Chapter 5: Into the Forgotten Wilds (Part 2)
991 Words
The entire village remained bowed.
Not a single person moved.
Not even the children.
Lira shifted uncomfortably and looked toward Kael.
"This is... unsettling."
"A little?"
"I was going to say very."
The elderly woman laughed softly before raising her cane.
"You may stand."
The villagers rose as one.
Only then did Lira notice something strange.
Every person wore a silver pendant shaped like a crescent moon wrapped around a flame.
It was the same symbol carved into the Crystal Heart.
"You recognize it," the old woman observed.
"I've seen it before," Lira admitted.
"In the Moonwood Caverns."
The woman's smile widened.
"Then the Guardian truly chose well."
She bowed her head.
"My name is Elowen."
"I am the Keeper of Ash and Moon."
Kael frowned.
"I've never heard of that title."
"You were never meant to."
---
Elowen led them through the peaceful village.
Children ran between cottages laughing while farmers harvested glowing blue wheat unlike anything Lira had ever seen.
Strangest of all...
There were dragons.
Not in their full forms, but in human shape.
A young dragon helped repair a roof alongside an elderly witch.
Two werewolf women tended a flower garden together.
A dragon child and a werewolf pup chased butterflies across a meadow.
No one argued.
No one glared.
No one feared one another.
"It's impossible," Kael whispered.
"No," Elowen replied.
"It is simply forgotten."
She stopped before a massive oak tree growing in the center of the village.
Its trunk was wider than a castle tower.
Silver leaves shimmered despite the absence of wind.
"This is the First Tree."
Lira gently touched its bark.
Warmth spread through her fingertips.
"It's alive."
"It remembers."
Elowen placed her own hand against the trunk.
"Long before kingdoms existed..."
"There were no dragon lands."
"No witch covens."
"No werewolf packs."
"We lived together."
Kael shook his head.
"Our histories say otherwise."
Elowen sighed sadly.
"History is written by survivors."
"Truth is often buried beside the dead."
---
Inside the enormous tree was a circular chamber illuminated by glowing roots.
Ancient murals covered every wall.
Lira stepped closer.
The first mural showed dragons, witches, and werewolves standing together beneath a silver moon.
The second depicted a monstrous creature rising from darkness.
It had enormous wings.
Jagged horns.
And burning crimson eyes.
Lira froze.
"That's Varyth."
Elowen nodded.
"No."
"That was the creature Varyth became."
Kael stared.
"What does that mean?"
The Keeper closed her eyes for a long moment.
"Varyth was once the greatest dragon who ever lived."
Silence filled the chamber.
"He united kingdoms."
"He ended wars."
"He protected every race."
Lira looked back at the mural.
"He doesn't look evil."
"He wasn't."
"What happened?"
Elowen's expression filled with sorrow.
"He fell in love."
Kael blinked.
"...What?"
"With a witch."
Lira slowly looked toward him.
Neither spoke.
The Keeper continued.
"Their love frightened the rulers of every kingdom."
"They believed if the most powerful dragon loved the most gifted witch..."
"...their child would become unstoppable."
"So they separated them."
"They lied."
"They manipulated."
"They convinced each race the others were plotting against them."
"Wars began."
"The lovers tried to stop the bloodshed."
"They failed."
Lira whispered,
"What happened to them?"
"The witch died protecting innocent people."
Elowen's voice broke.
"Varyth arrived too late."
"He lost everything."
"And in his grief..."
"He embraced forbidden Blood Magic."
The final mural showed the mighty dragon surrounded by crimson flames.
His once-golden scales blackened.
His eyes turned red.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
"He became the Blood Dragon."
---
No one spoke.
The only sound was the faint rustling of the glowing leaves above.
Finally Kael found his voice.
"So the stories were wrong."
"They always are."
Elowen turned toward them.
"Every child grows up hearing tales about monsters."
"Few are taught how monsters are made."
Lira lowered her eyes.
Her anger toward dragons.
Kael's distrust of witches.
Both had been inherited.
Neither had belonged to them.
---
A loud bell suddenly rang outside.
Once.
Twice.
Then a third time.
The peaceful village instantly transformed.
Children hurried indoors.
Warriors rushed toward the entrance carrying silver spears.
Elowen's face paled.
"They found us."
Kael reached for his sword.
"Who?"
A young werewolf burst through the doorway, breathing hard.
"Keeper!"
"There are hundreds of them!"
"Blood-marked soldiers!"
"And..."
He swallowed.
"Dragons."
Lira felt her heart sink.
Varyth had tracked them far faster than expected.
Elowen hurried outside.
Lira and Kael followed.
The sight stole their breath.
At the edge of the valley stood an army.
Black banners fluttered in the wind.
Rows of armored soldiers stretched farther than either could count.
Above them circled nearly thirty dragons with crimson cracks glowing beneath their scales.
Every one of them bore Blood Runes.
"They're enslaved," Kael whispered.
"They're all enslaved."
Varyth landed at the front of the army with enough force to shake the earth.
His crimson eyes fixed on the village.
"I know you're here."
His voice echoed across the valley.
"You cannot hide forever."
The villagers formed a protective line.
Elowen stepped forward alone.
"You are not welcome in this sanctuary."
Varyth laughed.
"There are no sanctuaries anymore."
His gaze settled on Lira and Kael.
"Bring me the Crystal Heart."
"I will spare them."
Lira looked at Kael.
"He's lying."
"I know."
Elowen quietly shook her head.
"If you stay..."
"This village will fall."
Kael frowned.
"We're not leaving you."
"You must."
She reached into her robes and removed an old leather map.
Its edges shimmered with ancient magic.
"There is another Guardian."
"He lives beyond the Frostfang Mountains."
"He alone can teach you how to awaken the Heart."
She pressed the map into Lira's hands.
"The future depends on you."
A horn echoed from Varyth's army.
The attack had begun.
Arrows darkened the sky.
Dragons dove from the clouds.
The Battle of the Hidden Village had begun.
And for the first time, Lira realized escaping the caverns had only been the beginning of the war.
- Writer
