In Love with a Gryphon - Chapter 4: “The Unspeakable” (Part 2)
#5 of "In Love with a Gryphon"
Thank you for pointing out my mistakes!!! I've had hard times, but here I am again, in a new adventure. XiLluminum, Aeon and Aeris, Aliza (gryphon hatchling), Lord Drakken are copyright of XiLluminum (me)©. Diamond is property of Tim © Kage is property of Shadowmoon © This story series, storyline and most of its characters are intellectual property of XiLluminum (me). This story is not public domain. It can't be published by any other person without my agreement. Thank you Tim for your help in writing this fantastic series. Thank you Shadowmoon for allowing me to use Kage in this chapter, and for the idea. The music themes for this story are: Enya- Book of Days; Hans Zimmer- Pearl Harbor main theme. Minors, go away!
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- * * In Love with a Gryphon - Chapter 4: "The Unspeakable" (Part 2) The air was cold and fierce, it hit me with amazing strength, but I never slew down. As the storm developed with all its might, I began loosing hope that I would never find again the egg. Dark thoughts ran across my head. What if they killed her? I closed my eyes, trying to vanquish the image of a shattered egg, and a blood-covered embryo convulsing outside the protection of the shell. As the rain started to fall, I sought refugee in a forest below me. I found a clear in the woods, big enough for me to land safely. When I landed, I walked into the forest, directly to a group of trees that seemed safe and isolated from the fierce storm. I dropped all my stuff in the floor. Next, I gathered 10 big stones, and placed them in a circle. I picked up some fallen branches and leaves, and lit a fire. In that small fire I cooked my dinner. "Please" I prayed while eating, hoping that my prayers might be heard, "Let her live..." I finished eating, and buried the leftovers of the dinner, so that any animal or monster couldn't find it. I quickly fell asleep, and slowly my dreams started tormenting me... I was tied inside a dark cave, and I saw a group of dragons standing in a semi-circle in front of me. A pedestal stood in the middle of the semicircle, and moonlight that entered through a hole in the ceiling illuminated that pedestal. "Where am I?" I asked, but none of them answered. "Who are you guys? Please let me go." Again, none seemed even to listen what I said. Then, a dragon entered into the chamber, wearing a cloak as red as the blood. He had the egg in his claws. He walked towards me. - "Ha!" He said "You thought you could save and hide your little princess from me, right?" - "Who are you?" I asked "Set me free and give me back that egg, or suffer the consequences" I warned - "I think not." He said, and raised a hand. An unbearable pain numbed my extremities. - "Aarghhh!" I shouted. - "Mmmmm, how joyous is this day for me!" The dragon mocked at me. "You'll be the first one to see the how the Unspeakable Spell works. And precisely, all what I needed was a royal gryphon's blood." - "Noooo!!!!!" I shouted. I tried to free myself, but again he raised his hand, and the same pain seared my body. I fell to the ground panting. I couldn't move, and a tear slid from my left cheek. I knew hope had been lost. I had failed to protect the little one. The dragon left from my side, and placed the egg on the pedestal. All the other dragons started to sing with a deep voice. The egg glowed, and hovered above the pedestal. And the dragon who spoke with me started pronouncing the spell. "Please no, don't do it!!!" I begged. He suddenly stopped reciting the spell, when he took a silver mace, and crushed the egg, a flash of white light blinded me. "Noooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!" I cried... I suddenly woke up. The sun was high in the sky, and the birds sang cheerfully. I was sweating, and my muscles were tense. "It was just a dream" I muttered "just a dream". Tears were sprouting from my eyes. "Just a fucking dream" I repeated. I was shocked. Was I foreseeing future events? Would it really happen something like that? I didn't know. But I was sure on something; I had to proceed with my journey. I suddenly felt uneasy, as if someone was watching; it was an odd sensation. I actually could sense somebody's mind. That creature, men or monster, was watching me cautiously, hidden among the bushes. I could sense fear and amazement at the same time. I smelled the air. Certainly somebody was spying on me. "Whoever is watching come out, I intend no harm!" I shouted. I drew one of my swords out, and pointed its tip to the ground. A large wolf carrying a black and gold bow stepped from behind the trees, with a pair of white wings sprouting from his back, the tips of which, faded