Malefor: the True Origin chapter 3: The Ritual
#3 of The True Origin
Night had fallen and there was murmur of excitement going around. The new element, Convexity, had been publicly announced with Malefor being the unwilling subject of new interest. He enjoyed the attention from some females, but he really just wanted to be left alone, as he needed some time to go over in his head what had transpired earlier.
Fenris mentioned that the new element could not be obtained by any of them, and that Malefor was their only hope to see what it could do. That meant that he would have to absorb it; publicly. Malefor had done things in public, but this was a new step. Hell, he didn't even know how to absorb it! They said that they would explain before that, though...
So now, here he was, an hour before the ritual started. Everyone had cheered him when this had been announced. However, for some reason, he couldn't shake this feeling in his stomach. Malefor knew that this was for the good of the dragons and wyverns in the city, but still. There was something about that pulsing dark purple sphere he did not like...
Shaking his head, he looked down below on the city. He was again on that pole that he happened to love and while many would know he was here during the school days, they didn't know that he frequently returned. Yes, he hated training. But there was something about this pole that he loved. It made him feel at home. There are many other poles, but this was his, and he would fight anyone who disagreed.
Only Laveria, Aeros, and Fenris knew he came here. He really did wish that they came, but they the last two were doing the preparations, being both guardians. Laveria, only she knew where she was. And she was blind, so that didn't help at all. Whoopy, he was alone. What no one seemed to remember was that in an hour's time, it was the exact hour when he was born. Did they care? Of course not.
Now he was an adult, and didn't need anyone pampering him. Not that he needed it anyway. "Well, happy hatchday to me..." Malefor muttered as light came from below.
The ritual seemed to be starting. At least, they had finished preparing. Torches were lit and he could now hear someone talking. What they were saying was impossible to decipher, but Malefor had no will to discover. He just wanted the night to finally end. Perhaps in the morning he could resume his regular life.
"Ah, I guess I was right in assuming someone was up here..." a voice said to his side as Malefor turned to see an unfamiliar dragon laying on his back, staring up at the stars.
This dragon was a blue dragon with green horns. The green was on his underbelly scales and also his wings, but that wasn't the part that was weird about him. This dragon was looking at him with violet eyes. Malefor had never seen eyes like his. This was so confusing. Where did he come from to gain those eyes?
"And you are...?" Malefor asked.
"Oh, my apologies," The dragon got up and did a small bow, taking Malefor off guard again; this dragon could stand on two legs! "My name is Kirev, and I come from a land to the east. This place seemed rich in history and I enjoy traveling."
Malefor wasn't sure what to make of all of this. This day kept getting more and more interesting. He needed a nap. Yeah, that was it; he was just tired and all of this was a dream. There was no Convexity or weird dragons who stood on two legs. Malefor nicked a scale and winced in pain. Nope, this was not a dream. He was screwed.
"I didn't know purple dragons existed anymore," Kirev walked closer. Malefor wanted to move away but he didn't want to relinquish his pole, "May I have the honor of your name?"
"Malefor."
"Malefor...interesting," There was something in the stranger's eyes. Almost as if he was very happy about something, "Do you know what is going on down there?"
There was no real harm in telling this dragon he supposed. The entire city knew of it, so what was one more? "A ritual for me to absorb some new element called Convexity publicly. I don't even know what it does and they want me to have it."
"Convexity? Never heard of that one. Is it a natural element?"
"I don't know. It was newly discovered, and I haven't asked, so it isn't certain."
Right before Kirev could ask, a flapping of wings could be heard and he saw the familiar shape of Laveria flying in the general direction of where he was. How she managed to find him most of the time confused him. Her sense of smell and hearing must be really high. Looking back at his new acquaintance, he saw that he was looking right hat Laveria, muttering something. Like the voices down below, he couldn't tell what.
Soon, Laveria reached him, "What are you doing up here? I heard that they were waiting on you to do some sort of ritual. Do you know anything about it? I hope it isn't a sacrificial one...that wouldn't be nice."
Malefor almost smacked his claw to his head, "You of all dracidons should have figured it out. I'm supposed to absorb Convexity," If only had a piece of gold every time he said absorb and Convexity in one sentence...
"What?" Laveria suddenly went ridged, "I told them not to use that! The properties of it are unstable! Just being near it made me feel uneasy! This could kill you!"
"I really don't see any choice in the matter, Laveria!" Malefor shot back, spreading his wings, "I don't want to do it either, but if this is a chance to actually get some more power, I am going to take it. It's not like I have a large expectancy to live regardless," He flew past her, "Also, today was my hatchday; so nice for you to remember."
Malefor flew down, anger bubbling within him. How dare she give him a lecture of things that he knew? It was fairly obvious that this may kill him, but thanks to his advanced version of tuberculosis, he was screwed regardless. Lately he had been coughing up more and more blood and losing more weight than normal...
The fact that she just went off on him without any recognition of his hatchday made his anger go up. It constricted his breathing a little bit. Malefor really hated this disease. Diagnosed at age fifteen, it advanced and advanced to a stage that was nigh incurable. The main reason was suspected to be that he had four, and soon to be five, elements raging within him. His body simply couldn't handle it.
Landing on the ground, he coughed harshly and blood splattered the ground. Examining it after his coughing fit stopped, he saw that it was a tiny bit more than usual. He was only given a few years of survival, and that is starting to diminish more. Not even red gems could save him. Sighing, he just let the blood on his jaw dribble down. Maybe he can get out of this if he showed it.
