Interlude 3: Sacredscream, Fenn and Elric - I See Fire
Oh, misty eye of the mountain below
Keep careful watch of my brothers’ souls
And should the sky be filled with fire and smoke
Keep watching over Durin’s sons
“You called for me, your Royal Highness?” The tundra approached his queen. He had acted as her advisor since the day of her coronation. Really, their relationship went beyond titles, but he liked to do things right, and his role in the clan was one he took very seriously.
“Yes Eli. It seems that we are at war.” A small, pink fae perched on her throne, pink eyes blinking down at her old friend. They were not filled with joy, however, as they usually were. This time a fear clouded them.
“Kyro won’t stand down.” It was not a question.
“He will not rest until he has taken my daughter for his wife.” The queen confirmed. “I have asked the royal guard to prepare for battle. That sorry excuse for a kingdom knows nothing of courtesy and solve their problems with the blade and teeth. Ashweather especially is on guard. I am glad that one of the guard have chosen Neffie as their charge. It certainly makes it easier to ask this much of him.”
“I still don’t see why you have called me.” Eli pointed out. “You seem to have everything under control. You’ve given the orders. What do you need of me?”
“Promise me that when the time of battle comes, you will hide Neffie and Ashweather away. They are both young, and they need someone wiser to help them survive should I fall in battle.” The queen’s eyes grew steely. “There is no one I trust more for this task than you.”
“My Queen, you should not endanger yourself so-” Eli began, then was interrupted.
“I may be a queen, but I am also a mother. I will die if it means I can keep Neffie out of the hands of that slimy beast.” Her tone left no room for argument.
“Your wish is my command.”
The sunset shone pink, stained with red, but no one below was marveling at its beauty. The tranquility was broken by the sound of gnashing teeth and deft claws. Dragons roared with pain and screeched with the knowledge that no one could hear their cries among the cacophony. Nobody knew what had provoked the attack, but nobody really had the time to ponder it either. They were fighting for their lives.
Hidden away in the one few untouched corners of the clan, a small collection of dragons huddled, trying to block out the noise of their clanmates’ dying screams.
If this is to end in fire
Then we should all burn together
Watch the flames climb high into the night
Calling out father oh
Stand by and we will
Watch the flames burn auburn on
The mountain side
“We should be out there, helping our clanmates!” A male guardian exclaimed, scratching deep gouges into the dirt floor beneath his talons. “I have sworn to protect this clan with my life, I should be dying alongside them, not cowering as they die for us!”
“Patience, Ashweather. You are forgetting why we are here.” Eli whispered anxiously. “Our duty may be to our clan, but right now, it is to our princess first.”
Between them sat a small pink fae. She shifted her weight uncomfortably. She may be a princess, but the dragons outside were her family and friends, and her status was not worth their blood. She winced as another sharp scream pierced the air. Sixty-three. That was the number of dragons who had died for her. She wanted to beg the tundra to let her and Ashweather out to fight, but she knew it was pointless. So instead, she sat there and counted. She vowed that the number would forever be seared on her heart, a guilt that would never be lived down.
The sounds of fighting began to die down. One by one, the clan united under Plaguebringer outnumbered their opponents. Princess Neffie could imagine their glowing red eyes, two pairs each, scouring the land and ensuring that everyone was dead. The thought sent shivers down her spine.
It seemed like they spent an eternity in that stone den, then suddenly, Eli rose. “It’s time.”
And if we should die tonight
Then we should all die together
Raise a glass of wine for the last time
Calling out father oh
Prepare as we will
Watch the flames burn auburn on
The mountain side
Desolation comes upon the sky
Eli lead the two young dragons into a chamber beneath the temple in which they had hidden. Around them, crystals glowed a soft pink, lighting their way. He had no time to stop and marvel at the young dragons’ wonder as they entered the Arcanist’s chamber for the first time. Very few even knew this place existed.
His heart felt heavy. He did not know if his queen still lived, but as the fight continued, he was less and less certain at the survival of his friend, and the rest of the the clan. Yet he could not mourn. His duty was not yet done.
“Why are we here? If they break in, they’ll still find us.” Neffie’s shaking voice betrayed the fear she refused to show with her posture.
