//------------------------------// // Chapter Five: Rewrapped Mysteries // Story: Where the Heart Calls // by Laina_Phoenix //------------------------------// “She has arrived, and she’s found him. Her next step has begun: our princess is about to begin unlocking her true potential. Amor, be ready.” Blaze’s jaw dropped and Allyra raised an eyebrow at him. It hadn’t been that hard to figure it out. Then, before she could process it, Blaze’s sword was at her neck, and he was snarling at her. She yelped and tried to back up, only to get her hoof tangled in one of the tarps. “How the hell do you know that?! Have you been watching me?” “That’s harsh coming from the pony who’d done the spying!” She retorted, freeing her hoof, and loosening her weapon. “Then how the bloody hell do you know what I am?!” He shouted. Allyra rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t that hard to recognise. As I said, you didn’t try to kill me when you found out what I am.” He continued to snarl but she spoke calmly. “That just confirmed it. I figured it out when you lost your boot in the chase. Earth ponies have different coloured hooves and Pegasi’s hooves are the same colour as their coat. Plus, you’re not a unicorn, since one, they have super long fur around their hooves, and two, even with an illusion spell you can’t hide a horn with a hood like that, since it would just be caught over or behind the horn. You have plain hooves with no fetlocks, meaning you’re a pegasus. That, and your tail feathers are making your cloak stick up a bit at the back, and I can see the lumps at your sides where your wings are. You say I’m lucky, but you’re lucky that nopony here knows what a pegasus looks like outside wings.” There was a stunned silence for a short while, and Allyra kept it to let him process. Then he shook his head, tightening his grip on his sword, and glared harder at her. “I still don’t trust you. Whoever you are, you’re not like other ponies, and I’m not risking exposing myself for your smart-ass flank.” She rolled her eyes. “Well, since we don’t know each other, that’s fair enough.” Then she got an idea. It mightn’t be smart, but since she didn’t know anything about this city, she’d need help. Allyra took her sword out of her scabbard and dropped it to the ground, much to Blaze’s surprise. “Look, I need help while I’m here. And, since you’re the only pony here who doesn’t want to kill me for being alive, you’re my best shot.” He frowned, but she noticed his weapon dropping a little. “What would I gain from it? What’s the point in me helping you?” “Stopping the blizzard altogether.” He started and she smiled slightly. “The blizzard is caused by creatures called Windigos, and if I can get a magical gem that I think is in the castle, then I’ll be one step closer to beating them.” She saw consideration in his eyes. “I just need you to get me in and out of the castle without being seen.” He opened his mouth to retort but she cut him off, saying, “Look, I get it. I don’t trust you; you don’t trust me. But I’m willing to risk it.” Blaze stared at her for a moment before he put his sword down too, but still frowned. “We show each other our faces and tell our names. I won’t fight you if you really can stop this nightmare.” She smiled at him. “I can. Trust me.” At least, I hope so. Oh, well, he doesn’t need to know that part. The pair stared for a moment longer before Blaze removed his hood, goggles and hat, Allyra following, sighing in relief as her long mane finally spilled out. She’d probably have to do something about that later. “Allyra Cadenza.” “Swift Blaze.” Allyra had to force herself not to start in surprise when she finally saw his face. She was right; she had recognised him… He was one of the ponies from her dream. She’d only seen him from a distance but knew without a doubt that it was him. Blaze had been the pegasus behind her in her dream, though it was only now that she noticed a trio of long scars running down the side of his head and his neck. Blaze, on his part, was staring at her in a way that made her slightly uncomfortable. When she saw the slightly red tinge on his cheeks, she groaned loudly and turned away, saying, “I don’t have time to deal with some love-struck colt, so either buck up and get moving or I’ll do it by myself!” She snickered as he started sputtering, clearly embarrassed. “What- no, I- you-” “So, what’s the safest way into the castle, mate?” Allyra walked up to the torn-down wall of the tower and moved the tarp out of the way, frowning. It gave her a direct view of the ruined regal structure, though nowhere near close enough to see any weak points. Blaze trotted up beside her, shooting her one last glance before frowning. “There isn’t any safe way.” “Secret passages, hidden entrances, anything?” “Nope, everything’s covered and heavily guarded. I’ve scoured