Chapter 196: Everything Was Perfect

Stryg wandered in the dark streets of Hollow Shade. The cobblestone roads were quiet, save for the occasional rattling of chains from the undead sentinels that walked past. Stryg reached into his pocket and pulled out his silver nameplate. At the sight of the magical thin metal bar, the sentinels shambled away.

“Stay behind me,” Stryg muttered.

“...What are those things?” Lysaila whispered.

“Undead guards created through black magic, they protect Hollow Shade and her people at night. At least they’re supposed to,” Stryg sighed.

Lysaila nodded quietly to herself. She had barely spoken a word since Elzri had released her to Stryg’s custody two hours ago. Neither of them were in the mood for talking, which suited them both just fine.

Elzri had thrown a large cloak over Lysaila in the hopes of concealing her identity. Not even the wealthiest aristocrats were used to seeing the notoriously deadly lamia kind, let alone the common folk of the city. Unfortunately, no size of cloak could ever hide her long scaled tail.

Still, the hour was late, few people dared wander through the streets of Hollow Shade at night. Stryg was one of the few who didn’t mind too much. He felt comfortable in the dark, quiet streets. He had wandered through the Scholar District for the past hour, not caring for where he went. Lysaila followed behind him silently, her eyes glancing about everywhere.

Stryg didn’t know what she was thinking, her face varied from an expression of impassivity to an expression of bitter rage. He rather not have her with him, but it was either this or torture and execution for the lamia. She had saved his life, so here she was, following him like a silent predator stalking her prey.

Stryg didn’t have time to think about the dangerous lamia. His mind was preoccupied with thoughts of the funeral from earlier tonight. The elder vampire known as Gian Gale had helped him escape the garden maze. Why the vampire had helped, Stryg had no idea. All that Gian said was that he would be in touch, then he promised Stryg he would never be alone.

Stryg glanced at the lamia behind him. He supposed he technically wasn’t alone, but he very much felt alone.

As the early rays of sunlight slipped past the horizon, Stryg found himself at the front gate of his apartment residence. The gate’s guard recognized the goblin’s unique features immediately, but he jumped back in startlement as he noticed the blue tail slithering underneath Lysaila’s cloak.

The guard opened his mouth to speak, but he saw Stryg’s cold, tired expression. The guard bowed his head, opened the gate, and stepped aside.

Stryg headed for his apartment, but he caught Feli’s scent coming from somewhere else. Stryg walked past the building and made his way to the stables. He pushed open the fence gate and stepped inside the large stables.

Gwen sat on a bench, polishing Rhian’s saddle with a devoted focus to excellence. She looked up with surprise at the sound of his entrance.

Gwen carefully placed the saddle aside, stood up, and bowed her head, “Mr. Stryg? I didn’t know you were back. I haven’t gotten Rhiannon up yet, she is still probably slee- ...!”

Gwen’s eyes widened at the sight of Lysaila.

“Um, ahem, sorry, I didn’t know you had… company?” Gwen laughed awkwardly.

Stryg ignored her and walked over to Rhian’s room. He wrapped his fingers around the doorknob and paused. He took a shaky breath and rubbed his face.

He could do this, he knew he could.

Stryg forced himself to smile and pushed the door open with a click of the knob. The candle’s burned dim, but he had no problem seeing. Rhian lay sprawled on her large bed as usual. Feli slept next to her, an open book lay next to them. It seemed she had fallen asleep reading a story to Rhian.

Feli opened her eyes blearily at the sound of the door opening.

“Stryg?” she mumbled.

“I’m back,” he smiled half-heartedly.

“Oh my gods, Stryg!” Feli stumbled to her feet and hugged him.

He closed his eyes and breathed in her comforting scent.

Feli kissed his cheeks playfully, “I missed your cute little blue face!”

Stryg sighed, he would let go of the horrid insult this one time.

“Master, welcome back! Rhiannon of Ebon Hollow has kept Feli safe as ordered,” Rhian pushed herself to her feet and saluted.

“Thanks, you’re the best,” he said.

“Hehe, I know,” Rhian smiled and scooped them both up in a tight embrace.

