Hidden Secrets (Private with Tion)

Nervously, Anila walked down the corridors of the ancient SkyWing palace, the memories of what transpired burning into her mind. She had became angry, dragons had angered her and.. She just remembered her fury peaking, her glorious aura shattering as a rather giant force of wind cast the dragons away from her.. But she had never had the strength to use the winds like she just had. The guards were horrified of her, scared, as they knew that she had done it. The useless SkyWing who all she can do is fly, but all of a sudden, have the capability of bending winds to do her bidding... With only sheer willpower.

Anila heard claws on the ground, signalling the coming guards. Panic drove her forward and she dove behind a rather thick pillar, her largish appearance pushed against it as she hid. Her armour was discarded earlier, she left it at the doorstep and forgot to grab it. She was more than annoyed with that, but she hid instead of gathering it once more. Her large wings pulled up tightly against her, hearing the louder sounds as the guards walk by, hushed chatter and angry words passing between them.

The room had finally almost emptied. Poking her head out to make sure that the coast was clear, Anila carefully stepped into the opening hall once again. Quickly, the SkyWing ducked around into the corner, almost like an assassin as she silently slithered across and into the throne room. Anila's normal, show off facade was shattered. She was too scared to try and even put it back on. She couldn't let her nervousness and shock stop her. The great leader was more than lenient to her more times than once in the past.. Maybe he would be once more. It was asking a great deal from him, but maybe... Biting through her fears, she approached the King, who's guards and guests had vacated the area earlier. She knew he was meant to be left alone sometimes and right now seemed to be one of those times. Anila was more than worried, unknowing who or what to turn to. But, for some stupid reason, she decided that he was the best dragon to go to.

She exhaled quietly, gathering the rest of her dwindling courage... She spoke up, her voice ringing in the empty throne room. "King Tion.." Anila began, before she couldn't maintain her calm composure and she bowed to the ground, not really showing her normal attitude as she would normally show off. She couldn't bring her eyes up to meet him, too nervous to do so. "I.. If I may, I would like to ask of your assistance, I have no privilege to ask your guidance, but I fear I.. Well no one else would have any idea of this... But I feel you might. Please, Tion, will you hear me out?" Anila asked, her voice shaking like a leaf as she stayed in her bow, her bright eyes wide in fear. She would need to tell him what she just did and the madness happening to her.. But that all depended on Tion, the large SkyWing before her.

However, before he had time to answer, she heard the guards gathering towards them once more, their footsteps rushed. Her form suddenly drew up, a look of worry crossing her face and suddenly she snarled in anger, wishing for the doors to close shut as she needed his help. At her snarl, a huge gust of wind came and the giant doors slammed shut. Anila yelped at the sound of the slamming doors and she turned her panicked gaze to Tion, "I-I swear I didn't mean to, it happened just earlier and.. I became frustrated, but the winds threw back the guards and hurt one of them, I swear I.." Anila put her paws across her muzzle, shaking as she drew her form away from him. She spoke too much, but she would not assume that he would kill her right there and then. Anila had no idea where this stupid thing came from when she became angry, it just... happened.

From the idea, the fortress sprout. But without a purpose, it would have no meaning and wilt away like before. He had to be alone for while to think this over. And the guards, lined up before and along the walls, agreed to give him peace. He waited until not even a breeze of wind hummed in his ear before he strode across the throne room, left and right. His purpose. It was to restore the order of dragons to their rightful place as rulers of Pyrrhia. The dragons were divided since the war where Shardas disappeared. Tribes were formed of each element and it was a time where they recuperate and launch a counterattack at some point in the future.

Instead, he received reports that the tribes were bickering and fighting amongst each other. They shared a common enemy, but they could not have reunited for this purpose to eliminate the threat. At least the Nightwings were doing something, his scouts have reported. Looking at the grand map in the centre of the room, he played around with the moveable large pieces.

Seven pieces, one of each colour of the tribes, stood as the largest of them all and resembled a King chess piece. They were placed appropriately around Pyrrhia, to resemble the core and position of the leaders around it. He had bordered their territories with pawns of the same colour. As for the humans, it was hard to determine where their key kingdoms were. Following reports from his scouts, there was one separating the Skywings from the Lightwings. He placed a silver Rook there. It was a valuable asset, but unknown if this was where the 'root' of their power was. A yellow and white king piece stood on either side of it on a lone island. But what stopped them from forming a pincering attack was the lack of communication. The Skywings also had problems with outposts surrounding their kingdom and flooding them with airships.

Tion advanced three black pawns diagonally across the map, meeting the ruins of the old Earthwing kingdom, where they met a silver pawn. That outpost was wiped out conpletely, and they were advancing to the silver Rook standing on the ruins. From this position, surely the Icewings or Firewings would assist them but it was hardly the case.

Tion huffed a sigh, looking back at his territory. A ring of yellow pawns against an arc of silver pawns. His fortress had succeeded in defending against their recent attacks for now but it would not be long before they would launch a much stronger one. He would need to act quickly. Though his other problem was the lack of a Queen piece. Every other tribe had one, symbolic of the semigod that defended their tribe. All but the Skywings.

Tion read that only one Skywing was chosen to harness the powers of gods, and that no tribe would be left without one. If only this semigod would show him or herself now, then he could start pushing for an attack to reclaim the southern landmarks of the Skywings. Tion placed a silver Knight, nestling on the southern edge of the island and well protected by the arc of silver pawns. Perhaps it was tine he request an alliance with the Seawings as well. Attack them from the shore and Tion attack from land. But before that, they needed to get rid of those outposts and destroy the shipyards that were producing those airships.

Tion predicted that the humans were using Aeris orbs to power those ships, and that they secured a number of wind deposits somewhere around the mountain ranges. Somewhere beyond the outposts...

Before he could think any further, the grand doors flung open to the throne room of white marble. A carpet of red was laid before the door that stopped before the rectangular map, and split to border around it before merging and going up the grand steps to where Tion rested. The walls itself were that of marble as well, but with numerous long arch windows that emitted magic barrier to protect against unwanted projectiles or enemies coming in without the appropriate armour. Between the windows were the yellow and silver banners of the Skywings. Overall the room was bright, and the sudden gust blew the banners off a bit.

Anila. Tion said before a bow of his own. Before he could add anymore, the guards have returned from the break. Or so he thought. They were serious and determined, and upon seeing Anila, they froze. At least, it was all they could do before, in obe sbarl of her maw, the doors slammed on them. Tion winced as he could hear the clanking armour behind it as they probably fell over one another. They banged against the door before there were calls to use the windows.

Tion frowned at her distress. In one snarl she pushed the door... and not just that. She had blown off one of their guards eith the same emotional distress. To him, it seemed like she had yet to control her powers and they were fuelled by her emotions. But such power... he decided not to jump to conclusions. It is quite alright. He answered her. It seems you just need to control your emotions. Your power. I never saw it reflecting your emotions before. Is this the first time it has happened?

Her blood almost froze in her veins, the clattering armour of her fellow SkyWings resounding through the corridors behind then. They made panicked cries of warning, confusion and shock. Their paws pushed at the doors, but Anila’s winds refused to buckle, holding the giant doors in place. Anila heard them gather themselves, their shouts transferring from ones of shock to anger, and then one started commanding them to go around and to the giant open windows. It wouldn’t take them long to breech the room, and Anila’s wide eyes turned back to Tion. Her claws almost scraping the ground as she had reared back, away from the door in fright. Slowly, her winds let the doors go, and she turned to the King once again.

“I..” Anila looked to the doors, her wings suddenly partially open as she almost prepared herself for flight if they tried to contain her. She looked up at the King, standing near the giant boards with the pieces scattered on them. Anila never had taken too much notice of what was there as she never felt as if it was important. If it was, surely a tracker would have been told of it. Swallowing hard-and almost choking herself due to the tight necklace around her neck, Anila looked back up to him desperately. “I swear on my own life Tion, I have never ever witnessed this before. This is the first time it’s ever happened-I am so sorry Tion I didn’t mean for the doors to throw them backwards! It just happened; I promise I don’t understand how or why this is happening!” Anila almost cried out, her voice somewhat muffled by her criss-crossed paws holding her muzzle shut.

Her keen hearing was able to pick up the sounds of the guards coming nearer to one of the windows, and she slunk down to the ground, partially walking backwards to try and get away from them. However, her escaped was foiled by the throne room’s wonderful red carpet. Beneath her, it slipped, sliding across and causing her to trip. Anila hit the ground on her side, hissing viciously as the guards came in from two different points in the room. With a pincer-like tactic, approaching from both sides, they advanced towards her, some moving back to try and form a line between the king and her.

Panic rose in her again, her heart beating so hard that it felt close to tearing through her chest. Quickly, the dragoness tried to gather to her feet again, whimpering loudly as the guards began shouting at her, weapons drawn and aimed towards her. Anila had no clue what she had done, why it was happening. She watched nervously as she pushed her paws against the ground to try and get herself back to her feet. She shakily stood and began to backpedal, gaining distance on them again. Her tail almost between her legs in fright and confusion as she dragged it along the ground. They shouted at Anila, ordering her to stand down, thinking they were protecting the king. Even if the king gave them orders, the guards would ignore him, continuing their advance against the 'manic' dragon. The scared dragoness wasn’t able to step back any further, her back pressing against the pillars. But as they advanced closer to her, their maws charging with electricity, their sharp weapons aimed towards her, she couldn’t take anymore.

“ENOUGH!”

