Dragon Knights be sent back immediately" the Dragonlord declared.
"The Dragon Knights?" one of the rangers present exclaimed in shock.
"We must defend our home at all costs. This is the resting place of the Dragons and we cannot allow them to die out! That is why we exist. So if we have to go to war with Saggeese to defend the life of the Dragons…so be it!" the Dragonlord declared.