Feli laughed. Stryg released his tense muscles, and allowed himself to relax for a brief moment, and simply enjoy the warmth of his tribe.

Rhian frowned and put him down, “Who is that?”

Feli’s face paled at the sight of the monster standing in the doorway. Lysaila did not speak, she just stared at them with cold indigo eyes.

“...Her name is Lysaila, she’s a lamia,” Stryg said begrudgingly.

The end of Lysaila’s tail dragged across the door, removing any doubt of Stryg’s words.

“She’ll be staying with us for a while until Lord Noir can figure out what to do with her,” Stryg said.

Feli grabbed his arm, “...Um, honey, I don’t know if that’s such a great ide-”

“Wow! An actual lamia!” Rhian exclaimed. “I’ve heard a lot about lamias! You're like one of the most deadly beast-kin out there! How did you meet my master?”

Lysaila hissed at Rhian as she drew close. She drew back from the lamia with quick steps.

“Not much for words, understood,” Rhian smiled weakly.

Stryg tried changing the topic, “So, Rhian, did you get the gift for Feli?”

“Yeah, Gwen and Maeve helped me pick it out,” she nodded.

He cocked his head to the side, “Maeve?”

Feli kissed his lips, “Rhian got me this gorgeous necklace, I love it. Although honestly, I’m surprised you asked them to get me a gift. You already bought me a gift before you left.”

Stryg shrugged, “Yeah, well, I wasn’t going to be here for your birthday, so I wanted to make it up to you. That reminds me.”

He opened his satchel and rummaged through its contents.

“What is it?” Rhian asked excitedly.

“Ah, here it is,” Stryg pulled out a pair of flowers.

He stiffened.

“Ooh, I’ve never seen these flowers before, what are they called?” Feli asked as she admired them.

Stryg stared at the flowers numbly, “...They’re called… Plumelas.”

“That’s a pretty name,” said Rhian.

“Yeah… I guess it is. Someone told me their beauty is a testament to their resiliency,” Stryg mumbled.

Feli furrowed her brow, “Hey, are you okay?”

Stryg blinked, his eyes burned. He cleared his throat and tried smiling, “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just…”

The purple petals seemed perfect with their golden streaks stemming from the center. All except one. Two flecks of dried blood stained one of the petals.

“The flower is ruined. I’m sorry,” he muttered weakly.

Feli shook her head, “Oh, no, don’t worry about it. I love the flower. Besides, it’s just a bit of… blood? It’s fine, really.”

The flowers quivered in his grip, “No, it’s not. Everything was perfect and now it’s not. I could have prevented this. I should have done more, I should have been better... I’m sorry.”

“Stryg…?”

The flowers slipped from his grasp and fell to the floor.

Stryg bit his trembling lip and smiled weakly, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…”

“Hey, it’s fine,” Feli rubbed his back. She stared at him worriedly.

Rhian picked up the flower and offered it to him, “See? It looks great, no need to beat yourself over it.”

Stryg couldn’t hold the smile any longer. He collapsed to his knees and fell over, his forehead hitting the floor. He clawed at his chest and screamed in agony. Tears poured over his face, feelings of anguish and guilt suffocating him.

Feli and Rhian rushed to his side.

“It’s okay, Stryg, we’re here for you,” Feli whispered and held him tight.

“And neither of us are leaving,” Rhian rubbed her face into his hair.