“There is something I must do.” Eli explained. He began riffling through the scrolls hanging around the chamber. Most of them were simple gene or renaming scrolls, but some contained a higher power. To activate the magic within, he would have to call upon the Arcanist himself and bargain for the power. In any other circumstance, he would have shied away from such powerful and dangerous magic, but it was the only way he could ensure the safety of the princess. Mirrors were prime trackers, and there would be no where they could run that the pack would not eventually find them.
Now I see fire
Inside the mountain
I see fire
Burning the trees
And I see fire
Hollowing souls
I see fire
Blood in the breeze
And I hope that you remember me
The smell of residual arcane energy filled the air, stinging Eli’s nostrils. The princess and her guard were gone. He had wiped their memories and transported them to the Windswept Plateau. There they would likely wander until they found some clan to take them in. The Wind Flight was known for their hospitality, and Eli knew they would look after them better than he could.
The smell grew stronger, and Eli braced himself. He had managed to tap into the Arcanist’s magic, but now he would pay the price. Around him, the sounds of battle grew quieter. With a sinking feeling, Eli realized it was probably not because the attackers had been driven off. Soon, the scent of magic completely covered the smell of blood and fire, and he knew he was in the presence of the Arcanist.
“Do what you will. I have nothing left to live for.” Eli spat bitterly. His clan was gone. His queen was gone. Its only survivors knew nothing of the clan anymore, they would wake up and believe themselves to have always been wind dragons. They wouldn’t even remember their names. They were Fenn and Elric now.
“Oh, you have plenty left to live for.” The Arcanist’s voice rumbled over the chamber. “I believe we can work out a sort of deal.” He purred the last word, and Eli had a feeling his was about to become some sort of glorified guinea pig in a cosmic experiment.
You will live forever. Clans will rise and fall around you, and you will be helpless to do anything. This is your destiny. This is the price you must pay. I will watch, and wait, and observe. You are my project now.
Wind roared in the pink fae’s ears. The unfamiliarity of it woke her with a start. Around her stretched a light green plain. Wind rushed through the grass in streams. She blinked. She couldn’t remember falling asleep. Actually, she couldn’t remember anything. It was as if she had popped into existence on the windswept plain, and the more she looked at it, the less and less sure she was that it was unfamiliar. Surely she had been here her whole life? She relished the feeling of wind blowing around her, and she longed to spread her pale blue wings and join the dragons swooping around above her head. Were they her family? Had she fallen? She called out to them, but when she realized they didn’t recognize her, her heart sank. Was she alone?
Suddenly, she heard a groan. She spun around to see a large purple guardian dragon with leathery forest green wings. “Elric!” She called joyfully. The name felt unfamiliar on her tongue, but she undoubtedly knew this dragon. He opened his pale green eyes. The fae was confused for a moment. Had she been expecting pink? Why shouldn’t his eyes be green?
The confusion soon faded from her mind as Elric smiled at her. “Fenn.”
Fenn smiled. Elric had been her best friend since they were hatchlings, and she could imagine no other dragon beside her. He was closer to her than her parents and siblings, which I guess didn’t say much, seeing as she had no recollection of her family. Regardless, Elric was all she had.
Seeing Fenn standing there seemed to stiffen his resolve, and he stood up, and stood protectively near her, as if expecting danger to swoop down on them at any moment. His eyes scanned the now-empty sky, then fixed on something that seemed to be approaching. It appeared to be a long dragon. He growled as it drew nearer, and Fenn tensed up, preparing to fight at any sign of danger. When the dragon lighted down, a wave of recognition washed over them. Elric backed down immediately, and Fenn sank into a bow.
“Windsinger, sorry my lord.” Elric immediately apologized, but the dragon was not angered, merely amused. His eyes shone knowingly, as if he knew something about these two dragons that they did not, but they did not dare question him. “No harm was done.” He responded simply. “I see you are awake.”
The two dragons stared numbly at him. Why did he care that they had been sleeping? And why was he glad to see them awake?
“No matter.” He carried on, seeing that the two were clearly not going to respond to him. “I expect you have some questions?” He was met with more silence. “Maybe not. Eli certainly did his job well.” He sounded bemused. The name sounded familiar in Fenn’s ears, but the familiarity too faded.
“Now, you two have lost quite a bit of important memory. That sort of magic is not done easily.” Windsinger explained. “And magic that big is bound to have effects on you. I can’t explain the circumstances of the amnesia, all that was done for a reason that I expect you may someday find out, but now telling you would hinder the memory wipe useless. Not that I understand completely how it was done. My expertise is wind and air, not magic. Neither will I be able to undo it, so if you ever get the urge to quest, as you dragons do, for your memory, don’t come to me. I can’t help you.”
