"I'm coming with you three," Solon told them in the morning. Seeing their looks of surprise, he smiled slightly. "I want to see this Lucia for myself. And besides that, you may have forgotten that I am one of the five Magicians of Vay. I fought to protect this world, and rose from my slumber so that I may continue to protect it. Although it appears I was too late to prevent Ardor's unfortunate attempt at conquering the world, there may yet be reason for me to remain."
Solon looked from Ghaleon, to Kazyr, and to Sadoul, pleased to see no disapproval on their faces. "Besides, you will be taking a long sea journey, and there's no better man to have at your side on such a voyage than the Magician of Water."
"Agreed," Sadoul said finally, nodding to what he hoped was once again his friend. "Now let's leave this cave so I can teleport us back to Danek. They've got the best boats I've seen; better than those of the Four Kingdoms on the mainland at any rate. I'd teleport us from in here, but I think Ghaleon would have to lower his barrier around the ceiling first. And we don't want the cavern to come crashing in on us, now do we?"
Kazyr nodded, heading back into the tunnel towards the surface. Ghaleon wordlessly followed Kazyr. Sadoul met Solon's gaze and the Magicians of Vay trailed after the other two.
As they left, the barrier Ghaleon kept up to prevent the collapsing of the ceiling faded behind them. The cracks would not immediately result in the destruction of the library, but eventually the inevitable would occur. Once the ancient collection was finally buried, the four wizards were no longer there to hear it.
"Ardor, you've made some good friends," said Solon, gaze wandering to the cavern walls. "I sense an aura of honesty coming from the white-haired one in particular." He peered back at Sadoul. "Your friends have saved my life. Had you known they would?"
"Yes, and no." Sadoul shook his head. "Truthfully, I really can't say. Although I suppose in a way I felt certain, subconsciously at least. I never really counted those two as my friends up until only hours ago. But then at the same time, I knew , I could count on them for help. I wasn't thinking when I fought you, but looking back on it, yes, I could see them helping you."
Sadoul sighed. Thoughts of asking for forgiveness ran through his head, but he didn't know where to start. It wasn't like apologizing for the death of a loved one could ever erase the pain. He knew that if he were in Solon's place, he would not be so forgiving as to aid the quest of his nemesis.
Solon regarded Sadoul thoughtfully for a moment, and then quickened his pace so that he now walked behind Ghaleon.
Sadoul looked mournfully after Solon. He didn't blame the latter if he desired to leave him. A mortal trying to play god inevitably would leave shattered lives behind him. Sadoul took a deep breath. Sadly, when he started his quest to learn more about the alien technology, he never realized that one of those lives would be his own.
The Star Dragon flew near Jeal, the various dragons in the wing scattering in order to give him a wide berth. Mythril eyed the glowing form warily, but did not flinch.
"The wizards are near," said the Star Dragon. "They are not far to the northwest and underground. Follow me." With those words he spurted ahead of the group.
"I do not like this," growled Mythril, echoing his rider's thoughts.
"Indeed," agreed Jeal. "Tell the rest of the wing to peal off. I won't risk my men or dragons in such an uncertain battle. They are to head north of Hayhill Downs and await us in the foothills there. Draconic voices reach far, and they will have no trouble hearing you should you call for aid."
Mythril rumbled an agreement. He trumpeted out Jeal's orders to the other dragons, using the dialect of dragon speech found only on Danek Isle so that the Star Dragon may not understand his words.
One by one the blood dragons pealed off, much to the surprise of their riders. Jeal could hear their shouts of confusion although the words themselves were lost in the wind. The dragons would later on inform their riders of what had transpired, but not until they reached the safety north of Hayhill Downs.
Jeal glanced over his shoulder and noticed that one dragon still followed them. This last one flew up to Mythril's side, matching his wingbeats thrust for thrust.
"That Fireclaw," Mythril muttered after conversing with the renegade, "always one for battle. He says his rider told him to stay. Fireclaw decided to listen."
"Not surprising," said Jeal, glancing over to Fireclaw's rider. Her long red hair was braided back so as to be kept out of the way. "Torene's a stubborn one."
"And on a stubborn young dragon as well," Mythril grumbled. "I suppose we shall have to put up with them."
"True. But I admire their courage. Neither would be pleased had I left them on Danek, nor would they be pleased to be left behind now."
"Pleasing them is nothing. They should learn to take orders, especially when meant for their own safety!"
Mythril felt Jeal's soft thwap of the reins and responded by speeding up to catch the Star Dragon. Fireclaw winged after him, again matching Mythril's speed as they drew near the glowing form.
"That is no dragon," Mythril muttered again, this time only to himself.
"Jeal! What happened to the rest of your wing?" demanded the Star Dragon as Mythril flew alongside him.