Malefor entered the back entrance of the temple, away from the crowd that started to gather at the front. The guardians were inside, and Aeros rushed up to him, "Malefor, is it really getting that bad?" He asked in concern.
"Yeah," Malefor coughed a bit more, this time wiping any blood away, "I think I'm good though. It always seems to act up at night though..."
"You sure? I can try and see if we can set this to another date," Aeros started to walk away, but Malefor stopped him.
"No, if I wait, this will get worse and I won't be able to move," Malefor said in a fatigued voice, slowly walking forward. Yes, he didn't want to do it tonight, but at a later date? He may as well shove razors down his throat for all the good that will do.
"If you say so..."
Malefor went over to the other guardians, all of them showing signs of worry as well. Even Terra knew that he was coughing up massive amounts of blood because he accidently did it on her. Dying sucked really bad. Especially when no cure could be found to at least ease the pain.
"Malefor, to absorb the orb, do it the same way you absorbed your Fire, Electricity, and Earth spells," Elektren explained to him, "When your body has unlocked, concentrate on the orb and touch it when it starts to flow into you. I don't want to force this on you either, but you are correct; if you wait, your illness will catch up to you."
Malefor sighed. He really hated doing that. It felt so weird and as if his spirit was simply separating from his body. Admittedly, it was cool to see the world in a purple tinge. Pure elements could be seen and that was simply astounding. He remembered when he absorbed fire. How the flames flickered and burned under the tinge. He would never say it out loud, but it was...well...beautiful.
Pacing a bit, Malefor started to wonder how convexity would look like. Would it be a black nightmare, or a purple wonder. Even so, there was the issue of keeping his own elements from escaping. They always spoke to him in their language, and while they had gotten used to being in his body, they yearned for the outside world. No matter how much he wanted to be alone, he never truly was.
"It is almost time," Dante said, peering down at the smaller dragon, who looked at him.
"Wonderful," Malefor felt chills throughout his body. Whether or not it was nervousness or TB remained unclear, "Aeros, you think that females would be looking?"
"Everyone will be..." Terra chuckled. Aeros pouted, wanting to answer.
"Perhaps that one female you have been trying to gain will also be there," Fenris teased. Malefor shot a glare at him. Of course he would bring that up.
"Hey, don't pretend like you didn't try and pull your own stunts, Fenris!" Elektren called out.
"I'm not denying that I have done such things..."
"Alright, I don't need old dracidons telling me of their mating life," Malefor became disturbed and walked through the other door.
He could hear the crowd murmuring. His heart beat in his chest and he was threatened with another coughing fit. Cold sweat formed and he swallowed. This was his first public absorption. He didn't understand why this needed to be in public. Oh well, he had to grin and bear it. Malefor may as well show a small treat to them as well by exposing his other form.
Looking back, he saw the guardians nod at him. They were to come out a few moments after he walked out. Taking a deep breath, he straightened his posture and wiped any remaining blood off of his maw. Then, Malefor walked out and tried to block out anymore by shutting his eyes.
He needed concentration in order to do this, but as he had done it so many times, it came on almost instantly. He could hear gasps. Malefor smiled inside. When he opened his eyes, he took a brief look at the crowd with his new glowing multi-colored eyes. Symbols of elements covered his body and glowed their respective colors. There was one large symbol of all the elements joining together to form life on his chest.
Looking at the small orb that was pure Convexity, he could see the power surging in it. It threatened to overcome him. Yet he stood strong, yet uncertain. The purple, fiery liquid flowed like a waterfall, yet it had the striking energy of electricity and a freezing property. Wind could be felt from it as well. It was as if all the elements were poured into this small object.
And yet...there was something else. Malefor could only describe it as a small shadow that came off of it. There was something wrong with this, but he came this far...
Shutting his eyes again, the rune on his chest started to move into a circle, acting like a vacuum. Tendrils of the purple element came out and started to snake towards him. Opening his eyes just a crack, he watched as they were now millimeters away. The elements in his body started to move....
CRACK!
Something happened. Looking up, he saw that Laveria had grasped the orb just before it would have entered him. At this moment, his elements exploded out of him and the fire element ran across a flammable substance, setting it on fire and then everything went in slow motion.
An explosion occurred as the wind blew it rampant, earth causing part of the building to collapse. Malefor was knocked back from the explosion and slammed into a wall. Then, he gasped as something slammed into his chest and he coughed but a river of blood. A spike had stabbed him into a wall, gluing him there.
Malefor let out a roar as every element except for ice left him, and he started to fall into unconsciousness. Just before he did, he saw Laveria clutching the orb and looking at him.
"Malefor, you didn't listen..." Was what he heard her say before she took off, Dante right behind her.
Terra came up to him, led by Aeros. He looked up at them and tried to say something, but no words formed. So he slumped forward on the spike, his life fading. Claws kept him from fully falling forward, but they couldn't help him from slipping away.
His thoughts finally turned to Laveria and he wondered what madness could have driven her to doing that. How she even found him and knew exactly what to do while blind still surprised him. Her betrayal scarred Malefor deeply, as he had trusted her. Yes, he was angry, but still...
How ironic that he would die on the day he hatched...
Rated adult due to themes
Like I said, you guys didn't expect this. Yes, I kinda brought on his TB really quickly, but I was thinking of doing it since first starting. Also, things are gonna get weirder and much darker. But stick around if you want to know who this new character is and what Laveria's motives are.
I was thinking of putting a URL to certain music in this, but I wanted you guys to decide. Should I? It may add depth to it. But again, I was listening to Owl City while writing this, so that kinda messes it up. Lemme know.