[Fan Fiction] Rune seeker Part 2
Here comes the second part that no one requested of the story no one paid attention to.
Even when the first chapter was completelly ignored with not a single review was given, I have written another chapter that just came to my mind. I know that the story itself might be bad as i'm not a writer, and there might be some mistakes, as english isn't my first language, but, I would like if at least one review was given, this time, it would help me to improve a bit for any future project.
Here I leave the second chapter of the stories of the Rune seeker for those that want to read it.
The Hydra
I woke up, again submerged in darkness, weakened, but still, I tried to look around me. It was of no use though, as the darkness was too much for my now worsened draconic eyes.
I could only see them, the other dragons trapped in the same curse I was in, not much could be seen though, only their heads, the only part of them that still wasn't made of metal...and him... That accursed dragon that had trapped us all!. I felt so much rage inside me, I only wanted to lift myself up and rip his head off, but... I no longer could.
I turned around with effort, to see the paws that I could feel as mine, but weren't, and I felt like crying, as impossible that single action is for an elder ice dragon like me, when I saw the metal covered huge body, full of rainbow colored lines that went from the heads of the other elder dragons to the chest of the hydra like body, where something was pulsating, a glittering crystal with a “Metal” rune inscribed on it.
How could I lose it all so fast? I was the queen of the freljordian ice dragons just some weeks ago, until this monster came, a metallic abomination with 3 heads. I later discovered his true head was the metallic one, while the nature and light dragon's heads besides his were other trapped and controlled by him.
When this monstruosity came to my territory and started slaughtering my family, I couldn't let him do what he pleased. I flew as fast as i could to where he was and jumped on him, ready to tear him apart, yet after a long and exhausting battle, I died, not by the metal that cut my scales, or the vines that pressured my bones, nor even by the light that seared my flesh, but for the power that emanated from that Rune. It made me feel like if my whole body was made of metal, and while I was struggling to stand, he ripped my head off like a withered leaf out of a tree.
What came after this, I can't remember it clearly, as it's all blurred like a nightmare you don't want to look at. I remember being dead until the calling of the runic magic dragged me back to this prison I now inhabit... I also have flashes of me attacking other dragons, freezing their limbs and ripping the flesh and scales out of them with my bare fangs. I want to think that those were just my twisted imagination, but I fear that he controlled me, and made me claim more slaves for his sake, as when I first woke up, we were 9 heads in the same body.
Not a single one wants to talk with the others, we are all prideful Elder Dragons of diferent tribes, and while the main body sleeps to recover his energy, we can only wait and despair in the darkness. I don't really want to think anymore, I just don't want to suffer anymore, knowing that the metal of the main body keeps advancing over my own skin, devouring the only part left of me day by day, and that soon, I might die for good or maybe become a slave to this tyrant, binded to his will, being part of an abhorrent runic Hydra.
I pointed my snout towards the warmed floor and left out a burst of polar wind to make my resting place more comfortable, but it was for naught, as the only thing that came out of my maw was a stream of cold metal dust. With a low growl of frustration, I got myself ready to sleep until my demise came for me, but when I was about to close my eyes, a stream of purple light illuminated the cave we where in.
-”It has to be close, I can feel it”- Said a blue skinned man, whose tatoos were shinning with a powerful purple light
He really picked my interest, and if my stomach still existed, my hunger too, but there was nothing there, so I just wanted to see this shiny man, and maybe even speak to him. He seemed like a mage, an ancient one, holding an spellbook on one hand, while a big scroll was tied to his back.
The man started looking around, trying to see in the darkness, I do think he managed to see me or the other dragons that were now awake, looking at him.
-“Wait”- Said the man, while he narrowed his eyes to look better in the darkness- “Are those... oh...yes they are” The man looked strangely first surprised and then somewhat bored, like if he was already expecting to see something as hideous as a metallic Hydra waiting for him, and with a signal of his hands, the light of his tatoos went out. It was in that moment that he hid himself behind a close rocky formation inside the cave.
