Author: Sparkle Itamashii

Title: Aftershock

Warning: Respect the rating.

Claimer: Mine. My creation. This ENTIRE thing is mine, everything is from my mind alone. I’ve created the world itself for this, and the surrounding universe, to boot. Please don’t take without permission from me. I would die.

Notes: Pronunciation guide is located in the last chapter by the numbers beside the word in question. Hope it helps. Let me know if there is something you can’t or don’t know how to pronounce.

Chapter One: Memories

            Screams echoed throughout the surrounding forest. The stench of death hung heavily in the air. The green leaves were coated with blood, turning them black. Acrid smoke swirled lazily around the tree trunks, settling on the damp underbrush with silent sighs.  In the midst of the destruction sat a lone, dark figure.  He quietly observed the battle going on, fire flashing in his eyes as he perched on a thick branch. Looking for all the world as though he were somewhere he didn’t belong, he listened to the carnage, though he couldn’t see it. He knew he couldn’t help.

            “The council has come to a decision. Lazare Rao1, I’m afraid we can not allow you to participate in the military action taking place outside our walls.”

            The lean black dragon’s yellow eyes shimmered dangerously at the conclusion.  He closed his eyes, the spiky tattoo around them becoming complete, to look like a drawn sun. Two long, slim spikes curved slightly upward from just above his ear slits, glittering blue and silver, making him look even more dangerous.  “Requesting permission to hear the council’s reasoning behind their decision.” He grated, his voice at a deadly pitch as he reined his temper in.

            Shifting, the glittering orange dragon in front of him considered his request, drawing on the council’s telepathic link to discuss it with others in the council. “Permission granted. Your anatomy does not allow for proper battlefield movement.  Your name, a peculiarity among our people for most of your lifetime2, cannot be registered in either the draft or active duty lists. Beside these, your demeanor has been less than desirably obedient, and lacking the proper will to follow the rules and order that have been set up. Neither of your heart-stones can be safely removed without loss of your life, thus, no captain of any unit will accept you into their charge. Further inquiries?”

            Lazare’s tail lashed angrily, but he bit back a comment. “Permission to be dismissed from the council setting.”

            The orange seemed to carefully consider his request, eyes sad. “There are always alternatives to the army, you know.  The world is a wide-open place for you to explore and learn in. Perhaps you would be better suited to that life.”

            Lazare ground his teeth at the implication. Not only did they not want him in the army fighting for them, the head of the council had just suggested that he leave the city entirely. “Permission, SIR, to be dismissed from this council meeting.”

            Only when the silence became too heavy a burden for the council to bear did he speak again “Permission granted. Lazare Rao, you are dismissed. May good fortune follow you in your future endeavors, whatever they may be.”

            Tucking a paw to his chest to touch his burning heart-stones, he bowed, his snout resting on the smooth stone for a moment before he rose again. “The same to you, Elder Council of Celestial Hollow. I take my leave.”  He caught the silvery eyes of the orange elder in his gaze and held them. I will return, old timer. You’ll regret you ever saw me.  His eyes held a silent promise to return, coated in hatred. He turned on his heels and stalked from the council room.  He was not about to be kept away from the battle he knew he deserved.

            Lazare looked downward and saw the filmy mist of smoke was growing thicker. He hopped lightly to the ground, knowing it was time to move a little further away. The battle was coming closer as the enemy pushed them toward their homes again.  He nearly tripped over something large as he back-paced to keep an eye on the smoke. Whirling around, he recoiled from the carcass with a snort. His hind claws were covered in the captain’s blood. The glint of silver beneath the black blood caught his eye. A Captain Necklace.

            Slamming the door Lazare tore apart his quarters for a length of chain he’d been keeping hidden. Leave the city, indeed! The NERVE of those old bats amazes me anew every time I speak to them! There was a clink of metal on claw as he touched the necklace.  He drew it out, the silver metal glinting in the small sliver of sunlight that spilled through his window. He paused to regard the coil as the loose end shivered from the movement of his hand.

            “Not here.” He breathed.

