FSE

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Hey all! I'm finally back! Spent a long long time without internet access due to moving house and all but now I'm back and have started writing again.

So here is the fourteenth chapter in the series.

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What was on the other side of the door shocked and angered me to the core and was burned into my memory for eternity.

I saw Rasani, my beautiful Rasani, tied down on the bed, blood covering most of her body. Standing over her was this black dragon with bright orange symbols burned on his back. The black dragon turned and faced me. It was Jae, but a Jae so twisted and evil, it was almost impossible to recognise him. It was obvious to me that Jae had been raping her, judging by the way she was tied down and the blood. Jae, angered at her open dismissal of him at our wedding, had probably gone mad and decided to take her by force.

'Well, well, well. If it isn't the heroic Darkstar come to rescue his wife from my clutches.' Jae laughed. 'Well I am afraid you are too late Darkstar, I was just about to leave anyway. Having sampled your wife, I must move on to more pressing issues. You see, I have two powerful masters now and they don't like you at all. They hired me and three others to become their disciples and they imbued us with great powers. We are now the Disciples of Malice, we answer only to our masters, the great and powerful Lords of Suffering. Kaos, the Lord of Destruction, and Havok, Lord of Pain. They are the last of the Lords of Suffering as the other three, the Lords of Demise, Fear and War, were killed in battles against both the ancient race known as the Aresyvin and against the Universe itself.'

'So, you have sold your soul for power? I always knew you were weak, Jae, and this only proves my point. Prepare to die, as I shall be the one to send you to your grave.' I growled at him.

I rushed forward, readying both blades for the confrontation but was surprised when Jae waved his hand and a shockwave threw me through the wall and across the hall. I got shakily to my feet, sheathed both blades and stormed back into the room, wrapping myself in my powers as I did so. The black presence I sensed earlier intensified and wrapped itself around Jae.

'You seek to fight me Darkstar? You shall lose as your powers are nothing compared to mine!' Jae taunted me.

I let out a deep growl and flicked both of my hands, claws pointing in Jae's direction. Power lashed out from my hands, electrifying the air around us and smashing into the darkness surrounding Jae with enough power to destroy a fortress. Jae shuddered slightly but remained standing and completely unharmed. He jumped forward and began sending waves of darkness towards me. I concentrated and created a shimmering barrier of blue energy around me. The darkness hit the barrier, which caused it to warm us and glow white as I increased the amount of power flowing into it. Keeping the barrier up was having a considerable strain on my powers, so I released it as soon as the last wave passed over my head. I stood there, gasping up the air and had to quickly leap to the side as Jae sent a small fireball my way. I knew that he was playing with me, refusing to release the full extent of his powers, which made me wonder what his full extent actually was. I growled at him and began to focus. I was drawing in more power than I had ever been forced to use before and it worried me. What if all this power somehow corrupted me and made me become like Jae, twisted and evil?

I threw almost everything I had at Jae, wrapping him in an unstoppable firestorm. He growled in defiance and leapt out of the scorching flames. I placed my hands on my knees and panted heavily. That had taken a lot out of me and he had actually survived it!

Jae waved his hand and I felt the tendrils of is power beginning to wrap themselves around my body. I strained against the bonds, trying to get free, when it struck me; his powers really were greater than mine! I began to realise that I was really going to need the other two pieces of the Heart soon if I was to combat Jae and the other three disciples. I felt my body getting lifted off of the ground and I flew across the room, smashing through another wall and falling through the sky. I flipped over in midair, spread my wings slightly and landed on my feet on the ground out the front of the mansion. I leapt back into the air and flew up to the hole I had created when I hit the wall. Jae was still standing there, grinning evilly at me. He raised his muzzle and howled. The darkness surrounding him intensified and enclosed on him and suddenly, both he and the cloud of darkness disappeared, leaving me alone in the room with an injured Rasani.