He paused to see if the two dragons were keeping up. They no longer looked dazed and shocked into silence, but they still seemed rather confused. Still, they nodded to show their understanding.
“Now, you two will be needing a place to stay. Over on the Zephyr Steppes, there is a sizable chunk of unclaimed land. You are welcome to it.” Windsinger explained. “It’s small, but it is charming, if I do say so myself. It is the perfect place to start a clan, and maybe a family.” He turned to Fenn. “I understand you are carrying eggs and close to laying them. This will be your first clutch, correct?”
“Yes, I think so. H-How did you know?” Fenn stuttered, confused. She had vague knowledge of the fact she was close to her first laying, though she did not know the circumstances beforehand. The Windsinger just laughed and smiled, not giving any answer.
“I shall take my leave now.” He said, eyes twinkling. “Oh, and welcome to the Windswept Plateau.” Before either of the two could thank him, he took off into the sky and flew out of sight, laughter trailing behind him, leaving them confused about many things.
Oh, should my people fall
Then surely I’ll do the same
Confined in mountain halls
We got too close to the flame
Calling out father oh
Hold fast and we will
Watch the flames burn auburn on
The mountain side
Desolation comes upon the sky
Eli wasn’t his name anymore. He was no longer deserving of such a name now. He was now Sacredscream, in honour of all those who had died. He should have been among them, he knew. But for one reason or another, he had escaped, and he had no idea how. his last memory was leading the princess and her guard through the temple. The next thing he knew, he was in the observatory.
He knew better than to question it. He had by some miracle escaped death, but he could not run forever. It would come for him in the end. In the meantime, he would devote himself to recording the history of the great clan known as Clan Sonder. He was the last to carry its memory, and it would soon slip from even him. He had one last duty to his clan, and he would fight to keep it from fading from history, like the library that had been burned to ashes by the mirrors.
Now I see fire
Inside the mountain
I see fire
Burning the trees
I see fire
Hollowing souls
I see fire
Blood in the breeze
And I hope that you remember me
He didn’t know why he had come this way, yet here he was. The ruin of his clan stretched below him. Dragon carcasses were rotting on the ground, giving off a horrendous stench. It was enough to make Sacredscream want to vomit. The buildings that had once made up the kingdom were a charred mess. Nothing had survived the ruin. Some parts still glowed like embers.
He had seen enough. He turned to leave when suddenly he saw it. Among the shattered eggshells sat a single egg floating inches above the ground. Its glow was dim. If it didn’t get attention soon, it would die. Sacredscream knew what he had to do. His duty was not yet over. Clan Sonder would live on, if only in this little one.
Maybe it was time to find Fenn and Elric again.
And if the night is burning
I will cover my eyes
For if the dark returns
Then my brothers will die
And as the sky is falling down
It crashed into this lonely town
And with that shadow upon the ground
I hear my people screaming out
Dragons screamed around Sacredscream, the scent of their blood filling his nose. He tried to save them, but he couldn’t save them. Their faces and scents flooded his senses. All those who he had lost. The attack on Clan Sonder. The Rebellion against the tyrant Azra. Every battle he had witnessed combined in this one, horrific moment.
“Sacredscream!” His apprentice’s call jolted him awake. For a moment, he thought it was Solo, his beautiful daughter hatched from that single surviving egg. Then he remembered: Solo had moved on to a new clan. He couldn’t help but feel like he had lost her too, just like he had lost everything else.
“Are you okay?” Fim’s green eyes flashed with worry.
He had found the princess and her guard. To his surprise, they had started their own clan. Though they did not recognize him, he had joined their clan. He now worked as the clan’s historian and librarian, first alongside Solo, and now alongside Fim, a member of the clan’s largest family.
“Just another one of my nightmares. No reason to concern yourself.” Sacredscream grunted to the wildclaw.
“You’ve been having your nightmares quite a bit lately, haven’t you?” Fim asked. Then he quickly added. “Pardon my intrusion.”
Sacredscream didn’t aswer. “Why must I live through so much?” He asked instead. “Why must I lose everything?”
“Um, you haven’t lost me?” Fim reminded him, then ducked his head, abashed. “Sorry, I’m not very good at this whole consoling thing.”
