Chapter 9: Thāvei Zājieths (Death March)
It is said that escaping Tartarus is easier and safer then stealing from a dragon's hoard. ~ Unknown
Šizra growled in frustration. Thirty-six hours, it took thirty-six hours to design a rune ward that he felt could work through the tarturanium and then neutralize both the contain runes and whatever spells that Celestia most likely paired with the runes. But now he could finally begin his escape... maybe. There still was the questions of time and timing. In order to escape he needed time. Time to shatter his shackles, time to melt then down, time to carve the runes. But if his assumptions were right about Cktüis Zuserthators Ember no one had time for the 'right time.' It was now or never.
With a huff he twisted his body around sliding along the floor of his cage before biting down on the adamantine chains as he slid past. The chains shattered into several pieces, freeing him from the middle of the cage, and allowing him better access to the shackles. Using a combination his teeth and his freed claws he made quick work of the shackles, spitting out any pieces of adamantine as he went. He never found the metal to be all that tasty and he would need every piece.
For several minutes after destroying his restraints he strained his ears trying to hear any hint of alarm or the sound of hooves. Given how fast Celestia appeared when he first regained consciousness he expected some response by now but as the minutes ticked by is was becoming clear that no one was coming. As for why he could only speculate and the more he let him self wonder the more worry he felt.
With a sigh Šizra returned to the adamantine, now in a piled in the center of his cage. He activated his flame glands and waited as his fire glands pumped fire mana into his lungs. Holding back the urge to vomit, as it was anytime he used his flame, he let it build and build until he could no longer hold it back. His head slammed down as a torrent of dark blue flame came pouring out of his mouth.
The flame kept gushing out his mouth for over five minutes before finally subsiding enough to allow Šizra to gulp in a badly needed breath. He then collapsed on to his haunches, panting, his mouth painfully dry and his lungs burning from the exertion. A groan escaped him when he looked down to see that only the smallest pieces had any glow. He had hoped for more; he needed a lot more...
One of these times my luck is going to run out... Šizra grimly noted as he laid tiredly next to a pool of cooling adamantine, blood and mucus dripping down from his mouth. Every ragged breath he took was torment, the agony taking away what little air he could muster and nearly sending him into unconsciousness. Not helping was the throbbing coming from his burnt paws and lower forearms. It was times like this that he cursed his hybrid nature.
The metal had long since cooled when his strength recovered enough that he could try sitting up. If he could rise onto his haunches without issue then he could proceed to the next step of his escape. Taking it slow and steady, taking great care to prevent putting any pressure on his charred forelegs, he worked his way to a sitting position.
Once seated he gently brought was left of his pointer claw down the metal disk before lifting it up. Again and again he did this trying to orientate it correctly. There was only going to be one chance to get it right; he did not have it in him to reheat the disk and start from the beginning.
Time slowly passed as he carefully carved one rune after another pausing only to rest. Bit by bit three circle of runes were carved into the disk. He nearly collapsed when he finished the final rune. Wiping the sweat off his brow he looked over his work carefully looking for any imperfections. When he found none he steeled himself for the next part. Biting back a scream of pain, he laid his full paw over the center and pushed as much mana as he dared into it. Too little mana and the runic ward would fail to activate, too much and the tarturanium would drain the mana away making the runic ward inert.
Lifting his paw off after a moment he watched as the runes glowed for a second before fading away. Now he needed his sword. But in order to allow the focus of mana to summon his sword he needed to get a part of himself outside of the dampening field created by the tarturanium
Positioning his paw as fair out of the cage as he could he tried summoning his sword. "Leafcutter, thāc."
When nothing happened he bit back pain to get his claws a bit further out of the cage. "Leafcutter, thāc."
Šizra sighed in relief as his sword finally materialized in a shower of sparks. Gently he maneuvered the sword between the bars and into the cage. He took a long slow breath followed by a second before sliding a hoof under the hilt and flipping Leafcutter up. In a single motion he grabbed the sword with both paws with all his might and swung it around. His vision flashed red and he heard the sound of roaring before nothing.
Šizra blinked trying to get the blurriness out of his vision. He did not know how long he was out but as he fought against the flashes of pain that kept threatening to send him back into unconsciousness he could see that every single bar was cut and several were shattered completely. He sighed in relief when he could not see Leafcutter. That meant that the mana scattering effect that tarturanium had was disrupted enough for the fail safe to trigger.
He cringed, however, when he glanced down at his paws. Index is not going to be happy... The destruction of his cage came at a high cost. His charred paws were now nearly stripped of its flesh with just a few stands still attached to bone. There was no way he would have been able to do a second swing. Luckily the remainder of his escape could be facilitated by magic alone.
