Talos and Cyrus

Prologue

The sun danced towards the distant horizon, dropping ever lower in the darkening sky. Her orange brilliance blanketed the land far below and long shadows were cast whenever she came across a cluster of rolling hills. She set the peaks of mountains aglow, warming even the chilliest of crests. Upon a particularly black and immense summit, far superior to its lesser cousins, sat a dragon, white as bone, as he followed the sun's descent with keen eyes. Every evening, he never failed to sit atop this mountain, watching as the sun sank lower and lower and lower until, eventually, she dipped out of sight, taking her radiance with her. When she departs, shadows begin to creep at the edges of the sky, and when the last of her warmth has stolen away beneath the ground, the shadows run free. Night falls like a raven with a lame wing, but scarcely is it ever alone. The moon takes the place of the sun, never returning the same shape as it was the previous night. It changes its form periodically and never out of order, appearing sometimes as a full white saucer and others as just a thin sliver in the dead night. And for one lonely nightfall, the moon refuses to shine altogether, hiding away in its mask of darkness. Night is as black as pitch with not the moon's nor the sun's light, the sky left blackened and charred after the sun's incessant burning throughout the day and then left for a silent death when the moon chooses to conceal itself. On days when there is not a cloud and the sky is a wondrous blue, the night will bring forth glittering beads to dot its inky void. Together, they form pictures of untold stories and epic legends much, much older than the white dragon himself. He often wondered what inspired the sun to journey across the sky each and every day and why the moon was never content enough to resume the same form. He wondered what those beads were far above his head and why they arranged themselves in such a way to create their dazzling tales. He wondered many things, but asked not a question. He knew he would receive no answers.

Footsteps. Loud, hulking footsteps.

"My Lord, I beg pardon for my intrusion," came a thunderous yet wheezing voice. "I bring news in dire need of your attention."

The white dragon turned his head in only the slightest to acknowledge the presence of the newcomer. Behind him stood a dragon with skin the color of dried mud. It was far smaller in stature than him and looked terribly anxious.

"Why have you disturbed my musing, Kadmos?" the white dragon said, his voice hushed. The brown dragon bowed low to the stony ground, his scaled nose touching its cool surface.

"It's him, My Lord. He's gone." Kadmos whispered.

The white dragon froze, his eyes, a deep tangerine in color, growing wide.

"Are you certain?" he growled after a moment, the disbelief in his voice nearly palpable. Kadmos quivered despite the setting sun's warmth on his hide.

"I saw him wing away myself, My Lord." the brown dragon replied, the tip of his thick tail sweeping back and forth rapidly.

A snarl ripped its way passed the white dragon's teeth. In a single abrupt motion, he threw his bulk against Kadmos, sending the smaller dragon crashing to the ground with a scream. The white dragon pinned Kadmos with one heavy paw, his rocky lip curled back to reveal ugly yellowed teeth.

"You did not pursue him? None of you did?" he roared, his sides trembling horribly. Kadmos shrank beneath his fury, wincing when the enraged dragon's maw came dangerously close to the softness beneath his chin.

"No!" he cried out, his shrill voice nearly a squeal. "No, we could not, My Lord! Please, I beg of you, be merciful!"

The white dragon's ferocity died away almost instantly; his tense muscles slackened, the fire in his eyes burnt out. Stiffly, he backed away from Kadmos and lumbered back to the place in which he sat just moments before, allowing his wings to fall at his sides with a hefty sigh.

"How long ago did he leave?"

Kadmos quickly attempted to collect himself, hurriedly scrambling to his feet and trying his hardest to keep his voice from shaking. His scaled knees wobbled as he looked to the white dragon.

"I-I came to you as soon as he vanished beyond the mountains. Shall I organize a search for him, My Lord?"

The white dragon shook his mighty head crested with two even mightier horns.

"No, for I fear he does not want to be found. I suspect he is already far beyond our reach."

Several slow moments of silence passed. The sun was growing ever closer to the horizon.

"What would you have me do, My Lord?" Kadmos asked quietly, almost as if he were fearful of speaking. He shuddered as a sudden breeze blew by, its chilling nip seeping passed his rocky skin, causing him to shudder. The white dragon hardly seemed to notice the sudden cold.

"Nothing." he grumbled at last, his voice but a whisper. "Do nothing."

Kadmos bowed. "Yes, My Lord."

The white dragon did not speak again, but merely watched as the sun gradually dipped out of sight. All light began to fade. It was then that Kadmos left the white dragon to himself, picking his way back down the treacherous path in which he had come. The white dragon sat silently, slowly turning his head to gaze over his shoulder, his eyes fixed on the distant horizon. Just as it always had, the moon came into view. It peeked over the skyline apprehensively and cautiously began to gather the courage to show itself. Tonight, it was a full white saucer, grand and magnificent. The white dragon's orange gaze followed intently as the moon started its journey across the purple sky, climbing higher as the night grew darker. Finally, after many grueling hours of travel, the moon hovered above the white dragon's head, its face bearing down on him. Soon enough, the glittering beads emerged from the darkness, shining like exquisite jewels and awakening an ancient greed within the white dragon. They dazzled his tangerine eyes and, in turn, the moon rained its splendor upon him, bathing his colorless hide in an eerie glow. But no matter how hard the dragon tried to bring himself to marvel at the nightly affair, alas, he could not. His mind raced and his chest ached. A betrayal like no other had cut him like a sword would a throat. He narrowed his eyes into thin, terrible slits, shining in the gloom of night.

"Traitor." he rumbled.