Blackheart

Shattered Memories

"A gorgeous day, is it not?"

Basilrin lay in the fields of the park. Wind swept across the grass as the clear skies bathed the area in sunlight.

"Indeed it is," his brother answered politely, staring off into the sky. Basilrin could sense he appeared...anxious.

"Is something the matter? You seem restless...or bored!"

All around them, the people of the city were crowded around the two dragons, all gazing at them in awe and admiration. The family lived in the caverns below the city, which were off-limits, at is was considered their "residence" and therefore private property.

That didn't stop several "dragonchasers" as they were called, from delving into the caverns without permission to see them. The family of dragons were welcoming, but as they broke the law, the city guard were less amused.

As such, it was a rare treat to get to see the large and powerful beasts up close, and when they lounged in the park, many cityfolk visited to see them.

Most numerous among their admirers were the kobolds, who, for reasons relating to their very existence, were inexplicably drawn to seek out and serve dragonkind.

Julroul hesitated. His eyes narrowed just enough for Basilrin to notice, radiating awareness of something that no one else could notice.

"Are you...cold?"

Basilrin frowned. "Of course not. It is sunny and warm!"

"I feel a chill in the air."

His brother closed his eyes and focused, hard. He blocked out the rest of his sense as best he could and felt every inch of the wind in the air, lightly breezing across his form.

The air was indeed quite warm, but...he could feel it. A tiny sting of coolness across the end of each gust of wind.

Something he wouldn't have noticed if he wasn't looking for it.

"...I suppose the wind is cool. What of it?"

"That is not the wind. Something is different. Surely you can feel it?"

Basilrin tried again. He closed his eyes and focused.

"Mmm...no. I do not follow. What is different?"

Julroul smiled. "I do not know, but...it excites me, for some reason."

It was after that remark that everything changed.

Before Basilrin could ask what his brother meant by such an odd statement he noticed something truly bizarre.

Everything was getting darker.

The various people around the pair noticed as well. A koutu looked up at the sky and frowned.

"Huh? It's getting dark? But it's midday..."

The dragon looked up and, sure enough, that was the case...at least partially.

The people of the city seemed to think the sun was setting, or the sky was getting dark, but Basilrin could tell what was really happening.

His draconic senses, superior to all others, honed in on the strange and near-unnoticeable patterns in the sky. Slowly they were wrapping around the entire skyline in a sphere, and began to grow in size.

Mist was starting to form above them, building in intensity.

As soon as he noticed that, the dragon could feel the air growing colder, ever colder around him. This was what Julroul had been talking about.