"Aülethi uth letāls aizlirst to, üas tev sija cktiescktiests...
Üļūsti tāts, üāts üātreiz siji...
Cktazriezt laicktu atcktakaļ...
Taisthīsa šihzra izsalithāt...
Taisthīsa šihzra atcktal cktlūst srīvi...
Aülethi uth letāls aizlirst to, üas tev sija cktiescktiests...
Üļūsti tāts, üāts üātreiz siji...
Cktazriezt laicktu atcktakaļ...
Taisthīsa šihzra izsalithāt...
Taisthīsa šihzra atcktal cktlūst srīvi...
Aülethi uth letāls aizlirst to, üas tev sija cktiescktiests...
Üļūsti tāts, üāts üātreiz siji...
Cktazriezt laicktu atcktakaļ...
Taisthīsa šihzra izsalithāt...
Taisthīsa šihzra atcktal cktlūst srīvi!
Aü.."
Šizra's vocal cords suddenly hitched into a coughing fit thus ending his chant. He took a moment to rest before rising up to his hide legs. Shuffling awkwardly over the remains of the cage he stepped up to examine the arch. It took some time but he could find no traces of the 'contain' runes. Now the only runes remaining were the ones he created.
Once again Šizra scanned the darkness with both his eyes and ears. Still, after everything he had done, there was no sign that anyone was coming... the whys almost made him stay his hoof a bit longer in order to do some more investigating. He still had no idea what caused Celestia's mana to be forcefully dissipate after all. But the thought of Cktüis Zuserthators Ember gave him pause. Satisfy his curiosity or stop the burning of Equestria.
Let's not let your anger get you lost...
Šizra closed is eyes as the memory of his mother's words sounded in his mind. His path was now clear. "Cktārslotze." As the word echoed the runes he had carved began to glow as mana began to build up upon them.
Slowly breathing in and out he reached out with his earth mana senses to feel the life of the planet. It wasn't long before he found a leyline. He let it carry him along for a while before he very slowly pulled himself back. With a deep breath he began to chant once again, weaving a complex series of spells, this time in tongues of the ancient alicorns. It wasn't long before froth started to form on his body, the strain of the chant becoming too much for his weakened body. Still he kept going even as black sparks swirled around him and the light of the overloading runes began to blind him.
Šizra gritted his teeth as darkness fully engulfed him followed the feeling of his body being jerked around like a ragdoll. The pain was excruciating and he nearly passed out before just as suddenly it started it ended. He coughed as the shell of his mana fell away allowing light to enter his eyes again. A thick cloud of smoke swirled around him, irritating his inflamed airways. As more smoke filled his lungs he fell onto his knees coughing so hard that he was sending droplets of blood and mucus flying. His vision blurred as the coughing threaten to send him into oblivion.
As the coughing slowly eased Šizra finally took time to look around he found himself in a state of mild confusion. He was sure he had managed to teleport to the correct location given faint spell of apples and the timber-framed with thatched roof construction of the few buildings that he could see through the thick smoke. But why the utter lack of devastation? Ponyville would essentially be matchsticks against dragon flame but most of the damage he could see was to façades, cracked plaster here and broken windows there. Was his assumption about the dragons enacting revenge wrong? Or did he managed to arrive just as it was commencing? He hoped it was the later rather than the former.
Šizra yelped in surprise, nearly falling over as he stepped back to avoid a teal stream of mana that flew out of the smoke. When a second stream followed right after the first he found himself roaring in pain as, out of habit, he had brought his foreleg to block the mana shot. Hissing in anger he magically pushed away the smoke that had been obscuring his vision, revealing a unicorn guardpony huddling under the remains of a nearby garden stone wall. A second guard, severely injured, lied barely conscious on the ground next to the first guard.
An echoing roar caught his attention and drew his gaze away from the ponies. To Šizra it sounded like it came from male hatchling but off somehow. His eyes snapped back to the guards. They had been shaking a bit in fear before but now they were quaking in terror. Why was the guard in that much fear over a hatchling? Sure dragon hatchlings were resistant to magic but not that much and just a moment ago he had been attacked by them twice. What was going on?
He watched and waited trying to get his eyes to pierce the wall of smoke. He debated whether to push the smoke back again or not when he could make out something moving in the smoke. Time slowed as a small black male hatchling probably less then ten years old shuffled out of the smoke. At first Šizra thought the hatching was just very injured with his left an arm hanging useless along with the limping almost dragging stride but his blood ran cold as he gazed into the young dragon's glassy and unfocused eyes. He could see why those guards were so terrified.