every part of it in the past year I’ve been here; unless the guards or I have missed something, we’ll need to cause some distraction to get in.” Allyra frowned and rubbed her chin. She looked up at the shield, glowing yellow against the grey and black storm clouds. Then she remembered something. Allyra was nine. Shining Armor was walking her around the edge of the city, smiling as she gleefully swung her little wooden sword around. “What’d you wanna show me, Grandpa?” She asked, gazing curiously at him. “Well, I wanted to tell you a little about the shield.” Her eyes widened in delight, and she asked eagerly, “Are we gonna go past it, Grandpa? Can we, can we?!” Shining’s eyes widened and he shook his head. “Not happening, Ally! I’m just going to tell you about it.” He chuckled as she huffed irritably. “Anyway, do you remember what makes the shield?” Allyra frowned. “The Crystal Heart does, right?” “Exactly, honey!” He said, smiling at her. “The Crystal Heart uses the light and love of the ponies in the kingdom to power the shield, blocking out the blizzard outside. It used to keep it away entirely, but the storm grew too strong to do that, so it created a shield to protect us.” “What if the Heart wasn’t there?” “Then the blizzard would enter the Empire and would freeze everything.” Her eyes widened in horror. “That’s why we protect it. If it was stolen, it wouldn’t be able to generate enough power to protect us, and if it broke, the shield would be destroyed entirely.” “What do you mean, enough power?” “The Heart uses the love we- the Crystal Ponies- feel to power itself.” “Like, just love?” “Yes, though love comes in many forms. The kind of love that powers the heart is love between families, friends, and partners.” “Like you and Granny?” “Just like me and Granny.” “The shield…” Allyra breathed, an idea forming in her mind. She ignored Blaze’s confused look and frowned. One pony couldn’t generate the power for a shield as big as this one, and if there were no unicorns here, then something had to be powering it. Allyra frowned. The barrier in the Empire was powered by the Crystal Heart. Granny said the kingdoms were protected, which meant there must be a heart in Solaris Spire. Love, joy, hope, friendship, and courage. She took her amulet out from under her shirt and opened it up, seeing the sun-shaped slot still glowing. Granny told her once that the sun represented joy… no wonder the shield here wasn’t properly working. If this was the Sun Kingdom, then it needed joy to protect, and there was little of it here. “Mind telling me what you’re thinking?” Allyra smiled. “The kingdom has a special crystal that protects it from the blizzard, right?” Without waiting for an answer, she said, “If it were destroyed, the entire kingdom would be run over by the snow. But, if it was taken away from its direct source of power, then it would provide a distraction. The blizzard wouldn’t come in, but the shield wouldn’t be as powerful so there’ll be a big rush to find it and get it back to where it can take in the magic it needs.” Blaze looked pretty confused, but she continued, “That’ll give me enough time to track down the gem I need. So, where is this shield-making thing?” Blaze frowned, thinking. “Solaris Spire’s heart is in the centre of the city, and it’s well guarded. I always try to avoid it since nopony can go through there without being watched like a Frost Wolf.” “Then we’ll grab it, hide it, and get into the castle while the guards are on a wild goose chase.” “What’s a goose?” Ignoring this, Allyra looked back at the castle. “Have you ever been in?” Blaze shook his head, laughing. “Ha, no! I only tried once, and I nearly died thanks to Lord Terra and those crazy defences of his!” She raised an eyebrow at him. “Who is this Lord Terra?” “He’s the dictator here. Never seen him- don’t think anypony has- but whoever he is, he made this weird yellow snowstorm that almost suffocated me.” Sounds like sand… looks like we’re up against something with earth magic. Allyra frowned, and took the creature book out of her saddlebags, flipping through it. Back at the section with the dragons, she now saw references for the four different types and turned the page to see fire dragons, then again for earth dragons. It said that they could indeed control certain aspects of the earth, and unlike other earth magic wielders, summon a sandstorm. From what Blaze described… “This is gonna be rough,” she muttered, frowning. Blaze looked at the picture and poked it. “That thing looks like what they’re making statues of around the walls of the kingdom. What is it?” “An earth dragon.” His eyes widened. “I dunno if Terra is one, but either way, I have a bad feeling this is what we’ll be up against.” “This isn’t gonna work, Allura.” “Ah-LEE-rah! Not Allura, for goodness’ sake!” “Whatever! It’s a stupid plan!” Allyra