Chapter 11: (v.3) In the Halls of the Crystal Mountain

Dropping in again to say: As of this chapter's release (feb 27, 2025), I am now officially up to transcribing Chapter 15: Lightshadow. At this point, I am now 1 chapter shy of the halfway mark transcribing the chapters here. More details on what I'll be doing after I finish the transcribing when we get closer :D

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[The Fragment, Temporal Designation Unknown]

[SINGULARIS]

I have chosen to remain quiet while guiding you through this telling of the story, as I feel my presence merely pulls you out of the story. However, I must step in for this moment, in order to tell the story of this place which will become integral to the tale to come.

Cewa Aerrus found the ruins of the Fortress of the Knights of Kaur'Ainda, but what did it once look like, you might wonder? Allow me to show you, through the eyes of a ghost who is about to step through the mists of Tempora.

< The Scene Shifts... >

[Fort Kaurus, Kaur'Ainda Region, Halsios IV, Imperial Holdings of the Fourth Haldosian Stellar Dominion, 29342 DE/Dominion Epoch - 45000 Frostreigns Before Terrans]

[Seiranha]

I stepped into the relative cool of the Fortress, which had loomed large, glistening against the plain stone of the Frostcap Mountains, and heaved a great sigh of relief as I pulled back my thick, heat-reflecting hood. I looked around me, in awe of the sight that I now beheld. The walls, while still evidently stone, were adorned with at least a hundred titanic banners. Each one was its own unique colour scheme and held a different insignia, each one of the Great Houses of the Dominion, each one a Noble House of Kaur'Ainda. I saw the house of Zerrekhul, house of Aerrus, the Stargliders, the Arborwraith Clan of the Tegrene... The heraldric banners seemed to go on forever. As I continued walking, I passed many Knights of Kaur'Ainda, each bearing their mythical Kaurine Blades. Some of them looked at me with curiosity, but none looked down upon me, even those with more height than myself. Soon enough, I passed a final pair of banners, and froze as I noticed the crest on one: Kledhennderi... I thought, anger simmering as I beheld the foul insignia. My mind, unbidden, returned to the slaughter of the Shaddelai Clan once known as the Snow-Striders. The Kledhennderi had descended upon the Snow-Strider camp, and under pretence of trade, ambushed the peaceful Shaddelai. Their shelters had been sliced open, allowing the full, unrelenting power of the Solblaze to scorch their skin. None were spared the wrath of the Blazing Light. For their crimes against Sentience, the Kledhennderi House had been cast down from their perch by the Dominion. As I stepped into the Great Hall, the floor adorned with great tables of Haldosian Glitter-Oak, I beheld one, final banner. It was an extended Draekkus wing, a Kaurine Blade emblem laid over it on an angle. The wing was a deep sapphire, with the crossing Blade a blazing orange. All of that on a backdrop of deep, rich amethyst, all detailed in glittering silver trim. The crest of the House of Eonzathil.

Lounging below was a sight that took the breath from my lungs: A Glaccis Draekkus, though her scales made her look more like a Minerai; Her scales were as rich amethyst as the backdrop of her banner, the membrane of her wings a light purple, almost violet. As she yawned, she revealed razor-sharp teeth, before opening her eyes and pinning me with a piercing sapphire gaze; Her eyes were like orbs of amber carved into the shape of eyes, beofre having sapphire rings inlaid to their front. She raised a hand, covering her mouth as she yawned, and conscious thought became hard to maintain a grip on, my body reacting and refusing to listen to my mind. The silver flamelights around us danced, causing her scales to glitter as she sat there.

"Greetings, and welcome to Fort Kaurus, Herredean." the Draekkus said, in a voice that sounded, almost impossibly, like silken gravel. Speech fled from me at the sound, and I swallowed hard. Why was I affected this way? I thought. The Archknight, as I realised this Draekkus was, smiled, and added, as though believing my stunned silence to be shock at her knowing me to be of the Blaze, rather than the Dark,

"I could smell your Shadow. It holds the scent of the Blaze above, not of the dim depths of the Dark." I simply nodded, and cleared my throat.

