Dragonborn

Chapter 9 ~ Lake of a Thousand Stars

    Akila woke up late the next morning, at least compared to when she would previously wake. Gavin had canceled their morning runs. Plus, today she was going to get her powers, and she quite honestly didn't mind delaying that a little bit.

    Supposedly, she had to go into an enchanted lake that held the highest balance of light and dark energy in the world, and when she came out she was supposed to get her powers. Talk about a rejuvenating bath.

    She slung on some training clothes, Oralia had added another pair of them to the closet, and nervously went downstairs. Strangely, everyone was awake.

    Cameron smiled at her as she came in. "Today's a big day."

    "Well uh..." Akila asked nervously, "Could you run me through it one more time then."

    Gustav picked up the conversation from there, "We fly you to the lake, it's about a fifteen minute flight. Then you simply go in and... for lack of a better phrase, take a bath."

    "Alright, let's do it then." Akila said. She just wanted to get it over with.

    The entire group went outside, but only Moon and Gustav changed into their dragon forms, and she had to say, they were stunning. Instead of just his eyes, Gustav's entire body was the color of molten gold. Moon, on the other hand, was a pinkish-white with disturbingly deep navy blue irises.

    Gustav-turned-dragon dipped his head to allow her to climb on his back, and so she cautiously did. After that, they took off.

    "Why did both of you come along?" She asked

    "Protection." Moon answered simply. "I sense something, I can't tell if it's good or bad, but all I know is that it is important."

    "Should I be worried?" Akila pressed.

    "Yes."

    The rest of the quick ride passed in silence. Soon they reached a rather normal looking cave, that led into rather normal looking darkness.

    "Are you sure we should be going into darkness?" She hesitantly asked.

    "Who said 'we'" Gustav answered. "This is where we leave you, for this journey you must make alone."

    The girl hesitantly went in, but not before lighting up her eyes.

    "Trust the darkness." Moon called out behind her. "For only then will you know when you find the light."

    Akila took a few calming breaths before she let go of the comforting illumination that her eyes provided. Carefully, she went down step by step until she saw a faint glow up ahead. After a bend, she finally saw it, and she rightfully gasped. In the tranquil waters of the lake was an endless depth of stars, some were black and some were white. It almost made her hesitant to go into it. They probably represented souls or life, for some flickered into existence while some slowly faded out. She assumed then, that she would have a star of her own, so she waded into the water to find it.

    The second, though, that she dove into the inky black. The 'bottom' became nonexistent. She felt like she was swimming, but not drowning. Star to star she went and searched for a feeling inside of her, a feeling of ownership, but try as she did she felt nothing. She started panicking as she looked up and saw no surface, just endless stars.

    "Help" She pleaded, desperately looking around for some divine being that could get her out of her current situation.

    She was rewarded with was a sharp tug into the endless black.

~

    She awoke to someone shaking her awake, "Akila. Akila!"

    As soon as she recognized its owner, her eyes snapped open. "Father!"

    "Yes, now come on, you have work to do."

    She rolled her thin blanket over her head, "Must I?"

    The dream she had been having was so good, she had been important, a Dragonborn. Of course, it wasn't reality, and maybe it was better that way too. After all, she probably wasn't mean for that life.

    "Yes, come on. I'll even buy you a book."

    Akila smiled and instantly jumped out of bed, obediently following him out only to be surprised by what awaited her. Sai was standing there, her hand outstretched. "Come with me Akila, you have responsibilities that you can't turn away from."

    "But..." She looked towards her father. "I can't abandon my family. He needs me."

    "The world needs you." Sai answered tranquilly. "Your real family needs you."

    Her image flickered between something surreal and the present. "Who are you?" Akila asked dubiously. She was backing away towards her father now. He caught her in his arms, but was unusually cold to the touch. "And you! You're not my father. Why are you pretending to be people you're not." The last question was addressed to them both.

    "We're not pretending, this is simply the form that best suits you in your mind." Fake Sai answered.

    Akila turned towards her father-not-father and looked more closely at him. She hoped he could give a less cryptic answer.

    "I'm temptation." He said. "And isn't it easier to go with what you are tempted to do? Isn't easier to leave a life of strangers behind and spend time with your family, like you're supposed to?"

    She looked towards the woman, "Isn't it easier," the Dragonborn spoke. "To hide away selfishly while thousands perish. Wouldn't not having to worry about the world be better? Isn't sacrificing hundreds of families for your own happiness more convenient?" The questions were rhetorical, and made for the sole purpose of making Akila consider what she was doing very carefully. "To give in to temptation is sin. To take tastes of it is to be human. To be Dragonborn, is to be human."

    The ever cryptic woman had a point, no matter how many riddles it layered under. Both sides were reaching for Akila, and she was smack in the middle. She put her hands out forcefully, and watched as the illusion shattered. In place of her father stood a black, gruesome and deformed creature. It's too-long arms and legs were tipped with razor sharp claws. It's red eyes aflame and slick body covered in what looked like black poison. Out of its head came what looked like many bristly spikes. The angles of its body were sharp and drastic. Nevertheless, the monster looked majestic.

    Sai, on the other hand, adopted the face of an angel. She had pure white hair and eyes complemented by light skin and was floating on her own brilliantly white dress and shawls.

    "You're gods." Akila breathed.

    "In a sense." the woman answered.

    Both deities had their respective scenes of good or evil floating behind them. Akila knew what the obvious choice was, but still aked, "Must I choose?"

    "You're incapable of choosing." The woman said, not as an observation but rather a statement.

    "I'll prove that wrong." The monster to her left growled. "You can choose me and drown in infinite power."

    "That's what I'm afraid of." She said.

    "We must do what is right." The woman said.

    "No." The black thing growled.

    "You know that if you don't follow through then it's worse for you." The white deity said.

    The creature growled and raised his claws.

    "No wait!" Akila screamed.

    And the world went black.

Total words: 11,089