I ran over to her and untied her from the bed. She seemed only half-conscious so I picked her up and carried her into the next room. I laid her on the bed there and slowly healed all her wounds. There was nothing I could do to help with the mental damage, but at least I could fix the physical. Once I had finished tending to her, I placed her into a deep sleep and created an energy barrier around her to try and protect her from further attacks. I closed the door softly behind me and made my way to the library. I shouldered my way through the door and what I saw made me stop and look around in horror.

On the wall closest to me, there was a message written in what looked like blood. I guessed it was from either Kaos or Havok.

"With the power of hatred I will crush the heavens and rape the sacred with hands tortured by the waves of time. I shall be the one to destroy all that you know."

I growled with anger at what had been done to this once magnificent library. There were ripped pages everywhere and all the furniture had been torn to shreds.

I walked along the aisles of the library, looking for a certain book in particular and hoping that it was still intact.

I finally found the book I was looking for. It was completely black with a large engraved skull on the front cover. This book was very rare, as it happened to contain the history of Narcsis, the original Necromancer. I was looking for any reference to this Gauntlet of Truth. I was hoping that there was something in here that would lead me to the Gauntlet's location. I brushed the dust off the cover and took it into the room where I had left Rasani. She looked so peaceful, sleeping on the bed within the energy bubble that I had placed around her to protect her.

I sat down next to the bed and opened the book. There were whole pages missing and many parts were ripped so I had to flick through it and hope that what I was looking for was still intact somewhere in the book. After a while of searching I came across a passage near the end of the book.

And Narcsis, after using his knowledge of the mighty forge of the Stars, created a set of steel and leather straps that would allow him to hang his swords on his back rather than on a belt. After creating the chest bands, he imbued them with all his powers of Necromancy, so that whoever came after him would be able to use the power contained within for any necromantic rites or powers. After finishing his new sheaths for his mighty blades, he noticed a gauntlet sitting in a glass case in a corner of the forge. He opened the case and picked up the gauntlet. Underneath was a scrap of paper. Curious, Narcsis picked up the paper and read it. "The Gauntlet of Truth and of the Stars. Only the One who possesses the Soul shall be able to unlock its full potential." Narcsis placed the scrap of paper back in the case and fitted the gauntlet on his left hand. It was an almost perfect fit and Narcsis felt a wave of power flood through him. Narcsis, always one for power, took the gauntlet with him. It is said that the gauntlet now lies i...

The passage ended as the page had been ripped in half. I growled and swore, cursing whoever destroyed all these books. They had stopped me from locating the Gauntlet the easy way. I had the feeling that whoever ripped these books did not want me to find the location of the Gauntlet before they did. The rip was too precise to have been done by someone who was just trying to destroy any book they lay their hands on. Flicking over to the next page, I suddenly felt hope rise in me as I read the next passage.

For it is also said that Narcsis placed all his possessions in the Forge of the Stars in hopes that they would never be discovered and used by the ones who he had just learned about, the ones who called themselves the Lords of Suffering. Shortly after removing his armour and placing it in the Forge, Narcsis was killed when one of his undead minions turned against him. The exact location of the Forge is unknown but if one were to look for the Key of the Stars, a small pendant on a gold chain, one would easily be able to find the map to the Chamber of Stars where the Forge is located. For if the One with the Soul is able to gain both the Key and the Gauntlet, he shall become more powerful than any other dragon alive. He shall be the one to save us from the darkness and restore hope to the world.

I reread the passage and thought deeply. Where had I heard the term "small pendant on a gold chain" before? It seemed extremely familiar and yet I could not quite put my finger on it. I jumped a foot in the air as Rasani groaned and slowly woke up. I quickly stopped feeding my power to the energy barrier and watched it quickly fade and disappear before I jumped up and rushed to her side. I placed my arms around her and held her close as she coughed weakly.

'Give your body a couple of minutes to recover, my love. Everything shall be fine now.' I whispered into her ear.