A sad sigh escaped Šizra as he telekinetically reached out, flinching as he felt the necromantic mana oozing out of the hatchling. Steeling his nerves he magically grasped the dragon's neck before he flicked his head severing the neck of the dragon as he did. The hatchling crumbled to the ground, unmoving. Šizra cautiously advanced toward the now still body. While severing the spine cord was usually enough to disrupt the mana that animated the corpse it was not a guarantee. He would need to destroy the body to be sure and that meant getting dangerously close.
He leaped backwards as he felt the power of the Bloodstone Scepter suddenly wash over him. Squashing the strong compulsion to rage against ponies he forced himself to kept a razor focus on the hatchling's body. When a moment passed with no signs of movement he finished his approach. Summoning Leafcutter he quickly went about the grim task of making sure the dragon would never rise again. He hated desecrating a body like that much less a young child but he could not risk it
He ignore the sounds of retching as he gathered his remaining strength. Given how much power he felt from the scepter Cktüis Zuserthators Ember had to be nearby and he had an pretty good idea where too. In a series of short he teleports, pausing only to look around, he made his way across Ponyville. By the time he finally found her pacing on the edge of a mana shield that encompassed the crystal tree castle he was barely able to stand, panting hard, his whole body aching.
Why is she using the scepter like a club? He marveled as he watched Ember alternating between spewing massive amounts of flame and smashing the Bloodstone scepter against the shield to no effect. Was she that far gone in grief and rage that she forgot that the scepter was a magic artifact? Or was she just not aware of the full extent of its powers?
What would you have me do Lāckta? Šizra thought as he debated the best way to approach the dragoness. It was not lost on him, the irony of him trying to talk down a vengeful dragon so shortly after trying to do the same, and yet it might the only possible as he didn't think he the strength or the mana to fight Cktüis Zuserthators Ember. As it was it was a small miracle that he hadn't collapse from his injuries or mana exhaustion.
"Cktüis Zuserthators Ember!" Šizra called out as he stepped forward, "You must stop!"
Cktüis Zuserthators Ember snapped around to face Šizra who could feel the palatable rage bare down on him. For a moment he saw a bit of confusion in her eyes leak through the rage before the fury doubled. A volley flame glanced Šizra's left side as he was momentarily distracted by the roar in his mind. Of course all she would see was my pony heritage! He bemoaned with a hiss of pain he quickly gathered enough strength to teleport out of range.
Šizra wiped away the blood that had burst out of his mouth after the hasty teleportation. He could feel the adrenaline that had so far kept him going was beginning to fade. If he was going to put an end to this he had to hurry. Fortunately he had a better idea now how to get Cktüis Zuserthators Ember to stand down. Unlike the hatchling that he had put down just moments before she was still cognizant enough to focus her rage at a specific target.
"Cktüis Zuserthators Ember, Twilight had nothing to..." Šizra called out, pausing when the furious dragoness roared back at him.
shE mUST PaY He shivered as he heard the almost demonic voice come out of her mouth. She was nearly gone.
"Your anger and desire for justice is justified but Twilight is naïve and, at best, is guilty of misguided good intentions. That is not deserving of death." Šizra sighed sadly, shaking his head. "Tirek and Cozy Glow, on the other hand..."
poNY JUSTiCe Is No jusTICE! Cktüis Zuserthators Ember roared.
Šizra couldn't help but snort in amusement. He felt the same way but what Cktüis Zuserthators Ember was attempting was not justice either and it was not lost on him that he was in her position a week ago.
"Tirek uth Cozy Glow, üas ir atsiltīzi cktar Lāckta thāvi uth cktieauzušo cktūüu zethocītu, ir liruši."
Cktüis Zuserthators Ember eyes twitched before narrowing. Šizra merely waited calmly. The let himself relax a bit as he saw his words finally hit her, the rage slowly draining from her body.
"Enough death has occurred this day send your dragons home young Cktüis Zuserthators."
Šizra watched as she raised the Bloodstone Scepter still blinking at him in shock. As the scepter was raised out a wave of red magic shot out and spread out in all directions. He was not surprised when she collapsed into a sobbing ball on the ground immediately afterwards. Without rage she now had no choice but to confront the soul crushing grief in her heart. For a moment he was content to let her grieve in peace but as the sobbing continued a part of him became more and more annoyed. As a dragon she should not grieve in the same manner as other races especially as a Cktüis Zuserthators.