"Greetings, Archknight. I have heard tell of the martial prowess boasted by your Knights, and have endeavoured to travel here, to this place of legend, in order to learn the Way of the Blade." The Archknight leaned back, regarding me thoughtfully. Her wings flexed, and as they relaxed once more, I felt my mouth run dry. By the Blaze, why am I feeling like a young girl who has felt her first taste of youthful love? I asked myself, before the Archknight spoke again.

"One cannot simply Walk the Path of the Blade, Vampyris. To Walk the Path is to tread the Warrior's Way." I nodded again, awaiting what she had to say next.

"And not all who would walk the Way are worthy of the Path. Are you worthy of the Hallowed Path?" She asked. Yes! I wanted to cry out. Yes, I am worthy to Walk the Path!" But instead, I sighed, and replied hoarsely,

"I... I do not know. I do not even know how I would find the answer." The Draekkus laughed, a sound that resembled a rockslide, yet was somehow oddly entrancing to listen to. When the Draekkus' mirth faded, she said,

"Perhaps you are worthy after all... There are few who would willingly admit to their shortcomings, Herredean... And many who would claim themselves to be without a single flaw. Even I, one who has long seen the end of the Path of the Blade, who has walked it many a time, am not without flaw, even now." Her expression turned serious, and she added,

"Those who have guided your journey have led you well. You may tread the Way of the Warrior... And, in time, you may yet step onto the Path of the Blade." I bowed gratefully, and the Draekkus said,

"Before we go further however, some introductions are no doubt in order... As you may have guessed by now, I am Archknight Aekira Eonzathil, leader of the Knights of Kaur'Ainda." I dipped my head in respect, and, when I raised my head once more, said,

"M-My name is Seiranha. I... I once had another name, but it is... Lost." I trailed off, the memory of why my original name was lost to the mists of time rising back to the surface. Taking a deep breath, I added,

"I was... Was once part of the Solstrider Clan of the Plains of Tegreis, before..." I trailed off again, the words becoming too hard to say aloud. Before the Shadow Plague took my kin, casting them into the Dark. The Archknight, Aekira, stood up from the throne, descending the steps to take my hand in her talons.

"I will not force your story from you, Seiranha. I will listen when you are ready to share it, and will not attempt to force it free before then." I nodded, and she smiled, causing my heart to leap in my chest.

"Welcome to the Knights of Kaur'Ainda." I nodded, unable to force words from my throat.

[A Cycle Later...]

[Aekira]

I sat in my office, dealing with some dull reports relating to the finances of the Knights, when Seiranha leaned around the corner of the open door. I looked up at the pale-skinned immortal, her silver-and-blood eyes summoning an odd warmth I couldn't quite place within my core. Her onyx-black hair fell partly across her face, causing an almost primal stirring owing to the exoticism of her appearance.

"I hope I'm not intruding, Archknight..." She said, her voice hesitant, but steady. I shook my head, lowering the pen I had been using.

"Of course not. I could use a distraction from the paperwork, at the very least." Seiranha dipped her head, her hair falling to hide her expression. As she fully rounded the corner, I asked,

"So... What brings you here this Brightshift?" I asked. Seiranha, still hiding her expression behind her hair, was silent for a few moments, before admitting,

"I have a... Small problem." I tilted my head, and asked,

"What kind of problem?" Seiranha looked away, and replied,

"I've been having... Thoughts. Thoughts that refuse to depart my mind regardless of efforts I make." I frowned, my wings tightening slightly, and said,

"I'm not sure what you mean... What sort of thoughts?" Seiranha still refused to meet my gaze, and I thought I could see a tinge of colour in her cheeks as she said in a quiet voice,

"They're thoughts of... Well... You." I blinked, stunned.

"Thoughts of me? What do you mean?" Seiranha's gaze met mine for just an instant, and she sighed as though she were being led to her own execution.

"The first Brightshift I was here, when I saw you, I... I was mesmerised... I felt like... Like a young girl again... It took me a few Rotations to fully grasp what it was, and it... I was in awe of... You looked like the most beautiful thing I had ever laid eyes on, be it living being or inanimate object." She said, the last sentence coming out like a valve releasing on a pressure engine.

[Seiranha]

I let out a heavy sigh, feeling as though a great burden had just lifted from my shoulders. I scoured Aekira's face for a reaction, barely daring to breathe as I waited for her reply. She was silent for a few moments however, before finally saying in a measured tone,

"I... See." I felt my heart sink into my stomach; she was going to send me away, I could feel it in my bones.