Rasani cried and clung to me as memories of what had happened surfaced in her mind. I could feel her pain and it angered me beyond anything I had ever felt before. I was just about ready to rip Jae limb from limb as slowly as I possibly could for what he had done here. I shuddered as I felt the rage burn through my veins. I felt like the rage inside of me was slowly beginning to corrupt me, bit by bit.

'I am sorry Darkstar. There was nothing I could do to stop him. He was too powerful! He is not the Jae I once knew. He used to be so calm and pensive, now he is angry and evil.' Rasani cried.

'Shhh, its ok. I know, Jae has sold himself to the Lords of Suffering in return for power and used it to both rape you for his own pleasure and to also get back at me for making a fool of him. I am sorry I wasn't there to protect you.' I told her.

Slowly, Rasani managed to untangle herself from my arms and she rose shakily to her feet.

'So, what are you planning to do now?' She asked me.

'I am going to go after the two other pieces of the Heart and use the power to annihilate Jae and the other Disciples of Malice before taking the fight straight to the Lords of Suffering themselves. We need somewhere for you to remain, somewhere safe, because I do not want to risk your life again.' I said.

Rasani nodded and looked at me closely. 'I understand your reasoning behind making me stay behind, but I want you to know, I do not agree with it. If there is any sign of danger for me, I will teleport myself back to your side and assist you any way I can.'

I smiled, loving her for her fiery passion and commitment. There was no arguing with her once she had decided something.

'Where will you go?' I asked her.

'I don't know yet, but rest assured, I will find somewhere safe.' She replied. 'Now go on, find your pieces and save the world while I hide somewhere and await your return.' She laughed and smiled warmly at me.

I grinned back and walked out the door. I walked out of the mansion, down the steps and onto the street.

Little did I know back then that this would be the last ever time that I would set foot inside that building again.

I put on the deep red cloak that I had grabbed before leaving and I slowly made my way through the city, looking for the one place that I hoped would have some clue as to the whereabouts of both the Key of Stars and the location of the Chamber of Stars, the Museum of History. Inside the Museum was also housed all of my true father's relics which were in the Criminal History area of the Museum. I assumed that the things I was looking for, the history of Narcsis and hopefully the location of the Chamber, would be near there seeing as Necromancy was considered a black art by many. It was one of the forbidden arts of magic and those caught utilising its powers were immediately sentenced to death.

I walked along the long streets, slowly making my way towards the Museum. There were a few others on the streets around and they all seemed to get as far away from me as possible, with fear or something similar in their eyes. Did everyone believe that I was a murderer? That I had killed Avyn? I know I destroyed the two most powerful syndicates of the city, but I only did it because I believed that in the end, they truly deserved it for all that they had murdered and forced to suffer.

I entered the massive building and headed towards the place where Stormsun's items were located, hoping to start my search from there. As I neared the glass cases, I was suddenly overcome with a feeling of power. I looked at the objects in the case; Stormsun's ring, the letter to his mate, a small black book and Star's Bane.

I looked at the crescent moon amulet and wondered whether there was some way I could lay claim to it as Stormsun's son without getting challenged or arrested.

I looked around, wondering if there was a way for me to actually steal my father's things without getting caught. I noticed that there were a few dragons walking around wearing the grey capes of the museum security and they had swords sheathed in scabbards on their belts. I knew that to attract attention to myself by stealing it here, in the open, was an almost assured ticket for suicide. I glanced over my shoulder and thought I saw a shimmer of gold scales right behind me. I turned around quickly, expecting to see Zathari or someone standing behind me, but all I saw was the wall of the museum and a slight shimmer, like heat rising from a fire. I felt a hand press over my mouth and I was dragged forwards into a side room.

As the pressure was removed from my mouth, I growled and drew my Dragonblade, knowing that my invisible attacker was nearby. As the blade came over my shoulder, I saw the same shimmer of gold and blinked uncertainly. Zathari suddenly appeared as if from nowhere and looked at me quizzically.

'What? You never seen someone disappear and reappear before?' She asked me.