On the single command, her voice echoed out five times louder than her normal voice, half deafening the guards in the room. Straight away, the gales returned to her, slamming straight into the guards to try and knock them down. Indeed they did, throwing them straight onto the ground and throwing their weapons from the ground. Her giant winds slammed into the table-it barely keeping place as the carpet was almost torn from the ground. Even the marble stairs threatened to be damaged from the winds. The great, colourful banners behind the stage which Tion had stood, and all around her, were thrown off from the windows and almost blown outside. The gales all but destroyed the ‘chess’ pieces resting place on the maps as they were thrown almost out from the room, being scattered across the grounds with faint clicking noises.

As the guards slowly gathered themselves once more Anila looked in horror for what she had just done. She was the one who had done this, it was her fault. Slowly, the dragoness’s anger was changed, replaced with remorse and shock and she sank to the floor, her legs crumpling beneath her. “I’m so sorry...” She said meekly, her voice weak and almost silent in the ruined throne room. Anila wanted to hide from them, but she couldn't. Her bright eyes watched in horror at the things which she had caused.

Interesting...

So her powers were now tied to her emotions, but never had he seen her with this much before. In fact, her strength was her speed. She did not have any abilities revolving around wind before. It did not help that jis own guards were making a commotion, and from the corner of his eyes he saw some coming in from the windows.

Before he could even speak, they clambered onto the marble floor and chimed the room with their armoured claws. They were shouting orders, to restrain her and to protect the king. Stand down! He yelled but to no avail. Everything happened so fast that he could hardly keep up with it. Blood started to rush to his head, as he tried to walk around the map and get to them. Some of the guards decided to grab and pull him further instead, telling him that she was dangerous and that she attacked one of the guards. Hear her out first! He roared but he may as well yell at a wall. They were following protocol and nothing he could say, in an emergency where his life could be in danger, would do anything.

Tion was dragged until his ears perked to a bellow. Just as he knew it was Anila's, a huge gale blasted into the throne room and blinded him. His ears went deaf with the howling gust and he struggled to stay on his claws. Bits of solid objects scraped against his scales and a heavy one slammed into his chest, pushing him off his legs until he crashed his shoulder on a set of stairs.

The wind died quickly, and Tion rolled back down the stairs, grunting. He winced at the few cuts and bruises, trying to get back on his four legs and assess the situation. The throne room was a mess. The banners were badly tilted, some fallen off and even missing, perhaps lost out the window. The guards dropped everywhere, splaying on the floor but at least none of them were badly injured. Anila was the only one not affected, but her expression told Tion that she was the one that caused this sudden burst. His map was carved into the marble, but the pieces were flown everywhere around the edges.

Tion blinked, a little stunned, even when Anila said something rather inaudible. The guards slowly rolled onto their legs, grunting and groaning, dizzied from what they had just experienced. I told you to stand down. Tion said to the guard laying in front of him. He then limped around the map to Anila, his shoulder flaring with every step that he was convinced that he probably broke something.

Anila... Tion said softly. Nothing came after. He was still shocked. Even if a dragon first learned how to conjure wind, none of them were able to do it with immense power. He wanted to say she was the one he had been searching for. The very thought of it lifted a thousand weights off his shoulder. But he could not be so sure. And this could put too much pressure on her.

Tion turned around to the guards. Guards. Leave us.

"But...my ki-"

Leave us! He repeated more harshly.

The captain stiffened, but regathered his composure and nodded before collecting the guards with him. They all exited through the main doors. Now, there was complete silence between the two, saved for one banner finally giving way and flopping onto the floor.

I... my apologies for the guards' behaviour. They have been rather... protective lately. Would you like anything to drink? We will need to talk about this... newfound power of yours.

Anila silently watched in a muted horror as the guards laid there on the ground for a few moments, having ignored the commands of their King. Her blood almost froze as time too seemed to freeze. The banners fell, the guards were thrown from their feet... Her wings fell hopelessly to the ground, her mind unable to process what just happened and almost shut itself down as she saw the injuries she had caused. In great silence, Anila turned her horned head around the take in the destruction she had caused.

Tion, the King himself, was even down due to her recklessness. She saw him slowly gather himself to his feet, making the effort to even begin limping around the table. She unsteadily moved her weight from one foot to the other, turning her gaze away from the King.

It was her fault. An outburst of anger which she had towards the guards trying to hurt her had caused all of this. But her mind quickly returned to watch as the King limped over to her, small gashes of red dancing across his hide. Guilt wove through her, tightening in her heart and she turned away once more, unable to keep her eyes on him. Inwardly, the SkyWing was expecting a harsh judgement, a claw slapped across her face, his powerful lightning to slam into her and cause her heart to stop and end her seemingly random and savage tyranny. Even the bellow of his voice, using his words to slash deep into her once again. Something that scolded her, something that tore through her as she had done something incredibly wrong.

The last thing she expected was for him to only be able to softly say her name, unable to keep up with what had happened, just like she couldn't. Anila was baffled as he half threw the guards from the rooms, their opposing arguments ripped apart as he scolded them slightly with his order.

Only until they left did Anila allow her tears to fall, her worry and fright almost throwing her over the edge. The banners contact with the ground causing her to flinch slightly, the noise sharp against the silence. She didn't know how to configure her speech as Tion spoke, the words failing her for a few moments. Carefully, she shook her head to try and regain a calmish demeanor, raising her bright gaze to the rather battered Tion. "They.. were just.. trying to ensure your saftey, my King. As you have said, they were displaying their protective side." Anila explained quietly to him, then lowered her head again in acknowledgement to her offer, "I'm fine-I.. I don't think I can make even an attempt to drink." She glanced at the necklace wrapped tightly around her neck, it becoming uncomfortable as her heart pounded in her chest.

Guilt knotted in her stomach as she talked to him and returned her gaze to the injured king, the slits and gashes of red on his yellow scales really did stand out. "Ti-I mean, King Tion, I am sorry that I hurt you.. It looks rather painful, and I don't know what my powers are. The... Weird powers just... Showed when I became angry and furious, and when the dragons came near me I... It just triggered them. I don't know what caused them to show... But... W-what would you like to know of them..." Anila's voice trailed off, unconsciously she raised her paw-her hand shaking as she went to rest it on his shoulder. Silently, she watched as his wounds slowly dripped with the blood-and it wasn't right... She shouldn't have hurt him, even if it was accidental. Slowly, a greenish coloured winds came from her paw as she looked at the injuries, and she yelped, breaking her own concentration and leaving one of the many wounds healed.

"For crying out loud!" Anila almost wailed, looking nervously at what she had done, "I swear that was unintentional my King, I just... I don't know!" Slowly the winds started to pick up again-just a gentle breeze matching her unrestrained emotions.

What else could he say at this moment? It was awkward enough that he had met Anila in this most… unorthodox of circumstances. She refused his offer for any drink, and seemed to rather focus on what was going on. What they could establish at least was that her newfound powers were linked to her emotions. One way or another. It was certainly not uncommon that dragons would let their emotions run amock and control them. And when abilities were involved, the consequences were often deadly in nothing was done about it. As for Anila’s case, if she was what he thought she is, then they need to control it quickly.

Once they were alone however, it was that moment where Tion saw a glisten in her eyes, and tears streaked down her glimmering scales. He was about to reach and wipe them from her eyes, but figured it was far inappropriate of him and his claws remain firm on the ground. Not that he could reach his claws up that high anymore. Investigating his wound, he found a few grazes and cuts bleeding out from it. He would need to get it checked soon, less the guards would freak out again, but he would live. Tion endured worse.

Anila let him know that she first experienced this when she was fuelled with rage against one of his guards. As to what the guard was doing that made her angry, he know not. But his guards were well taught in many disciplines, one including respect for others. The punishment for breaking this law included being stripped from the title, and even exile. At least Anila was not hurt. But her emotions were far from being just as well.

She noticed his wound and raised her paw it, swirling in strange green energy. Tion felt a bit of warmth on his shoulder, and just as he realised, Anila pulled back. Checking the wound, one of the grazes was gone.

Tion stiffened, and turned to face her. He did not know what to say next. But there were a lot of cues indicating that she was perhaps the next semigod. But how could he tell her that? The responsibilities for the Skywings would suddenly drop onto her shoulders, for she would then become their guardian in their defence. Or a trump card in their attack. He looked around the map, particularly along the edges where all the pieces laid on its side. It would take him hours to position them back to their proper places, but one piece stood out above the rest. A yellow piece with a crown of spikes jutting towards the top. The yellow queen that Tion had kept on the side until the time came.

It seems your powers are connected to your emotions, Tion said. Did anything else that is strange happened? Perhaps a dream of some sorts? Or you saw an apparel of our ancestors? He hoped he could slowly lead Anila on that she was the semigod. Then he assessed his shoulder again. And… if it does not trouble you, perhaps you will accept the honour of healing the rest of my wounds?

Realising that Tion wasn’t too angry with the energy thing that she just did, Anila returned her gaze to her paws. Her heart hammered in her chest, her mind clouded with her own confusion at this entire situation. A sigh escaped her nervously but she stopped her pattering of feet. Anila's wings slowly lifted themselves again, as her stress from the other dragons slowly died down once again. She raised them, tucking them in closely to her sides as she watched Tion.

His gaze kept trailing away from her, looking at the map, the pieces scattered away and shoved into a pile near the edges. Inwardly she felt rather bad for that, not realising the amount of time that Tion had spent to actually put every piece on the board. However, his gaze seemed to not linger on any of the skewed pieces, instead, on one which still stood. Curiously, Anila looked at it, not understanding what this had meant, but it seemed... Familiar... Rather suddenly, her attention was taken away from this one again, Tion finally speaking after a long and rather somewhat awkward silence.

Lowering her head in respect, Anila decided to try and fulfill his request. She didn't believe that she had healed him, but the proof was before her eyes and Anila struggled to grasp it's importance."I can try my King, but... I am unsure of the consequences which may happen if... I accidentally muck up or this is not permanent." Allowing the concern for his wounds to take her mind over once again, she shakily held her paw against his shoulder. The gentle breeze kicked up again as the horned SkyWing tilted her head.