to a pitch black color. His fur, a deep grey color with black stripes all over. - "Who are you, and what do you want from me?" I asked. - "My name is Kage. My Queen told me I would find someone in dire need in these lands and when I saw you sleeping and the hurt expression I somehow knew she sent me to help you" he answered. - "I see..." I answered. "My name is XiLluminum first of all, and this is what happened to me: I've rescued a gryphon egg a week ago, the egg bearer told me to protect it with my life; I hired a nursing dragoness to hatch the egg, and, yesterday, my palace was attacked, the dragoness is badly hurt, and the egg was stolen by a group of dragons." - The wolf seemed surprised, he muttered something about his queen knowing a gryphon queen, and asked "how does the egg look like?" - "Hummm... The shell is white, and has pink stripes all over it" I answered - "It can't be!!!" He exclaimed "my Queen will be sad when she knows this news" he said. I was looking at him with a startled expression, and he then said "However, this matters not right now, the must be saved. "Do you know where the dragons went?" - "Yes I do" I said, and I took out a map from my staff, and unrolled it. I pointed a red spot in the map and said "My mountain is here, and they flew towards here" I pointed another red spot, near the western ocean. - "How nice" he sarcastically said "we're visiting the Bloody Forest!" - "And what is that place?" I asked - "Well... is just a forest where creepy monsters roam, the best place to die and to kill monsters" - "Well, this is where they supposedly went. We must go on." Then, I added "You will have to explain me some things I don't understand about this Queen of yours and her relationship with the gryphons, and how she knew that I was in need". - "I shall see" he responded. With that phrase, I picked up all my stuff and we took off towards the Bloody Forest. A great valley came into view a few hours of flying and we decided to stop in a nearby hill to check the map, and plan our assault to Lord Drakken's hiding spot. The forest was immensely huge; the trees were 500 meters tall, and their bark was as black as a moonless night, they seemed to be formed of charcoal, yet leaves grew from their trunks. The place was silent, very silent... for me, and a chill ran through my spine. I was uncomfortable there, and I felt hundreds of eyes piercing my skin and thoughts. Kage turned around and told me in a whisper: "We must be very stealthy from now on, we're being observed, even if we can't see them, they do". I gulped, and proceeded walking, where we saw a tree so wide that at least 50 dragons were needed to encircle its trunk. A hollow was carved inside it, big enough for the 2 of us, so we entered and I extended again the map, at our feet. The wolf crouched on the floor, and after inspecting the map, he said: "The place where we are going is about 1 hour flying from here, but since we can't fly unless you want us to be discovered. We must walk from now on. I recommend you to unsheathe the swords you're carrying, we'll need them". He immediately took the map, and put it into his bag, and took out his marvelous bow, and when I saw it he added "Yew wood, covered in silver and decorated with gold filigree. I will hardly miss my target, for it was crafted by the elves of the northern woodlands with their arcane arts. They call it Wind Sylph." - "Nice bow" I said, "I prefer my swords" and unsheathed them. The two of them glowed blue. "Crafted in the heart of iLlumina Mountain; the pommel is made of the finest silver, and, the best part of it, the source of the blade: the legendary draconite." - "Where did you..??!!" He started, but then he realized that all this chat was running out our time "Right now it matters not, we must hurry. Before the sun hides in the horizon, we will arrive. We walked quietly into the woods, smelling the air, piercing with our eyes all the places that light couldn't touch; Kage strung his bow and loaded a pair of arrows, "just in case" he said. So there we were, a dragon seeking revenge, and a wolf with avian wings sent by who knows to help me. His fur and my scales' color hid us perfectly in that creepy environment. At the smallest crack of a twig we stopped. We both sniffed the air. We saw some bushes shaking in front of us. Kage tensed the bow's string and I lifted my swords; muscles tensing, preparing myself to battle. False alarm, a small creature, a 6 legged lizard came running from the shrubberies. We both sighed relieved. We slowed down and turned our heads around, checking if somebody was following us. The wind howled through the branches and the trees, and a crow shrieked somewhere in this cursed forest. Both of us were nervous, our heartbeat increased