'As a matter of fact, no I haven't' I replied and sheathed the Dragonblade.

'Well, turning invisible is my personal dragon ability. I am able to bend light around myself and other objects with ease.' She said. 'So, what are you doing in here of all places?'

'Trying to get my hands on a particular item that kind of belongs to me.' I said truthfully.

Zathari cocked her head to one side. 'The moon-like amulet I watched you stare at?'

I nodded once. 'That's the one. Star's Bane is what it is called.'

'I suppose that after all that you have done for me, I kind of owe you a favour. Don't you agree?' She winked and laughed.

I laughed too. 'It would be nice. Are you able to hide the both of us until this place has closed so that I can grab what I am after?'

I noticed a twinkle in Zathari's eyes and knew that it was going to cost me.

'I am sure we can work something out.' She said happily.

I nodded again, thinking I knew what she meant and hoping that she was going to collect her payment after we had escaped.

Zathari closed her eyes and I felt a slight tingle on my skin. I looked down at my arm, expecting to be able to see right through it, but found that I could still see the midnight blue scales and my entire body. I could also still see Zathari too.

'Are you going to turn us invisible?' I asked.

'We are. No one should be able to see us unless they are using the same sort of magic. I am not powerful enough to turn anything large completely invisible.' She replied and I grinned at her in a reassuring way.

'You just need to train yourself some more. Try and expand your limits and see what you can accomplish.' I encouraged her.

Zathari grinned half-heartedly at me and I smiled back.

For how long we lounged around in that small room, I cannot tell, but it was many hours later when the museum closed and we were free to roam around without being spotted. I immediately made my way over to the glass case that contained Star's Bane. I focused my power on one claw and created a white hot fireball. I used the fireball to melt the metal lock on the case and carefully removed the lid. I grabbed the ring and the small book before gingerly picking up the golden amulet and putting the lid back on the case. Star's Bane felt hot in my hand and I almost dropped it out of surprise. I quickly placed it around my neck and did up the clasp. There was a feeling like someone had just poured a bucket of ice into my mind and I could feel the sudden flow of power through my veins. I fingered the crescent moon, wondering at the power I could feel throbbing through my claws as they touched it. This was a powerful object indeed and it would be of good use in upcoming battles, especially against Jae and the other Disciples of Malice.

I looked over my shoulder and saw Zathari staring at me intently. She looked slightly scared.

'Zathari, what is wrong?' I asked her.

'Darkstar! What is happening to you?' She asked me worriedly.

I looked down at my body and gasped. I was glowing an eerie red colour and my body was changing slightly. I grew slightly taller and my entire body grew more muscled as the power seared its way through my veins. The glow slowly dimmed and faded completely and I slumped to the ground as the power evaporated from my system.

Zathari rushed over and helped me get back on my feet.

'Thanks.' I grunted as I regained my balance.

I wondered why such changes had been wrought upon my body but decided to think about it later, right now we needed a way out of here. I looked around for some form of exit, but remembered that they were all most likely locked up and to escape through one would be to attract unwanted attention to ourselves. I looked at Zathari and began to form a plan in my mind.

'Zathari, how much do you trust me?' I asked her.

'I would trust you with my life Darkstar. You should know that by now.' She smiled back at me.

I walked over and placed my hands on either side of her head. 'This is going to feel weird, but do not panic, I am not going to harm you.' I said. I bowed my head slightly and concentrated. Images flashed past my eyes. Images of Zathari's life. I was inside her head, searching for the source of her powers.

'Darkstar...?' Zathari seemed a little worried and confused.

'Almost done. Not long to go now, but this may sting a little.' I said truthfully.

