Chapter Text
Tonight was supposed to be a joyous night, a wonderful night… An expectant mother and father, so close to finally forming a family of their own, and bringing new life into the world…
Yes, It was supposed to be a night full of overwhelming tearful happiness.
But now, that very same mother was fleeing from the temple grounds. Flying as fast as she could through the air. She had a bag strapped across her neck, one that was generously given to her by the midwife who tended to her during labor. The Fear dragoness put herself in danger for the mother, an act of kindness that would never be forgotten.
Now, the night had turned terrifying- She was terrified. Scared of what may happen next. Her heart pounded in her ears as her form sliced through the air. She would be nearing the edge of the province soon… Away from her home, away from her friends… And away from her husband. Her partner for life. The tears that began to form stung her eyes. Her parents would help her. They would understand… They would. They had to…
She tried not to think of what would happen to her and her lifemate if they did not. There was no one left for her to turn to. She had to--
“STOP!”
A shout rang out from down below, and in the blink of an eye she was enveloped in a wave of light magic that washed over the surrounding area. The light disoriented her, and she staggered in the air. It was like the sunlight itself had blinded her. She managed to keep herself, thankfully, in the air. Even as large spots popped in her vision.
She could hear a set of wings flapping, growing close and closer to her. “Please, land on the ground, ma’am.” The unknown dragon told her. She didn’t recognize their voice, but she instantly knew who they were. It was a province guard. But… Patrols of the borders this far inland were not ordered unless something had happened-
She visibly flinched, when she felt a clawed paw gently grab her arm, guiding her out and away from the light, and back down to the earth below. “Dim the lights! You practically blinded her!” The guard hissed to their peer. She recognized them as a Captain. Quickly the magical lights were dimmed, but they still remained present.
“W-what’s going on?” The dragoness asked. She blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to shake away the spots that still remained in her vision.
“We’re sorry for this ma’am.” The Captain spoke. “But we have received orders to document anyone and everyone that enters this province.”
The mother looked at them. Confusion began to wash across her face along with the clear prickle of worry. “What?” She questioned. “I-is-- did something happen?” She tried to ask calmly, but the nervousness in her voice was loud and clear to the guards.
“There’s been a massive swell of Aether in the area. It’s the biggest surge anyone has detected in years. For everyone’s safety, the whole province is being monitored. In case we need to order an evacuation.” The Captain explained.
The mother couldn’t hide the shocked expression that spread across her visage. But she forced herself to not even so much as look at the bag she carried. “I- I see…” She mumbled.
The Captain then looked to their comrade, who nodded and approached them. Tapping into the catalyst gems around their vambrace, they magically summoned a piece of parchment, as well as a quill with ink. “We just need your name, ma’am. And then your reason for crossing the border. After this, you are free to leave. Provided that nothing is wrong.”
The dragoness gulped, but soon nodded back. “My name… Is Crysone Snowhail.”
The Guard nodded, using their magic to write her name on the parchment with quick precision. “And your reason for leaving?” They inquired.
“My mother, she- she accidentally inhaled some miasma.” Crysone quickly lied. “I-I’m worried about her, so I was--”
The Captain scoffed, and for a moment the feeling of dread hung over Crysone like a boulder. “It’s always the Tainted. Disgusting and dangerous rats they are.” The other Guard shot them a look, but the Captain simply rolled their eyes.
“I’m sorry to hear that miss.” The Guard said as they wrote down her reason for leaving. Then, they waved their paw, and the parchment looked as if it burned away. Magicked to their headquarters. “I hope she recovers soon.”
“Yes… And remind her to keep her distance. Next time she might not be as lucky.” The Captain says, waving his wing to signal that she was free to leave. “May the Ancestors grant you safe travels.” He says.
Crysone nodded silently, stepping a few steps away, before she opened and flared her wings. Ready to take off--
Suddenly, Crysone felt something grab her bag. She could hear some of the stitching ripping as she let out a panicked yelp. She whipped her head around, only to see an Almiraj latched onto it. The horned rabbit hung from the leather, and chatter its teeth loudly. Hanging on even when she tried to shake it off. “What-- What--!” She squeaked out when she couldn’t dislodge it.