Jeal cupped his hand together around his mouth and shouted back, "I sent them away. You know how mages love area effect spells! We'll last longer in a battle with them if we keep some warriors in reserve! The five of us should do well enough against a mere three!"
The Star Dragon looked from Fireclaw, to Torene, and then to Mythril. "A single sorceress and two false dragons," he spat. "You really they can hold out long enough for any reinforcements to come?"
Mythril glowered at the mention of being "false" and flame licked around the edges of Fireclaw's muzzle.
"I trust in their abilities more than I trust in you," Jeal replied. "And if you insist on keeping our help, I suggest you find a better way to keep their morale."
"I am merely pointing out the deficiencies where I see them," said the Star Dragon. "Nothing more than that."
With that the Star Dragon swooped down from the sky to alight upon a rocky outcropping. "Here. We will wait for them here."
Ghaleon squinted as the daylight flooded into the yawning mouth of the cave. Kazyr trotted a few steps in front of him, and he could hear Solon and Sadoul shuffling to the rear.
The sun seemed so bright that Ghaleon could barely see. But something even brighter flashed in the light.
"Look out!" he shouted, pushing Kazyr over.
A ball of green flame swooped through the air, roaring over them where Kazyr's head was, to explode into a fiery mass at the cave entrance just past Ghaleon's feet. Sadoul shouted and Solon gestured, spraying barrels' worth of water on to the enchanted fire.
The Star Dragon frowned as the flames again surrounded his hands. He hurled them again quickly, only to have them burst against a shimmering barrier that appeared above Ghaleon and Kazyr.
"A small percentage of my payback to you," Sadoul said as the barrier vanished. He drew his sword and regarded the Star Dragon confidently. "So this is the Maker's errand boy?"
"Errand boys is more like it," said Kazyr, climbing to his feet as two dragons with riders alighted behind the Star Dragon.
Ghaleon started as he noticed the two creatures. Both furless and scaleless, their bodies were smooth and orangish red. A strange light reminiscent of thousands of minute sand grains sparkled along vague currents just beneath their skin. They crouched on all fours, poised half ready to flight, half ready to leap forward, with their heads held high. A proud intelligence gleamed in each of their eyes. Though bereft of fur and more like half the size Ghaleon had come to associate with them, these two beings were undoubtably dragons.
But how? Althena's tribe consisted only of four! And no two were ever the same color at once.
"Wake up, Ghaleon!" Sadoul shouted as he dispelled another of the Star Dragon's blasts.
Ghaleon shook his head. "Right," he answered, drawing his sword.
Torene looked to Jeal, and he nodded.
She gently tapped Fireclaw with her heel and the two launched into the air.
The Star Dragon leaped up high, pulling his gigantic sword from his sheath as he did so. "I have yet to pay you back for dulling my blade, wizard!" He descended upon Kazyr.
The white-haired wizard growled, changing into his werewolf form and then backflipping in time to dodge the oncoming blow.
Sadoul was by Kazyr's side in an instant. He swung his sword against the Star Dragon's midriff. The blow rang loudly in the ears of all present. And the Star Dragon was unscathed.
"What in Vay-" began Sadoul.
He wasn't given a chance to finish. The Star Dragon swiftly struck him in the head with the pommel of his sword before using the blade to parry Ghaleon's incoming swing. The guardian of the Star Tower defended Ghaleon's attack with such force that the former Magic Emperor was forced to jump back several feet to keep his balance.
"Incoming!" shouted Solon. He raised a wall of ice to block the fiery breath of Fireclaw as the dragon and his rider swooped overhead.
Torene chanted the words to a spell, and Solon fought despite his weakened condition to keep up his shield.
Sadoul rubbed his head, mind clearing just in time to lift his sword and parry the Star Dragon's next swing.
Kazyr gestured and a ring of fire surrounded himself. The circle flew up and over him to strike the Star Dragon's backside.
The flames did little to scar the Star Dragon's armor, but Sadoul used the distraction of the force at which it hit to slip out to his side. The Magician of Fire grimaced as his opponent's blade skimmed a long shallow line into his right arm.
Ghaleon sheathed his sword, a ball of sparkling blackness appearing within his hands. Magic soared through him as he called the mana of the world to his aid.
Solon suddenly gave a cry, tumbling to the ground just as Kazyr finished pulling an ashen staff from his pouch. The ice wall vanished in a barrage of steam, and Fireclaw sucked in the breath for another burst.
Torene cast a fireball down upon the area. Kazyr whirled to to face her, and halted the flames with another ephemeral barrier.
"Dragon Cannon!" Ghaleon roared, as the full force of the lavender lightning struck the Star Dragon. But while the guardian once staggered from the power of the spell, he now stood proudly, striding through the resulting ash of the damaged earth around him. The melted fringes of his being gave the only clue that the spell had even hit its mark.
"That spell no longer has the same effect on me, as you can tell," said the Star Dragon easily. "Now let's see you and your friends try this!"