"I... If you don't wish for me to to remain... Then I will depart, and you will never have to see me again." I said, before I could even think to hold the words back from my tongue. She didn't respond, and I bowed my head, beginning to stand up. However, the Draekkus raised a clawed hand, and said,

"Stay seated, just... Let me gather my thoughts for a moment." I nodded, sitting back down.

[Aekira]

My heartbeat pounded in my ears as I pondered the best way to respond; It was not that the feeling was not mutual; I would be a bold-faced liar if I said that the wingless being sitting before me did not rouse some primal part of me. I sighed, and said,

"I'm not sure of the best course of action here. My mind says that it would be... Improper. Yet my heart..." I trailed off, thinking.

"My heart finds the prospect... Alluring. To lay with a Vampyrean, to lay claim to them as my mate... Very few Draekkus could state they have done so. Yet decorum states that it would be... Inadvisable." I stood up, walking around the desk to stand beside the Vampyrean, who was still sitting in the chair opposite mine. Her head tiled back, the hair now fallen away from her ashen face as she looked up at me. She stood up, seemingly seeing the conflict raging within me, and asked in a quiet voice,

"What do you want, Aekira? Ignoring what anyone else would say. After all, who could truly deny the Archknight of the Knights of Kaur'Ainda?" I nodded, my wings shuddering slightly as she said my name. I looked down my muzzle at her, weighing up whether my personal desires were worth more than my social reputation. The balance teetered back and forth, my mind fighting against itself. But it refused to fall on either side, until...

Seiranha took one of my hands in her own and, wrapping both her hands around it, said in a voice hardly louder than a whisper,

"You're allowed to have desires of your own." One of the weights on the scales shifted, ever so slightly... But it was enough. The scales tipped, and I pressed the button to close the door. It swung closed silently, only a faint click as the latch caught to indicate that it had happened.

"I want... I want... Love." I whispered, and Seiranha glanced at the door, then looked back at me, a glimmer of confusion in her eye. I wrapped my wings around the pale-skinned woman, and said in a slightly stronger voice,

"I want love. I was to feel my heart filled, for my bed to not be cold when I curl up to sleep. I want somebody to share all that I have built with." As I spoke, my head drifted down, and Seiranha lifted her arms, and replied,

"If you want it, then perhaps you should take it then." Before I could even fully register what she said, Seiranha's lips touched my muzzle, and I felt a flame ignite in my core, and I melted into the immortal, whose arms wrapped around the back of my neck.

Moments later, her body was wrapped around my chest and I held her aloft, losing myself to the kiss. I drowned in the moment, until, in a moment of something approaching clarity, I pulled back slightly. I sighed, and said,

"This isn't enough... I can't... I can't give myself fully here." Seiranha frowned up at me, and I lowered her back to the ground, then said,

"Follow me."

I led the way to my chambers, just off the side of the room my office was also in, and guided Seiranha to the bedroom, before closing the door behind her.

[Seiranha]

I blinked at the bed; I was expecting a pile of gold, or perhaps pyrite, coins, but instead I saw a heavily reinforced bed, the kind you would expect to see in the bedroom of an extremely muscled or overweight Terran. I looked at Aekira, whose sapphire eyes were now dancing with an inner flame. She grinned at me, and said,

"I probably shouldn't be doing this... But the flame in my core fills me with life!" I felt my heart skip a beat, and decided to simply give myself over fully to this moment. Taking Aekira's talons in my hand, I gently guided her to the bed, and gently replied,

"Lay down on your back." Aekira obliged, and once she was comfortable, I climbed onto the bed by her feet, before carefully rising to my own feet and walking up her body, before throwing a leg over her form, using her chest for balance. I carefully shuffled my way up until my feet were just under her wings, and bent down, allowing my body to slowly lower itself down onto the Draekkus' chest. Aekira looked down her muzzle at me, and I could see something almost resembling desire in her gaze as she looked up at me. I grinned, and replying to that inner flame, I whispered,

"Perhaps next time... For now though..." I trailed off, and lowered my mouth to Aekira's muzzle, and soon enough, I was lost in the passion I now shared, heat rippling through my body in waves as I sank ever deeper into the kiss.

