Armareth's Tower

There was no night and day, just a stretch of time that seemed endless. Chloe was awake. She felt ashamed for passing out, but that only lasted a few moments before she went back to her old cheery self. David watched her study the script. This time she didn’t even need to manifest the page she was studying.

They were in a waiting room, guarded by six masked beings that never spoke. Their black robes covered their feet, making their movements seem like a glide. Their masks were owl faced, with large eyes. The room itself was large, with cushioned chairs and mats and a table filled with food and jars of drinks.

“That was strange,” Zoey said finally. Elisha nodded. He was spread out on one of the chairs with his eyes closed and his hands under his head. His shadow was gone, and his hood was down.

Zoey was examining the half formed ring on her second palm. The line was smooth like David’s, and like him they had all experienced some kind measure of progress. David’s ring had stretched further, not by much but he was sure that by that pace, he would have a full ring by the time they reached Ziel.

“We need to get stronger,” David said. “If Hilga had tried to battle us, we all would have died.” He said it without looking at the others, but he heard Chloe’s gasp.

“True,” Zoey agreed. “I guess this first floor is not supposed to kill us though.”

“How do you know that?” Elisha asked, sitting up. David caught him looking at the table of food and then back to Zoey. “It might just be that this next dragon son will have a temper or a different way of doing things.”

“I doubt that,” Zoey said, but then there was no conviction in her argument, not like before. David wondered what he could say, but then decided not to say anything. They would need to meet this new dragon soon and perhaps it would be their last moments. Or maybe the next tribulation would be something they could push through.

“What do you think, David?” Chloe asked, her eyes large with expectation. He wanted to wave her question aside, but he knew she wouldn’t let up so easily.

“Whatever it is this dragon wants to do, we have to face it like we faced Hilga’ tribulation. It doesn’t matter really, does it? We just have to do our best.”

Chloe nodded.

They rested for a while longer. Elisha finally gave in and went to taste the food on the table. Chloe joined him, plucking grapes and berries to pop in her mouth. David wasn’t hungry, his mind was ravaged with thoughts of what this next test would be.

He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to meet Zoey’s eyes.

“You are doing it again,” she said. She was not smiling, but David knew that was the kindest she could allow herself to be. Like their mother, Zoey was a ball of bunched up emotion. “You will crash if you continue. Like you said, let things play out. These things are beyond us.”

David nodded and she stood up to join Elisha. David was about to join them when the door opened and two masked creatures with dark, thin tails walked in. Their hands were hidden in their sleeves and they glided too, but they had no hair. Only faces hidden behind a mask and dark heads and necks.

“It is time,” one of them said and then they both turned and walked out. David picked up his wooden sword and the other followed him as he followed the masked figures. Once he came out of the door, he was shocked to see that he was in another room entirely.

This one had murals on the walls and behind the man sitting on a round floor cushion. He was bald, with one short black horn protruding from between his eyes. The eyes were two burning suns, highlighted in black and when those eyes fell on David, he felt a small ache, like a longing.

The man’s face was smooth, and except his horns, he had no blemish. He smiled, gesturing with raised hands to the cushions arranged in front of him.

“Sit, please,” he said. They sat, each of them wondering what they were about to experience. The dragon didn’t stop smiling, but he made sure to stare at them one after the other.

“I see Hilga has toughened you up,” he said. “How about we test something else?” There was excitement in his voice when he spoke. “You will forgive me, but this will be uncomfortable. Trials are dull without discomfort, and this is to be Amareth’s.”

“We understand,” David said. The dragon grinned, showing sharp, white teeth.

“I am Nurend, named after our father. Forgive the form, but I imagine this is more comfortable. Less intimidating.” When there was no response, he continued. “I will explain your trial. But first, let me introduce you to my Void space.”

He closed his eyes, opened his palm up and then pinched his index finger and thumb together and a soft glow pushed off his horn’s tip. Like a stretching dome, the light grew until it had all of them in it. And from within, the room vanished. They were standing in a field of endless green. There was a gentle wind, brushing through the grass.

And Nurend stood before them with a staff.

“Now, the trial is simple,” he said. “You must know death, and I will introduce you to it.”

“You will kill us?” Elisha asked.

“Yes, and bring you to life, and kill you again…until that sun is blocked by the distant mountain and darkness falls.”

“Or until we kill you?” David asked and Nurend smiled.

David didn’t like how undisturbed the dragon looked. Unlike Hilga, there was nothing oppressive about Nurend. He gave off no force and he seemed nice, humorous, unlike anything David had ever thought he would see in a dragon. Yet, he could sense a refinement in the dragon.

“As you know,” Nurend said, lunging for them. David was poised to block with his sword, but Nurend changed direction before he could even think. “Your opponent will always go for the weaker ones first.”

His staff flickered and slammed into Chloe. The hit snapped Chloe’s face open, and David's heart plummeted to the bottom of his belly, his chest heaved, but no air came to him. They all stood, stunned, watching as Chloe twitched and died.

Zoey screamed, wailing. Nurend grinned, his feet moving like a blur. His staff whizzed through the air, Elisha couldn’t see it coming, but he tried to cover himself in shadow. The staff tore the shadow apart and slammed into his chest. An echo rang in the field and David heard the crack of bones just before Elisha hit the ground, shattering his back.

Blood spilled out of his eyes and ears. He tried to stand up but Nurend’s staff came for him, whipping his head. A loud snap reached David and Zoey and Elisha’s body fell.

“This is what I mean,” Nurend said. “You can’t protect them, and now I am going to show you that you can’t protect yours…”

Zoey leapt at him. Nurend chuckled, swerving to the side to let Zoey land in front of him, then he slammed the butt of his staff down on her, but she was already out of there. Her body twisted away, twirling on her hand. She stood, pushed back and mid-air she summoned the bow and pulled.

The arrow flew out, sailing for Nurend. He took a step forward and caught the arrow.

“Not bad,” the dragon said. Then he moved as if flowing with the air in this place. David saw Zoey’s death before the staff slammed into her side. He moved, throwing his sword at Nurend in desperation. Nurend laughed, swatting the sword away with his hand. But that gave Zoey time to move away from the attack.

Nurend’s speed had increased. Zoey and David had noticed, but there was nothing they could do. Nurend lurched for Zoey, catching her by the neck. She tried to punch the dragon but it felt like hitting stone. Panic filled her mind, her lungs, and her soul.

“Despair is the enemy of every warrior,” Nurend said, his smile more infuriating than his words. But he looked at David who was rushing at him and leisurely snapped Zoey’s neck. He let the body drop, summoned his staff to him and just before David got to him, he made a twirl, adding the force from that movement to crush David’s chest.

Pain consumed David. The sudden pain distracted him from his imminent death, when it came, it felt like relief.

“You have a long way to go,” Nurend said. “But through suffering, I will mold you all.”

He watched the dead siblings for a moment, wondering what to say when they woke up. Then he decided he didn’t have to think much about it. They were not pups, they were unrefined fangs. They needed to see this new world for the darkness it carried. Nurend scowled. He didn’t have much time.

“Rise,” he said. He let go of his staff and it hovered beside him. He clasped his hands behind his back and watched them resurrect. Their wounds heal, bones reformed and finally, life was restored. And the youngest screamed, her shrill voice reaching the edges of Nurend’s mental space.

Nurend hissed.