The wounds were many, but the green-tinged winds bent, almost like they were scraping the wounds. She frowned, breathing slowly to try and slow her racing heart. Anila’s energy drained as the winds slowed, clearing the dirt and blood away from the wounds, the winds able to fuse the injuries shut and restore them to their former place. For a few moments, she held her paw there, her attention turning to the bruised shoulder. The energy transferred to the deep injury, and Anila’s brow furrowed in concentration, the air barely able to heal it, but she forced herself to keep trying. Eventually, she had to stop, her head suddenly spinning from the breath she accidentally held during her concentration. Anila pulled herself away from Tion, her paw slamming into the ground unsteadily as she tore her gaze away from the King. Her vision blurred and swam randomly and she tightly closed her eyes, trying to close out the unpredictable sight.

As she unsteadily stood stock still, she dragged her mind through her recent memories, but as soon as he mentioned her dreams, something vague stirred within her. A piece of a puzzle, something representing something which she knew nothing of, had been missing, a great, ancient, scrawny shape-shifting dragon who could change his appearance in an instant. She could recall them searching through the many awkwardly shaped pieces. They searched, but another... Maybe this was what he was after. Slowly, her mind calmed as well as her spasmodic blurry vision.

Anila turned her attention back to Tion as she answered him as she tried to force herself to be calm once again, “I’m not sure that it means anything...” She growled. How could she lie to the King-Anila KNEW it meant something, and it was important. Against her own will, she pressed forward to continue the memories, “There was something... It’s been progressing over time. However-it’s rather difficult to explain, King Tion, but I shall try... Imagine an ancient being, a scrawny shifter, one that could take on the appearance of the great dragons of our past, rummaging through yellow coloured pieces to finish a specific 3 dimensional puzzle...

But small and unusually shaped creatures kept coming, stealing the few yellow pieces from the stash. Every time they found that they had further lost these pieces the dragon shape shifter was in a great distress. They had other blue, white... orange and other coloured pieces which were in a great multitude. However, for each colour, they all had the free-standing finished puzzles there. These seemed to protect the other unused pieces, but only when they were near the colour which they matched. They all had a faint glow of energy around them which aided to both protect and scare away the weird creatures. None of them protected the yellow pieces, not seeming to care that their numbers became smaller and smaller...” Anila shook her head, her memories scattered from this dream as she struggled to find the words to explain them.

"There were no voices-none that I could understand for the moment, but their cries told me all that I needed to know. They were in fear, their options of how to solve this crisis becoming smaller and smaller. As the days dragged on, they lost so many of the random pieces... the creatures came raided him during the night in a large swarm while the being slept, stealing at least half of the pieces which were left. When the shifter found out about all the missing pieces, they were distraught. Quickly, he realized that the final last piece which he needed wasn’t there. It wasn't any of the ones which he had left. He didn’t have the puzzle piece, the last one to finally solve this giant conundrum. The puzzle was left incomplete, but without the finished product, the rest of the pieces were vulnerable as they relied soley on the completed puzzles protective energy. However, he couldn’t dwell on that as his attention was drawn away to another even larger group of creatures.

One by one, they tried to get into the piles of pieces, but the glow from every other finished puzzle was able to hold their forces back. They... They left for only a few moments, before they came back, ready to take the final pieces of the yellow puzzle. That’s when the shifter seemed to understand and know that they didn’t have a choice. Calling upon their own powers, yellow lightning bolts arcing from their hands to form a wild electric sphere between them, slowly and painfully they condensed it, molded them and formed the final puzzle piece, and...” Her voice trailed off.

She knew why that Queen piece was familiar. A slight smile came across her face, and she held a paw up, the piece suddenly shooting towards her. She snatched it from the air, before manipulating it in her hand, looking at it from all angles. “This is what all the finished ones looked like.” She mumbled quietly to herself, before she held it more towards Tion so that he would be able to see as well-but she had a feeling he knew what this thing was more than anyone else. “The pieces which had the faint glow around them, when they had all been completed and finished, this is what the final product looked like.” She looked back to the queen piece which was in her hand, the yellow matching that of the one in her dreams, “However... In my dreams, I remember the final piece they had created was imperfect, almost causing the whole puzzle to explode. There was a great destruction which shortly followed after its finalisation, the power imperfect, the protective glow which it contained would randomly shatter and wildly lash against the other completed puzzles.

The completed puzzles of the other colours were able to use their powers in order to keep the yellow ones erratic powers from hurting them, but due to the haste in which it was made... It wasn’t nearly as... Tamable as the others. I remember him having to coat himself in a protective water-like barrier to be able to move and place the final product with the rest of the yellow pieces. Even though it was wild, imperfect and almost unreliable, the power that the yellow piece had was able to hold the creatures back from taking the few remaining yellow pieces. Every colour had the completed puzzle which was able to protect them and shield them from the creatures who were unable to steal any of the pieces anymore. After the creatures scattered and left once again, he rested. I could tell that he was in pain from the yellow ones wild lashings, but while he was resting, I heard him quietly mumble words in the ancient tongue he spoke. He was talking to himself for a while, watching the spasmodic yellow energy, but... those words, I could recognize some... but they were confusing to me... I didn't understand what they meant, what he was referring to."

Anila paused slightly, hesitating as she didn't want to try and recall these words as they ached to her, confusing and annoying her due to her lack of understanding. "He spoke the words, ’Hopefully neither of us were too late’...” After she finished explaining what she remembered, Anila bit her lip, returning her memories back to the present. She was worried, fearing that these things which she had recalled were actually true, but even so, she tried not to consider those things. Even more importantly to her, what did he mean by 'us'? Inwardly, she had a slight feeling that the King before her knew exactly what she was talking about, and even what the ancient being had said as well.

The healing wind was no accident. Tion watched intently as Anila, through her will, was able to at least control her powers and heal him. Though she had taken quite some time and her expression was that of struggle. He almost fell over when she stumbled to regain her balance, taking a step forward. The shoulder flared again, but it was no more than a simple sting that he could shrug off. But Anila regained her footing before he could say anything.

Then she detailed about the dream she had, and he listened carefully. It was an interesting story. Definitely above simple stories like that of children’s books or any adventure ones of a similar kind. This one carried a rather strange vibe. She talked about puzzles, how there was some entity he had piles of many pieces of varying colours. According to her, only some of those pieces were the ‘correct’ ones that form the final product. Tion was curious on what that final product was, especially considering that it did not use all of the pieces. He did not know far he leaned a bit forward, like a child caught in a story, until Anila pulled a large piece in between them and shocked him back to reality. In her claw was the yellow queen chess piece. That was the final product.

Tion looked down, frowning a little. Not in confusion, but with interest as he was deep in his thoughts. How curious. If there were many colours of this queen piece, they could strangely represent the queens he had placed on his map. The queen piece resembled the semigod. But what about the rest of the pieces? Judging from the nature of the story, he could presume they resemble the dragons under the same tribe as the puzzles. But if the yellow puzzle was to truly reflect the Skywings, then what were the creatures of the dark that was taking them away? Could it be the humans? And what of the imperfect nature of the grand product in general? A worrying theory came to mind that it involved Anila. As if the power of all the semigods were needed to calm her at some point in the future.

It was a lot to absorb. Tion looked up to the dome ceiling, trying to merge what he knew of the semigods with Anila’s account on her dreams. Some points were similar. But the previous semigods have reported different stories prior to them realising their potentials. No doubt the semigods were the grand defenders of the tribe, and only one exist in each of them. If her dream were to be true, then Tion would have no doubts that what stood before him was, indeed, the Skywing semigod.

Come,Tion said, turning to the map. There were seven hidden pressure points that activate certain mechanisms around it that only the kings know of. He pressed every one of them, which were the locations of all seven tribes. Tion did not mind letting Anila witness this secret. This involved her after all. After hitting all the points, the map clicked, sinking briefly into the ground before disappearing inside the marble floor above him. Underneath, laid another set of stairs going into the darkness below. There is something I need to show you.

Assuming Anila chose to follow, Tion ducked his head from the floor above as he descended, his claws clattering and echoing across the walls. Upon his presence, the crystals on the walls began to light, the cyan blue filling the hallway with specs of blue and black like fireflies. This place was really old, the marble having dulled in colour and showing signs of wear. A gentle breeze came from the other end of this hall when Tion climbed to the bottom, and slowly he walked towards the other end. It was quite a long climb. This floor was the bottom-most floor of this floating island.

Tion finally came to a large room. The yellow torches flared, and a heavy breeze spiralled up, lifting harmless specks of white and gold as they filled the room without overpowering it. Here, on the other end, stood many marble statues, like they were standing on an amphitheatre. To Tion, those statues resembled very familiar figures of the past that were long deceased. Old chimes that hung around here started to sing, and hollow tunes like that of panpipes echoed from the elegantly crafted holes on the walls. The breeze would continue to blow while they were inside this room, gentle enough so as to not cause any headaches. Despite the bright colours here, this room gave of a vibe like it was night time outside.

This is the room I want to show you, he said, standing in the centre before turning around to face Anila. The hall of whispers. It is here where we engrave the names of those that are… naturally gifted in one way or another. What you see before you are the statues of our ancestors. The former defenders of our tribes. Tion allowed a pause, giving her time to absorb all of this and seeing if she would comment on this.

For a few moments, Anila felt as if she had said something wrong, Tion’s gaze turned to the ceiling as if he was deep in thought. Nervously, Anila flicked her tail, wondering if she had recalled it wrongly, or if she had done anything wrong-aside from everything in the last half an hour. The SkyWing watched her King, a slight frown forming on her face as he stayed silent for quite some time. She was about to speak, trying to break the silence when he finally stopped looking at the ceiling, and only said one word.

