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Greywing

The corridors were lined with glowing arcane crystals, dancing through innumerable shades of violet to blue to white and back, piles of gorgeous magical gemstones set into nooks as light sources or perhaps simply because she had had an eye for art.

“You know, child, no one would blame you if you turned around and left," the spectre said as she hovered alongside Rithe.

The dracthyr warlock shut his eyes and brushed away the ice crystals that had begun to form between the violet scales along his shoulders. He flexed his claws and took a deep breath. He could hear the raging going on deep below him, growing louder with each step he took, each winding staircase he descended. Deep below in the Azure Vault, Telash Greywing tore rooms apart and ripped ancient tomes to shreds looking for… well, whatever it was, Rithe didn't really know - or care, at this point.

Someone he cared about was hurting, and that's all that mattered to him.

On his other side, opposite the spectre, walked his Felguard minion Haaghun who squeezed the handle of his axe and smirked.

“No one'd blame you, sure, but that wouldn't mean you weren't a coward, either," the demon hissed.

“It is not cowardice to run from certain death," the spectre mused as she zipped over to Haaghun and leaned forward to inspect him. “In fact, demon, I think you too would prefer not to die, yes? Perhaps enough to run, yourself, were you not bound to your master?"

The Felguard cursed as he lifted his axe and brought it down on her skull, but the blade merely passed through her body as though she was nothing more than air… which, technically, was the case.

Rithe opened his eyes and sighed. “Enough." His voice was quiet, almost timid compared to his brethren. He began walking again, slowly, careful to avoid any sentries that Telash had left alive.

The older dracthyr mage had cut quite the swath of destruction through the vault. Large spires of ice pierced into the walls and floor, as well as patches of conjured snow and frost were left in his wake. Arcane-infused trees and bushes, glowing with violet light, sprouted defiantly among the carnage, emitting the softest of crystalline tinkles, as though in mourning. Anything not outright slain lay frozen and dying, and Rithe cursed himself at being unable to save anyone from the frozen chill slowly enveloping their bodies, freezing blood vessels and muscles until finally reaching the heart.

As he walked, he held out one claw, palm upwards and passed the other over it, conjuring up a quick healthstone just in case. He hoped he'd be able to talk Telash down… but looking at the destruction he had wreaked so far, Rithe wasn't too confident Telash wouldn't blindly strike out in his fury and pain.

He knows me, Rithe thought. We've known one another for… well I guess twenty thousand years now. He chuckled at the thought, and was glad he still had the ability to do so.

Rithe stopped and took a step back, bracing himself against a column as a violent tremor shot upwards through the vault. The air seemed to drop a few degrees in temperature, and the warlock could see his shaky, unsteady breath appearing before his snout as white, wispy puffs.

“I'll find it, if I have to tear this entire place apart!" came a voice from deep below, echoing upwards, full of agony and rage.

“Lashy, I'm coming…" Rithe muttered and began hurrying again, claws clacking against the cold, stone floor. His heart pounded in his chest, his mouth went dry, and his scales itched as the chill began to take hold.

“We might have to kill him, you know," Haaghun said, his voice carrying with it sadistic delight.

“We are not going to kill him," Rithe spat back.

“Your dear, precious-" Haaghun continued cruelly, his deep voice wavering in its giddiness.

“Quiet!"

“Child," the image of Sindragosa began as she hovered along next to Rithe, “What is your relation to this Telash Greywing?"

The warlock flushed and he cut his eyes at her, huffing as he responded:

“Is that information pertinent? I know you wish to gather knowledge for your archives, but surely who I am to Lashy and who he is to me is of no importance to you..

Sindragosa smiled softly and nodded, her eyes glittering as she took note of what the warlock had let slip. “I see now."

“You see what?" the dracthyr continued, his face growing red.

The spectre disappeared suddenly and then reformed at the doorway in front of them in a glorious burst of blue bolts. “I wish you good luck," she paused as the warlock and his Felguard passed by her, “with Lashy," and then she vanished from sight.

Rithe hissed softly and shook his head, continuing on. The commotion was much louder now, and Rithe could feel the tremors reverberating through the floor, straight up through his legs, echoing in his skull. He shivered not just from the icy chill in the air, but also from the terror of this inevitable crisis.

“You ready to run away?" Haaghun snarled, slamming his axe against a toppled over bookshelf, shattering it.

