Chapter Text
"It's better if we split up. You go with Pyrrah and I'll use my wings. Where do we start?"
The wind was pretty strong today. She didn’t know why, but it gave her some sort of comfort.
"Rayla?"
"Huh? Oh sorry. What did you say?"
"I said that you'll go with Pyrrah and asked where to start." Ibis repeated.
"Oh um." She took a few steps closer to the edge and looked down. "This is where it happened. Where I…" fell with him. "Tackled him down the spire."
"Alright, then we should start to look around here. Get down with Pyrrah and look on the ground, I'll look in between. What do you say?"
When she didn’t answer again, he asked, "Is everything okay?"
"Huh? Oh! Yes! Yes. I just… I was distracted." But it wasn’t okay. Being here, searching him, it made her remember everything. His monstrous face, him talking about killing the queen, him stealing Zym's power and him telling her he wanted to add her to his collection. What did he do to her parents and Runaan? He was holding a small sack while he said that. She assumed their ashes were inside.
She shook her head. The thought was too much for her.
"Hey, are you sure you can do this?" Ibis said.
She wasn’t sure. The thought of finding something of him filled her with dread. But it was necessary. "Yes, let's do this."
"Okay. Go back to the ground and search there."
"Okay."
She took a deep breath before she hopped on Pyrrah and flew down the spire. She could do this. She had to do this.
When they reached down, it took Rayla a moment before she climbed down. When her feet touched the ground, Pyrrah turned around and looked at her, trying to figure out if she was okay."
"I'm okay, let's just start."
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They scanned the perimeter for an hour now and found nothing. It was stupid! They didn’t find anything before, why did she think she'll find anything now? But she couldn’t give up.
"Did you found anything?!" Ibis approached down and landed a few feet from them.
"No. did you?"
"No, but I'm not done. I'm going to keep looking, try to look farther away."
"Okay." At that, he took off again.
"Ready for more searching?"
Pyrrah just growled.
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It was getting dark and they didn’t find a thing. At some point Pyrrah joined Ibis to look around the spire and still it wasn’t enough.
"Rayla! Ibis called from above, landing next to her with Pyrrah. "Well?"
"Nothing."
"Okay. Let's get back up."
"No! We need to keep searching."
"We haven’t found anything and it's pointless to look in the dark. And we should eat something anyway. We can continue tomorrow."
Her brow furrowed and it was obvious she didn’t quite agreed.
"Rayla, come on."
She sighed. "Okay. Let's go." So it was all for nothing.
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After dinner they went to see the queen.
"So, did you find anything?"
"No, your majesty." Ibis said.
"Well, the chances were low."
"Your majesty, should we keep the search?"
"Have you scanned the whole perimeter?"
"We have."
"Then no."
"My queen!" Rayla spoke for the first time. "We should try again. Let me. No one else need to come with me."
"My dear, there was a big search the morning after the battle. If they didn’t found anything then and you didn’t find anything now, you won't find anything if you try again."
Rayla tried to say something, but then queen Zubeia stopped her. "But, we will take a different course of action."
"What do you mean, your highness?" Ibis asked.
"Rayla, you shell tell me everything you remember from that moment. Are you up for it?"
"Yes. I think so."
"Alright. Ibis, Pyrrah, leave me and Rayla to talk."
"Yes your majesty." They bowed and stepped out of her chamber.
"Now, tell me."
"It started when I heard a noise, like metal against the ground. That's when I took out my swords and stood in front of Zym. He didn’t even think of sneaking behind me. He was so confident like he had all the power he needed." She paused and the queen gave her time. "When he showed his face, it was… scary. He was corrupted and his eyes were… not normal. One of them was blank, a brownish color to it, and the other was… there were webs in it."
"Webs? Like spider webs?"
"Sort of. He had kind of a… a snake sized caterpillar on his shoulders. I think that thing did this to him."
The queen gasped. "Or it did it *for* him." But she still wasn’t sure this was who she thought it was. "Please, go on."
"He also had his staff with him. He used it to trap me in ice before I could do anything. He… he had a creepy smile that didn’t leave my mind, not even in my dreams. He said he was going to kill you and almost took Zym, but then Bait came and used his brightness to blind him. It gave Zym time to run away."
"Bait. The glowed toad King Ezran held."
"Yes. He saved Zym, but then Viren hit him with his staff."
"Oh, poor little guy."
"Then… he… he…"
"That's okay, take your time."
"He… He told me he will be glad to add me to his collection."
"His collection?"
"Viren took away my parents and my guardian."
"I see."
"Eventually, with the help of Bait, I was able to free myself from the ice and ran up to the platform. But by that time, Viren had managed to capture Zym and was in the process of taking his powers. I tried to stop him, but he sent a burst of wind at me and I fell back. He didn’t even turn around, it was like he had eyes on his back."
All of what Rayla had said so far was too familiar, but she still wasn’t sure. She didn’t want to believe it. "What happened then?"
"His eyes glowed brightly with purple and blue. It was like nothing I've ever seen. I realized there was no other way and that's when I tackled him and his caterpillar down the spire."
The queen didn’t speak right away. It took her time to process what she had just heard.
"I didn’t want to believe it, but it all makes sense." She spoke quietly.
"What makes sense?"
"The webs, the caterpillar, the fact that he felt like he had all the power he needed, the eyes in the back, the way that his eyes glowed. Everything makes sense." The queen spoke more to herself than to Rayla.
"My queen, what do you mean?"
"Aaravos."
"What?"
"The day my husband and my egg were taken away from me, something else was taken."
"What was it?"
"I didn’t care about it at the time. I was too deep in my grief to care. I should have."
"What was taken?"
"The mirror."
Rayla was confused. "What mirror?"
"It wasn’t just a regular mirror, it was a prison."
"What?"
"It held the most dangerous creature in the world. Aaravos."
There was that name again. Who was he?
As if reading her thoughts, queen Zubeia explained. "Behind every major event the world had faced, every disaster, every crisis, he was there. Hiding behind kings and queens, whispering them what to do."
"Do you think he was whispering to Viren?"
"I do. I can't deny that any longer."
"But you said he was imprisoned."
"Yes. But he is a very capable elf."
"He was an elf?" She assumed it was a human. Dragon and elves were at peace.
"Yes, a star-touch elf. A fallen star. My own husband trapped him in the mirror."
"Do you think he managed to escape?"
"No. if he did we would have already known about it. I believe he's trying to find a way out."
"What does this mean?"
"It means the world is in great danger. My dear, we must prepare for this. Are you ready for a new mission?"
"I am."
"Good. You are to travel around Xadia and find this threat, before it's too late. But, if you do find him, don’t try to face him alone. You have no idea who we are dealing with. If you do find him, send me a message right away."
"Yes, my queen."
"You are my last dragon guard. You are a protector in your heart. You have what it takes to save the world. But please, I ask you to protect yourself too. I repeat, do not try to face him alone."
"Okay."
"I trust you. The world trusts you. You will leave tomorrow morning. Take whatever you need from the spire. May the spirits give you luck."
Rayla bowed and left the room.