rolled her eyes at him. “Do you have any other ideas?” Blaze scoffed at her, pulling his goggles over his eyes yet again. “Shut it. I’m only doing this because I’m sick of the blizzard, and I want you out of my mane. Remember, stay out of sight until… something happens.” He ran out of the alley and behind a market stall; one of the few allowed near the Heart, according to him. She huffed and rolled her eyes again, but then frowned. Swift Blaze was definitely the pegasus from her dream, and wherever the dream had taken place it was far from here. So, that meant two things: one, he had to come with her when she left, and two, she’d meet the other three ponies as well. But Blaze was… annoying. That was the best way she could describe him. He was frustrating and reminded her of Silver Glamour, who was somepony she was determined to forget while away. He’d threatened her, he was rude and acted like she was a child, and he never seemed to stop complaining. But… he’d saved her, even though he could’ve run. Allyra sighed and rubbed her temples. Whatever the reason she’d met him, she knew she couldn’t force him to join her. It would mean risking a lot for him; his life, his freedom, who knew. She’d feel terrible if she guilted him into it. The wind blew against her, and she smiled slightly, then went back to frowning. Lurante, I don’t get it. Why did you show me Blaze and those other ponies in my dream? Are they going to help me only when I meet them, or do they have to come with me to help? Regardless of his slightly vulgar behaviour- and the fact that he was a criminal- Allyra couldn’t help but like Blaze. He was smart, resourceful and knew how to have a laugh, which was more than she could say for some of the Crystal ponies back home. Suddenly, there was a crash of thunder as lightning struck the place where the Heart was. Allyra whipped her head around and gaped at the sight; fire now flickered across a weak wooden base, and the snow started hitting the ponies quite a lot harder than before, making them cry out in fear as they ran for cover. How… she hadn’t even seen him or the heart! Wait, why didn’t she see it? “THE HEART! THE HEART’S GONE!” That was her queue. Snapping herself back into gear, Allyra took off through the buildings and ran for a while, trying her hardest to avoid all the guards. She finally reached the alley that faced the castle gates and watched the guards carefully. More earth ponies ran up to them and gave orders she couldn’t hear, and then all those at the entrance ran towards the centre, many even emerging from the castle. Allyra smirked. She’d been right; it caused a massive panic. Unfortunately, a pang of guilt hit her, and she grimaced. Ponies could get hurt because of this… am I doing the right thing? The gates had been left slightly open; the guards had forgotten to shut them, and it wasn’t like anypony would try to go in. Except her. Taking a deep breath, Allyra pushed her shame down and stepped out into the cold, feeling the wind making a barrier around her once more. As soon as it was fully formed she started running, making it to the gate with little difficulty. Barely looking at the ruined structures she ran straight to the doorway of a small storage room Blaze told her about and slammed the heavy oak door behind her, breathing heavily. “Took you long enough.” Allyra jumped and looked around, reaching for her sword, but relaxed when she saw Blaze smirking at her, leaning against a wall. She rolled her eyes. “Sorry for making sure nopony was around.” He shrugged and she asked, “Where’d you hide it?” “Got the Heart right here!” He announced, pulling something out from under his wing. Her eyes widened. It was the same shape as the twirling sun slot in her amulet and was a mixture of orange and yellow, about the size of her head. Allyra reached out and touched it, only to frown heavily. Something felt wrong. Blaze raised an eyebrow at her. “Y’know, for something that has magic, it just feels like a rock.” Allyra sighed. “It’s a crystal, Blaze.” But her frown didn’t go away. Why couldn’t she feel anything? An idea came to her, and she then said softly, “I think the Heart of Solaris Spire is meant to represent joy; one of the things that drive Windigos away. Joy powers it. But with how things are in the kingdom, I’m surprised it’s managed to last so long.” Blaze frowned at her. “How do you know so much about this?” Allyra hesitated then said slowly, “Back home, there’s a Heart that does something similar, except it’s powered by love. My grandmother was the Heart’s Keeper; if it doesn’t have any love to power it, the Heart will die.” She softly stroked it and murmured, “Maybe that’s why I can’t feel any magic… it’s barely got any joy to power it.” “Meh, some things do make ponies happy,” Blaze answered, shrugging. “Money mostly, and in the guards’ cases