Stryg cried in shame. They didn’t understand. They weren’t there. They hadn’t seen him fail. If they had… Would they still stand by him? His friends? His tribe? Or would they reject him like so many others had?

~~~

Holo walked up the pristine stony steps with a heavy gait. She looked out at the golden clouds floating in the distance and the emerald sea miles below. Rivers of light flowed above her in random streams. Among the places she had visited in the Dreamscape, this was still one of the most beautiful.

It would be so easy to relax and forget the problems of the Ebon Realm when you were surrounded by such grandeur. Holo shook her head grimly. How long had the Realms suffered over that kind of negligence?

She reached the top of the steps and surveyed the crowd. Dozens of men and women danced around the open courtyard party, deep in their revelries without a care for the world.

Holo rolled her eyes and groaned quietly at the sight. She suddenly remembered why she hated this place. The sooner she was out of here the better.

Holo walked past the revelers and made her way to the one who sat on his prismatic throne at the center of the courtyard.

As she drew close to the throne, an armored warrior stepped in and blocked her path. “Not one step further, Holo.”

“Out of my way,” she said. “I came here to talk to the one in charge, not his lackey.”

The man glared at her. He flexed his fingers, long ruby talons stretched forth. “Have you forgotten? If you ever showed your face here again, we’d kill you.”

Holo nodded thoughtfully, “Your power is great, Reldros. No one doubts that. If you wanted to kill me you could, right?”

Holo opened her arms wide and closed her eyes, “So what are you waiting for?”

Reldros laughed, a clear, beautiful sound, “Thank you for making this easy.”

He pulled his hand back to strike true.

“STOP!” a voice boomed from above the throne.

Reldros grimaced. He lowered his arm and stepped aside.

“Oh, right, that’s why,” Holo winked. “Your father won’t allow you to kill me.”

Holo sauntered past the resentful man and walked up to the prismatic throne. She bowed her head, “Lord Kaleidrog.”

Kaleidrog sat on the prismatic throne, his silver cape resting easily over his golden shimmering armor. The man’s appearance was glorious, intimidating. But Holo knew people’s appearances seemed different in the Dreamscape. The real Kaleidrog was far more terrifying.

Kaleidrog looked down at her with sapphire eyes that seemed to pierce right through her very soul, “Holo, only a fool would come here after being threatened with death. Yet I know you are not a fool. So, tell me what was so urgent that you dared risk death to come here? And believe me, if your reasons do not suffice, I shall stand by my words, your life will end right here.”

Holo smiled and looked out at the partygoers, “Every single person here is feared by so many. Not even an arch-mage would dare disrespect anyone of these silly dancers.”

“Did you really come here to mock our dancing?” Kaleidrog asked, annoyed.

“No, that would be foolish. As I said, every single person here is feared by so, so many people. Especially you, Lord Kaleidrog, the wisest and eldest of this court, your court.” Holo laughed, “Who would ever dare challenge you?”

Holo glanced up at the prismatic throne, “And yet, for all your power, I promise you, every single person here will soon be trembling in fear at what has come to the Ebon Realm.”

“And what might that be?” Kaleidrog asked.

Holo shrugged, “Honestly? I don’t know. I have yet to find a single record depicting their existence. All I have managed to gather is that they are from a time before memory. They are called the Unildyr.”

Kaleidrog shot to his feet, “...What did you say?”

Holo narrowed her eyes, “You know what they are, don’t you?”

Kaleidrog slammed his fist into the throne, the crystal splintering splintering in a thundering blast of power. “Are you certain!? Unildyr?”

Holo nodded, “Yes, one of my spies confirmed it.”

Kaleidrog sat down back in his chair, “So, they have returned…”

“What are they?” Holo asked.

“...How did they arrive in the Ebon Realm?”

“I’m not certain. All I know is that Caligo had something to do with it.”

Kaleidrog sighed and ran his hand through his hair, “...Caligo, huh?”

“You have been asleep for too long, Lord Kaleidrog. The Ebon Realm is in danger, we are all in danger. If you do nothin-”

“Leave us, now. Go, before I change my mind.”

Holo sighed and walked away, “You cannot afford to stand idly by any longer.”

~~~

Kaleidrog opened his eyes. His body was in the heart of the mountain, just as he remembered. He pushed his towering body up and lumbered over to the cliff’s edge. He glanced down, the dark chasm below hadn’t changed. The Ebon Realm felt the same as always. Nothing seemed to have changed, but it had. The Unildyr had returned.

Kaleidrog stretched his sapphire wings out to the brim and took a deep, powerful breath. The dragon lord roared a bellowing war cry into the chasm. The stone tunnels shook from the echoing force.

Kaleidrog waited as the echoes died among the stone. The world stood still for a brief single moment. Suddenly a cacophony of roars rang through the chasm once more. His court had answered the call.

The dragons were going to war.

Book 2 End