and we panted nervously, cold sweat ran down our forehead. We felt that somebody was watching us; he could sense our fear and he could see where we were. Someone we could not see... Suddenly, the wind stopped blowing, the time seemed to freeze. Nothing in this evil place moved, just us. The moss on the ground made our steps silent; we could hear nothing except our breath. - "Wait" I whispered, "I smell something" I said. - "What is it?" Kage asked nervously. - "I can't tell, it is like old cheese and dirt, and whatever it is, there are many of them. Let's keep moving a bit faster". All of our senses were alert, scanning the area for danger. Our eyes tried to pierce the surrounding darkness, our ears tried to scan the chilling silence, and our touch sensed the tiniest vibrations in the ground. We stopped next to a small puddle to have a drink. First the wolf crouched while I kept watch, and then me. When we were picking our stuff, the puddle vibrated, and we heard trees, and branches cracking. I quickly lifted my swords and positioned myself to fight against whatever was getting close. The wolf bent down and picked up his bow. 3 arrows loaded in it, and tensed the string. He held his 15 in. dagger between his teeth. Seconds passed away, and the stomps grew louder and louder. Our muscles stiffened, and chills ran down our backbones. We faced to different sides, covering each other's rear. A minute had passed since we stood there, waiting for the incoming attack. It seemed hours for us. Suddenly, a mighty roar came from around us. A group of 30 armored trolls came running towards us and surrounded us. Kage shoot the 3 arrows of his bow, and 3 trolls fell to ground. 3 arrows pierced through their helms, directly into their brains. He dropped his bow and unsheathed a hand and a half long sword. "Fight well, my friend" I said. "Die well, my brother" I responded. The trolls roared again, and started running towards us. They held their clubs above their heads. I roared fiercely. Smoke came from my nostrils as if a volcano would erupt. The same surge of strength filled my body, and ran towards them, Kage let out a scary war howl and leapt towards the trolls. I slashed the first troll, and blocked 3 blows with my right sword. I used my tail as a giant mace, and smashed it against the head of a troll. He shrieked in pain, and fell to ground. Blood covered my swords and my tail. Trolls kept coming from any direction, and I was surrounded. I slashed and twisted all around myself slicing trolls by half, blowing away their brains. On the other side of the battlefield, Kage was in the same situation. The trolls seemed endless; we had no chance of winning or surviving the attack. Dead corpses accumulated around us, forming a wall that didn't allowed us to see each other. Suddenly, a troll, bigger than the other ones, and wearing a golden armor called the others and ordered to leave Kage alone, and to capture me. I was distracted in that moment when a troll hit me with all his might on the skull, and I fell to the ground with a big thud, the swords were still clutched to my claws. "Nooooooo!!!" Kage shouted as the trolls left away carrying my unconscious body with them. He was boiling with rage. He promised to help me no matter the cost, even his own life. He wouldn't disappoint me nor his Queen who supposedly ordered him to help me. He grabbed his bow and quiver, and depleted it. 15 trolls fell to ground. All of them pierced in their head by a single arrow each one. He then hung his bow to his back, and started chasing the trolls in the shadows. That afternoon, the field was dyed red because the blood spilled in that ferocious battle. I was carried 3 miles away from that place, to an immense maze. I was awake by then, but I couldn't move. I felt a strange numbness in all my limbs, and I was dizzy. My head ached, and I felt as if it would explode. I still had Aeon and Aeris clutched to my claws, but they were useless, since I couldn't move. I didn't notice a black shadow moving in the forests borders, but somehow I felt Kage's presence nearby. And it made me feel a bit better. The maze was heavy guarded. Guard trolls and dragons patrolled the entrance. Kage watched patiently, and waited. Meanwhile, I was led through several tunnels and passageways, until we reached a dungeon. There the trolls dropped me to the ground, and locked the cell. They exchanged a few words in their languages -composed mainly by grunts and moans- and the only thing I could catch was: "Eagle-wolf is no threat; Master wants Lord of Light Valley alive". Few hours passed since I was abandoned in that cell, when I heard a loud bang, and the door was opened. I could barely move by then, and I managed to get up and raise my swords. A