“I'm not going to run away," he glared at the demon as he stopped. “If you don't want to be here, by all means tell me and I'll release you back to the Twisting Nether right now!"

The Felguard wedged the wicked blade of his axe into the ground and crossed his arms, leaning against the handle. “And let you fuck this up and die on your own? Absolutely not. If anyone is going to kill you, it's going to be me..

Rithe chuckled and smiled, flexing his wings and straightening his back. “Thanks."

He stood up and crept down the hallway. Bookshelves and pedestals glowing with arcane energies lay toppled over, spilling both countless pages and endless secrets onto the floor. The halls were almost impossibly cold here, as though all heat had been completely sucked out of the atmosphere. Rithe held himself and shivered violently as he stumbled on, his eyes stinging in the frigid air.

“Oh, to have been cursed with fiery destruction magic instead of an affinity for demons…" the warlock murmured to himself, shutting his eyes and bracing himself against a wall.

“You always were lonely. Don't blame us for what your soul cried out for when you made your pact..

“Right…" Rithe sighed and leaned against the wall for a few more moments, shutting his eyes.

He was the first one I saw when I woke up. When I was ripped from that twenty thousand year slumber. Standing over in the corner and observing as each of us was roused, and then later when we were getting our bearings, trying to remember who we were and what we knew. I remember him - I remember his face when, instead of balls of fire or rays of frost, bolts of shadow flew from my hands.

What was that look in his eyes as he watched me? Was it intrigue? Disgust? Or fear? Surely none of those… Instead it was…

I remember him well - how he comforted me through the torment of my first demonic ritual. Holding me as I tore my soul to shreds and wove it into a conduit to the Twisting Nether through which I could call upon these powers. I remember his face as I ripped Haaghun into this world. He tried to hide it, but I could see his discomfort… and yet, he remained close to me.

I remember his warmth, and how ironic it was for a man to be so warm and kind, to then command such fierce, terrible ice magic; how ironic it was that he held dominion over the frigid deep… and yet could ignite such a burning flame within me.

I don't know what he felt when he first looked upon me, with my shadow, fel magic and demonic affinity… but I know what I felt when I first looked upon him.

The warlock took a deep breath and sighed, placing a claw over his chest to try and steady himself. He could hear Telash raging in the next room over, the sounds of books and papers being torn to shreds; the crackling of ice and frost shattering against the floors and ceiling; his guttural, visceral cries of anguish and fury.

Rithe stepped forward, peeking his snout around the corner. Before him, on the opposite side of the circular room, stood Telash, flinging razor sharp blades of ice into a pile of old tomes, and whipping another pile with his tail.

The warlock took a deep breath and stepped out into the open. Haaghun hefted his axe and put himself between the two dracthyr, eying the older male warily.

“Rithe?" Telash hissed, his claws swirling with flecks of ice and snow.

“…Hi, Telash, it's me," the warlock responded, swallowing hard. His voice came out soft, like a timid whisper barely audible above the swirling gusts of frigid air whipped up by Telash's magic.

Telash narrowed his eyes and scowled. “What are you doing here? If you're here to help me then stay out of my way."

Rithe shook his head slowly and frowned, his gaze faltering and falling away to the side. Bits of icicles fell away from his horns from the motion.

“Telash… I want you to come with me… Let's just get outta here, okay?"

The mage balled his claws into fists and swiped at the air, snarling as a wave of ice burst forth and splattered across the wall. He growled and took a step towards Rithe, the warlock backing away in response and Haaghun squeezing the handle of his axe as he lifted it in preparation.

“Leave!?" the mage asked incredulously. “I am going nowhere until I have my answers as to why we were imprisoned!"

“But, Telash," Rithe began, taking a step forward and gently gesturing for Haaghun to step to the side with a wave of his claw, “What does it matter, in the end? We can't get that time back, we can't go back and change things…"

Telash snarled at him, swiping his claws through the air again. Rithe shut his eyes and flinched as the waves of razor sharp icicles shot towards him, muttering under his breath to call down a ball of shadowflame, the meteor crashing through the enchanted ice and smashing into the ground.

“Our time was stolen from us!" Telash screamed, baring his sharp teeth, his shoulders heaving with each of his pained, haggard breaths. “We were thrown away and forgotten, for thousands of years! Does that not infuriate you? Does that not bother you?"

Rithe shook his head slowly. “Of course it bothers me… but… I'm okay, because I know I have friends like you to help me get through it."