I located the source of her powers and various spells and methods burned themselves into my consciousness. There it was, the core of her powers. It quickly flashed past my eyes and was gone again, but the brief glimpse of her power's core told me that she did not have enough for what I was going to need her to do. I focused on the core and pushed my mind in deeper, pulling my powers with me. Zathari squirmed as she felt her powers begin to soak up some mine and expand, making her more powerful than she ever could have accomplished on her own. Sensing that she now had enough power under her control, I withdrew from her consciousness and took at step away from her. Zathari's eyes were blank and her body jerked slightly as her mind grew accustomed to the new powers. Then, almost as soon as it had started, Zathari's eyes refocused and she stared at me in shock.

'I had to give you a small portion of my powers so that you could help me with escaping from here now, rather than waiting until they reopen the museum.' I told her.

Zathari shook her head, as if to clear her mind and glanced around the room. 'It is so strange. I feel... different... its like I am a completely different dragon now.'

'In a way, you are. But whatever you do, do not let the power control you. You control it, or else you will become corrupt and evil. If you feel like it is getting control of you, tell me and I shall remove it and return you to normal.' I said seriously.

Zathari nodded, took a step forward and embraced me. 'Thank you for this gift, Darkstar.' She whispered into my ear.

I disentangled myself from her arms and looked her in the eye. I hoped that this was going to work. Judging from what I had read in Bertain's library, it was almost guaranteed to work.

'What I need you to do is to concentrate. Focus your new powers on making you and me invisible. Completely invisible.' I told her.

Zathari's face took on a look of deep concentration and I felt a tingle run up my spine. I looked at my hand and noticed that there was a shimmering field covering my hand, arm and the rest of my body. We were invisible to almost everyone and everything now.

'Good. Now focus deeper. Look for the pattern in the invisibility. Look for something that you can grasp and change. We need to slip out of phase. Enter a different dimension, as it were. You need to locate the pattern and find a way to push through it.' I explained, hoping that she understood me.

Beads of sweat began forming on the top of Zathari's head and I could feel the power emanating from her. Here was a sharp jolt, like being shocked by electricity, and the whole world changed colour. Everything was seen through a greenish haze. I walked over to the nearest solid object, a glass case containing a rose carved out of a large ruby, and reached out to grab it. My hand passed straight through the glass and the ruby rose as it they were nothing more than a simple projection.

'What did I just do?' Zathari asked worriedly.

'You simply moved us from one dimension to another, rendering us invisible to everyone and able to pass through any solid object as if they were nothing more than air. Invisibility is basically only half of this. If I read it correctly, invisibility only places you halfway between dimensions. I gave you the power required to push us through the barrier into the next dimension. Now quickly, we must get out of this city.' I said and ran for the nearest wall, dragging Zathari with me. We passed right through the wall and out of the building. We ran through the city like ghosts in the night, passing through anything that got in our way.

Eventually we came across the giant gates that led out of the city and into the surrounding lands. I calmly strolled through them and waited for Zathari to follow. When she didn't, I got a little worried and poked my head back through the gates. I saw Zathari standing there, staring up at the gates with the look of dread in her eyes.

'What's wrong?' I asked her.

'I don't know whether I am ready to completely leave the city yet.' She said. 'I want to go off with you, but I also want to stay here.'

'It's okay. I understand if you don't want to come.' I said.

'No, screw this. I can't stand being cooped up while you run around having all the fun. I'm coming too.' She laughed and stepped through the gate.

We ran along the path until we were out of sight of the city, then I stopped and motioned for Zathari to do the same.

'We should take this opportunity to change back to our normal dimension.' I said.

Zathari nodded and closed her eyes. Power flowed through her and electrified the air around us. I was surprised at the amazingly short amount of time it took her to grasp and modify the power I had given her to suit her own uses. I felt another tingle run through my body, followed closely by a jolt and suddenly my vision cleared and we were back in our normal dimension.

'You seem to be doing a lot better than I ever could have imagined.' I grinned at her and she smiled warmly back.

We set off once again, heading towards the nearest town or village to seek somewhere to sleep. The sun was just beginning to rise as we set off and I basked in the early morning light.