familiar voice calmed me. "Put those things down, you're going to hurt somebody with that". - "Kage, it is you!" I exclaimed "What happened? All that I remember is that somebody hit me in my head, and later I was being carried by a group of trolls into this place". I walked towards him, but I was still too weak to move. I tripped and fell to the ground. - "Easy my friend, you've been drugged." He said. The wolf took out a flask from his backpack, and passed it to me. "Here, drink this, in some minutes you'll fell better." He was right, some minutes later, I felt my strength returning to my body, and the numbness and dizziness slowly faded. I tried a few steps before picking up my things. And then, I said to Kage "let's find the egg, and let's get out from here as fast as we can". We ran along large corridors, all of them were empty, no guard at sight. I felt again uncomfortable, the same feeling of somebody watching us. We followed our instincts, and we entered into a spacious room. It was cozy, and richly decorated with paintings and silk rugs. A large sofa was next to a fireplace, and beneath it, a bookshelf with hundreds of books. Somebody, a dragon, was already inside that room. He chuckled. "Welcome, XiLluminum of iLlumina Mountain, and welcome Eagle-wolf Kage, servant of Guinevere. I've been expecting you. Make yourselves comfortable, tea? Coffee? " - "Who are you?" I asked menacingly - "None, of no importance for anyone" he responded sarcastically. - "What is your name?" I asked again, Kage unsheathed his dagger, and I pointed my sword towards his chest. We walked slowly towards him. - "Don't do that or you'll suffer the consequences". We continued walking towards him. - "Guards!!!!!!" he yelled. In the act, 5 big armored trolls entered. The coward dragon hid behind them. "Kill them!" he ordered. - "Leave them to me, go and get that coward and bring him back alive" I said to Kage. - "Fine" he answered as he strung his bow, and loaded an arrow in it. The 5 trolls roared. I stood in battle position, and the fight began. They swung their clubs at me, but I parried 3 of them, and dodged the rest. I slashed the first one, and sliced it in half. Blood and guts covered my arms as the butchery began. The trolls were really stupid. They didn't realize that my swords cut through their shields as if made of paper. They roared in pain when the tip of the swords' blades burned and cut the flesh of their arms. I made 3 more blows, and the 5 trolls fell to the floor, motionless. A big puddle of blood dampened the silken rugs. I heard a roar behind the door in front of me, I recognized it, it was that sissy dragon, that tried to escape, and was surely pierced in a limb by an arrow. I hurried through the tunnel. The dragon was on the floor. There Kage was waiting, resting the tip of his blade on the dragon's neck. - "Are you going to tell me who the hell are you?" I asked angrily. - "No" he moaned - "Don't make me take out from you all the information using "rude" methods" I said. An evil smile curved my lips. - "I won't say a word to you!" the dragon said. I turned around and said to Kage "Undress him... and tie him" He looked at me with a startled expression. "It's not what you're thinking; this is something I learned... in the place I was born, With this, he'll say all what I want to know". He obeyed without hesitation I took 2 bottles from my backpack. One labeled "salt", and the other was labeled "vinegar". I put Aeris away. I grabbed Aeon, and changed a little switch below the pommel. The blade turned instantly from sapphire blue to red. The dragon shivered, he gulped and breathed hard. His face was horrorstruck. I muttered a spell. The dragon gasped and blushed. His long dick was unsheathed, erect and proud. "You are going to cooperate, or suffer merciless" I said. - "What is your name?" I asked. The tip of the blade was away from his dick only a few inches. - "No, no, and no" he answered. "I can't tell you anything, and I won't do it". I stroked his cock with the blade, and the dragon yelled as pain numbed his senses. His member had a serious burn. "Salt!" I shouted. Kage passed me the salt, and I sprinkled some on his member. The dragon again yelled desperately. "Vinegar!" The wolf was also very scared, but he didn't hesitate. I sprayed some vinegar over the wound. The dragon twisted and whimpered. The pain was unbearable. - "Are you going to cooperate with us, or what?" I asked - "No!" he said. I lifted the sword ready to give another blow "No wait! Mercy! I'll speak" he begged. - "I'm listening" I sat down on the floor. "My name is Lord Drakken" he started, "I come from a continent across the Great Ocean, I am under the orders of the Great One, also known as the Dark Sage, Commander of the Dark