putting ponies in jail.” Scowling, Allyra growled slightly. No wonder the poor thing is so weak. All the happiness ponies feel here comes from stupid, sick causes! She looked back at him, only to raise an eyebrow as Blaze chuckled. “Ah, things aren’t all bad here, Allura! You get used to it after a while.” “Allyra. Not Allura.” He laughed and Allyra sighed and shook her head, gently pushing the Heart back to him. “Just put it somewhere safe for now. It’s too bulky to carry around like this.” He shrugged again, looked around briefly then trotted up to an old tapestry that had long since fallen. Blaze gently put the Heart down and dragged the cloth over it, nodding briefly. Regardless of the logic, Allyra found herself still feeling as if something wasn’t right. It was an ancient magical artefact; surely she was just paranoid? “They’ll find it eventually, so it’s safe for now.” He frowned at the blizzard outside. “Though I’m not sure how long they’ll hold the fort with the storm like this.” Allyra briefly patted his shoulder. “As long as it doesn’t leave the kingdom or break it’ll be fine. I promise.” Blaze snorted and shook her hoof off, saying, “If you say so, Lulu. Now let’s track down this gem of yours, eh?” Groaning at the new nickname, Allyra took the Amulet out and opened it. The light was glowing brighter than ever, and it began pulling her back outside. “This way.” The pair cautiously stepped outside, paused, and looked around until Blaze waved a hoof and they darted from the ruined building to piles of stones, for quite a while. Allyra now was able to get a better look around; they seemed to be in an ancient courtyard and were surrounded on all four sides by towers, buildings, stairs, and piles of rocks and- much to her horror- giant piles of sand mixed in with snow. Allyra gulped as they dove behind one. She did not want to face a dragon; Breezie tales from her grandparents told her more than she needed to know. Allyra looked up at the building ahead and frowned. There was a small section that was caved in, and through this, she could see a pair of huge wooden double doors that were rotten and shut tight. Above and behind this small chamber was a much bigger and more ornate section of the castle; flanked by a pair of spiralling towers, there were crumbling statues of ponies standing on the roof with a large dome in the centre. The dome had multiple openings in it, which Allyra decided wouldn’t do much good against any storm. Must be the throne room, she thought. Blaze muttered in her ear, “The thing attacked me when I went into that ruin. We’ll probably need to fight it off when we go in.” “Not a good idea,” she replied, trying to ignore the anxious twitching of her wings. “It won’t be worth it if we get hurt before I find the gem. Our best bet is the element of surprise; Terra won’t be expecting us so we can’t just barge in like we own the place and hope he’ll surrender.” Allyra looked back up at the roof and smirked. “But… he’s not expecting to see a pegasus, so he won’t see where a pegasus might come from.” Blaze raised an eyebrow and looked where she was and grimaced. “I dunno if that’s a good idea either. The wind could blow us off course and give away our position.” He shot her a glare. “And again, I’m not risking revealing myself for you.” Allyra was about to retort but then paused as she felt the turmoil of emotions in his head. He was annoyed at her, he was excited to face Terra and wanted to do it his way, he was embarrassed that she’d taken charge of the mission, but most of all, he was scared. And it made sense now that she thought about it. Living amongst superstitious earth ponies for a whole year, not flying, barely even spreading his wings wouldn’t do a pegasus much good. Deciding, she pulled her mask down again and smiled at him. “That’s okay, I’ll fly by myself.” He started in surprise as she continued, “You’re more than welcome to leave if you’re not comfortable staying. I won’t ask you to risk anything else for me.” Allyra saw a brief flash of anger in his eyes. He must think I’m mocking him. Then, he frowned, now understanding. After a bit, he sighed and chuckled. “Yeah, no. Sorry, Lulu, but I said I’d help you, so you’re stuck with me for now.” She rolled her eyes but couldn’t help a sigh of relief. For the first time, he spread his wings and Allyra noticed right away that they were far larger than the average stallion, and the feathers at the tips were tinged with white. “Haven’t flown in a while but it shouldn’t be too hard, right?” Thank goodness, I didn’t wanna do it alone. “Well, then, just stick close to me, ‘kay?” She grinned at him and pulled her scarf back up over her muzzle, while he gave her a puzzled look. Spreading her wings, Allyra flapped into the air, looking down and grinning as the wind formed another shield around her. Blaze’s