Then she heard a whistle, and the flap of another set of wings approaching them. “Stop that!” They called out. “Come back here you stupid bunny!” The new arrival yelled. He was quick to grab the furry creature, and pry it off the bag and away from Crysone. “Ooooh I’m so sorry miss! I don’t know why he acted like that!” The Guard’s voice carried a tone of worry. “I promise, he is normally much more well behaved!” They stammered.
“You’re late.” The Captain growled. “And keep your damn rabbit under control!”
“Yes sir! Sorry sir!” The younger Guard whimpered.
Crysone quickly inspected her leather bag. A few of the sides stitching has snapped, but the bag itself still seemed stable. She let out a sigh of relief… But what she didn’t notice was the Guard who wrote down her details, leaning over to whisper to their Captain. Their eyes widened as he looked to the Almiraj, who still struggled wildly in the young Guard’s grip.
“Ma’am…” The older Guard spoke. “We need to search your bag.”
Crysone’s eyes widened “W-what? Why? Did I--”
“Please, hand over the bag.” The Guard requested, starting to take steps towards her. As he approached, Crysone took a few steps back. But when he continued to grow close..
She panicked. As if reacting for the sake of her own survival, Crysone exhaled a thick mist of snow and ice at the Guards. Quickly kicking off the ground and taking flight. She had to get away- she had to- she had to--
“After her!” She could hear the order shouted out beneath her. She flapped her wings, faster and faster. As fast as she could possibly go… But it wasn’t enough. Not against a Wind dragon. With a massive whoosh of air behind her, in an instant she was hit with the full force of another body colliding with hers. She let out a shocked cry as she was knocked out of the air, and grabbed by the other dragon. With some difficulty, the Captain managed to slow their fall, but the impact still hurt. She yelped as her shoulder hit the ground roughly, the rest of her body following soon after.
The Captain held her in a vice grip. No matter how hard she struggled against him, she couldn’t get away. “Get the bag!” The Captain barked out an order.
“C-Captain Squallent, please! There's no need to be so rough--”
“Get. The. Bag.” Squallent growled. The young Guard quickly grew visibly anxious as they scrambled forward to unlatch the bag.
Crysone cried out. “No- wait! Please don’t!!”
But it was soon too late. The nervous Guard had removed the bag from her neck, and flipped open the top…
With a loud and terrified gasp, he dropped the bag. Jumping backwards away from it as if it had burned him.
“What are you--!” Squallen yelled at them, but his voice trailed off. Him and the other Guard went completely silent, when they saw what had scared their youngest member so much.
When the bag hit the ground… Two eggs rolled out from it.
One egg was a bright yellow, its markings were marred by an unholy and unnatural color. While the other… It was undeniable. There was no mistake on what it was.
The egg of an Aether Dragon.
“By the ancestors…!” Squallent whispered.
“C-captain!” The youngest guard squeaked out. “W-wh- what do we--”
“We need to destroy it, NOW!” Squallent shouted.
When Crysone heard that, she felt a surge of energy run through her. She struggled one more time under the weight of Squallent. WIth a painful twist of her head, she breathed bitter cold ice at the Captain. She had to protect her unborn children.
But it wasn’t much use, as Squallent slammed his paw down with brutal force on her muzzle. She would have screamed out in pain, but her face dug into the ground, muffling the noises she made.
“Bind her.” Squallent ordered. “I’ll do what needs to be done.”
But both the Guards hesitated. The younger one seemed horrified. While the other appeared extremely conflicted over the matter… Their paw raised to the air, and magic whispered and twirled through the air, towards Crysone. As if it would truly bind her…
But they pulled it back, using their magic to swiftly snatch the eggs and the leather bag, and propelled it back to their arms. “We can’t!” They said, defiantly.
“What?! Have you gone crazy?! That thing will hatch into a monster--!” Squallent started to argue back.
“We have to take it to the Emperor!” The older Guard shouted over their Captain. “That’s what our orders are! We must fulfill it!”
“Orders be damned!” The Captain yelled, their voice filled with venomous rage. “You listen to me right now. We need to do what is best for our kind! Our Empire! The World! Don’t you dare feel pity for it just because it's an egg. You know exactly what it will turn into!”
“I will not! You know what happens to those who defy the Emperor's orders! We won’t live to see the next dawn if we go against it! Just like Savrion! Do you want us all to end up like that?! Scorched alive until we’re all gone without a trace?!”