"Tell me young dragon..." Šizra began, walking up to her while keeping an eye on their surroundings. It would not be long before the ponies noticed that the dragons had stopped attacking. "Why are you crying like a pony?"
In an instant Cktüis Zuserthators Ember stopped sobbing. Angry eyes glared at him as the young dragoness rose to her feet the scepter swinging out aggressively.
Šizra, ignoring the scepter, leaned over and whispered into her ear, "Pour your emotions, your everything into a roar. One. Single. Roar. Push it out with such power, such force that the sky darkens and the earth trembles. You make it so that none will forget the moment that Cktüis Zuserthators Ember roared... and why."
"Now..." He paused as he backed away, knowing from the look in her eyes that she would do exactly as he said. "roar!"
Šizra closed his eyes as she roared at the top of her lungs. His whole body shivered he felt the waves of pain, sorrow, anger, and grief washed over him. For a moment, he was back home reliving the night his parents died, the emotions just as raw as it was twenty thousand years ago. He was about to answer with a roar of his own when a deep loud and angry roar overpowered Ember's.
Šizra eyes snapped open just as a mass of purple rushed out from the swirling smoke. Finding himself suddenly sluggish he was unable to dodge as it's large scaled tail slammed into him. The air in his lung violently escaped along with a fair amount of blood. He slammed into the shield around the castle hard enough to crack it.
He groaned as he slide down the shield. Impossible... Was the only think he could think of as his vision blurred from the pain. But the impossible was towering far above Cktüis Zuserthators Ember with a look of murder in his eyes.
"As your Dragon Lord I'm commanding you to stop!" Cktüis Zuserthators Ember roared out, thrusting out the Bloodstone Scepter, sending a pulse of red magic towards the massive green and purple dragon.
"Em...ber..." Šizra wheezed, trying to get air through the protests of his lungs.
"Spike, please, stop!" Cktüis Zuserthators Ember begged as 'Spike' took a step forward roaring as he did, the glow on his body flickering.
"Young... Cktüis Zuserthators..." Šizra groaned slowly lifted himself up off the ground. The pieces of what was going on were beginning to take form in his mind. "There are... limits to its power..."
"Šizra?" Ember glanced back momentarily before returning her attention to Spike who was readying to attack once again, the effects of the Bloodstone Scepter already gone from his body.
Šizra frowned as he summoned Leafcutter with a flick of mana and thought. What he first thought was impossible was now not. He was not witnessing an adult dragon but a whelp that had undergone Rage. Not that it was a relief as an enraged dragon such as the transformed Spike was were usually very difficult to stop without serious injury or death for all involved. Worse, given his exhaustion and injuries those chances were much much higher. Bringing his sword to his muzzle, he whispered into the fire ruby in the hilt. "Lacktuzriezējs thelateriāls."
"Šizra?"
"Trust me young Cktüis Zuserthators." Šizra assured as he limped past her, Leafcutter bobbing next to him in his telekinesis. He was the only one who had the best chance to stop Spike and he had at best one chance to do so without killing the young dragon.
"Šizra!"
"Trust me." He repeated before he gave a weak roar of challenge.
Unlike before, he was able dodge the massive tail using a bit of magic to leap a short distance away. A yelp turned into a cry of pain as his legs gave out on him sending him down onto his severely damaged forelimbs. Coughing up blood he struggled to get up back as he could feel Spike barreling towards him. He smiled as he not only got Spike away away from Cktüis Zuserthators Ember but into a perfect position to end his rampage. Spitting away a glob of blood he steeled himself for one last teleportation just as Spike reached him.
In a shower of black sparks Šizra teleported away just as Spike's paw smashed into the ground where he had been. Appearing just above the dragon's head he quickly thrusted Leafcutter into Spike's head right between two of his head crests. For a moment nothing happened until he roared in immense pain as surge after surge of electric like energy flowed through him lighting everyone of his nerves on fire. He could make out someone shouting just as darkness finally overcame him.
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Livessss
10725102
Yes yes yes... it took me way to long to write this... i hope its not another years before I get the next chapter out
CH9
[...]then neutralized both[...]
it's not past tense yet
flame glands [...] fire glands
interesting firebreathing mechanics! Better than just waving your hoof and saying its "magic"
[...]blood and mucus dripping down from his mouth.