jaw dropped, but he shook it off and shakily flew up, yelping as the wind suddenly extended its protection. “What the heck?! What’s happening? Are you using magic?!” He exclaimed fearfully, making Allyra laugh. “Well, it’s not my magic!” She chirped, then flapped down and nudged him playfully. “Come on, we don’t wanna be shot down, do we?” Without waiting for an answer, Allyra started flying higher, sensing Blaze following unsteadily. It has been a while since he’s flown, she thought, frowning as she studied his uneven movements. Then she spotted the problem and called out to him, “Move your wings in sync! Forget what walking feels like and flap them at the same time! Only use your hooves to guide you!” He raised an eyebrow at her but did as she said, and Allyra grinned at the sudden difference it made. He grinned with her, and the pair flew higher until they were level with the giant dome upon the building. Upon closer inspection, she frowned, seeing that it was much, much bigger than she anticipated. The openings in it were twice her height and five times her width and getting closer, she could also see how much of the throne room was exposed. There was a good chance the roof could be seen as well. Then again, this was likely designed when flying creatures weren’t taboo, so the alicorns who built it were smart about its defences. The thought of the alicorn from her dream, Celestia, came to her mind unbidden and she felt a wave of sadness wash over her. The poor filly… what if she’d died in this very room? A shiver ran down Allyra’s spine and she forced herself to focus. No time for lamenting the past, especially a past she’d never been part of. She and Blaze landed on the roof and Allyra motioned for him to duck down and began to crawl, peering over the window’s edge. Her guess had been right; the throne was visible from her position, so she had to be visible too. Blaze looked at her. “I don’t see anypony. Do you?” Allyra shook her head as she carefully swept her gaze over every obvious part of the room, trying to ignore the memories. “What are the chances that Lord Terra’s not an actual pony? They might have made him up.” “Then what attacked me?” “I dunno…” Allyra glared at the throne. “Either way, we have to be super careful.” Blaze nodded. “Okay, what’s the plan?” He shot her a deadpan look as she quickly looked away. “You don’t have a plan, do you?” “Uh… don’t die?” She smiled sheepishly and he gave her a pained look. “Wow.” “Hey, I’m trying my best!” She snickered as he rolled his eyes to the heavens, then took the Amulet out. All right, Antumbra, where’s the gem at? It immediately glowed bright yellow, making both of them jump in surprise. Allyra then yelped as it tugged at her neck. She would’ve fallen over the edge if Blaze hadn’t grabbed her and pulled her back- only for the Amulet to pull so hard the chain snapped right off her neck, sending them both tumbling into the castle with cries. Allyra extended her wings just in time and was able to slow her fall, landing with a small thud, though Blaze wasn’t nearly as lucky and faceplanted onto the stone, groaning. “Blaze!” She exclaimed, running up to him and nudging him. “Are you okay?” “I think I broke my everything…” he moaned, lifting his head slightly. Allyra couldn’t help but sigh in exasperation. “Hurry and get up or we’ll be sitting ducks.” “First a goose, now a duck? What the heck are these things?” He asked, taking her hoof to help stand up. Allyra shook her head. “Later, mate. C’mon, we don’t wanna get caught.” She frowned and looked around. “Do you see the Amulet anywhere?” After a second of searching, Blaze tapped her shoulder and pointed at the empty throne. She looked around and her eyes widened. The Amulet was floating in front of the elaborate jewel-encrusted golden seat, twirling around in almost a joyful fashion, and flashing between a white glow and a yellow one. And, before it, in between all the dusty gems, a tiny, golden sun-shaped crystal was pulsing with white lights. Yet though it tried, the Amulet couldn’t get any closer to it, and the jewel seemed to be tugging against its confines. “What’s going on?” Blaze whispered, and Allyra caught sight of anxiety in his eyes. She smiled at him before responding. “The Amulet found the jewel, but I don’t think it can get it on its own.” With this, she spread her wings once more and flew up to it, and the Amulet returned to her when she was within a meter of it. As the chain reformed itself around her neck, Allyra looked back to the jewel. Power simply poured from each carefully cut edge, and as she reached out a hoof to take it, she felt its heat, like a cloudless midsummer’s day. However, just as she was about to touch it, a shiver ran down her spine and everything in her gut told her one thing: danger. “ALLYRA, BEHIND YOU!” Allyra whipped her head around