Squallent gritted his teeth as his face twisted into a snarl. Livid beyond belief. Not only because his own subordinate was defying his orders. But because they were defending that thing.
The Two glared at each other for several moments. The youngest Guard cowered away from both of them, clutching their horned hare as if they were a scared child. Neither of the Guards wanted to back down. But the consequences of what would happen if they defied the Emperor himself? That weighed heavy on all of their minds.
Finally, the Wind dragon’s head turned away, dropping their fierce gaze. But their anger did not subside, even though the consequences clearly caused him to crack under the pressure. “FINE.” Squallent spat out. “But you WILL bind her. Do you understand me?”
The other guard still glared. “I do.” And those words seemed to be enough for Squallent. As the Captain removed his foot from Crysone’s face, his tail whipped behind him in anger. She for a moment thought she had a chance- But the magic bindings surrounded her in barely a second. Restricting both her wing’s movements, and effectively muzzling her. But the magical chains left just enough room for her legs to move in short steps.
Captain Squallent roughly yanked her up from the ground, forcing her to stand. “No funny business.” He growled. With no outlet for his anger, he very obviously took it out on Crysone as he shoved her forward.
Crysone swallowed the lump in her throat as she was forced to move. Each step felt unsteady, and punishing. As if the world underneath her knew of her failure, and would swallow her whole into the darkness.
She wished her husband was here. She wanted him to swoop in, and whisk her and their children to safety. But this wasn’t a fairy tale…. Her eyes darted to where her eggs were. The older Guard kept some distance from her and their Captain. But the short distance felt like miles away. Even if she could reach towards them, there's no way they would ever let her. There was no way out of this. The revelation sunk into her very being as she began to quietly sob. Her only possibility of mercy would come from the Emperor… But she didn’t know if he had her best interests at heart.
She feared for her and her children’s futures. Her husband was at risk as well, even though he was not involved in this… That fear prevented her from struggling, as they marched her back to the heart of the province.
“We tell no one of what occurred here tonight.” Captain Squallent hissed out when the province portal hub began to come into view. “We are simply transporting a suspicious individual. That is all.”
The other two Guards nodded. Soon, they were upon the cobblestone path right outside the hub. The Captain spoke to the Portal Watchmen. He said not a word of the true reason she had been brought here. Not even addressing the scared boy with his hare.
“Understood.” One of the Watchmen spoke. “We will send a message to open the portal. Please wait in front of it.” They said, as they pulled out parchment and began quickly writing a message. Before it burned away with magic.
It took a few minutes for the portal to open. But once word was received and reviewed, magic siphoned through it. And through the twisting and shimmering magic, was a vague likeness of their next destination.
Crysone was pushed though harshly, and in an instant the scenery had changed. They were in the heart of the nation. The Capital of Bright Dawn, Sun’s Peak.
She had been to the capital a few times over her life. The castle towers loomed over all of them from the top of a spiraling mountain. It was as if it was always watching them. And even from a far distance, it left her deeply uneased.
“Move!” The captain said, shoving her again. Once more, they began their slow trek to their destination. It was late, and the streets were mostly empty. The only notable dragons they saw were the Army Soldiers patrolling the streets from a distance.
They had made it fairly far through the capital without being stopped. It wasn’t uncommon for high risk prisoners to be delivered to the capital. Because of that, most patrols simply let them be.
Until, one finally didn’t.
It was inevitable that they would be stopped. To reach the secure area in Sun’s Peak, they had to pass through a guarded gate. Soon, a soldier had stopped their trek.
“Well well well… What do we have here at this time of night?” A dragon said as they approached the group from the gate. His shining silver armor gleamed under the moonlight, and the insignia on their shoulder plate and chest piece made their rank very clear. They were a Knight-Captain. And following them closely was another soldier, who stared silently at them all. Observing every detail.
“Transporting a suspect, sir.” Captain Squallent said with a salute. His voice did not betray him, even though a small and creeping nervousness formed within him.
“A suspect?” The Knight replied. “Shouldn’t your run down little province be able to take care of its own issues?” He continued with a roll of his eyes.
“It’s important that the suspect is detained here in the capital… Sir.”
“Hmm…” The Knight made a thoughtful noise in response. “Well… It must be pretty important if this pretty lady of yours needs to be brought all this way for holding.”