Army. He wants to control the world itself, and for that he needs to activate the Unspeakable Spell. And for his purpose he needed to sacrifice a royal gryphon hatching. He ordered me to get the egg for him. You may find the chamber where the sacrifice is going to take place at the end of this corridor" He finished. My factions had changed. From a rude face, I was totally transformed into a mad dragon. All my feelings and thoughts concentrated in one word: vengeance... - "YOU!!" I shouted. Rage burned my heart, memories from my past, my family, my house, my friends... "YOU!!! FUCKING BASTARD!!!!!" I was furious by then; tongues of fire came out of my nostrils. "YOU KILLED ALL WHAT I CARED FOR!!! ALL MY CHILDHOOD LOST BECAUSE OF YOU!!!!!" Tears sprouted from my eyes. I moved the switch again, and the blade turned blue. Lord Drakken's eyes wide opened, he sweated and panted. "Please, mercy me!!!" He begged. - "THERE'S NO MERCY FOR AN ASSASSIN!!!" I shouted. "You'll suffer the same pain that I have suffered for more than 300 years!!!" - "Mercy!!! Please... Argh!!!!" He cried and twisted in pain. Blood spilled from the new wound, and covered my chest. Where it once used to be an erect penis, now it was left a small throbbing bulge that sprouted blood. - "Set him free" I ordered Kage. He cut the ropes that held him still, and he tossed him his clothes. Lord Drakken stood up wearily and walked away. - "Kill him" I whispered to Kage. - "But..." He hesitated. "But... you've released him!" - "I ordered you to kill him, personal motives. Do it or I'll do it". Kage sighed, and then took his bow, and loaded an arrow. He closed his eyes, and let the arrow go. Lord Drakken fell motionless to the ground. The arrow penetrated his skull from behind, and sprouted between the eyes. I kneeled on the floor and cried quietly. My heart was swollen. It was an enormous burden for me to carry alone. But it was my fate, and I had to live with it. Five minutes later we were running down the corridor. A big metal door could be seen at the end of it. Suddenly the torches that lit the tunnel, extinguished. A heavy darkness fell upon us. "Kage, let's walk cautiously". Nobody answered. "Kage, where are you? Kage!!" Something hard hit my head and I fell to the ground. I woke up in a familiar place. I had seen it somewhere else, but where? I was tied inside a dark cave, and I saw a group of dragons standing in a semi-circle in front of me. A pedestal stood in the middle of the semicircle, and moonlight that entered through a hole in the ceiling illuminated that pedestal. "Where am I?" I asked, but none of them answered. "Who are you guys? Please let me go." Again, none seemed even to listen what I said. Then, a dragon entered into the chamber, wearing a cloak as red as the blood. He had the egg in his claws. He walked towards me. The dragon chuckled "You thought you could save and hide your little princess from me, right?" I tried to remember, the voice was familiar. I was sure that I had heard it before, but when? I assumed that he was the Dark Sage, the one that Lord Drakken mentioned. - "Dark Sage" I said "Give me back the egg you fucking asshole!" - "I think not" He said, and raised a hand. An unbearable pain numbed my extremities. - "Aarghhh!" I shouted. - "Mmmmm, how joyous is this day for me!" The dragon mocked at me. "You'll be the first one to see the how the Unspeakable Spell works. And precisely, all what I needed was a royal gryphon's blood." - "Noooo!!!!!" I shouted. I tried to free myself, but again he raised his hand, and the same pain seared my body. I fell to the ground panting. I couldn't move, and a tear slid from my left cheek. I knew hope had been lost. I had failed to protect the little one. I remembered when I had lived this experience. It was just as my dream! I tried to set free, but the ropes were tightly knotted around me. "I won't allow you to do this!" I warned him. He didn't seem to listen and proceeded with the ritual. He placed the egg on the pedestal. All the other dragons started to sing with a deep voice. The egg glowed, and hovered above the pedestal. And the dragon who spoke with me started pronouncing the spell. "Please no, don't do it!!!" I begged. Right in the moment that everything seemed lost, Kage jumped down through the hole. His dagger at his left hand, and the sword at his right. He tore one of the Dark Sage's arms with the dagger, and kicked him in the belly, throwing him 2 yards away from the egg. He ran towards me and set me free by cutting the ropes that tied me. I patted him on the shoulder and said "Thank you, my friend". The other dragons were moving towards us, casting curses and spells upon us. "Gramarrye Skolir!" I shouted. The spells bounced back towards the spellcasters. "You