[The Fragment, Unknown Temporal Designation]

[SINGULARIS]

Neither of them realised what they were embarking upon; Even by Cewa's time, the legend remained of the one known as the Glaccis Vampyrean, a Vampyrean who bore armour that resembled the scales of a Glaccis Draekkus. A very particular Glaccis Draekkus.But their time was not only to be a bright, rich flame...

< The Scene Shifts... >

[Fortress of Kaur'Ainda, Halsion Reach Region, Haldios IV, 32nd of Prusius, 5006 TE]

[Seiranha]

As I was walking across the main training yards, intending to face an old ghost, to attempt to move past the pain that had kept me away for millennia as the Terrans reckoned time, I heard a voice call my name. I turned around, and was slightly surprised to see Cewa jogging over to me.

"Going to train on the Bulwark again?" He asked, and I shook my head.

"No, there's a... There's a place here that holds such pain for me that I have been unable to bring myself to return for... Well, let's just say when I left, the Brightshift that the Knights fell, I closed the way." I said, my voice tight. Cewa frowned, and I gestured for him to follow me. Perhaps telling the story to another would help me to process the pain; I had been running from it since that Watch.

A few minutes later, Cewa and I were pushing open the stone door I had sealed myself all those Frostreigns ago. When it was open enough for us to fit through, I stepped around the door, and led the way through a small hallway into the private training ground. As we rounded the final corner however, I froze, staring at what was revealed, whispering,

"They never moved her body..." Cewa too froze, and when I looked at his face, I saw only confusion. He looked at me, and his confusion visibly grew when he saw the expression on my face. Sighing, I took a deep breath and walked over to the Draekkus-shaped pile of bones and scales. Kneeling beside the pile, I whispered,

"I'm sorry, Heartflame... I couldn't bring myself to return until now." I felt a warm hand touch my shoulder, and looked up, tears prickling in my eyes.

"Who lays here?" Cewa asked in a softer voice than I had ever heard from a Terran. I looked back towards the remains, and replied,

"Aekira Eonzathil." Cewa blinked, and asked,

"Why here? Why not elsewhere?" I sniffed, and replied,

"It was where her final moments were. I thought... I thought we had more time." I whispered. Backing up slightly, I took a sitting position, before I noticed a glittering length of crystal. I wrapped my hands around the crystal and lifted it, the metal beside it disintegrating as I raised the Blade. Cradling the now fragile glass to my chest, I closed my eyes as I resumed my sitting position.

"What happened? If it's not too painful, I mean." Cewa said, sitting beside me, and doing so in such a way so as to avoid disturbing the remains of my long-lost beloved, an oddly touching gesture. I swallowed hard, and, with a deep breath to gather my composure, I began to tell the tale.

< The Scene Shifts... >

[Seiranha]

I twirled my blade as I stood opposite my lover in the dim training courtyard, the light of dawn just barely reflecting enough light into the small area to see by, ready to begin the sparring session. She held her own Blade in both hands, while I held mine in just one. I nodded my readiness, and she began her first attack, which I parried with the ease of practice, before whirling my Blade around to counter attack. Back and forth we battled, circling each other in the small courtyard, until finally, one of my attacks knocked Aekira's Blade from her hands. The Draekkus stared down at her hands, then looked up at me in confusion, before asking,

" Why did you do that, Heartflame? I was holding that sword! There was no need to hit it out of my claws like that!" The words stabbed my heart, and my own Blade fell from my fingers as I stared at her in shock for a moment, before realisation dawned at the exact instant that the Blade hit the ground, which, having been Dulled as it left my hand, shattered like glass. But I was already moving, rushing the few steps between us as Aekira staggered to her knees, her once-vibrant sapphire gaze looking at me with a mix of confusion and fear. I searched her face for the lightning wit that I so adored about her, but saw only the early signs of the Subsidence. I wrapped my arms around her, and buried my face in her neck.

"No, not now... Please, not yet... I can't lose you now!" I cried, and Aekira wrapped her wings around me.

