While waiting for the pots to cool, I sat in the shade at the cave entrance, letting the fatigue wash over me. The mild heat and the distant sounds of the forest created an almost hypnotic ambiance, and without noticing, I ended up dozing off.
- "...zzzz…" I snored, unaware.
Suddenly, a distinct sound woke me up. Still disoriented, I jumped up, instinctively gripping my dagger.
- "Aghh… Damn! What is that?" I muttered, trying to control my breathing.
The sounds came from afar, but they were strange nonetheless. Fierce roars, the beating of colossal wings... There was something familiar about them, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't remember where I had heard them before. I looked around, searching the sky and the trees for anything that might explain the sensation.
- "Those sounds… I've heard them before, but… what were they?"
My gaze wandered to the horizon of the dense forest, where the vegetation seemed to sway unusually. It wasn't the wind. Some living trees of the Elymvaran forest had uprooted themselves and were leaning in a specific direction, almost as if they were observing or reacting to something. Even more unsettling, the animals were fleeing, running in panic away from the sounds.
- "Damn, what the hell is happening here?" I muttered, feeling a chill run down my spine.
Then, things got even stranger. Dense clouds quickly covered Estalyrion, stealing the light that once illuminated the forest. A chilling wind arose, howling as if nature itself were in turmoil. And then, I saw it.
Amid the trees, moving with a disconcerting speed, an hooded figure emerged. Its dark, floating silhouette barely touched the ground as it glided through the woods. For a moment, time seemed to freeze.
- "But… what is that?" I whispered, shielding my eyes against the dust lifted by the wind.
The sounds around me seemed amplified: the cracking of trees, the whisper of the wind, the distant roar echoing deep in the forest. I wanted to chase that figure, find out what was going on, but something inside me said to stay.
- "Arghh… Damn it! I want to see what's happening, but… I can't leave the dragon eggs."
Fighting my curiosity, I retreated back to the cave. I resolved to keep watch and stay alert, despite the questions hammering in my mind: What was that figure? Why was the forest so restless? And why were those sounds so familiar?
The wind stopped as suddenly as it had started. The roar disappeared. The forest, once in chaos, returned to an almost supernatural silence. It seemed as if nothing had happened, but the tension in the air was still palpable.
- "The sounds and the wind stopped... But what was all that?" I thought out loud as I forced myself to resume my tasks.
Distracted by these thoughts, I decided to return to my pot-in-pot project. After all, I couldn't waste more time; I had important goals to achieve.
At that moment, the pots had already cooled down, so I began filling the space between them with wet sand, carefully following each step to ensure the refrigerator worked. When I finished, I observed my work with a mix of relief and pride. For a while, the joy of that accomplishment pushed away the disturbing images haunting me.
- "Sigh... hahaha... it's finally done," I murmured, satisfied, admiring my improvised little refrigerator.
However, this sense of triumph was brief. A chill ran down my spine, and an overwhelming feeling of being watched fixed itself in my mind. It was as if the forest had eyes, hidden among the shadows.
- "...Hehe, it's perfect. I think I'll test it now, taking advantage of the daylight to go fi-..."
My sentence died before being completed. The discomfort arose suddenly, like a cold draft on a stuffy day.
- "...What was that? This feeling..." I whispered, looking around, trying to identify what was causing me that unease.
My eyes scanned every corner, every shadow, every suspicious movement. I drew my dagger, holding it with my fingers gripping the handle tightly while my heart pounded erratically.
- "Tsk... this again. I don't like this."
Then, suddenly, I began to have a feeling that was neither unfamiliar nor new to me. That sensation was the same I had when I lost my parents and when I couldn't save Elyndra. It never lied to me. But what else could it take from me now? After all, everything I considered important had already died, except for one thing...
- "...Damn... the dragon eggs..." I thought.
The thought hit me like lightning. My smile vanished, replaced by anxiety. Storing the newly-built refrigerator, I hurried to check the eggs. They were the only thing in this world for which I would still fight.
Reaching the cave, I examined each egg carefully. Relief washed over me like a gentle breeze when I confirmed they were all intact. I sighed in relief.
- "Great, you're all still okay, little ones... I won't let anyone harm you," I declared, sitting close to them.
With dusk falling and the weight of responsibility on my shoulders, I decided to spend the night there.
- "If fate wants to take you, it will have to take me too," I murmured, staring at the cave entrance.
The day had been long, and my empty stomach protested, but hunger and fatigue seemed insignificant compared to my priority. Even without sleep, I kept my watch, but then, around midnight, something broke the silence.
The sounds of wings flapping reached my ears. At first, they were distant, indistinct, but as they drew nearer, they became clear, carrying with them the promise of danger.
- "Damn... what is that? The sound is getting louder," I murmured, gripping my dagger and casting alert glances at the holes in the cave ceiling, waiting for any movement.