take charge of those" I said to the wolf "The Dark Sage is mine". Kage nodded, and leapt upon them. Blood and guts covered him as he killed the spellcasters one by one. The Dark Sage stood up, and picked a silver mace. "Oh no mister, you won't do it!" I yelled at him. I unsheathed Aeon and Aeris. He was horrorstruck, and he ran towards the egg. I felt a familiar explosion of strength and stamina inside my body, and I ran as fast as a speeding bullet towards the magician. I slashed my swords, and cut him easily in half. In that moment, the place itself began rumbling, and the big slabs of stone began to fall from the ceiling. - "The maze is going to collapse, let's get the hell out of here!" Kage shouted at me. - "But the hole is too small for me!" I said nervously, "I won't make it, please take the egg with you, and make sure that Diamond the dragoness gets it!" - "No! Kage replied, "I won't loose a friend, you're coming with me!" "But there's no way out rather than that small hole!" While we were arguing, I noticed that the ceiling opening had been blocked by a stone. Now we were in real trouble. I turned around to see if there was any other exit. I felt relieved when I saw that the doors were completely opened. "There's our exit!" I pointed to the doors. I clutched the egg near to my chest. Kage and I ran to save our lives. We fled running through a long corridor. The columns that held the ceiling were tearing apart, and the tunnel was collapsing behind us. "We're never going to make it..." I thought constantly. I surely had a face of terror, because Kage patted me on my side, and said "We're gonna get through this together, don't worry". It was all what I needed to hear to feel confident again. I nodded and continued running. The maze was a gigantic labyrinth, but we followed our instincts. Our smell guided us to the main exit of the cave system, and to our freedom. We passed through many galleries, some of which had doors at both sides. Probably were the barracks of the troll guards. We followed a twisted path, it turned to the left, and then to the right. There were some columns on the floor, which slew down our way out. Also I noticed that some of the torches began to fade. The time was running out, and the tunnels seemed endless. We couldn't see a way out, yet we knew it was somewhere ahead. On our way out, we had several encounters, five in total, with trolls escaping, and that tried to block our path. We slayed them merciless, fearing on our lives. We finally stepped into a big hall sunlight illuminated the dark room through a big entrance. We had made it! We were finally out! As we ran towards the door, I felt that something was going wrong. I halted and signaled Kage to slow down. "Wait!" I said, "This was too easy, there's something I don't like in this". "What's the matter?!!" Kage shouted excitedly "We're almost out! We..." Kage couldn't finish his words. In that precise moment, a guard swung his club at him, and sent him flying 5 yards away. He landed with a big thud. I lost all hope in that sec. A group of 50 trolls blocked the entrance; they were prepared to stop us at any cost. I ran back to Kage, and helped him. "Are you sure we made it?" The wolf turned around, and he couldn't say a word. "C'mon" I said, we can do it". Kage nodded, and unsheathed his sword and dagger. I unsheathed only one sword, Aeon, since I was carrying the egg with my left claws. - "Fight well, my friend" Kage said. - "Die well" I responded. A few seconds passed before any of us attacked. Nobody moved; neither the trolls, nor us. We heard a vague rumbling, and the ground began to shake. "Charge!" I shouted. We ran, swords gleaming above our heads, ready to strike all of our enemies. Kage covered my right side while I covered his left. We swung our swords in perfect synchrony. We leapt, and twisted, dodged blows and parried some others. The battle was ferocious, blood dripped from our arms, and guts covered our chests and faces. The trolls had no chance of winning. Kage and I managed to pass through the "welcome" party and headed straight to the door. Some trolls that were still alive were struggling to get out; they were frenzied, and terrified. Outside the maze, Kage kneeled to the ground, and took a strange device from his backpack. "Do you like pyrotechnics? 