In a bit of confusion, acknowledged her King with a simple nod of her head before she followed him to the map. Watching carefully, she saw him push down on the seven points and transferred that to her memory, making sure she didn't forget it. Anila jumped back a little in surprise, a quiet yelp coming from her as the map clicked and disappeared into the marble. Turning her head slightly, she peered into the inky darkness of the tunnel, a nervous expression on her face. Tion wanted to show her something, but she was rather nervous about going somewhere which seemed rather mysterious. Anila didn't like the idea of never being able to feel the soft breeze against her scales. Before she could even inquire about where this went, he had already left through the tunnel. Biting her own fear back from the darkness, she decided to follow him, her fears short lived as she became intrigued by the small blue and black crystals which slowly began to glow.

She followed him to the large room, and judging by how cool the room was and the seemingly dark it was, she was beginning to wonder if she should have followed him. The soothing chimes calmed her though, and the soft winds reassured her that she wasn’t going to be trapped down here in this room. Anila’s gaze wandered towards the statues, a small frown upon her face as she took in their incredible details, they looked so realistic, their sizes exact. Slowly, names pulled through her memories seemingly out from nowhere, and she tilted her head slightly. She looked at the statue with interest, the names of three standing out to her more than others. Why did she take her here? She heard Tion speak, and she turned her attention back to him.

Anila noted the name which he gave her, and it seemed greatly appropriate to her due to these dragons almost acting as if they were talking to her, even from their stony prisons.“Naturally gifted... T-my king, these...” She looked back at the long, eastern dragon which she was looking at before. She hadn’t even seen the name, but her eyes locked with the marble statue. Anila tried to figure out where the name had come from, but to no avail. “These are the ancient dragons, the previous SkyWing... I don’t know what they are called... This is Tatsu, the lightning defender. He was alive many years ago, known for the random behaviors and lightning strikes which he called down upon battlefields...” Her voice trailed off, before she turned her attention Tion, “It is a wondrous place which you have shown me, but... I must ask, why have you taken me to this place? I know none of these, yet all of them at the same time!” Anila said in a greatly frustrated tone, frowning slightly.  

“I am not like them, they are great creatures from the past, able to manipulate the winds and lightning to their own will. Alishia, the commander of lightning,” Anila paused, gesturing to a wyvern dragon who stood around 17 foot tall. “She was able to empower the other dragons bolts with such strength that when they hit anything, it would blow to smithereens! Anadria, commander of Mist and Rain,” She pointed to another statue at the back of the room who was reared onto his hind legs, a vicious expression on their face, but his build was that of an assassin. She still hadn’t seen where the place where their name had finally come to rest. “He was able to call the winds to his aid and bring along clouds and fog to cover the SkyWings in their assaults...”

Anila looked down from Tion, her mind trying to pull all the information together. It was a lot to absorb, and her words had probably confused the poor King, so she rethought through what she wanted to know before she spoke again. “This place is for the resting spots of these great creatures, yet... I know nothing of their significance, only tales from my childhood. My mother spoke about Zephyrous, a lightning commander and miraculous tales of how he managed to defend the SkyWings multiple times... Until a giant bolt ended his life. Since that day... There hadn't been any dragons quite like him again... Anila sighed, realizing she had been ranting again.

Please, Tion, why have you brought me here? Why are these statues seemingly important? What do they all represent? I know nothing of them aside from their titles and what they were known for.” She inquired, watching him closely. Inwardly, she was afraid that she had already come to the right conclusion, that he was trying to show her that she was as powerful as these creatures... But her 'abilities' only came from her own emotional distress. These great and ancient dragons before her all had a perfect control of these powers. She clearly didn't.

He noted that her expression was that of awe. Not many got the chance to visit such chambers. Only the kings and the semigods were permitted in here. There were no treasures or power for the blackhearted. Rather, only memories. Even so, some of the statues were unnamed. Since then, neither the previous leaders or Tion could determine their names. Still they hoped their memories, in one way or another, were preserved by the statue reflecting their appearances.

As expected, Anila wondered why Tion brought her here. But what else also fascinated him was her ability to recall some of the previous semigods, despite him not revealing them to her yet. She even named those that he had not heard before, or were well documented. It made him blink. It was true she never really met them, for most have lived until well before Anila’s time. Yet they were somehow familiar to her. All of this was at least interesting, in a sense that semigod was more than just a title of power. The questions she asked in the end were already answered by herself.

Tion smiled, closing his eyes before turning his head to the side. Do you believe in those tales? He asked. Regardless of how she answered, the things she knew were perhaps very true. These statues are built in secret to honour our guardians in the ages past. Their powers unrivalled, and their purpose clear as the cloudless sky. Only one exist in our tribe. And if they have fallen or drifted from their purpose, such power of the guardians are passed to another to ensure we are not left helpless. We do not need to be born with a gift, or raise in a noble nor burdened family. Perhaps the chosen one is picked randomly, but we have yet to meet one consumed with power or used it for some mediocre gain. No. Some entity, well above us, know who to choose to be the next guardian.

The reason I brought you here, Anila, is because I believe you are the current wielder of that power. You are a wizard Anila!

At the end of his words, her face visibly paled. She felt her stomach basically flip on itself, her facial expression changing to one of horror, an overwhelming look in her eyes as she almost seemed to threaten to be violently sick from the motion. Her, a 'wizard'!? The very thought of that was beyond horrifying, like a small mouse standing against an army of cats. She downright couldn’t be this trump-card for the SkyWings. There was no possible way, even with her stupid and untamed powers lashing out, she couldn’t be that dragon of the ancient days. She was a dragoness with a gorgeous figure, a speedy tracker and one with a grace unknown to all but herself and the other males of the tribe.

The other creatures before her, the defenders of the past, were all formidable dragons, ones which were to be respected. They commanded everything they could control with ease. Lightning, winds, fog, clouds, everything had bowed down to the ancestors of the past without a faltering. The ancestors commanded and used their powers with actions that never showed that they would relent, their powers so intense that nothing wanted to stand against them. The dragons also never went to even try to hurt their own kind, accidentally or not.

And look at her.

She had already injured at least a dozen guards, and even the King himself. What Tion had said to her did spark an interest, but it was easily smothered by the fear which she had. Anila shook her head, looking back to Tion, her entire body almost freezing to the point of shaking as she struggled not to be afraid of what he had just said to her. The significance of everything behind her, the giant weights which she felt suddenly grip her heart and tighten around her throat.

“Tion... I can’t be... I’m a dragon designed for speed, I don’t have the bulk, the sturdiness, the courage or determination any of these dragons had. They were fantastic defenders from the past. They were fearless!" Anila's voice slowly began to rise, her heart pounding in her chest, "I am weak-I am a dragon whose strengths are in their looks and speed-nothing more! These... Wind powers are nothing of my design! They just... HAPPEN without me doing anything, I don't want them here. They aren’t something I want! They... I...” Anila shook her head, a whimper of distress coming from her as her eyes wildly looked around at the daunting statues around it.

“I-I can’t be anything like our ancestors! I'm too pathetic to be something of that significance!” She almost shouted, her heart racing painfully in her chest as she locked eyes with the king, fear gripping her throat. Anila couldn’t be one of these creatures of greatness, she simply couldn’t be. The winds betrayed her, their forces lashing wildly around her from her distress. The quietly singing chimes became louder, almost deafening due to her wild running emotions.

The yellow piece to represent the loose cannon. A power which could never be tamed.

“I’m not a wizard, I’m just Anila!”

He would have been a fool if he did not consider that what he said to her would cause at least a bit of shock. Many were like Anila, waking up one day suddenly finding out they were different. But a general rule of nature he learned was that they fear what they do not understand. He needed to let her know of her abilities anyways. However he tried to sugar coat or soften the news before that was up to him. He thought he did quite well. But then he saw the wide sapphires of her eyes.

He knew how to respond to her, nodding his understanding of her thoughts. When he was young, her reaction reminded him of the previous chosen semigod when he was first delivered the news. But he was certainly not as surprised as Anila was. It was definitely a lot to absorb. With the news, came great responsibility.

Judging from her reply, Anila seemed to have stereotyped the semigods to be all controlling of wind and lightning, as well as being very physically strong. Although true they were generally strong like that, but all semigods were gifted in very unique ways. Her strength may not lie within those of the previous defenders, but nonetheless she possessed those abilities, and was destined to be the semigod for the Skywings this generation.

During her burst, the breeze in this room had picked up. The soothing melodies from the chimes turned into deafening screeches that was starting to unsettle him. Tion took a step forward, his front claw hovering as if reaching for her. Anila! I understand all of this is a lot to absorb. Your reaction is only… natural. He allowed a pause as he turned to the chimes. He then turned around a bit to face the statues. Fear not. This… also comes as a surprise to me as well. Semigods are gifted with powerful abilities. You are not weak, Anila. Like them before you, they do not realise their gift until well after it was given. Some had yet to master it as well. So you are not alone. Tion closed his eyes, turning the side of his head to her. His heart was pounding as he thought of what he should say next. She needed to learn to harness and control that power.

I, Tion, king of the Skywings, shall train you.

Anila allowed a small and rather angry look to appear in her eyes for a few moments. However, it was quickly replaced, her eyes wide due to her worry and overwhelmed feeling that she was getting. The great dragon statues seemed to almost step forward, each of them towering over her tiny shrinking form. She took a half step away from Tion, her wings unfurling slightly as she half heartedly glared at the dragon King before her. If the floors weren’t ancient, she would dug her sharp claws into them by now and allow her emotions to rein havoc on the statue filled room. Her muscles were tense and no matter how she tried to calm herself, the wind still uncontrollably lashed around her as her heart hammered in her chest.