            He took a couple pieces of cloth and some bandages from a drawer and stuffed them into the pouch around his waist. He opened the door with much more calm. The gravel under his paws crunched quietly as he entered the street. A quick glance to either side of him told him no one would see where he was going.

            The twin heart-stones bracketing every dragon’s breastbone were the center-point of a dragon’s power, their very life essence embodied in small, gem-like protrusions.  The stones were not truly stones, for they were organic, embedded deeply into the flesh and attached at a pin-point to the breastbone, anchoring it. The outer covering was made of a clear enamel stronger than stone.  The inside was a core of magic and carried a soft electrical charge that produced a slight glow for as long as the dragon lived. The stones were linked together, so that as long as one remained with the dragon, the other would react the same as though it, too, were still in the flesh.

            The commanders of the Dragaeran army of Celestial Hollow wore the heart-stones of their underlings in a specially designed necklace.  They were able to communicate pictures and thoughts through the stones to any of the dragons in their unit, as well as keep track of who was injured or dead.  Removal of a heart-stone was a painful, often traumatic experience, but was considered a high honor.

            He slipped past the last building, treading backwards so as to avoid notice. His tail hit something soft but firm, and he whirled around. A large grey dragon stood over him, eyes glowing with a red ferocity. The long, thin spikes extending from just above the dragon’s ear slits shone a threatening black. Lazare was startled for a moment, but recovered his posture before the other could blink.

            “Just where do you think you’re off to, Laa3?” The grey asked calmly.

            Lazare fisted his paw and punched him on the shoulder, brushing past him.  “None of your business, Shaale.4” He spat the last word.

            Shaale grinned. “Someplace so secret you can’t tell your best friend? What’re you going to do, join the army?”

            Lazare whirled around with a snarl, the points of his talons stopping millimeters from Shaale’s eye. “One more word, Shaale, one more, and you’ll be seeing the world from a whole new perspective. I don’t want to hear you, or anyone else, breathe a word about the army while in my presence. Naida5?”

            “You got it boss.” Shaale winked, his eyelid brushing the tip of Lazare’s claw. “Where to then?”

            Lazare lashed his tail angrily as he spun around again and headed into the underbrush. “I told you, it’s none of your business.”

            “Then I suppose you won’t be needing this…” He said idly, holding out Lazare’s small silver chain. “You were going to try and take your own heart-stone out, weren’t you. Or find someone who could. Did you think there’s someone out there who can help you do it? Maybe the Wraiths will take you under their wings and help.” He demanded, chucking the chain at Lazare, who caught it neatly.

            “I don’t need anyone’s help.” Lazare snapped as he clipped the chain around his neck. “And I don’t need you telling me what I can and can’t do!”

            “Laazare, your heart-stones-“

            “Don’t call me that!”

            “Lazare, your heart-stones are linked to your life. If you take them out, even with the council’s magic, you won’t live! You know that.”

            “I’m stronger than that, and you know it. Those big shots don’t know what they’re talking about.  If you’re not going to help, go away.”

            There was a long silence as the two regarded each other warily, each unwilling to give up their opinions. “They won’t let you join, even if you do get one of the dang things out. Your shoulders.”

            Lazare shifted uncomfortably. His shoulder-blades came to sharp points in a tent-like manner. In the space between the two sheets of bone on each shoulder blade was a thin layer of skin. So thin the other dragons could see through them, but so strong they had not been torn or scratched in any tussle the lithe black dragon had been in. None of the other dragons had such a shape, and people had always worried he would hurt himself with his own shoulders.

“They’ll have to.” Lazare insisted.

            Shaale heaved an exasperated sigh and started forward. “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, they say. Let’s get this over with, before anyone catches you, Naida?”

            Lazare’s mouth twitched upward in a smile. “Yeah.”

            His fingers went to the anklet he wore. His own black-cored heart-stone shone brightly from the small case he’d put it in. He could feel his talons carving into his own chest all over again. Shaale had caught him when he fell, and quickly put the stone in the locket and helped him clean himself up. There had been a lot of pain, and a lot of blood, but it was worth it, just to see the looks of the people who spotted him with it.