'Cause there'll be a firework show". Saying that, he asked me to light up a string that hung from the device. With extreme precaution, I blasted a tiny jet of flame, enough to start a fire in the string. Kage threw that device into the maze, and the trolls stopped fighting each others to escape; the flame caught their attention, and they gathered together to see the spectacle. They seemed that their life wasn't important at that moment. We took off immediately, and when we were a pair of miles away of the place... BOOM!!!! A huge explosion was heard in the entire valley. A giant ball of flame and smoke rose behind us. The explosion was amazing, the valley became illuminated by the ball of fire, and the expansive waves made the trees shake; from above, the forest seemed to ripple, as if it were water. We flew fast and straight towards our new and final destiny of the day: iLlumina Mountain. - "Yeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!" Shouted Kage excitedly. "We did it! I told you! We got through this in a single piece!" We both laughed, happy that everything had gone right, and that the egg was safe. To express my emotions, I started singing; I think I still remember the verses; it was something like this: One day, one night, one moment, my dreams could be, tomorrow. One step, one fall, one falter, east or west, over earth or by ocean. One way to be my journey, this way could be my Book of Days. No day, no night, no moment, can hold me back from trying. I'll fly, I'll fall, I'll falter, I'll find my day may be, Far and Away. Far and Away. One day, one night, one moment, with a dream to believe in. One step, one fall, one falter, and a new earth across a wide ocean. This way became my journey, this day ends together, Far and Away. This day ends together, Far and Away. Far and Away. We didn't stop that night to rest. We were still excited on what had happened back in the Bloody Forest, and we flapped our wings tirelessly throughout the night. When dawn began to slip away, and a faint glow appeared at the horizon, a dark spot could be seen far away. I felt happy now, for what I was seeing was my mountain, my lands, my home. The sun slowly came out. The mountain was only a handful miles away, and there it was, standing proud, with all its might. This time no clouds crowned its peak, as if the mountain was happy to see the egg and me safe. A faint glow came from it. Kage was amazed. "This mountain has proper feelings" I explained, "and right now, she's greeting us". My palace came into view, and in the porch, a diamond colored dragoness waited outside; she was sitting on a French style sofa, reading a book. A servant and a maid were next to her, in case she needed some help. We landed right in front of her. Kage opened his mouth when he saw the entrance: polished silver doors, decorated with gold filigree and jewels; forming complicated patterns that twisted in every direction. It shone like a small piece of sun in that joyous day. Diamond broke into tears when she saw me. I saw her, and I felt bad for what had happened to her. The dragoness was wearing a cast on her left leg, and had a scar across the right eye, which made her seem sexier than ever when she looked at me. We walked straight to her. She stood up wearily, and hugged me fiercely. - "I missed you" she sniffed. - "I missed you too" I replied "hey what happened to your leg?" - "The doctors said that I had a broken bone in 2 sites. It's ok, I'll heal fast" she said. Diamond jumped out of the sofa, and hopped past me to see the new visitor. "And who is this handsome Eagle-wolf?" asked. - "My name is Kage" he replied "and my Queen assigned me to help XiLluminum". - "I see" Diamond grinned "I want to know you better, why don't you dine with me and "chat" for a while". Diamond giggled. I knew that expression, she wanted some fun. I bent towards Kage and whispered him "It seems that you've a date for tonight, good luck, tiger". Kage gulped, since he since he never had gone out on a date.. - "And what about me?" I asked to Diamond "Is there something for me?" - "I have a surprise for you, I haven't forgotten you" She responded. "But remember that only after the egg hatches". - "Oh please!" I moaned. The dragoness kissed my playfully and answered "no". - "Ok" I said beaten "shall we enter? I want to take a shower, eat something, and change these rags" I pointed to my clothing. "And I think Kage is willing to do that too" I added. - "Aye, I feel uncomfortable being all covered in blood and guts" So no more words were said that moment, and we entered into my palace, and after a brief tour through the interiors, I ordered my servants to send letters explaining what had happened in the last days, to my friends: Hana and her husband Tim the Weredragon. I also ordered to prepare a feast, for celebration was to be held for our triumph. My heart was radiant of joy. I had avenged my parents, and I had saved my beloved Aliza, the gryphon hatchling, who would thank me in my dreams with something nice for sure. For me, that day the sun was brighter. Peace filled my heart. I knew that more adventures were to come, but I decided to forget about it for the rest of the day...