Alyssia The False Savior

Chapter 0: The First OmenThe sun was setting in the mountains, turning half of the sky a bright red before it gradually faded and became blue as night returned to Valley. Alyssia knelt on the ruins of a decaying temple as her gaze raked across the desolate landscape. She clasped the jaws of her sword, a steel forged in the embers of empire; an edge as keen and unbreakable as her determination. For this was her training as it had been for her entire life, to rid the earth of the ancient creatures that hunted countless humans and bring death wherever they [traveled]. Well, that is what she had always thought.Sulfur scented wind swept across them warning of what lay. Alyssia shut her eyes for just a second, allowing herself to feel that familiar rush of excitement. Many of these beasts had died at her hands and written tonight would be no exception. One more beast would die, and the empire could rest a while longer.From behind her, a voice said Still determined.Alyssia didn't turn. She didn't need to. Commander Cael, her mentor and the one who had trained her to be a warrior today. He came in on foot like one of those shadows that now swayed through the barely-there light.They say he's something else," Cael continued and Alyssia could hear that same quiet confidence she had come to count on in his voice. Aegis, the last dragon as the locals would refer to it. This is supposed to be the worst of all."Much the same as all was able to be it will decease on Aegis," Alyssia said in her cold, even voice. It is another monster hiding in the mask of safety. We've seen what they can do. We did with the phoenix out south.Cael moved a step closer, putting his hand on her shoulder with enough force to stop her. Alyssia, you are the sword of this empire. With every blow, you bear the weight of what is to come. Do not falter."Alyssia nodded, but the words felt anything but comforting. Ekat felt like she heard it all before every hunt, every mission. So much went on during the years that followed and doubt was slowly letting itself felt deep inside her unwavering loyalty. Not that she would ever say so, even to herself, but those battles grew harder all the time.Cael paused to step next to her, and then added quickly before he let go of his hold on the chair's backrest for good: "Let me know when it is finished. The Emperor needs youAnd with that, he was gone—even from the shadows—leaving Alyssia to make sense of her thoughts by herself. With that she looked down at her blade, Its edge sparkly in the faded light. A blade said to be capable of piercing the hide and bone beneath mythric scales, a weapon crafted for slaying those creatures that had once governed this world.But it was the first time that Alyssia falteredLong told stories of the days during, and after, they years known as The Great Collapse — when near extinction had come for humanity; how these creatures were always made out to be nothing more than villains. The empire had its own account of them, being that they were the ones who set fire to the world; referred gloom. However, of late Alyssia had been hearing strange whispers and rumors conflicting with this narrative. Rumors of these creatures being not killers but guardians. Keepers of the equilibrium natureShe had reassured herself that she was being silly. The empire was in the right. It had to be.There was something about this place, in the barren valley where it had been told that the last dragon dwelled. There was something strange in the air…something more than just ordinary pre-battle tension. It felt...alive.Alyssia shrugged off the sense. This was just another hunt. Her mission was clear. Not this time, no way.Shortly after she reached the bottom of The Draw, the shadows grew longer and there was an incredible amount of silence. The fabric of her armor's skirt clinked softly with every step, evidence that the watchful eyes and heavy hand of this empire reached out over all. This is what she was cultivated for, with her training and manipulations meant to make a weapon. The steel of her emotions honed into an ever sharper razor, the threads of compliance interwoven in gold., forged brain that knew only to exist as asked and nothing more.But part of it was that she realized no matter how close he got, in the darkness around them (which seemed to be getting even darker), part of her grew uneasy. She paused and thought about the rumors for a second. What if they were true? Imagine, what if these creatures were not just wild beasts So what if they were humanity's last hope against something else much, much worse?She brushed that thought aside just as fast. It was all or nothing.The valley was alive with a sound — not yet terrible, more of an echoing down the canyons, strong throat laugh. Alyssia stopped, hand moving to the pommel of her sword. She squinted her eyes, trying to find any movement in this darkness.The silence held for a moment, and then another. The growl sounded again, more immediate and closer. That was the creak of something ancient, that had power.The dragon.Alyssia unsheathed her sword, the blade thrumming with lethal design. So different from all the battles she had fought, with any enemy. The tension was everywhere; you could feel it in the air, wrapping itself around Meritha like a snake.The ground shook beneath her, and something large come out of the shadows. The Aegis, the final Dragon Warlord of old took his place in Glimmer from under a dying sun. His scales glistened like liquid gold and his eyes which burned with wisdom as old as time, locked upon hers.For a moment, neither moved. Between them, time drew out; the unbearable weight of millennia bore down upon both warrior and beast. Aegis growled — a rumble deep in his chest, but lacking any malice. Only...sadness.Alyssia clutched her sword harder, hands shaking as adrenaline coursed through her heart. It was what she had been preparing for the entire 38 years since the day he told her to never tell a soul. The point that would most clearly mark a start to her life.UNTIL she met the eyes of this dragon… and something changed in her. There was a voice, soft yet constant in the backdrop of her mind. What if you're wrong?Her breath caught, and for the first time ever in her life Alyssia hesitated.Aegis didn't attack. He just stood watching her with those ancient eyes, as if he were waiting for her to decide. The teachings of the empire which resounded in her mind as little more than empty, hollow.The dragon roared, a deep and resonating sound that shook the ground under his feet.This triggered a movement within Alyssia as she too recognized this was not just survival — it went beyond her life…this was about the truth. One that would destroy everything she believed in or damn her to the path –of agelessness, of darkness and sociopathy–that always had been inherent.Her sword was poised, but her heart hesitated.The first omen had arrived.