The Life of Fear

by Educated Guess

Interlude: A Meeting in the Dark

The cave was not very impressive. It was small, cramped, and lit by only a single thin stream of lava that bubbled in the corner - not at all like the wide, open craters that comprised the rest of the Drakeshome. But it was hidden, and it was private, and these two considerations were at the top of the list when it came to activities such as these. The runes that littered the floor and walls had been dark for days, and the figure that lay slumped in the center of their jagged, eldritch spiral had hardly moved since their activation.

Divanad sat staring into the slow, crawling lava, deep in thought. He wasn’t sure if the ritual had worked. It had never failed before - well, failed and left the subject alive, anyway - but the circumstances of this particular casting had, admittedly, been somewhat... different. It certainly looked as though it had succeeded, but until the subject woke up, there would be no way to tell for sure, or to know what “success” in this situation even meant.

He heard clawsteps approaching, echoing along the thin, twisted tunnel that was the cave’s sole entrance. He didn’t bother looking to see who it was - there was only one other dragon that knew which section of wall in the main corridor was actually an illusion, and would be walking down the way behind with so little hesitation. The steps grew clearer, and louder, and then stopped in the entryway, as if awaiting invitation.

“You’re earlier than I expected,” Divanad said, in a voice which he had known others to describe as “as black and rough as coal" - descriptors that, due to ubiquity, were almost meaningless to a dragon. “Were you followed?”

The other snorted, and Divanad saw a flash of disdainful fire at the edge of his vision.

“What do you take me for?” said Daruun. “Of course I was followed.”

Divanad nodded. “Good. Where are they now?”

“Gerrin and his cohorts stopped them at the border.”

Divanad chuckled throatily. “At least that fat old layabout is still good for something.”

He listened as Daruun padded his way over to the figure on the ground, and thought he heard one or two pokes. “How is our guest doing?”

Divanad sighed, and finally turned to look at his son. It was an odd sight, as always - Daruun looked exactly like he had at that age, from his smooth, matte-black scales, to the dark, glowing sigil that adorned his right eye.

“He’s still alive, but that’s about all I can say. Nothing like this has ever been tried before. At best, I’m hoping he’ll be recovered within the month.”

Daruun raised one black, scaly eyebrow. “...You expect me to twiddle my claws in the calderas for a month?”

“Of course not,” Divanad said dismissively. “Just make sure they don’t see you when you leave. Actually...” He tapped a claw on his black, scaly chin, thoughtfully. “Now that I think about it, I wouldn’t mind having grandchildren someday, if you’ve nothing better to do.”

Daruun’s only response was to groan, and plant his face in his claw.

“I believe Vijera’s daughters are all of age now,” Divanad went on. “A wonderful ancestry, that. I’d ask to mate with them myself, were I your age.”

“Father.”

“No pressure, of course. Love comes with time. Besides, you’re only my last living child, and the sole hope for our entire bloodline.”

“Father!”

“Alright, alright.” Divanad threw up his claws in surrender, and went back to staring into the lava. “Forget I said anything.”

There was uncomfortable silence for a few moments, broken only by the deep, sloppy burbling of the lava, and the quiet breathing of the figure on the floor. Then, Daruun spoke, slowly.

“...Vemeli is one of Vijera’s daughters, isn’t she?”

Divanad nodded, but didn’t turn around - he didn’t want his son to see his victorious smile.

“...Do you know if she’s chosen a partner, yet?”

Comments

[solocitizen]

Wow, your narration and descriptions are beautiful, without getting, at least what I'd consider, purple prosy. You also sold me on the alicorn characters, which I thought were developed and handled excellently.

[Kolwynia]

Wow, that was a pretty intense chapter! (Chapter Five, I mean.) The emotion in that scene with Bellic, Phobos, and Flora was aboslutely fantastic.

[Rennoc215]

Vell vell vell. Quite the read. Your penmanship (Keyboardship?) is impeccable, and you pick just the right words to convey your meaning. You certainly have me hooked. Liked and Faved, and just craving more!

[Sasha Nein]

I had this story open for three days waiting for when I had time to read it. I have now completed all you have so far and I'm thoroughly hooked. I'll spare you the gushing, since everyone else has pretty much said what I would... But, I eagerly await more chapters!

[Educated Guess]

2195700 2218927
Thank you all very much! I can only hope that the rest of the story lives up to its beginnings.

[Rennoc215]

2219749

I'm certain they shall be just as... NO! Better than the original!
The stage is set. Now, we dance. (Or at least they dance)