The older male hissed and swiped a claw through the air. A river of living frost snaked itself across the floor, surrounding Rithe and slowly beginning to close in. A tendril of the magical ice touched Rithe's footpaw and immediately began to snake up his body, freezing and solidifying him in place. The warlock's eyes shot open and he cried out in agony as the muscles in his leg began to freeze solid.

“T-Telash…!"

“Then stay out of my way!" Telash snarled, turning away from him.

Haaghun charged forth, hefting his axe above his head and thrusting it downwards over Telash's skull. The dracthyr darted out of the way, spinning as he did to swipe the Felguard with his tail, pushing the demon to the side. Haaghun caught himself by driving his axe into the ground, whipping around to face Telash once more.

“Get out here and help me, you idiots!" Haaghun hissed, calling forth Rithe's pair of dreadstalkers.

The twin demonic hounds burst forth from the twisting nether, wicked maws gaping and snapping hungrily as they leaped over the patch of living ice. They dove through the air, directly at the older dracthyr. Haaghun lifted his axe and began to charge once more, hoisting the blade above his head.

Rithe fell forward, his claws plunging into the patch of ice, causing the frost to begin to envelop his arms. He whipped his head up at Telash, his eyes wide with terror and pain.

“Lashy… Lashy please…!"

Telash launched a bolt of ice at one dreadstalker, but the other clamped its jaws onto his arm, causing the elder to cry out in pain. He whirled around and flung it off before waving his claw through the air at the Felguard, forming a slick path of ice beneath the demon's feet.

“Stop!" Rithe screamed, suddenly banishing all of his demons to their original plane. He panted heavily, struggling as more of his body began to freeze.

Telash stood over him, staring down at the warlock. Rithe lifted his face upwards, his eyes sadly regarding the older dracthyr.

“How can you just disregard what our future could have been?" Telash asked, his voice low.

Rithe heaved, sucking in a deep breath as he felt ice begin to form around his chest. “Because… L-Lashy… when I woke up and I first saw you, from that moment on: you were all that mattered to me… What our purpose was then, or what our purpose is now… I don't care, because the second I laid my eyes on you, I knew what I wanted my future to be…" The warlock clenched his teeth, sucking in a sharp breath as he struggled to rip one of his claws free from the ice. He reached feebly for the older dracthyr, trying to simply touch him one final time.

“I wanted to be with you… and now…" Rithe chuckled bitterly, looking down at his rapidly freezing body. “I guess… I'll be able to… forever."

Telash's eyes widened and he dismissed his spell. He knelt down quickly and drew the younger dracthyr into his arms. Rithe smiled softly and reached up to gently place a claw on the side of Telash's snout.

“Let's just… let's just leave, Lashy… let's forge our own future together… just you and me, okay?" the warlock said softly, his voice completely drained.

Rithe fell limp in Telash's arms, his vision blurring into inky blackness. When next he awoke, he was in the middle of a small clearing in the forests of the Azure Span, lying next to a campfire. He sat forward, his limbs still tingling and numb. He brought a claw up to rub his forehead gently, shutting his eyes.

“…How did I get here?" he muttered, looking around.

Telash seemed to manifest from nowhere, sliding out from within the nearby tent. Unlike before, his demeanor had softened considerably, his shoulders relaxed and his wings drooping.

“Good, you're awake," he said, even his voice having a softness to it.

Rithe smiled, his heart fluttering as he tried to stand up, “L-Lashy! I'm so glad…" he fell backwards, his legs refusing to cooperate with him.

The older dracthyr, knelt down quickly, catching the warlock and laying him down. “Be easy, Rithe. It is going to take time for the feeling to return to your limbs. I… I am sorry," Telash muttered, turning his face away in shame.

Rithe reached upwards and gently caressed Telash's neck. He shook his head. “It's all right, I'm just… I'm glad that I can spend this time with you."

Telash sighed, shutting his eyes.

“Lashy… look at me," Rithe said, his voice soft and timid. He gently grasped Telash's wrist and squeezed it.

The older dracthyr turned to face him, his eyes weary and hollow, guilt welling up amongst their depths. Rithe smiled and pushed himself upwards, closing his eyes as he gently placed a kiss on the corner of Telash's mouth. The older male shut his eyes and drew the warlock closer into a gentle embrace, returning the warlock's fervor, a soft purr-like growl escaping from deep within him, vibrating into their gentle, loving kiss.