For a moment, I was amused at what this mage was doing, no wonder he was scared, as there were 8 dragon heads looking at him from the darkness, he must have gotten the scare of his life.
My amusement was short, as I suddenly heard a low and long moan, coming from right next to me. When I looked for it, it was a cry for help, coming from Herkus, the Elder Dragon of Blood.
“Help me, please!” - Herkus kept crying, while being careful not to wake up the main head – “Help us please” - Cried also Wevrask, the Elder Dragon of Ashes.
I was astonished, I was sure that this man couldn't really understand draconic, so he probably only heard those low and sad moans, but if he could, he would also be astonished. Its incredibly rare to hear a dragon crying for help, even more the Elder Dragons, crowned as royalty because of the Ancient Rune inside them. In seconds, the cave was full of sadness itself in the form of pleas, coming out of 7 dragon heads... I'm not ashamed to admit that soon I also started to cry for help.
It wasn't until later that the man finally came out from behind the rocks, holding a small orb of light in his right hand, over the opened spellbook, with runes over his ears, and.... I'm not sure about this, I think he had tears running down his face, although it looked more like just one single tear, running down his aged and hardened skin.
-“Its ok, its ok” Said the man in a low voice - “I'll help you, just tell me what makes a Hydra so sad that it cries for help”
I looked at the other dragons, we all had the same puzzled look in our faces, as humans aren't really supposed to understand draconic.
-“Don't worry, I'm using an arcane spell to understand you all, so please, tell me what ails you” - Said the man with a focused expression on his face, but his eyes reflected sincerity, and so did Herkus's when she started telling him the story of how we all ended here.
-”I... I don't know how to say it, i can't...” his sentence was cut short, as he was attacked by the central head, our jailor and executioner, that had finally woken up due to all the noise we made.
I fell again in dispair when I though that our savior had been split in half by the metallic maw, but he appeared again, unscathed and a bit further, with a blink of arcane energy.
“I can't save you, all of you are no longer alive, the Metal Rune is feeding on your Ancient Runes to further empower itself!” - The man opened up his spellbook and started drawing random runes out of it while the pages turned wildly - “I can end your suffering though, and send you to the spirit world before you end up enslaved under the rule of the World Rune, just like your host!” - the man rolled out of the way on time to dodge a blast of razor iron coming out of the central head's maw - “I need you to get some time for me, the Rune won't allow me to cast a spell strong enought to defeat it otherwise”
We looked at each other, no words were necessary, as weakened as we were, we knew what we had to do, and while rage and addrenaline built up inside us, we lunged at the neck of our captor. He screamed in pain as 8 dragon jaws pierced his iron scales and stopped him on his tracks.
The man kept chanting some kind of spell, while more and more runes came out of the book and started orbiting around him, forming a perfect arcane sphere. Halfway though, when our strenght started to fade, he went into some kind of trance, and the magic accumulated ignited great sparks of energy that filled the room, scorching everything they landed on.
-“NO!” - I roared when the main head finally started to control our minds, managing to be set free of our maws.
He rose up, not only his head, but ours and the whole body of the abomination we were, and lunged forward like a meteor of silver, ready to grind that dangerous mage to dust.
-“Thanks for buying me time” - Said the man, while giving something close to a tender look that lasted for less than a second - “I'm ready to do my part! Runic Embrace!” - The man compressed the thousands of runes floating around him in a single, small ball of magic and pressed it against the floor of the cave.
I braced myself as I could for what probably would be really painful... But it wasn't. An arcane tree grew out of the place where the mage planted the spell, rising really fast and trapping the body of the monster...our body inside it.
He roared with rage, while the Metal Rune in our chest started beating like a panicked heart. The tree kept growing until the magic fully coated us, and then it finally happened.
A sense of exhaustion overcame me, I really needed to close my eyes and sleep, it felt so cold and cozy, even more than my first nest of ice on the highest peaks of Freljord.
-“Thank you” - I muttered, or so I thought, I wasn't sure that I had a mouth any longer, It was time for this old dragon to rest for good.