As the King raised their paw, she allowed a snarl to rip from her throat as she jumped back from him. Her hearing seemed to fail her as her own pulse deafened whatever the King was trying to say to her. Anila’s eyes glinted with terror, and with a small whimper as she managed to catch bits and pieces from what he was saying. Semigods? Powerful abilities? She’s not weak? Were they the things he had said to her? Her thoughts were blurred, unable to focus on the significance of his words as Anila’s vision swam. She slightly shook her head to try and clear it, but her eyes didn’t leave Tion, her snarl still rumbling quietly.

“I am alone Tion-No one else of the SkyWings currently has the fears and... malfunctioning abilities which I contain. They are erratic and...” She lowered her gaze, glaring at her own paw which slowly curled into a fist. “You say you shall train me, King Tion, but you couldn’t even stop it from throwing all the guards from the room... It doesn’t seem to be the sort of power which you are able to just contain, like you seem to think it can be, like it can be tamed.” She shook her head, the winds around her still howling.

The winds wouldn’t stop. No matter what she did, with her distressed state, she couldn't stop nor calm them. Anila silently tried to will them to cease, but they never did. The constant and bitter thoughts of failure and the constant shrieking from the chimes grated on Anila's scalled. She snapped, unable to take it anymore. In another burst of movement, Anila snarled and threw her head back, roaring in a direction of one of the chimes. Their sharp and unnerving voices were suddenly silenced, the winds holding the noise back from the two dragons.

She turned back to Tion, shaking her head, “I don’t see how anything can train this. No... Dragon before has had so much difficulty...”

He noticed she was still deep within her thoughts, especially when he was talking to her, evident when she acted aggressively towards him. Whether she had listened or not, it did not change his meaning that she was fated to become the next semigod. In his mind he admitted that this was the first time he saw such power becoming very unstable, but all the more connected to her emotions. She would need to learn to control it if she were not to harm anymore guards.

However, his offer was not met warmly. Tion was subtle when he gave himself a bit more distance from her, hoping it would give her some comfort. It looked as if she was about to burst. The roaring winds of this room proved this, but he remained firm. She began to speak but hardly any of it made sense to him. Tion offered his wing to her, yet she felt alone. Perhaps in a sense that she considered herself special from the rest of the semigods. In actual, all of them were special in their own ways. Anila was only one of many. True, perhaps he could not have stopped her from throwing the guards around.

Tion closed his eyes as he thought. There was a lot of distress inside her, perhaps anger? If she allowed that to continue holding onto her, then she would never be able to control her gift, as evident when she tried to calm the winds around them. In fact, it had grown so strong he could not hear the chines or the hollow tunes anymore.

I see, Tion said calmly, though he could not even gear his own voice. No, nothing he could say now would do anything. Especially if the wind would only drown them. With a slightly tensed snout, he spread his limbs apart and sprung himself up in the air, spinning in the process. Wind, going in the opposite direction, whirled around him and, with a sudden unfurl of his wings, expanded his gale to counter Anila's gust all over the room. The result of such would completely negate all of the wind here with a muffled pop.

While everything was silent for now, and while he hoped that the shock he gave to Anila would control her powers momentarily, he landed back gracefully on his claws and looked back up to Anila. You seem to underestimate me. I agree with all that you say, Anila, but I remain firm to my word that your gift is controlled by your emotions. There is a lot of stress within you after such a news. I offer my help, so you are never alone to get through this. You have power, but no experience.

So let me train you.

Anila’s thoughts tormented her, stress breaking through her time and time again. It was only until Tion managed to pull off his stunt. A small battle of wills seemed to happen at that moment, the calm and collected powers from Tion against the raging powers from Anila. The concentration which Tion had demonstrated to throw a blast directly countered what Anila’s rage had produced. The careful and direct blow from Tion shattered the wild winds. A small echo came from the collision of the two powers, before Tion’s one overthrew hers with ease.

Anila was silent for a few moments, her shock from his ability to dispel hers stunning her into silence. For a few moments, the shock and the dispelled winds calmed her, and she was able to throw aside the stress and responsibility which overthrew her countless times due to her fear. The fear drove her to miscomprehending and over thinking her current situation. None of the dragons before her may have reacted like she did, however, everything was emotion controlled. Anila relied on hiding her emotions from everyone and everything. However, with these powers seemingly linked to her emotions... then that is going to be basically thrown out of the window.

Trying to calm herself, she listened to Tion, he may be offering to train her, but the SkyWing didn’t see how that he was able to help her control such spontaneous powers. Especially when those powers seemed to be linked to her emotions and these emotions were something which she could barely control on a good day. She considered what he had said, but... How would help her be able to control them? Anila shook her head slightly to clear it, her erratic powers dead in a few seconds from the reset that Tion basically gave her.

She turned her attention back to Tion, the confusion and anger vanishing from her face. “I can give you the chance to train me, but how will you do that? What would you do if everything went wrong Tion, while I was trying to control these powers and I lashed out against the guards once again? And just how will you train me to do this?” Anila asked, flicking her tail slightly as she looked down to her feet. She considered what would happen if all the training failed, and she was beyond nervous of what could happen. She exhaled unsteadily; extremely nervous with what she was about to request.

“If you don’t manage to help me to control these powers... They could go wild-and will do that quite easily. So you will need to kill me-no questions asked as I could easily hurt the fellow SkyWings by accident. Do you understand? If these strengths can’t be controlled, you will need to do that. For everyone's sake.”

His actions to counter her uncontrolled powers was more than just a demonstration. His intention also included to reassure her that he was more than just talk. He could always find ways to tame her powers. The shock he gave her was also added proof that her abilities were linked to her emotions. Sure enough, judging from her expression, she had no more questions of it. She was a lot more calmer before speaking.

Though he did not expect her to say what she said. Now that her emotions were settled for now, Tion noted a lack of confidence in her voice. There was a lot of self-doubt and paranoia. Although the previous semigods experienced this on the day they realised their potential, Anila was the first to insist Tion to ens her life if things went wrong. Tion looked down at the ancient marble below him. Ending the life of a another dragon was not something he had done before and wished he never came to do. Especially if she was one of his own and was destined to protect the Skywings. The gods have chosen her for a reason. Not him. Not one of the many guards. But her. Tion would have responded by now with his refusal, but what would that accomplish? She did well to endure up to this point without some time on her own. It did not mean he had the right to push her further. For now, all she needed was reassurance.

Your powers can be controlled, he said calmly. And fear not. I will be here with you. Should anything go wrong...well, you saw how I dispelled your wind. I will inform the guards that you are not to be disturbed from your emotions. Tion then looked at the statues for a moment, wondering how the semigods before Anila trained themselves. Still it was a mystery, for they were only active before Tion came to power. As I have stated, you just lack the experience. Knowing the extent and limitations of your powers is the key to controlling it. Therefore, I shall offer my assistance in determining its extent.

The mountain ranges due east of here. We shall battle there.

Anila silently listened to him, seeing the seemingly distress sparking in his eyes. She would have gone across to put a paw on his shoulder, insist that this was the right thing for them both. But for some reason, he seemed to think that keeping her alive was the right thing to do. She could almost sense the dislike of that request coming from the king himself. Eventually feeling somewhat guilty for the request, she inhaled, about to try and explain why she knew that would prefer that over anything else, however, before she could even muster the will to speak, he broke the silence yet again. His timing for this was becoming borderline incredible.

She listened to him, allowing herself to nod as she saw the reasoning behind his wise words. However, at the mention of battling against him made her more than a little nervous. Anila knew that he would be able to disperse any winds which she had made however she really was a bit afraid of combat.  Never before had she actually been against another dragon in any type of combat, and she knew that would most likely show against the King. In the past, she had heard that he was against many other great opponents and he was able to outwit them all and managed to defeat them. The very thought of him having to fight her... Even though it was to help her train and become better with these cursed powers, then it was the only way in which she could do it.

Her throat felt dry, as she nodded to Tion. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust his ability to actually be able to do what he claimed but it was more that she didn’t want to actually fight. “Alright, if you truly think that you are able to help me control them... Then I agree. I know where you speak of, so I’ll meet you there tomorrow at midday, I just think it would be best for me to calm down slightly from this... whole thing. Besides, I am pretty sure that you are going to need to talk to those guards of yours to explain that I am not a giant threat that they know I am...” Anila laughed quietly, shaking her head, “Well, I won’t be after... You try to train me.”

She would wait and listen to Tion if he spoke anymore before saying her goodbye. On the way out, Anila would offer to help Tion fix the board with its pieces, and then afterwards, she would go to leave for her makeshift home. It wasn’t exactly something where she was proud of living, just a small and damp cave hidden behind a waterfall. Anila had found it when she was young, but... She never had it in her heart to leave that place. It was only dry in some areas, and anything larger then Anila would find it hard to sit somewhere without at least part of them becoming wet from the dripping waters.

Although she didn’t plan to tell anyone, Anila’s makeshift home was near the mountain ranges that Tion had spoken of, as she didn’t live anywhere near the SkyWings cities. Why she didn’t is simple, she just didn’t have the ability to be able to afford anything to live there. She also didn’t want some random dragons turning up at her doorstep. Even though she was a somewhat proud dragon who was eager to show off their appearance, she still didn’t want the attention of just any odd dragon.

When she got to the large river at the base of her waterfall, she laid down, her mind lost in thought. Idly while she sat and though, Anila tried once again to try and remove the tight necklace, feeling it dig into her skin painfully. However, her efforts were in vain as it refused to budge. With a great sigh, she glanced at her claws, relieved to see that they were still clear from any blood before she turned her attention back to the clear waters to allow her mind to run free.