“No, you are right. I still have you.” Sacredscream cracked a rare grin. “Why don’t you tell me about the latest book you’ve been reading? I know that merchant dropped something off for you the other day.”
As the excitable wildclaw babbled on about his favourite characters and how he predicted everything would turn out, Sacredscream couldn’t help but feel his current peaceful situation would not last forever.
Now I see fire
Inside the mountains
I see fire
Burning the trees
I see fire
Hollowing souls
I see fire
Blood in the breeze
It was a strange sight, seeing all his clanmates frozen in sight like this, but he had no time to consider what was normal. The clan was under attack, and everyone was disappearing. Quickly.
He never thought he’s find a statue terrifying, but there it was. A stone mirror sat in front of him, pink gemstones gleaming from her sockets. Liberty had been a clanmate, but with the flood of energy that had poured from her experiment, she had summoned a hoard of weeping angels, and she too had been overcome by hunger.
He somehow managed to run into the air ship that held his library, but the moment Liberty appeared at his doorway, he knew he had made the wrong choice. he was going to be dead, just like the clan dyiing around him. He could hear their screams, though most were not from those being touched by the weepers. The screams were cries of grief as dragons watched their friends and family disappear before their eyes.
It seemed all too familiar, and Sacredscream found himself shaking. His brain was shutting down, and soon he could hear nothing but the screams that echoed around him. Then there was silence. he opened his eyes. he had not realized he had closed them. Liberty was frozen still. She had not attacked when she had the chance. Staring out a nearby window, he was shocked at the sight. Sunlight was fading from the the sky. The clan was in ruin. Ships had crashed, and the clan’s platforms had fallen from the sky. Only the library ship was still intact and flying, and he was suddenly aware of the faint scent of powerful arcane magic.
A sudden movement caught his attention and he realized: he was not the only survivor. There were more.
I see fire (oh you know I saw a city burning out)
And I see fire (feel the heat upon my skin)
And I see fire
And I see fire burn auburn on the mountain side
Sometimes, Sacredscream could forget that he was not in his old clan. His books and scrolls were a comfort to him, a familiarity in this strange new clan, floating unnaturally above the twisting crescendo. The library ship had crashed here after getting caught up in the storm, and Sacredscream and the other survivors of the Weeping Angel attack had awoken the Queen and King from their cursed slumber. They had been encased in stone.
Now the kingdom was growing, and Sacredscream had once again taken over as librarian and spent his time documenting the clan’s history as it unfurled around him. Still, there was something fishy about the clan’s rulers. They couldn’t seem to say much about why they had been cursed to live at statues for centuries, or how their island could stay afloat in midair, unbuffeted by the fierce winds of the storms below. Most of the time, he just brushed it off. He was just being paranoid after his past experiments. Crescendo Isle was safe
Nightmares still plagued his sleep, but at least he now had something to fill his waking hours. He had to admit, Queen Hestia’s generosity was unrivaled, and he was sure that he could become quite comfortable here.
I know this interlude is a lot longer than a lot of my others. The reason for that is that the history of Sacredscream, Fenn and Elric (particularly Sacredscream) embodies my entire history on flight rising, as Sacredscream has followed me as historian through every clan I have ever had and remains one of the few dragons I know I will never ever give up in a lair purge. He must remain eternally documenting my flight rising story.
All of this is actually pre-written stuff. I did a lot of digging to pull together this backstory interlude. The battle in Clan Sonder was the first lore scene I ever wrote, when I was explaining the backstory of my progens, and it was followed by the scene with Fenn and Elric's arrival on the Windswept Plateau. I wrote that 2 1/2 years ago, when I first joined Flight Rising. Everything with song lyrics at the beginning is part of something I wrote for Sacredscream and posted on tumblr 1 1/2 years ago. It feels good to pull it all together, I hope it's coherent enough.
This is actually really good timing for this backstory because the lair tabs have gotten me on a whole new flight rising kick and thinking about what I want in the future. I would be very surprised if Windkeep Tower remains the same forever, even with hibernation as an option to preserve it when I wish to move onto something else. It's also got me thinking about how everything has changed on flight rising for me in the past and it's making me feel very nostalgic for all the dragons and clans I've had and given up in the past.
Oh, also, I know this is getting long but one more thing! The cool thing about this interlude is the last scene connects well with the prologue of the Stories of Windkeep Tower, bringing this full circle.
I was so worried about how it would hold up from an outsider's perspective of someone who doesn't know my entire clan history!