            Eyes resting on the Captain’s Necklace, he was pulled forward without realizing. The necklace held nine stones. The middle one, the largest, was dark, as were four of the others. Five dragons were dead in this fight against the Wraiths. How many more would die before this was over? He reached forward and the necklace’s clip clicked open, the chain falling into his waiting paw. He moved silently away, somehow keeping the tears at bay. He knew that corpse. Alpha Captain Luxx Centauri.

            Lazare strode weakly into the village again, Shaale not far behind him, marveling. He had just watched his friend gouge one of his own heart-stones out, without anything to dull the pain or cleanly remove the stone.  He had done what was impossible for even an army-bred dragon to do, and on top of it, he had lived, survived, and returned to the village within the hour. Shaale didn’t have words to describe it.

            Something blurred into their vision from around the corner, and Lazare barely had the strength or time to dodge it. His hind leg went out, and the blur came into focus as the little dragon tumbled head over heels. The ball of blue and yellow sprawled open and lay panting for a moment before flopping over to stare at Lazare.

            “Every time man, every time! That’sss amazin’.” The tiny dragon stood and dusted himself off. “How’d you do it thisss time?”

            “Heard you coming Feiin6. Every time.” Lazare replied.

            “Only you Laa, only you. What are we up to today? You took out yer heart-ssstone, didn’t you. I sssee it, ssso don’t lie. And you sssmell like blood. Why’d you go an’ do it, eh?”

            Lazare rolled his eyes at the dragon. “You wouldn’t understand.”

            “Hey, hey, hey. You know who yer talkin’ to, don’t you? We’re on tha sssame level, ya?” The little dragon thumped his sternum, where all the dragons had their heart-stones in plain view. The area was smooth blue with a crack of yellow across it, but there were no stones. Feiin smiled crookedly at his friend.

            “Yeah. Same.” Lazare repeated with a small smile.

            “Good. Glad to hear that’sss cleared up. Llaurel7 wanted to sssee you.”

            “About?”

            “Sssomeone.”

            “Ah. Thanks.”

            “Any time Laa. I’m comin’ with you.”

            The trio paraded down the street at a loping pace, Lazare feeling a bit light-headed from loss of blood. They eventually made it to a small area along the eastern edge of the village, where the military was. Approaching a small home just before the camps, Feiin ran up and knocked excitedly on the door.

            “Llaurel! I found him! You won’t believe thisss until you sssee it!”

            The sound of footsteps echoed behind the door before it opened, revealing a female dragon. Her purple scales glittered in the sunlight as her pupils became slits to adjust to the light. “Yes? Oh, hello Laa. I was hoping to speak with you alone for a little bit…” She looked pointedly at the other two, whose eyes widened as they backed up.

            “Catch you on the flip side, Lazare.” Shaale called behind him as they wandered innocently away.

            Llaurel looked down at Lazare, as most of the dragons had to. He was the smallest dragon save for Feiin, whom nobody really considered to be a dragon anyhow. Feiin’s speech was almost never understandable, and his body structure was too thin and wiry to be too much like the proud dragons.  Llaurel, however, was nearly twice Lazare’s size, but he was undaunted as he waited politely for her to speak.

            “You’re hurt. What happened.”

            “I removed my heart stone.” He held up the bloody, glittering locket for her to see.

            “Lazare! The council specifically told you that you shouldn’t have your heart stone removed. It’s-“

“It’s kinda sore at the moment, so if we can make this quick I can go take a nap for a few years.” He said curtly.

            She gaped at him for a moment before sighing. “Fine. You know what? Fine.  Come in. I’ll get you cleaned up. I wish you wouldn’t do stupid things like that. Daddy’s going to kill me if he finds out I let you in after that.”

            “Beta Captain Luxx8 wouldn’t lay a finger on you.”

            “Didn’t anyone tell you? He’s getting promoted. Alpha Captain Luxx Centauri of the Ferral Unit. He’ll have eight dragons under him, instead of two. He’ll be on the front lines after a while, if he works at it. I’d have thought you’d be one of the first to find out.”