The Star Dragon vaulted into the sky, phasing into four separate images of himself. Each descended like a shooting star upon one of the battling wizards. Solon immediately collapsed beneath the blow, all but killed beneath the massive wound in his shoulder.
Ghaleon raised his sword to parry, but when tested against the Star Dragon's might, he could feel his arm giving out beneath the pressure of his injured shoulder. He quickly jumped back, calling on the words to spell.
Sadoul narrowed missed getting skewered by the swipe aimed at him, tumbling away with a deep laceration in his thigh.
Kazyr raised his staff above him to block the full impact of fourth Dragon's the blow. The wood groaned, and Kazyr swiftly heaved the force of the Star Dragon's aim to one side with a twist of his staff. He ducked, ready for an ensuing blow only to see that the figure no longer stood next to him.
Looking around, Kazyr saw the other Star Dragons had vanished as well, save for the one standing over Solon's comatose form.
The Star Dragon laughed. "I see you three are made of more than I would like to give you credit." He gestured, and a wall of force slammed into the three.
Ghaleon's concentration broke as the spell hurled him back against the granite side of the mountain's base. Sadoul tumbled across the ground, occasionally jostled into the air whenever his body hit a bump in the rocky terrain. And Kazyr flew upward and landed just past Sadoul in a four-legged crouch. He hissed as a pain erupted in his ankle.
"Don't think the fight's over just yet!" spat Sadoul, favoring his injured leg as he stood. He touched the wound with a hand, and the torn flesh glowed as it mended itself. Sadoul lifted his sword, taking an offensive stance. "We still have plenty of fight left in us and you know you're going to have to drain us of every ounce of our magic before we give in!"
"So be it," said the Star Dragon, dashing forward with a speed that belied any mortal creature.
Jeal stared thoughtfully at the battle unfolding before him and lowered his gaze. Somehow, the Star Dragon had grown so powerful in the days since he had last met any members of the trio of wizards. And the wizards now exhibited a dedication to each other that Jeal found unnerving. Since when had there ever been an "us" in Sadoul's world? Strangely enough, another person had fought by their side to protect them. No, whatever this Maker had in store for Vay and Lunar was wrong. And there was conceivably only one force that could possibly offer any additional help to those remaining three.
Sadoul shouted, but it was in despair rather than pain.
Jeal watched passively as Kazyr took the blow meant for Sadoul. The white-furred werewolf collapsed as Sadoul and Ghaleon rushed to defend him. Ghaleon swiftly raised a shield to ward off yet another blast of Fireclaw's fiery breath.
"Kazyr, you fool!" said Sadoul. "If I'm asking for it, I'm supposed to get it! Not you!"
Jeal's eyes narrowed, hearing the concerned note within Sadoul's anger. The Danek Emperor dismounted from Mythril's back, and the blood dragon silently wished his friend luck.
"Now there are only two of you left who can truly fight," gloated the Star Dragon.
"No," Jeal said strongly, so that all present could hear him.
The Star Dragon turned to regard Jeal. A malign darkness smoldered in his gaze. Fireclaw hovered in mid-air, with Torene watching. But only pride and approval reflected on her face.
"No," Jeal said again, "there are is at least one more who is willing to fight you! And you must face me before I will relinquish this world to the Maker!"
"You?" The Star Dragon laughed. "You are even more pitiful than they. The Maker gave you most of what you know. His powers will not work against me."
Jeal clutched the ancient artifact in his pouch as he drew it forth. "No, the Maker didn't give me everything." Jeal seemed to drew strength from his words and an aura of energy surrounded him. "I still hold a power that can defeat you!"
A fiery blaze erupted around the figure of the Danek Emperor, gathering the collected gaze of all present. He raised his right hand above his head, the crimson object still clenched within it. Ghaleon recognized it instantly. The Red Dragon's Crest.
"The Red Dragon Anger will not save you," sneered the Star Dragon.
"No, it will not," Jeal said sadly.
He lowered his head in concentration and when he spoke next, his voice was stronger than any mortal's. "Powers of Althena, hearken to my call. Honor the ties that bound the Segazzi and the Dragon Tribe as one and the same. I am of their blood and your lifelong servant. Restore to me my ancestral form so that I may defend your creation!"
The Red Dragon's Crest dissolved in a scarlet flash, its sparkling remains fluttering down around Jeal, obscuring all but the outline of his shape from the eyes of those present as he began to enlarge.
The Star Dragon shielded his gaze from the blinding light of his former goddess's power as a draconic roar rose up from the crimson cloud. Ghaleon and Sadoul could only stare, the red sparks imparting a smoothing radiance to their tortured eyes.
As the cloud faded, a great furred red dragon rose up to face the Star Dragon. "I am Jeal, Red Dragon of Althena! And may the Blue Star freeze over once more before I let the Maker have it!"