Youch! Very interesting mechanics indeed. And a solid change from so many fantasies. Too often dragons seem to be a never-ending zippos, spewing endless flame. But even when an author has enough respect for thermodynamics to limit how much fire their dragon can use, usually they use it with utter impunity. TBH, the only place I can remember anything similar is on Pern, where the dragons had to be careful with the firestone. That puts you in very good company, friend.
cursed his hybrid nature
shucks. there was me gushing like a foal about your A.D.E. (Advanced Dragon Engineering) when really it was the fact that he is not pure dragon that makes firebreathing a non-trivial activity. See? That's the problem of writing comments as i go. I could go back and delete the previous comment, but that seems unhonest, and what would Horacknar Veritrix, the morally neutral god of Truth, think about that?
charred forelegs
I hope he has some o' dat Mutant Healing Factor...
were craved into the disk
should still be carved
leyline
isn't this normaly two words? not sure, i guess it could go either way.
froth started to from on his body
form
He hoped it was the later then the former.
latter [rather] than
but now they were quacking in terror
Oh. My. Celestia. Fear can turn ponies into ducks? (Quaking)
Summoning Leafcutter...
Mutant Healing Factor must be kicking in if he can wield his sword so soon
As a dragon she should not grieve in the same matter as other races especially as a Cktüis Zuserthators.
same manner, do you mean?
"Pour your emotions, your everything into a roar. One. Single. Roar. Push it out with such power, such force that the sky darkens and the earth trembles. You make it so that none will forget the moment that Cktüis Zuserthators Ember roared... and why."
Nice to see him acting constructively, and a nice bit o' dialog.
He could make out someone shouting just as darkness finally overcame him.
Were we supposed to know why this fight is happening? I noticed, at least twice maybe more, Sizra was concerned with what Ember might do if he was incommunicado for too long, but if there were more clues i missed them. As this chapter ends I am thinking that: Ember believed that the ponies took out Sizra (somehow!), she mounted an attack to avenge him, and Spike went all HULK SMASH during the fight. You don't have to explain it all if I am completely mis-reading this, but for FWIW, that is what is in my tiny brain right now.
11432385
interesting firebreathing mechanics! Better than just waving your hoof and saying its "magic"
yeah no HP magic here.
there was me gushing like a foal about your A.D.E. (Advanced Dragon Engineering) when really it was the fact that he is not pure dragon that makes firebreathing a non-trivial activity.
No. Dragons have their limits their(there?) (HOMOPHONES!!!!) just not the same ones as Sizra. (He's a hybrid. That should imply issues with said nature with strengths becoming weakness and vis versa)
The flame that Sizra is doing is clearly no ordinary flame...
We have only seen dragons burp fire not vomit it and not for 5 mins at a time. And given the first flame only warmed the metal and at the end its a cooling pool of metal... Also Siza's paws and forearms are burnt. BADLY... now its not said but if you understand forging then you may have guessed that Sizra used his paws to make a quasi kiln to help concentrate the flame and thereby the heat.
Having said all that what makes you think the list of injures only occurred because of his hybrid nature? Though to be fair I have only dropped hints about the nature of his hybrid-ness
I hope he has some o' dat Mutant Healing Factor...
Yeah, no... Stopping that right here. I have enough issues with him appearing OP. Don't need to add to that pile. So no scenes of Lulu cutting off her tongue because it can't get clean after having it accidently touch Celly's tongue so it can grow back 'clean' (That happened in a story here on Fimfiction with alicorn's having wolverine/deadpool healing factor and yes it was LOL)
Oh. My. Celestia. Fear can turn ponies into ducks? (Quaking) Only when Discord is involved...
Mutant Healing Factor must be kicking in if he can wield his sword so soon
Again no. I am assuming this is when he is about to confront HULK SPIKE yes? It has nothing to do with MHF... its far closer to adrenaline... and next chapter should telegraph how he is able to do this.
He could make out someone shouting just as darkness finally overcame him.
Were we supposed to know why this fight is happening? I noticed, at least twice maybe more, Sizra was concerned with what Ember might do if he was incommunicado for too long, but if there were more clues i missed them. Yeah you did. Two MASSIVE ones. Though to be fair one is a bit tricky to decipher And yes, you will know why but the why is not for this chapter.
As this chapter ends I am thinking that: Ember believed that the ponies took out Sizra (somehow!), she mounted an attack to avenge him, and Spike went all HULK SMASH during the fight. You don't have to explain it all if I am completely mis-reading this, but for FWIW, that is what is in my tiny brain right now.
Oooo should I quote a line that Sizra said in an earlier chapter? Because you are right he does go HULK SMASH but there is a massive issue here with merely saying ME HULK SPIKE ME SMASH! As for Ember... next chapter.
Okay caught up on your comments... Hopefully i can get to those edits before your next comment
11432672
Sorry, i don't have the best attention span sometimes WOAH IS THAT MY NOSE?