            “Oh really? Why’s that?”

“Well, you have been known to have quite the network around these parts.” She adapted somewhat of a drawl as she winked at him. “Word gets ‘round fast these days, Naida? I wouldn’t be the least surprised if you knew everything there was to know.”

“If you wanna get around like I do, you gotta have ways.” Lazare chuckled. “Tell him I say congrats, at any rate. Getting his own unit’s quite a thing. Too bad I can’t join up with ‘em.”

            “Well, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. He says he’d accept you into his unit, even if you couldn’t give him a heart-stone to put in his necklace. He says he knows you’d be okay and find a way to tell him so without heart-stones.  He’s going to ask the council about it in a couple weeks, once he gets promoted. How about it?”

            Lazare hopped lightly onto a low branch and curled his tail over the bark. His talons softly tore open the lockets that held the dark stones. He put the stones in his waist pouch, and looked at the others. Someone was still alive, four stones still shone brightly. He carefully pulled the locket that held his heart-stone off his ankle. Neatly, the locket’s specialized clasp clipped onto the necklace where the Captain Stone had been, and he replaced the necklace about his neck. This was his chance, wasn’t it?

            Lazare stood silently by Llaurel as she worried around the kitchen, making a clucking noise and muttering under her breath. She stopped suddenly, giving him a strained look. “He’s going to be okay, right? He’s going to be okay, I just know it.”

            With a nod, Lazare reassured her. “He’ll be fine. There’s not even anything that dangerous out there today. Some of the scouts reported a single Wraith. Nothing to be worried about.”

            “What if it gets here?”

            “It won’t get here.”

            “But what if it does?”

            “Then things’ll go boom.”

            “You don’t think the council will have the safety devices turned on at just a sighting, do you?”

            “The council is a bunch of nut-cases, who knows what they will and won’t do. It’s been nearly a year now, but I still remember them telling me I couldn’t get into the army because of my name and blades. They just keep hinting that I should leave all together! As though I would WANT to take up wandering the land instead of defending the people I care for. Why would they keep me away from that?”

            “I don’t know, and you still haven’t gotten in. I know daddy tried, but you’re right, they’re stubborn. I’m just afraid, cause he’s out on the front lines and everything… He could get hurt.”

            “They won’t touch him.”

            “Sure?”

            “Absolutely. Alpha Captain Luxx Centauri is much too fast for those pitiful creatures.”

            “They’re smart, Lazare, you know that. They’re just… bent on destruction. Mainly, destruction of us…”

            “He’ll be fine.”

            Lazare knew the safety devices would be set now. It was too big of a fight to not have them set up. If the wraiths set foot inside the village, everything outside the city would die. The elders had rigged an explosion of such proportion that everything would be exterminated within seconds.  At least, that was the way it was supposed to work. So far he hadn’t seen the elders perform much magic of any kind, except to painfully remove the fighters heart-stones.  Yet, if they were right and their trip-wires worked properly… He shuddered to think of how much death that would be.  Sure, the Wraith’s would all die, but so would the fighters.

            It had always bothered him to think about how the Wraiths lived.  The council avidly insisted that they lived in the woods and were a threat to the city and the city’s children. So far, Lazare had never heard of anyone spotting a Wraith child.  That was odd, as many things about this war were.  Were the Wraiths just incredibly good at hiding their young, or was the situation more like Lazare had begun to think.  He had theorized that they had to have a city of some sort, or at least a home base that they kept the injured, sick, or young.  Many dragons underestimated the intelligence of the Wraiths, but after carefully turning over the situations that he had heard, he found that the Wraith’s were rather clever… It was too bad, really, because their cleverness was only getting them closer and closer to the city that would be their downfall.

            His hackles rose suddenly as a cold feeling covered him, like a blanket of ice. Movement behind him accompanied the noise of a large animal moving through the brush. It stopped, and he could hear it breathing, just out of sight.  It sounded as though it were scuffling with something, and it stumbled into to clearing He turned and caught sight of the Wraith that had been tailing him for the past hour. Lazare snarled, baring his fangs at the demon, more out of fright than actual ferocity. He had never seen a Wraith this close before.