< In the Present... >

[Cewa]

I frowned, and asked,

"What was happening to her?" Seiranha looked up at me, her crimson-and-silver eyes seeming to waver as the tears built up under them, and she said,

"The Subsidence. For some it's a slow process... For others, they don't show signs until as late as their final hours. Aekira was one of the latter. Her mind bounced back... But the Subsidence was already attacking her body." Seiranha sighed, and I glanced up at the far wall, looking in the direction of where I could feel Aerrin's essence in the Tempest.

< In the Past... >

[Seiranha]

As I sat beside Aekira, she said,

"Seiranha... I don't... I don't know what's happening to me..." I could only cling tighter, because I knew, with almost lethal clarity, exactly what was happening. For hours, until the Brightblaze was high overhead, I simply sat there holding my lover. Aekira wrapped her wing around me, and I felt as the limb suddenly shuddered moments after the membrane made contact with my back. As the limb settled, I felt her wing slide down my back... Then realised that it was the membrane that had slipped down. The realisation made me cling tighter, and I closed my eyes, and said,

"I'm here, heartflame... I'm not leaving you." Aekira sighed, and asked in a suddenly clear voice,

"I'm... I'm Subsiding, aren't I?" I nodded, unable to trust my voice.

"I can't... I can't feel my wing membrane any more..." The voice I so adored was filled with fear now, and I leaned back just enough to meet her gaze as it began to turn glassy.

"Clear Skies, Aekira Eonzathil... Wait for me to join you, flame of my heart." I whispered, almost choking on the words. Aekira smiled slightly, and replied,

"Seiranha, my flame... I love..." She trailed off, her eyes turning glassy, the lids drooping slightly. I felt the tears begin to fall, and I buried my face in her neck once more, my heart shattering into as many pieces as my Blade had. I stayed like that until the Brightblaze had abandoned us, before gently lowering the body of my beloved to the stones of the courtyard, and staggering to my feet. I walked through the Fortress, and found that every being who had been here had left. My heart feeling like lead in my chest, I returned to the courtyard, and, with a sigh, I closed the door, heaving on the fiber rope that allowed the door to be pulled closed, until the door looked at though it was merely part of the wall to either side. Then, steps heavy with the weight of the pain I could not face, I left the Fortress, walking at first, but slowly hastening my steps until finally, I had run all the way from the Frostcap Mountains to the Shadeleaf Forest on the other side of the planet.

< In the Present... >

[Cewa]

Seiranha fell silent, her frame shaking slightly. I wrapped my arms around the Vampyrean, who stiffened, before wrapping her arms around me and burying her face into my neck as she cried in a muffled voice,

"I left her! I left her form where she Passed, and I fled! I fled like a coward becuase I didn't want to face the fact that I had lost the love of my immortan life!" For what felt like an eternity, Seiranha simply cried against my shoulder, the pain of millennia gushing forth like a broken dam. My mind cast itself back to my own great loss, and realised that she was going through what I had felt in that moment right now. Focusing on my connection to Aerrin, I said,

Heartstreasure, can you please set up the spare chamber for me? We are in need of the bed. Aerrin sent back an affirmative reply, and I stood up, pulling the Vampyrean with me. I was about to turn around, but thought better of it, instead simply scooping up the immortal woman, and carrying her through the Fortress to my chambers, the Vampyrean clinging to me as though I were a life raft in the middle of a stormy ocean. As we made our way there, I realised that in an ironic twist of fate, my chambers were likely the same ones that she had once shared with Aekira. As I lay the immortal down on the bed upon arriving, she looked up at me and asked,

"You're leaving me here, aren't you?" I shook my head, and replied,

"The furthest I'm going is two rooms away; To my office. Seiranha nodded, a look of relief flooding her face.

"I was hoping you would stay with me..." She said. I smiled grimly at her, and replied,

"Nobody should navigate the pain of loss alone. I had Aerrin to act as a light for me, but I still shattered for three Watches... And I had only known my grandmother for around eighteen Frostreigns. Without Aerrin... Let's just say this Fortress would still be a ruin." Seiranha nodded, and I placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Try to get some sleep... I'll be right here if you need anything." I said, and, nodding, Seiranha closed her eyes, her breathing turning deep and regular, but at an extremely slow pace. As it finally settled into the rhythm of sleep, I quietly sighed. I had a feeling I was in for a long week.

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[Next: Blessings and Curses]