Crysone’s blood ran cold when she could see and feel the eyes of the Knight, inspecting every part of her body from where he stood. He had a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Alright then… We’ll take her off your hands while you conduct your business. I assume you already had the necessary paperwork sent in?”
“Yes sir.” The older Guard said. It was a complete lie, and their voice nearly betrayed them as it almost wavered as they spoke.
“Good.” The Knight said. “Less work for me.” They continued with a grin. Outstretching his arm to take hold of Crysone’s bindings, and escort her in…
That was… Until the soldier next to him, nudged him with their arm. They had cast a spell without the other noticing. Magic swirled around their eye as they leaned over and whispered to the Knight.
“... Oh.” The Knight’s facial expression changed to one of surprise. But once they were done listening, his visage changed to something almost malicious. “I didn’t realize, you had three ‘suspects’.”
The two Guard escorting Crysone were shocked. With the youngest boy reeling back. “W-what” He squeaked out.
“Soldiers!!” The Knight called to those at the gate. “Seize them!”
Multiple soldiers swiftly flew down from the gate, with full intentions on following their orders to completion. The two Guards took a few steps back, as did Crysone. But their Captain… The Captain did not. Though nervous, he whipped around and grabbed the bag with the eggs, still around his fellow Guard’s neck. He yanked it with so much force that the straps connecting to the leather tore off.
“What are you doing?!” The older Guard yellows. But their Captain ignored them, presenting the bag directly to the Knight.
“For the glory of the brightest dawn.” Squallent saluted to the Knight.
“Captain! NO!” The Guard shouted, but the soldiers were already on top of them. Restraining the two with brutish force. Crysone struggled against her own bonds as she saw the bag being offered to the Knight. She could only muster a pathetic muffled scream through her magically chained muzzle, as the Soldiers restrained her as well.
“Leave this one.” The Knight said to his Soldiers before they moved to restrain Captain Squallent. With a devilish grin, he accepted the bag. Raising their eyebrows as they felt the weight of it… Before taking a look inside.
“Wohoho! Pretty as they are deadly I see.” The Knight said with a laugh as he snapped the bag shut, as if looking at it any longer would be dangerous. “You have done a service to our proud empire, Captain.” The Knight praised Squallent, before turning his head to the Soldier that remained by his side. “Ward this. We don’t want it potentially corrupting anyone else.”
With a curt nod, the quiet Soldier casted a spell. Causing their magic to form a shimmering veil around the bag. It began to float in the air, and the soldier willed it to pull towards them as the Knight continued to address the situation in front of them.
“YOU--! How could you?!” The older Guard shouted at their Captain with pure venom dripping in their voice. “We were meant to take that to the Emperor! You traitor!!” They struggled against the soldiers that held them down, to no avail.
Squallent looked back at them. But all that greeted them was a look of contempt and disgust on their face.
“Ahh… You’re one of those.” The Knight rolled their eyes once more. “I was going to let you both go home after a good scrubbing… But we can’t have individuals like you walking around on the streets of our proud empire. You’re dangerous to our fragile peace.”
The Knight then flared one of his wings, gesturing to the prison hold behind the gate. “Take them to the dungeons! I want their details and province stations!” The Knight called out to his Soldiers. “Once we have that, I want their families investigated for treason!” Quickly his Soldiers went to work, dragging the two Guards away as they kicked and screamed.
Crysone was frozen as this happened. The panic took over her heart so much that she couldn’t even move anymore. This was absolutely the worst outcome that could happen. Everything was going horribly wrong. If only she hadn’t panicked after she had laid-
Leaning down their neck, the Knight looked Crysone dead in her tear stricken eyes. “As for you, pretty damsel…” He purred as he pulled her chin up to inspect her once more. “Beautiful eyes… It’s a shame, that you’re tainted.” The last word was said with a spat as he let her jaw fall to the ground. Shaking off his paw as if it was dirty.
“You’ll be coming with us, and we’ll all have some fun tonight.” He said. And the laugh that followed soon after sounded like it would belong to a monster.
He motioned to the soldier next to him. “Lull her, make sure she stays under.”
Crysone made a weak attempt to struggle. Break free from the fear that paralyzed her. She knew that if she went under, she may never be able to save her children. But the Soldiers holding her down, her magical bindings, and the spell cast upon her were simply too strong.Soon… Everything went dark.