and threw herself to the side just as a huge rock blasted into the throne where she’d been hovering. Dust and pebbles scattered everywhere, and her jaw dropped in horror. “GET BACK, GET BACK!” Barely thinking, Allyra followed Blaze’s orders and zipped away from her spot, expertly weaving between rocks that were thrown at her. “What the heck?!” she whispered, trying to find the source of the projectiles. But aside from Blaze, who’d flapped into the air with a frightened look, there was nopony in sight. That’s when she felt the ground trembling beneath her hooves and leapt into the air as the ground exploded beneath her, then went back into place as if nothing happened. “Blaze, what’s happening?!” She shouted, dodging yet another boulder. Then, she spotted where they were coming from- they were being ripped out of the walls with a brief orange glow and thrown around. Blaze shouted, shoving her out of the way again, “It’s what happened last time! I can’t see anypony!” Growling, Allyra took out her sword and ignored Blaze’s cry as another boulder was thrown at her. This time, she swung her weapon in a wide arc, neatly slicing the rock in half and sending it to the ground with a crash. She threw off her hood and goggles so she could see better and repeated the motions with every projectile, carefully listening to Blaze’s shouts and the whoosh of rocks as they gained on her. Finally, it ended, and Allyra landed on the ground, panting heavily. Blaze landed beside her, close to panicking. “That was so stupid!” He exclaimed, whacking her over the head and she gave an indignant cry. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?!” “Nope, just trying to prove that we’re not gonna go down that easily,” she replied cooly, then held up a wing for silence. “It’s not over yet, listen for anything.” Planting all four hooves firmly on the ground, Allyra shut her eyes and perked her ears up. At first, she heard nothing, then a soft growl caught her attention, and she whipped her head to the left, spotting a pair of shocked, brilliant green eyes with cat-like pupils gazing right back at her. Allyra glared at it and raised her sword. “Show yourself, or I’ll come for you where you stand!” She shouted, snarling right back at it. The eyes disappeared and Allyra made to run after it before she was suddenly blasted back with a yell as sand hit her. She replanted herself to the ground and folded her wings, remembering one of her father’s lessons. “If you’re being pushed back by a blizzard, keep your wings tight against your body. That’ll prevent them from getting damaged, and if you try to spread them, they’ll just catch the wind and you’ll be blown away.” “HOLD YOUR GROUND, BLAZE!” She shouted, pulling her goggles back over her eyes with some struggle. She thought Blaze responded, but the sandstorm was whirling around them like a tornado, and both barely heard anything over the wind. Then a strange voice appeared in her head, a male’s. It was deep and raspy and was angry- no, furious. You DARE invade my territory and steal MY treasure?! You will pay, Sky Devil! Sky Devil? She thought, raising an eyebrow. That’s a new one. I knew pegasi were hated, but I didn’t think we were called that. Oh, you know NOTHING, filly! Allyra yelped as the voice spoke. She didn’t know what she’d been expecting, but it wasn’t for them to respond. She shuddered, grimacing. What the heck was in her head now?! Neither of you is backing down… fine. We shall do this the hard way. The sandstorm suddenly came to a halt and a final gust of wind blew Allyra off her hooves and into Blaze, making them both fall. She groaned and lifted her head, only to gasp sharply and instinctively back away. Blaze looked up and yelped, backing away and flaring a wing in front of her. A deep laugh echoed around the room, and Allyra couldn’t help but shrink down as something stomped into the room. It was an earth dragon. The dragon was more than twice the size of the yak from her dream, with teeth like daggers and its sharp green eyes pierced through her soul. Its scales were a deep oak-tree brown with curved black claws at all four feet- paws- whatever, and its tail was as long as her wingspan with a huge boulder-shaped ball at the tip, covered with pale green spikes. Along the top of its head, spine, and back of its legs, spines of the same light green shivered as it growled. It had no wings, but a pair of ram-like horns on either side of its eyes, and another curved horn at the tip of its nose. Across his chest and shoulders, he wore a huge, battered silver breastplate that was beginning to rust. Then it spoke. “WHO DARES ENTER THE TERRITORY OF THE ALMIGHTY LORD TERRANIS?!” It roared, making the ponies flinch and cover their ears. Allyra’s eyes then widened in realisation as she gazed at the furious being before her. The dragon was Lord Terra.