---

Anila rested gracefully on a large rock protruding from the mountain side as her gaze wandered across the skies. White puffy clouds littered the sky, following the small breeze coming towards Anila from the SkyWing palace. As far as the small SkyWing could tell, the breeze didn’t seem to be strong enough to throw any aerial combat off. She considered quietly how Tion would even teach her. But all the answers that she came up with, she greatly disliked.

Anila was concerned more than anything. If she were to accidentally knock Tion out somehow... Well, there was no way that she would be able to go back and face the SkyWings. But she somewhat doubted Tion would get himself in a situation where that was possible. Curiously, she watched a small little lizard race across the ground. Considering how small it was, Anila tried to use the air pockets similar to the one that she had used while grabbing the queen piece from Tion’s map. In amusement, she watched as the lizard was lifted and she placed it onto the ground next to her, watching the multicoloured creature suddenly run away from the giant dragon that was next to her.

She chuckled quietly to herself before her voice caught in her throat. Since fiddling with the necklace the night before, it was resting uncomfortably on her neck. She deeply regretted ever putting it on and never thinking to move it. Anila shook her head, trying not to allow it to bother her at all as she waited for Tion to arrive. However, it was getting incredibly tight over the years, and the necklace had stunted her growth by half blocking her throat whenever she tried to swallow. It was because of this that she was incredibly slim and physically weak.

He would have to be completely insane to request a battle with a semigod, especially if they were yet to learn the extent of her powers. Despite his seemingly stoic and rigid form, he had a racing heart inside. He did not want to think himself as nervous about all this. But determined. He was well aware of all the risks, but as long as he remembered his training, he should do fine. They would not need any guards stationed anywhere on standby in case anything bad happened. Anila seemed nervous as well. Of course, the proposition was a surprise. She was going to fight with her king. At least she had settled a bit. Anila was not as…volatile as before. Her emotions were more controlled, and maybe more accepting of what she was destined to be.

Eventually she agreed. Interestingly, she did not need any guidance and knew of what Tion was referring to. The mountain range was well outside of Sky Fortress territory. It was deserted of any human activity for the time being, but only those within the military rank would know that. To all else, they were to proceed with caution and with protection.

Tion gave her a nod in return, but still concerned for her. To wake up suddenly finding that one was different would cause quite a huge shock. Things would change. Some were lucky to be small, others needed to turn their life around. Anila. She seemed to have had a pleasant life as a tracker, being able to commune with the guards, flashing her charm at passers-by. But now, she had harnessed that great power. With power, came responsibility. Tion huffed a sigh. He knew there were those who were happier back to when things were. Some tried for a position, disliked, and turned away to seek a new path. But for a semigod, there was no going back. He felt it was his responsibility to make sure she was more comfortable with that role.

Yes, we shall, he answered her slowly. Tion did not know what to expect on that day, and he doubt he would get a lot of sleep tonight. All of this was big news, not only just to Anila, but to Tion and all of Sky Fortress. She was not alone in this.

When the pair left, Anila had offered to help put the pieces back on the board again. Tion told her it was quite alright and that he could tidy up on his own. He smiled to Anila and bid her farewell before the doors to the throne room closed in between them. Then, everything was quiet. Tion called for servants to come and fix the banners and align everything that was blown off their position. However, he replaced the pieces on the map himself. While he was doing so, his eyes caught onto the yellow queen piece, one which he had placed on the border of the map for the future. It seemed that time had come. Tion huffed a sigh before looking at how he arranged the pieces for the Sky Fortress territory, along with the silver pieces for human territory. They had all been cooped up safely up here, behind the floating walls, growing. For the purpose of unity and reclamation. Yet they did not step outside of it. Not without their powerhouse.

It was going to be a lot more work from here on. Tion cradled the queen piece on his claws, his reflection shimmering in it, before placing it next to the yellow king inside the ring of pawns.

Their time was near.

---

Midday.

It was a clear and beautiful day among the mountain ranges. The winds were not as ruthless as usual, as if they had cleared after foreseeing what was to unfold here. Tion’s eyelids were quite heavy. He had been tossing and turning last night in anticipation. He knew the Skywing semigod would come, and thought he had prepared well for an event. Yet, somehow, he was still caught unaware. This was not like him. Turning up to training not at his best. But he was not that sleepy.

He had a plan on how to train Anila at least. The sleepless night paid off in that end. He would only use his wind attacks to disorient her or discharge her abilities. But it was quite harmless. If Anila’s powers could only activate if she was to receive tremendous injury, then this could be a problem. But for now, he should just assess how she would react with just wind. Although she was a tracker, Tion never saw Anila battle before. She never had any wind abilities to begin with, but she was incredibly fast. Tion’s speed was nothing compared to hers, but if she think that speed would be enough to win against Tion, she would be wrong.

Soaring over the white tops of the mountains, Tion descended onto the slanted side of one mountain when he saw Anila resting on another. She was fiddling with her necklace, and did not seem to notice he had arrived. Good afternoon, Anila, he greeted, landing carefully. You are very early today. Are you this eager to train? Of course, Tion was not aware of Anila’s residence. He could see in her expression that she had waited for quite some time, though he decided not to go deep into that. Now, before we commence, I just want to reassure you with the true purpose of this training. This is purely just training, not a real fight, to test the might of your powers so we will know what we are dealing with. I want you to throw everything you got at me. But fear not, you may be surprised with what I can do to counter.

He huffed a sigh, shifting his claws apart to some battle stance. His legs bent, head lowered and his wings unfurled. If you have no more questions, you may have the opening move.

His voice startled her, and Anila quickly pulled her paw away from her necklace to push herself to her feet. Her knees bent forward into a bow as she also dipped her head to him. "Greetings, Tion," she replied before lifting her head to him, "No, I just decided to be here early so that I didn't keep you waiting so long. Besides, it barely takes me long at all to arrive here-but to travel to the SkyWing fortress, that's an entirely different story." Anila responded with a small chuckle.

As he reminded her of the reason they were here, she felt her throat slowly dry again. Anila slowly nodded, trying to keep a cap on her emotions. The last thing that she wanted was for them to spiral out of control again. She felt that she was in a bit more control than the previous day as the guards hadn’t entirely freaked her out. Little did either of them know, it would require more than just fighting to get all of her abilities to show.  Only two would be able to show in a combat like this, as the majority were based around supporting dragons. Those abilities wouldn't show unless the two were to work together.

Anila stood back from her bowed position, fear glinting in her eyes as he seemed to suddenly change from being the friendly and talkative dragon they all (sometimes) loved and knew... To a rather serious one. Maybe this was what that dragon was up against. Anila considered it for a few moments, but he was here to help train her. There was no way that he would intentionally try to hurt her, or so she had thought. Swallowing hard, she nodded, her heart racing. Anila had only one advantage, but she couldn't execute any of her powers easily from the ground. Or display the one which she found out about the previous night.

"If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to try and do this where we both aren't hindered by the ground under our paws." She nervously said. Quickly unfurling her wings, Anila leapt back into the sky, hovering around 70 feet from Tion and even further from the ground. From there, she would wait to see if he would join her back in the air again.

She felt free in the skies, not limited by the space around her nor the scowling gazes of the creatures of the ground. Nothing there judged her, her scrawny and small form wasn’t criticised, her slender body wasn’t admired every two second. Anila just felt free. Her wings instinctively allowed her to suddenly drop into an incredibly steep dive. Her wings curled in around her, partially opening to change the direction. Keeping the momentum up, she used her tail to lash forward. The winds automatically followed, taking a form similar to Tion’s own powers to aim approximately towards him. However, they were restrained, barely as strong as the previous day as her fear held them back. Anila was also poor at her aim, off by around three feet to Tion’s left.

Anila was definitely not built for attacking a single dragon, and she was quick to realise this. Fear clenched around her heart, her mind wandering back to the dragons who weren’t bestowed by this gift. Silently, she cursed as she knew that she had to try, and she lashed out towards Tion. Her winds suddenly picked up, originating from a huge gust of wind from her wings. They were probably her strongest winds that she decided to just use.

In total, Anila had fired off only one shot from her tail and a giant gust from her wings. She wanted to stop. Although Anila was careful not to show it, she felt off. Inwardly, attacking Tion didn’t seem right, even if it was only for training... This wasn’t what she should be doing...

He agreed to her decision to take this fight above, in the air. Knowing she was nervous did not comfort his own nervousness, for he was training a semi god. Who knows what tricks she would somehow pull off, and if any of them relate to lightning, it would be devastating. He had to expect the worse at any second. Playing this defensively was not a favourable tactic for himself, but nonetheless he would have to if this was training anyways.

Tion spread his wings soared up to her level, and there he waited for her first move. And perhaps the first of her many abilities. He focused at what she was doing, and saw that she was trying to copy one of his moves. Shooting an arc of wind from the tail. It was a close miss but Tion veered his head away just in case it would suddenly do something unexpected. He chose not to retaliate just yet.

Anila's next move was odd at first, but then Tion knew her emotions were actung up again and the mountain ranges roared with the huge gusts. Some caught under one of his wing and sent him spinning out of control for a moment before he levelled himself with the wind currents. It seemed nothing else came out after that. Tion thought to stop the training now, despite making some progress, as he could see the distressed look in her expression. But something in him told him to extend it a bit longer and see what happens. It was clear taking the offense was not what her powers were for. Was it defensive then?

Tion inhaled a large breath and shot an orb of wind at Anila. This orb was very mild and, if she were to be hit by it, would simply blast her with wind and push her back. He did not do any follow up, but he was trying to show Anila that he was taking it very easy for her and that there should be nothing to worry about. Tion kept his distance of around 500ft from her, hoping to also give her some space to practise her own strengths.