            It stood over twice his height, a mass of muscled darkness. Its skin was slick with sweat and blood, oozing like melting tar. Decaying flesh dripped from the bones that gleamed with pearl luminescence from inside the rents in its skin. Its acidic blood burned the plants under its feet as it seethed in front of him. Acrid smoke rose and fell around it, adding to its initial stench.  In it’s skull gleamed two large, red eyes, seemingly placed without much order into its flesh. Spikes protruded all over its body, bony, chaotic projections coated with a deadly poison.   Jet-black wing bones fanned outward from the Wraith’s back, webbed with black fire against the evening sky. It opened its large jaws and loosed a deadly hiss, it’s spiny teeth nearly as long as Lazare’s forearm. A sickly green gas spilled over its lips toward Lazare. The Wraith’s jaws snapped shut, its teeth sparking. The gas ignited, roaring forward with a scream of heat that drowned out the Wraith’s screech.

            Lazare sprung upward, catching a low-hanging tree branch. He swung up, using his momentum to throw himself down again. His clawed paws slammed into the top of the Wraith’s mouth, and it bellowed as its teeth sank into its own tongue. Lazare’s head snapped upward, searching for a place to land as he sprang again. The small black dragon used his back talons to rip into the Wraith’s skin as he leapt away. The Wraith whipped around, hitting Lazare’s back feet as he was landing, making him hit the ground wrong. His front paws crumpled under him at the impact. He scrambled to his feet, kicking dirt into the Wraith’s burning eyes. Nimbly stepping out of range of the Wraith’s paw as it lashed out, he bolted for safety. Fire engulfed the trees around him, nipping at his heels as he left. He heard the Wraith’s scream die, and there was silence once again.

            Alpha Captain Luxx Centauri. He had to get back to the village, he had to get back fast. He had to tell Llaurel her father had died… He had to find the others in the unit. He had to help, somehow. He didn’t know where to find Shaale. The big grey was out on the battlefield somewhere, after having made it into the army.

            “You made it, really?”

            “No questions asked. They took one look at me and let me in. I’m in the Terrtai Trio. First duty is two days from now.”

            “That’s great!  Where’s your heart-stone?”

            Shaale held up a glittering silver stone incased in silver. “Whaddya think?”

            Lazare whistled. He’d long gotten over the fact that he wasn’t allowed into the army. Legally. He still followed them to quite a few of the smaller battles, but he never showed his face, only learned. “Gorgeous.”

            “Yeah. Not gonna be any fun without you ‘round though. It’s gonna be downright boring out there, Laa.”

            “You chose it, not me. I would have loved to join up, remember?” He shook his ankle, and his heart-stone jingled dully.

            “Yeah. Maybe I’ll get to be in a unit, Naida?”

            Lazare chuckled lightly. “Maybe we’ll all sprout wings and fly away, Naida?”

            Shaale looked hurt. “You’re so mean.”

            Lazare slowed in his run, catching his breath. He yanked on the chain and the clip broke. The lockets fell into his paw as he reached the outskirts of the town. He hobbled in, his legs burning. He had to get washed up or the Wraith-blood on his feet would eat away his scales and into his flesh. He didn’t want to touch the necklace anymore, he didn’t want to fight the Wraiths.

            There was a blur of blue and yellow and Feiin was upon him, chiding him. “Where have you been? Everyone’sss been worried about you!”

            “They’re almost here, warn everyone…”

            “They’ve alwaysss been almossst here, Lazare, alwaysss. Now’sss no different.”

            Lazare dropped the necklace and shook his friend. “Listen to me! They’re on my heels! I just killed one!”

            “Lazare, watch out!”

            He had less than a second to respond as the black mass of death came roiling at him, furious. It smothered his lower half as he sprung, slamming him to the ground. He’d managed to push Feiin out of the way. “RUN! Dammit Feiin, get out-“ His words turned to shrieks as the Wraith’s teeth sunk into his left flank. Gas flowed around him, igniting as it hit his scales.