The noise was followed by deep, irregular breathing, interrupted by a muffled roar, as if the creature was choking or in agony.
- "Come on... whatever you are, I'm ready. You won't get past me," I asserted, determination etched in every word.
The sound changed. Now, wood was cracking and breaking, a terrible noise reverberating through the cave. My heart raced as I realized something was destroying the fence I had built to protect the entrance.
- "Damn, it's breaking my fence... it's going to be a hassle to redo that later," I murmured, trying to keep my composure as the suspense grew.
Then came the footsteps. Heavy, slow, echoing down the stone corridor leading to the hall. Each impact on the ground seemed to suck the air around me.
I remained motionless, my eyes fixed on the darkness beyond the entrance. Any sound, any movement, could be the beginning of the end. The only certainty I had was this: blood would be shed that night.
Boom... Boom... Boom...
- "It's finally coming, huh?" I murmured, cold sweat forming as I gripped my dagger with a tense smile.
The footsteps echoed through the hall, reverberating like thunder in a claustrophobic void. When the owner of those sounds finally emerged under the flickering lamp light, my heart nearly stopped. What stood before me defied all logic. A grotesque creature, as if several Wyverns had been fused into one body, forming an abomination of wings, tails, and scales. It was a sight I never expected to see in my entire life.
- "W-what the hell is this? It looks… looks like a pile of Wyverns... Agh... what happened to you?!" I exclaimed, my tone wavering between fear and perplexity.
As I stared at that aberration, a forgotten memory emerged from the depths of my mind. Those sounds I had heard in the forest earlier... Roars, wings flapping... It all made sense now. They were Wyverns. The same ones I saw months ago when I discovered Velanthar, and who had stayed quiet for so long.
- "Why? Why couldn't I remember before? I always remember everything about dragons and their kin. How could I forget something like this?"
It was as if an invisible force had manipulated my memory, drawing me to this moment, to this encounter. But there was no time for speculation. The creature, that didn't take its eyes off the dragon eggs since it got inside the cave, looked like it knew exactly what it wanted there, as if it was being controlled by something or someone. There was something in its eyes, a mix of hunger and determination. My doubt and confusion vanished; the priority was clear.
- "You won't touch these eggs!" I declared, stepping away from the wall and assuming a defensive stance.
My adrenaline was coursing like fire through my veins. Only five years old, and there I was, facing a creature that even the heroes of the stories I read couldn't defeat alone. But I had no choice.
- "Focus, Dravyn... Even the greatest warriors couldn't defeat this alone. And now? Now it's just you against this thing....arghh... shit.. hahaha..." I laughed, apprehensive.
The creature stared at me for what felt like an eternity. Then, in a split second, it attacked. Its maw opened wide, ready to devour me. By reflex, I dodged to the side, barely having time to breathe before its tail sliced through the air towards me. I threw myself to the ground, feeling the tail's wind brush my face.
- "If that hits me, it's over," I murmured, panting.
I got up quickly and ran in a zigzag to confuse the monster. It tried to hit me with its gigantic paw but missed by a hair. Taking advantage of the opening, I slid under its belly and struck with my dagger, aiming for an opening between the scales, but the blade met resistance, and the cut ended up being superficial, just enough to draw a few drops of blood.
- "Damn! Just that? My dagger's no longer good...shit..." I murmured.
The creature, unaffected by my previous attack, roared in fury, its murderous intentions clearer than ever. It attacked in every conceivable way, and I dodged as best I could, but each movement brought me closer to a corner with no escape. If I stayed there, I would surely die.
Suddenly, its tail swung towards me. I jumped to avoid the impact, but the creature anticipated my move and lifted its tail, hitting me squarely. I was thrown through the air, landing awkwardly on the ground. Then, everything went dark.
However, in the midst of the darkness, a voice I didn't remember echoed.
- "Dravyn... Wake up... DRAVYN, WAKE UP!"
And then, as if I had never passed out, my eyes opened and my consciousness slowly returned. My vision was blurry, and my body hurt in places I didn't even know could hurt. Gradually, I saw what was happening. The creature had given up on me and was heading towards the eggs.
- "No... no... You bastard, don't touch them!"
I tried to get up, but my strength was nearly depleted. My dagger was broken, and the only thing left was the Vothrial crystal, hidden in my pocket.
- "I won't let you take them..." I murmured, clutching the crystal with all my might.
Gathering every fragment of energy I had left, I played my final card, the only thing I could think at that time, not even knowing if it would work, but willing to give my life for it to work if necessary. I imagined the creature's chemical and biological structures transforming into the most basic elements of life — carbon, hydrogen, phosphorus, and other materials — all within a fraction of a second. After that, I focused with everything I had and pointed the crystal at the creature.