He did not feel very comfortable having to use his powers against another of his own. Even shooting a somewhat harmless orb of wind felt strange. Anila was no fighter previously, and it was likely she would be very clueless on what to do now. He did not want to push her to the edge, but it looked as she was already on it.

Are you alright Anila? Tion asked. If none of this is easy for you, we can stop it now.

Anila hesitated, realising that her emotions had been let loose once again. She didn't have control over them like she had originally thought. Even though she was much calmer than the other night, she was still a bit anxious about the power that seemed to just be there at her beck and call. Not only that, but she accidentally hit the king off balance again as it clipped his wing. Thankfully he was still able to stabilise himself before anything else went wrong.

Although she would never admit it, Tion was also right with his thoughts. She wasn't a fighter and it was clearly showing in her abilities. None of them were really about attacking her opponents, as she was quick to discover. Anila hovered for a few moments, her thoughts elsewhere as she half beat herself up for her idiocy to think that training might help. My powers aren't showing like they did when Tion was hurt... but why? What's different...

Seemingly out of nowhere, the orb suddenly appeared before her. It was only several feet away before her eyes registered it as a potential threat to her. Snarling quietly, her body went from a standstill to a steep drop. Before she knew it, Anila realised she was quite close to the ground. Snarling again, she tried to rip herself upright again and stabilise himself. But she was descending too fast and the trial was twarted and didn't work. Thinking quickly, Anila used her powers to grab the orb in an air pocket which Tion had thrown. Concentrating, she threw it down beneath and in front of her before forcing it to explode. The force from the explosion helped to keep her away from the ground and stabilise herself again.

Anila turned in her flight, her wings slightly furling as she made a shallow turn to face him again. That's when she heard Tion's offer as it rang across the empty sky. Why did he offer to stop? Was she failing? Did he sense her doubt and worry? I AM NOT FAILING AGAIN! Frustration drove forward her instincts and she commenced a retaliation. This time, her attacks were quick and somewhat barely were held back against Tion.

From her mind, she commanded the winds to come across from Tion's left, where the trees would bend and creak to alert him to the oncoming storm. The three blades were partially aimed this time. Two went towards his right and one aimed above him to prevent any escape from him dodging by flying higher. If he were to be hit, they would just throw him off balance considerable.

But again, she couldn't shake that this was wrong! She couldn't figure out why... It wasn't as if training by attacking Tion could be suppressing the other powers...

She almost wanted to slap herself, before snarling as she turned her attention back to Tion. If the winds that she made in her own fury and anger were to hit him, they would do more than just throw him off balance. They were powerful enough to really hurt him!

Feeling her worry and concern build up inside her quite quickly, she had an idea. Wrapping the concern around herself and allow her worry to fill her almost completely, Anila's mind again called upon the powers of the wind to try to form a barrier around him to protect him, just in case he accidentally was hit by her winds... She didn't want him to be hurt. Theoretically, what she tried to form would cancel each other out and allow Tion to come out unharmed.

If she was able to succeed, a silent wall of high-speed winds would form around Tion, before somewhat solidifying and being a physical protective barrier. The barrier would move around Tion to protect him and not impede any movements that he did. It would be able to block one of Anila's attacks before it somewhat cracked, then broke after a rather firm touch.

He almost regretted throwing that orb of wind until Anila dodged, but in a manner that was rather interesting. Instead of flying left or right, she opted to just drop and duck under it. To him, this was a bad move for good reason. Their wings were made to pick up wind from below, therefore if any normal dragon were to try and descend sharply like that, they would sure to fail. But this was not the case for Anila. But her surprise did not end there. Before she hit the ground with such speed, she enclosed the orb of wind he had thrown at her in some pocket before hurling it onto the ground below her, the impact releasing a huge burst of energy and pushed her back up again. If that was linked to her semigod powers, then it was something he had never seen before.

Her effort was remarkable, but Tion could sense that there was so much strain put into that. All just to dodge the orb of wind, when he predicted that she could have just easily dodge to the side. But if Tion had covered all her flanks, then that would have been a better option to avoid getting hit. He thought about making his next attack much slower, for she did not seem to accept his offer for a respite.

Before he could make another attack, something howled to his left. Turning, it was just the trees, but the wind had bent them considerably, with some uprooting and falling off down the mountain. Just as he turned back to Anila, he stiffened as three arcs of wind were hurled towards him. The gust was just a distraction. He let his guard down! He had no choice. Tion pulled his wings a bit close and braced for impact. But all he could feel was a gentle breeze blowing around him, followed by the harmless whipping of the blades of wind that Anila had sent. Tion parted his wings and noticed that he was inside a ball of air. The tips of such contacted the rather unstable wall, and, like a bubble, it popped away from him. What was that just now? Tion looked to Anila and saw she was a bit anxious. Did she make this shield just then? If so, it would be very impressive that she was able to control this much of her emotions, reverting from perhaps rage to worry, and therefore the need to protect.

You have my gratitude, Tion bowed to Anila with a smile. It seems you are getting used to your powers. They seem to centre around protecting others from harm, than causing harm itself. If that were the case, then we shall practise defending yourself. Be ready, Anila. He then inhaled and held a lungful of air. But instead of firing now, he somersaulted and flew back a bit, just as he released. It was the same orb of wind, but was travelling at a very slow pace towards her. For any dragon of her speed, a simple side-step would be enough, but Tion made sure to prevent that. Generating wind into his tail, he spun and flipped in the air, throwing arcs of wind at her left and right. If she remained at her spot, these arcs would miss her entirely.

After that, Tion just hovered in the air and examined her carefully. If anything bad were to happen, he would either cancel his wind or be ready to catch her if she was hit.

As soon as her own winds struck one another, Anila's mind was pulled away from her surroundings. She could feel the two forces collide, the strength of all four winds easily shattering the first shield. Panic and horror flowed through her for a few moments, before coating Tion with another few shields as soon as they broke. It was disorientating for her, able to feel everything going on with her abilities. The howling winds, the wind slices, the shields smashing before her own anger. Her eyes glazed for a few moments, her wings faltering as she concentrated on trying to keep Tion protected.

Much to her relief, her efforts were not in vain. The shields had held against her own powers and she gave Tion a weak smile. Even though they had barely started, she was really noticing most of her strengths were and abilities stemmed from her mind. a combination of concentration and her emotions. She noticed him talking, her mind unable to distinguish his words for a few moments. She caught the end of what he said, however, Anila couldn't figure out what he meant. Did he want her to try and use the shields near him? Or on herself? She watched the best she could, her mind disorientating her own vision of what was ahead of her. The dragoness didn't think that Tion had released any attacks against her, at least, that was what she thought she had seen. Panic filled her, she couldn't continue. Her vision blurred again, disorientation slapping her once more. Anila's heart pounded as her eyes tried to find Tion, calling out to him.

"Tion, wait, I can't..." Her voice cut itself off, panic flaring in her eyes as the yellow figure of Tion wavered in the distance. "I.. I can't focus, the world is spinning... Tion I can't see properly!" The panic was evident in her voice, clear as day. Wildly, she tried to face the warped figure of Tion.

As she moved suddenly to face him, her feathery wings brushing against the tips of the trees. Not realising how close she was to the trees around and beneath her, Anila gave herself a small heart attack and dove away from the object that her wings brushed against. Unknowingly, she managed to dodge the small air sphere Tion had done against her, but her blurry and unclear vision didn't pick up the other two he had done. The only warning she had was the winds that whipped against the trees to her right.

Then she was hit by it's partner.

Anila's mind was already struggling to keep up, but with the sudden ripping of Tion's wind slice, she had no chance of keeping balance. It hooked both her wings, ripping them away, causing her to tumble in the air and down towards the trees. Awkwardly, in confusion and disorientation, Anila gathered her powers to try and see if they could stop her from smashing into the forest below her. With unintentionally strong powers she threw her wind powers down below her. Or what she thought was below her. Mistiming her abilities combined with her disorientation and the fact that she seemed to see the entire world to be upside down, and she threw her powerful winds above her. Anila had commanded them to push her away from the forest... However, she had done that ability above herself. Her power that was meant to save her from smashing into the trees backfired completely.

It launched her straight into the forest beneath her, and it was a rather fast wind. She shot like a bullet straight for it.

Before she could gather her senses to realise her horrible mistake, Anila felt the first branches and twigs lash violently across her face, but she couldn't stop herself in her wild spin. The next think she knew, few thick branches slam into both her right wings with a mighty crack as they broke underneath the force. She felt the branches tear through her thin and feathery scales on her side, leaving a few feathers behind. However, the SkyWing's momentum wasn't stopped by that tree as she rebounded from the first of the thick trees. The force sent her spinning to her left, unable to control herself.

Pain shot through her, her wings screaming in agony, her face cut and bleeding, her side damaged as well. Within a second of her uncontrollable spinning, she was sent a hundred foot and straight into another tree. The force from her slammed into the thin tree. However, it couldn't hold against her weight and the thinner tree shattered from the impact of her back against it, her tail dragging across the top to slash deep into it. Deep cuts shredded her back and she felt another low hanging branch slam into her arm, knocking her to the right. Her eyes widened slightly at the sight of an ancient oak in front of her. Panic flowed through her as she tried to conjure a shield to absorb at least a hit for herself.

Pain wrenched through her, dashing any hopes that she had of pulling up a shield to defend herself. However, the panic and pain managed to shatter the shield before her paws.

She raised her claws at the last second, her arms barely able to take any of the remaining momentum as her chest and neck slammed against the surdy old tree. The necklace she wore took a fair chunk of the initial strike, the whiplash's force bending her necklace into her neck. Her chest, rather feathery and having barely any protective coatings was drastically slashed, cuts from the stray branch that she barely missed cutting through her scales easily.

