//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Dorchadas // Story: The Watcher: Rise of the Purveyor // by GnollReader //------------------------------// "My, my..." Nithhogr whispered softly as he felt the purveyor take form. "What an intimidating presence... to think, that a being such as yourself could remain hidden for so long. ...Or are you really death incarnate?" "This world has no incarnation of death, "the purveyor replied with a hollow voice, "And neither am I a deity." The old dragon raised an eyebrow. "Oh? My eyes may be old and blind, but even as I am now I can still see the void cling to every fiber of your being like a shroud. I can feel it sway at your every thought... and I can hear the voices you carry with you thunder from the darkness like a far away ocean..." The purveyor did not answer. He knew the old prophecies of the dragons, and he knew of their fear of the void. The dragons thought that the void was far more than an empty dimension, they thought that it was a sleeping mind, waiting for all reality to fall apart. They were nearer to the truth than most of the other races he had watched. "You may say that you are not a deity..." Nithhogr continued, "But just as you, I have seen the old gods of this world and the deities that followed them. I have stood in their presence and heard their voices, and now that I have heard yours... Tell me, if not the void incarnate... what are you?" Zaeres remained silent for another moment. "I am what the void made me." "An interesting answer..." Nithhogr slightly tilted his head, his eyes shutting in thought. "And what has it made you?" "What I need to be." "Mmmm... then allow an old fool to share his thoughts with you." The dragon stared into Zaeres' mask with his ancient and blind eyes. "The eyes are the gateway to the soul... but when I look into yours I only see an endless darkness." His face became grave, "...I see only the void..." He pulled his eyes away and continued to talk softly, "And I feel it stare back at me... those eyes of yours no longer belong to just yourself... they belong to the void as well now. And just as you watch from the shadows, the void watches from your eyes..." "So let it." the purveyor's hollow voice interrupted him. "Mmmm?" "Nithhogr... the void has no mind of its own, it is a presence... impulsive and without higher desires. It acts out of simple urges, and one of those is to see something different than itself. If it wishes to see through my eyes... then let it. It is still mine to command." For a second, Nithhogr just stared at him with a strange expression. Then... he laughed. "Do you see what I mean now? The void gave itself to you! It chose you to be its eyes and mind, to follow your command only... and what else would that make you, other than a deity? Mark my words, Dorchadas... whatever you were before, you are the deity of the void now." "Dorchadas..." Zaeres repeated the word to himself. "It is dragon for..." Nithhogr started to explain. "I know what it means. I am very familiar with dragon lore." Zaeres replied, "And if I really am to step before the council, I may as well have a name to give my words weight." A small trail of smoke escaped the old dragon's lips as he huffed in surprise, "The council? There hasn't been one in centuries. ...Which of the deities would call for one now?" He gave the purveyor a questioning look. "And most importantly; what are your ambitions? I am starting to doubt you came here just to talk to an old dragon..." "My ambitions?" the purveyor replied with an impassive voice, "I carry no ambitions of my own... but the voices of my old race demand that I fulfill their wish." Nithhogr's eyes narrowed. "And what do they wish for, Dorchadas?" "Life." Zaeres' word hung in the air for a fleeting moment, "And I intend to grant them that wish." "Mmmm... the descendants of the Dorchadas, born into this world?" A deep chuckle escaped the old dragon's throat. "It seems that even in its eve, my life is still full of surprises..." the purveyor frowned as he felt the flow around the old deity become stronger, "I think I'll stay alive for a little bit longer... I'd like to see for myself what the children of the Dorchadas are capable of." The purveyor felt his frown deepen as he saw the color return to Nithhogr's eyes and the golden orbs focus on him. "My, my... such an imposing figure too..." the old dragon said softly, "The other deities are likely to cringe where they stand should they see you..." "And what of you?" Zaeres asked, the shadows around his form starting to twitch dangerously. "Me?" Nithhogr smiled. "I intend to support your claim, if only so that I may witness for myself what a race that survived in the void is capable of..." The old dragon's smile faltered slightly. "But what of yourself, Dorchadas? What are your plans once you bring your children to this world?" "Nothing," the purveyor replied with an impassive voice, "They will be on their own." Nithhogr raised an eyebrow. "Nothing? Will you not answer their prayers? Will you not share your wisdom with them? Do you wish to see them fall the moment they take their first steps?" "I expect them to fall." Zaeres replied, "But I also wish for them to prove me wrong. They will stumble, and they will fall..." "But will they be able to stand up on their own again?" Nithhogr asked quietly. "That is my hope." The old dragon's eyes lingered on the purveyor's form. "You've seen them fall before, haven't you?" The purveyor did not reply, the shadows swaying softly around his body the only sign of motion. "May I ask you something, Dorchadas?" Nithhogr asked after a lingering moment. "Ask..." The old dragon's face and voice became emotionless, but Zaeres could see the sorrow in his eyes. "Will my race face the same fate as the alicorns?" The question surprised Zaeres; did the old dragon really think he knew the answer to that question? Before he could contemplate it though, there was a soft knock on the large doors. "Father, are you still awake?" Nithhogr gave the purveyor another curious look before turning to the doors. "I am, my child. What is it?" Even before she had pushed the handle of the old doors down, the purveyor soundlessly vanished into darkness and his presence escaped Nithhogr's senses in nothing but a mere moment, leaving the old dragon staring into his cave with a worried expression on his face. Having made sure that not even Nithhogr would be able to sense him now, Zaeres watched Nithhogr's daughter enter the room. Kalseru, the Emerald. --- "Father, a letter has come for... Your eyes!" Kalseru said with surprise. It had been a long time since she had seen the color in them. Nithhogr smiled softly. "How could I see the world change if I were to remain blind? ...Who is the letter from?" he asked. "The alicorn sisters..." Kalseru replied with uncertainty, "It says they are calling for-" "A council?" the old dragon finished her sentence with a small smile. "To bond with the Dorchadas... it seems that young Celestia has grown quite a lot. ...I wonder what her part is in all of this..." Kalseru frowned. "The Dorchadas? That old story to scare hatchlings? Father, you are not making sense." Nithhogr laughed. "There is always truth hidden in the old stories, my child." He turned to the ceiling, ignoring her questioning stare. "Dorchadas, I trust we will meet again at the council?" There was no answer. "Father, what are you doing?" Kalseru shook her head. "This is no time for riddles or games!" The old dragon ignored her. "My daughter will accompany me there, so that she may see for herself what truth our old stories hold." "What?!" Kalseru gave her father a bewildered look. "Father! What-" "Is that so?" Kalseru felt her heart miss a beat as a voice answered from the shadows around her, seemingly coming from all directions and cold enough to make her shudder. "Who is there?!" Kalseru called out, frantically scanning the room for the source of the voice, but seeing nothing but shadows. "Who are you?!" Unseen by her, a small smile spread across Zaeres' lips. Why should he have to introduce himself as someone new, when he could simply become the nightmare of old dragon lore? It would only serve to strengthen his footing in this world. It seemed that the time had come for him to make his claim known for the first time. --- Kalseru watched, frozen in horror as the shadows started to move before her very eyes, floating through the air to collect in a vortex of roaring darkness. When the voice spoke again, she felt a presence unlike any other crush her very being, and countless whispers traveled through the air like a storm. Above all of them, she heard him. "I am Dorchadas. I am the all-seeing darkness."