A Dragon's torture

Forgotten Friendship part 1

A dragon's ability does not always manifest right away; it may take years. It could even appear when needed most. But for a rare few, a special bond has to be put into place--a bond like mateship works well for releasing one's inner power.

--Dragon Proverb

Chapter Twelve

I awoke the morning after, exhaustion seeping into my bones heavier than a boulder. I ignored it as I got up and made my way to the elders. I needed to see if they knew anything about this new magic, which prioritized my exhausted body.

The elders saw me as soon as I arrived. Banelle walked me through their home, her thoughts entirely focused on what was for lunch--ideas bouncing between deer to boar and back again, weighing the pros and cons of each one. That's how it was around them. They were always conscious of their thoughts around me...blocking me from intruding on their private thoughts.

She led me to a large cave, big enough to fit all the elders and then some.

It seemed they took much care in this place. No stalagmites or stalactites were visible as I looked around. Some dragons preferred their ascetic in their dens, while others, like the elders. They preferred to dispose of them, evident in the floors barren of any dust or pebbles, the walls polished and smoothed by fire.

"What brings you here today, Furest?"

I sifted through each of their minds, all similarly blocked just like Banelle's, though Ethral's strength exceeded the others, I couldn't read a single thought from him, like a barrier was placed over his mind, enshrouding each thought in shadow.

"Something new has crawled up from the depths of the abyss, taking control of a dragon's body, sucking their very life force dry, keeping anything that might save them from working in their system. I need--"

"You want to know if we know anything about that," a dragon with red scales and a blend of black and red on her wings spoke up: Dravynna.

My silence was affirmation.

"We know nothing besides what you have experienced. We are looking into it."

"Do they know about Ymerc? His gift?"

I feared if they did. I never trusted them. They kept far too many secrets from the rest of us or, at the very least, pretended to know more than they did.

I decided to test them, a question that wouldn't relay my own knowledge, but test theirs.

"Do you know how to save them?"

"We do not. None of our records mention anything about this. It's safe to say for the time being, that whoever gets infected with this...blight, is sentenced to death."

"Dravynna, you can't be serious," I protested.

"They can't just give up. I've seen two dragons healed, and they are giving up? They wouldn't be if they knew about Ymerc. I think it's safe to say the elders have no idea. I don't think they know who got infected either, otherwise the elders would know that Xithris and Cythra were still alive. Likely, the elders thought Cythra and Xithris were dead."

"I'm afraid, for the time being, there is nothing we can do. We will continue looking into it," Banelle replied.

I didn't give the elders any more of my time. I left without another word, my tail lashing, striking the wall behind me. The sound of splintering stone reverberated along the walls. I would find my own way out.

"Hey, Furest! Wait up," Frith called as I flew.

Hovering, I waited for him. His scales of dark purple flexed along with his muscles as he flew. His light blue eyes held a depth that had my heart beating furiously in my chest. His wings matched his scales, dark purple, but with the light shining down, they seemed more of a scarlet purple. His tail ended in a sharp point, made for combat, it seemed. He always beat me in mock battles. Somehow his caudal appendage had a flexibility that made it hard to defend against. If things went poorly, I knew I could rely on him to have my back.