Fallen One (Book three of Alfireán age)

- The Promise -

"What's he giving him?" Valarinnia whispered in Rex's ear.

The vice-champion shrugged, "Some book I think."

Olivia leaned towards the princess, the back of her legs touching the warm surface of the seat underneath her. "The Bible," she whispered quietly.

Rinnia's brow scrunched in confusion. "The what?" she hissed.

"I'll explain later," Olivia told the princess and leaned back into her seat. Closing her eyes, she breathed deeply of the warm air and quietly prayed that God would touch the great dragon and heal his broken heart.

"Thank you," Eldrin's voice echoed throughout their enclosure. "I may read it later. For now, though, I believe it is time to send you all back from whence you came."

Olivia's eyes popped open. "You can do that?" she blurted.

The great Lord of the Dragon's eyes swiveled towards her. "Yes," he answered, his triangular, scaled face gleaming in the soft light. "I am well-versed in transportation magic."

So saying, he stood to his feet and strolled to the left side of the shielded area. Taking his right forepaw, he wiped away the dust on the ground, then extended his index claw. Eldrin cut into the porous stone, creating a perfect circle the size of a teleportation stone. He then leaned down and said a long string of words in the Dragon tongue too low for Olivia to hear.

Ash and dirt danced as the piece of rock transformed into a translucent stone shining with hundreds of magic symbols. Slowly, the lights faded away, leaving a plain grey slab in its wake.

Olivia could hardly believe her eyes as she stood to her feet and stared at the newly created teleportation stone. She had just watched something she and the other mages had found impossible for close to a millennium. But the great Lord of the Dragons had done in it mere seconds. Taking a few steps forward, Olivia channeled energy into her eyes, activating Ra'avah in a hope to get a glimpse of the spell the dragon had used. What she saw, however, made her gasp and step back.

The others turned to gaze at her while she stared at Eldrin with her eyes aglow. "Your, your energy signature..." she gasped, placing her hand over her mouth and fighting an overwhelming sense of fear.

"Yes, what about it?" the great Lord of the Dragons asked as he placed his paw on the grey slab and channeled energy into its dormant runes. Manually charging the teleportation stone for the first time, he raised a scaled eyebrow at her.

"It's almost identical to The Fallen One's," she muttered, hardly believing her eyes. Olivia's heart raced under her ribs like a bird's wings fluttering in a cage, and images of a leering face wearing a blindfold loomed in her mind's eye.

Sadness flooded Eldrin's countenance, and the glow of energy around his paw faded. "Yes," he admitted in deep sorrow, "he is my son." As he took a deep breath, the red scales on his chest shifted, catching the light from overhead. "My son," he moaned sadly, "who was once known as Michael the Archangel, is now called Dàmhrùss Dròlršká: The Fallen One."

Great pain gleamed in the mystical dragon's eyes, and lifting his long, majestic neck, he met Olivia's gaze. "He stole your kingdom did he not?"

Olivia nodded, catching her breath. "And... killed my parents," she said, her voice choking as she wrapped her arms around herself and fought off her earlier feelings of fear and anger.

The lights overhead flickered.

The sound of heavy breathing from her fellow travelers filled the silence.