Unable to stop herself or grip the tree, Anila felt herself fall to the ground. Leafs were scattered across from the impact, and Anila managed a quiet groan as twigs and branches snapped painfully under her weight. The memories were like a blur, happening in such a short time that Anila barely had time to react to anything... Still she had somehow done this, injured herself and been thrown hundreds of feet into the dense forest below the grounds. The blood slowly pooling around her caused her to whimper, surely it would attracts predators in no time... But the very use of her throat causing her to be in pain as the malformed necklace cut into her skin. The shape was so malformed that it was inches away from crushing her throat.

Shakily, Anila moved her paws slowly to underneath her. She then tried to push off from the bloodied ground, wincing as every part of her screamed for her not to move. Not able to fight the excruciating pain, her legs gave out under her. Her right wings hung loosely off to the side, her left ones somewhat holding their place to hide some of the injuries from the accident. As the ground came up to meet her, the side of her neck jarred against it. Her necklace moving slightly from it to cut into the soft skin more.

Her wings ached in agony, crimson staining her pale scales and feathers. Breathing shallowly, Anila placed her head on the ground, her eyes tightly shut to try and block the pain out. She felt that she couldn't do anything, and currently, she knew that she couldn't... Anila was hundreds of feet away from any sort of aid, the only one who would be able to barely would have seen her go... However, the damage that was done laid behind her were a tale-tell sign of exactly where she had gone.

Anila was paralysed in fear and pain, her powers vanishing as her emotions were trapped in the cold clasps of dread. The only signs that she was clearly still alive was the shallow movements of her chest as anything more pained her greatly as it expanded her chest, the cuts opening up drastically in response. For what seemed like an eternity to Anila, which in reality was only a few seconds, feeling slowly returned to her gashed tail. Whimpering quietly, she pulled it across the ground to be next to her.

Among the pain though she could still hear, and she picked up the sounds of crunching leaves being squished under feet. Forcing herself to move, she shifted her head slightly to try and see what it was. Her blood froze in her veins, a pack of wolves coming closer to her. Anila snarled quietly, moving her paws once again to try and stand up to them. However, it was just like last time but worse as her blood made her slip and come back to the ground again. Whining, she snarled again at the creatures, trying to get them away from her. But they just bore their teeth, approaching her as it was an easy kill for them. Her pain locked her powers, leaving her completely defenseless.

She gave up, putting her head back to the ground as it pained her to keep it up. If they wanted her to die for food... It wouldn't take much, not in her state. Anila closed her eyes, cursing the very beings who gave her this cursed power and wished to be put out of her misery, pain and suffering.

Seeing that she had given up, the alpha wolf pounced, it's teeth aiming for her neck for a mercy kill.

Something was wrong, and very quickly he regretted following up his orb with two wind slashes. Looking back at her, she was struggling to even keep her eyes open. Her body started to tilt and she was losing altitude as well as her balance. And what she said next confirmed his fears and his eyes widened at what he had done. She was losing consciousness. When one of the trees touched her wing, it caused quite a shock that she zipped away from it with quite a distance. In doing so, she avoided the orb and one of the slashes, but the other struck her wing. It did disorient her, but just before he could get to her, she shot her wind up in the air, and the momentum drove her speeding downwards. He was unable to react in time and, even with his own speed, he was rather helpless as Anila struck tree after tree as she fell towards the ground.

Tion hissed between his claws, cursing that he did not see her condition much sooner. Neither could he have reacted fast enough to cancel his own attack, when he was busy looking for retaliation. His stomach cringed as, before him, Anila continued to fall, hitting her wing against branches and spinning around as the trees continued to whip them. Tion tried to dive faster, but one of the branches that did not break whipped back into his snout and struck that sensitive spot. He snorted, being forced to stop in his daze as he shook his head. Growling, he hurried after Anila again. The trees continued to lash against him, but still he ignored them as he hurried after her. He was such an idiot! Thanks to that, look at her. No matter what, he could not close in to her, and was forced to watch how nature brutally scarred her body.

He nearly got her when she was holding onto a branch, but when her claws gave in, the branch flung into Tion’s underbelly and sent him flying up in the air and back. His sensitive stomach screamed and he doubled over, rolling in the air as it was his turn to brace for the trees. Trying to minimise any damage, he tucked his wings close and shielded his head, tensing his muscles as they felt the brunt of trunks and branches scratching bruising against them. It was not long until he felt a huge slam against his back that nearly made him cough out all his innards. He was back on the ground, and the world became silent.

Anila! He could not rest now. Before his body could adjust, he slowly rolled onto his legs. The world began to spin before him and he was about to puke. His back hurt from the impact, and sure enough, he did not want to be standing immediately after taking that fall. Still he pushed on.

His ears suddenly perked at the howl of wolves. He looked around, but could not see Anila anywhere. Anila! Tion bellowed. He did not need to stand around any longer before he could hear rustling from the distance. Still, he could barely run. Trying to do so would only make him stagger. His wings were battered and bruised so badly that even a twitch would flare them. And they hurt so much as to force a hiss out of him.

Tion tried to his best to hurry, his fast walking very awkward as he limping and putting too much weight on his good legs. But quickly he found Anila’s feathers lying around the bushes, indicating that he was close. Getting there, he found her badly wounded, lying on a puddle of her own blood and surrounded by wolves.

Anila! Tion roared, a bit strained as he was still in pain. It only caught the attention of two wolves before one of them decided to pounce at her. The sight of it was enough to spark something warm at the back of his mind and, forgetting all that he had been through, forced his body to steady itself before lunging at breakneck speed at the wolf. Get away from her you filthy dog! He roared, leaping over the wolves and, in a second before it got to Anila, Tion sent his good claw crashing down onto the attacker’s snout and crushed it under his weight. The wolf gave off its last squeal before Tion tripped over and nearly fell over Anila.

He regained his balance before then and turned at the wolves, snarling at them, lowering his body defensively, ready to strike. Tion inhaled, ignoring the pain in his chest, before blasting the dead wolf forward and towards the pack, giving them a warning as to what they would have to deal with.

In the back of her mind, the last part of her that held onto a thread of hope screamed out to Anila, telling her to get back up. That there was something that she had to do, that she had to get up and help. But she didn't want to, her body was in agony and she couldn't move. She wouldn't. However, even in her own denial, her death wish to set her out of her misery and agony wasn't granted. Instead, a voice broke through the pain in her mind.

Her name was called and Anila cracked her watery eyes open once again. A roar of anger came above her before the familiar yellow shape of Tion slammed into the wolf. The wolf was able to yelp once before it was crushed, and was quickly followed by a few heavy thuds as Tion almost lost balance. Anila slightly recoiled, expecting him to fall on top of her. Even the motion of her recoiling hurt and she whined quietly. However, he didn't fall on her. Tion blasted the body closer to the group. Anila's cloudy vision made out that the wolves were seemingly riddled with confusion, sniffing the body. Realising what happened, they had looked back up at the figures near them. Their leader suddenly killed by this giant thing that appeared out of nowhere to defend the fallen dragon. Not knowing any better, the wolves turned tail and ran, yelping in fear as they didn't want to fight something that took them down with such ease.

Anila turned her head to Tion, her throat locking up as she didn't know what to say to him. Her pain seemed to ebb away as she focused, seeing small gashes of red scattered across his normal yellow scales. She couldn't see how deep they were, but he was in a much better condition to help...

Realising what her mind was even considering, Anila knew that she could die from this horrific accident. But her powers were too weak and insufficient to heal her. Even if she did, she couldn't fly, couldn't get help. Her best bet was with the King before her, the one who had just defended her from the things that sought to kill and consume her. Instead of giving up and allowing herself to die right there and now, she tried to use her untameable powers one final time.

Doing the best that she could to block out the pain that hindered her so much, Anila focused on Tion. Specifically, the wounds that Tion had had. They were only there because of her. Somehow, before she left, Anila had to fix them. She couldn't let him be injured due to her own mistakes. This whole stupid thing was her fault. Slowing her pounding heart, she wrapped her emotions around concern, before reaching out to Tion.

In Anila's mind, it was like a green paw trying to reach out to him. Trying to grab onto this yellow essence that was the injured figure before her. A few times, Anila's paw missed the essence, her pain shooting through her each time she missed. But the dragoness was determined not to let this stop her. Pushing through her own agony, blocking it out, Anila's mind almost seemed to frown in concentration as her weakened paw finally clasped the essence.

Thinking quickly, Anila commanded her powers to work once again to heal Tion's wounds once more. Instantly, she could see her powers to work straight away. The energy from the green paw seemed to burst out from it's original form before it floated all around Tion. Quickly, it came back to him and began to wrap itself around the yellow essence.

It pushed back white energy back into the yellow, trying to force her powers into Tion as she tried to heal his wounds. The extremely deep injuries couldn't be forced back together, but the aches, which were similar to a dull yellow light in Anila's mind, had the winds press against them to ease their pains. If Tion were to see, he would be able to see the familiar green energy trying to heal him, fix the wounds that were scattered around his body.

But as the final one that she could heal was done, the powers vanished once more as Anila laid stone still. Pain and agony returned to her with a vengeance, causing Anila to whine in response to her suffering. Almost groggily, she opened and raised her gaze to the King, the one who she'd let down. "P...plea..se... forgive me.. Tion..." She asked weakly, before closing her eyes again to rest on the crimson ground.


Finally, Anila stopped moving altogether save the minuscule rise and fall of her chest, allowing the cold clasps of the realm of the unconscious to claim her. Due to the amount of blood that she has lost and the pain she was experiencing... These claims were so firm, so strong, that there was even a chance they would last forever.