After a couple of hours walking, Zathari and I came across a small town. As we entered the town, dragons stopped in their tasks and stared at us as we walked by. Zathari edged herself closer to me and I didn't blame her. This place frightened me too.

We located a small inn and quickly walked inside. It was dimly lit inside by a single fire which burned in the centre of the place. I walked over to the dragon I assumed was in charge and gently tapped him on the shoulder. The dragon spun around and smiled at me. It was one of those smiles that show no joy, only greed.

'Good day my dear sir! How may I help you?' He asked.

'Err... Hello. My friend and I are looking for a good room and a hot meal if that is no trouble.' I said cautiously.

'Of course it's no trouble! We have a nice suite available and a large roast on a spit by the fire. The price for one night is two gold pieces.' He grinned wider.

To me, that price sounded outrageous, but I was in no mood to barter and I did have almost five hundred gold pieces stored inside the cloak I was wearing from my arena winnings. I pulled out a small bag, grabbed two gold pieces and gave them to the dragon. He was positively beaming by now and he gave me a key with the number 6 on it.

'Down the hall, third door on your right.' He said. 'I will have the food sent up shortly.'

Zathari and I entered the room and looked around. There was only one bed, although it was easily big enough for the both of us, and a table with three chairs nearby. I walked over and sat on the bed, exhausted from the previous night's events. Zathari came and sat next to me and placed her arm around my shoulders. I sighed and rested my head on her shoulder, happy for the comfort.

A smallish dragon entered carrying two large trays with slabs of roast meat on them. He placed them carefully on the table, nodded at us and turned to leave.

'Hey, mate, wait a second.' I said as I reached into my pocket. I drew out a single gold piece and tossed it at the dragon. He caught it, bowed deeply and left the room, closing the door behind him.

'What did you do that for?' Zathari asked me.

'I often like to help those who are struggling to make it through the world.' I replied. 'But that is not important right now, let us eat.'

We walked over to the table, sat down and started to eat our meals. By the sounds her stomach was making, I could tell that it was some time since Zathari had last eaten and that made me wonder where it was exactly that she lived and what she did with her life.

After we had finished our meal, we both climbed onto the bed and began rubbing up against each other. Zathari snaked her head forward and kissed me passionately.

I felt my desire for this gold dragoness rise and I knew that she felt the same way. I climbed on top of her and roughly thrust my already erect cock into her warm depths. Zathari moaned in delight and I grinned. I locked my muzzle onto hers, kissing her deeply as I pulled back and thrust again. I began thrusting, slowly at first, but picked up speed and grunted a little as pleasure wracked through my body. Zathari moaned and gasped with every thrust and soon I could feel her silky depths pushing against my cock as she squealed and came, her juices erupting from around my cock. It wasn't long until I could feel my own orgasm building to its climax. I began to thrust deeper and harder into her and groaned with satisfaction as my cum spewed out into her womb. I lay on top of her, panting, for a couple of minutes before getting off and moving my muzzle down to her pussy.

I looked at Zathari, lying there, all hot and steamy and grinned to myself. I gave her pussy one quick flick with my tongue as listened to her gasp. I could taste the sweetness of her juices and my own cum and the aroma was arousing. I stuck my muzzle in her pussy and began licking at her walls, getting all the juices and savouring the taste. Zathari squirmed against me, trying to get me to go deeper and I happily complied. It wasn't too long before she came again, her juices squirting into my mouth and down my throat. Zathari pulled away and I wondered what she was doing. She crawled over to where I was kneeling on the bed and took my cock in her hands.

'Mmmm, bet it tastes as nice as last time.' She said happily before taking my cock in her muzzle and happily sucking on it. I groaned as pleasure soared through my body. I began thrusting into her muzzle, increasing the pleasure. I closed my eyes and my tongue hang out the side of my muzzle as Zathari kept sucking on me. I was startled out of my pleasure when I heard the door open and an all-too familiar gasp came from the doorway. I opened my eyes to see Rasani staring at me and Zathari in shock.