            Pain washed over him as the flames seared his hide. His thoughts were coming in ragged pieces and instinct took over as he threw his head backwards and the long blue spikes on his head slashed into the Wraith’s shoulder. It howled and rolled off him, clutching it’s torn flesh. Slowly both rose, Lazare’s flank sagging in pain. He turned to look at the Wraith. The two black figures faced each other, glowing red and yellow eyes meeting. The Wraith spat something in a mental voice that rang in his mind’s ear, a sibilant, rasping ‘sound’ that almost hurt. It looked frustrated, as though it was hearing something he could not.  It’s eyes swirled with reds and orange, trying to see something he could not see, something that only angered it further.  It howled something in his mind, and finally focused on Lazare.

            Lazare couldn’t understand what it had said to him, but it sounded threatening, none-the-less.  He backed up a pace and bared his fangs again, hissing, trying to at least feel intimidating.  The Wraith leapt at him after a moment of hesitation, and he dodged backward, just barely avoiding it. It followed him across the city lines a moment before Lazare realized what he had done. They were in the city now.

            Everything around him came to a crashing halt. The world around him had been put on pause, and he heard the thoughts of the people, of everyone on the planet, it seemed, as they realized what had happened.  He heard prayers to the gods, goodbyes to friends and lovers, a final, silent farewell to the world. He spotted the pinpoint of light that started from the Elder Council’s building.

            “Mum?”

            “Yes dear?”

            “What keeps us safe from the Wraiths?”

            “The fighting dragons, the most ferocious, strong, courageous dragons in the whole land. The Council keeps us safe as well.”

            “But the council doesn’t do anything but sit in their place…”

            “The council does more than that. They choose the fighters, they set the rules, and they prepare everyone for what’s going to happen.”

            “Mum?”

            “Yes dear?”

            “What happens if the Wraiths ever get inside the city?”

            “They won’t.”

            “But what if they do?”

            “Then the council will take care of it.”

            “How?”

            She pondered this, trying to decide how to tell her son. “They have set a spring-wire, like you and your friends do around your fort. If a Wraith crosses that line, then something happens.”

            “What happens?”

            “Everything beyond the city will be destroyed.”

            “Even the fighters?”

            “Yes dear… even the fighters.” His mother’s voice was sad, taking the tone he hated to hear because it made him sad, as well.

            “Mum?”

            “Yes dear?”

            “I’m gonna be the best fighter ever, and no Wraith will ever cross that line if I can help it.”

            “Very good dear. Now go to sleep. Everything will be okay.”

            Lazare watched the light grow into a ball, and he fought the forces that held him in his place. He moved, slowly, and covered the necklace with his paws. Help me… He struggled to get to Feiin before pausing, curling closer to himself as the light grew bright. Suddenly, it blasted outward, and he screamed mentally as he felt the heat from the blast.

From the middle of the tents of bone his shoulder-blades each made, beams of fiery red light shot back. They seemed to melt downward until feathers were distinct enough to be seen. They swirled with all manner of colors, each it’s own shade of fire. The wings folded forward, surrounding Lazare, enveloping him in their glow. The heat faded, and he remained limply curled in his ball, knocked unconscious by the first shock-wave. Around him, the world died.

End Chapter One, Aftershock

Notes:

I hope you’re happy. This will continue shortly, when I get even more unlazy than I am right now. Let me know what you think, as this is one of my most recent pieces and I am eager to know if it’s any good or if it’s shit. .()

Sparkle

1 Lazare Rao- La-zhurr-ay Rah-oh

2 All the dragons of Celestial Hollow have double letters in their name that are pronounced clearly.  Dragaeran names are linked to their magic sources and the double letter is the essential link between the name and the magic.

3 Dragons often shorten their names to three or four letters containing the double letters. Although Lazare’s name has no double letter, his name can be shortened to Laa.

4 Shaale- Shay-ale

5 Naida- Literally “Right?” or “Eh?” in the old Dragaeran language.

6 Feiin- Fay-een

7 Llaurel-  il-lar-ell

8 Luxx- Lue-ks