Day 15: Quiet, For Just a Moment
Sentence: Death Streak Roll
Sentence: Death Streak Roll
"Are you ready?" Zunde called through the door to Age's room.
"It's okay, you can come in!" The tundra called, slipping a bookmark in her book and closing it shut. The door creaked open, and her brother slipped in.
"What were you reading?" Zunde asked, gesturing to the book on Age's lap.
"Nothing too interesting, just a book of fairy tales," Age sighed, getting up from the cushion she had been lying on. "Didn't you say you were going to share a much more interesting story with me today?"
"Yes, I am!" Zunde said, tongue flicking in anticipation. "Today, I am going to show you my favourite place in the whole entire city."
"You mean-" Age breathed.
"Yes, I am taking you to the library," Zunde said, smiling at his sister.
"You are the best big brother ever!" Age squealed, racing forward to give him a hug.
"Hey, you deserve to see more of the kingdom you're going to rule someday, right?" Zunde smirked. "Are you ready to get going?"
"Yes!" Age exclaimed, almost bouncing with energy. She couldn't remember feeling this excited ever in her life.
"Alright, don't forget your lantern!" Zunde reminded her.
"Oh, right!" Age said, racing to grab her lantern of the floor before following Zunde out.
Age hardly dared to speak a word as they left the palace and made their way through the city. Age tried to imagine what it must have looked like for the streets to be teeming with life, but it was difficult when all around her was broken down buildings and dark roads. She wondered if she would ever see the streets teeming with life again, or if that day would come after her reign.
"What are you thinking about?" Zunde asked, breaking the silence.
"I'm just trying to imagine what the city used to look like," Age admitted.
"There are drawings in the library. Oh, I can't wait to show you!" Zunde started moving a little faster. Age smiled and quickened her pace as well.
Soon enough, they reached the edge of the living district. Age had, of course, seen the wilds of the knowledge district from the palace, but it was entirely different to see them up close. While most of the wild plant life in the city was brambles and thorns, what once had been gardens had obviously had many spurts of overgrowth before dying. Dried flowers hung off of bushes, while newer plants faded as the life drained from them. It was hauntingly beautiful in a way.
Zunde led her through a path winding through the undergrowth. Some parts had been carefully burned away, and Age soon realized that Khepri must have created these paths. Age looked around at the plant life stretching high above her head, wishing she could see more of where they were going.
Suddenly, rustling could be heard in the bushes. Something was coming, something big. Zunde froze, shielding Age with his wings. Suddenly, two green shapes leaped out of the foliage, aiming straight at Zunde. He was bowled over, toppling over Age before she could see what was going on.
"Did we get ya?" Age could hear Heaven's voice pipe up.
"Did you really think you could go on an adventure without us?" Nevaeh added. Age let out a sigh of relief. It was just the twins.
"You two scared me!" Zunde took in a deep breath and got to his feet again. Heaven and Nevaeh broke into a fit of giggles.
"Let's keep moving," Age pressed. She was anxious to see the library and learn more about the city's history.
"What's the rush?" Heaven asked.
"Don't you want to explore?" Nevaeh added.
"Of course I do, but Zunde's showing me something important. We can explore later," Age promised.
The twins looked at each other. Age knew they were trying to decide if it was worth coming along for the ride. They thought Zunde was boring. Then they looked at Age and nodded.
The twins chattered the whole way to the library, but Age was too distracted to pay their conversation any attention. As Zunde creaked open the door, a hush fell over the group. Zunde held the door open so Age could step inside. As she did, torches lit up on the wall around them, giving light to the room. Age's breath caught in her chest as she saw the vast number of books lining the shelves. Even Heaven and Nevaeh looked shocked.
"Welcome to the library!" Zunde announced, looking very proud. "Would you like to have a look around before I tell you the story?"
Age nodded, and the twins dashed off together giggling. Normally, Age would be disappointed to be left behind, but this was a special time with her brother, and she wasn't going to let go of that.
Zunde followed close behind as she wandered the aisles between the shelves, running her paw along some of the book spines and breathing in the scents. She already knew she was going to be spending a lot of time here.
"Does mom know about this place?" Age asked, remembering how her mother had taught her how to read as a child.
"She does, but she's usually too busy to come down herself. She just asks me to pick up books for her," Zunde admitted. "Come on, let me show you something."
The coatl led his sister into a small, dusty alcove. The shelves were lower here, and maps and illustrations covered the walls. Age recognized the maps as earlier versions of the city.
"This is where most of the history of the Clan of Resting Wings is kept, from long before the monarchy began and a skydancer named Legba had most of the power. She wasn't the official leader, a guardian named Torgin was, but Legba knew how to use her charm and grace to get what she wanted. According to the stories, she was a terrible opponent on the battlefield, she was skilled at disarming opponents with her beauty," Zunde explained. "Needless to say, she wasn't all too happy when Arcene and Akira came alone and were made monarchs, though she still held power as their strongest warrior for some time before leaving to pursue her destiny elsewhere."
Age watched in silent awe as Zunde pulled a volume off the shelf and pulled out a loose piece of parchment. There was an illustration of a skydancer and a guardian together. The guardian looked absolutely smitten with the skydancer.
"Anyways, I'm getting distracted. You wanted to know how the story ended," Zunde said, taking the parchment back from Age and closing it in the book again. He put the book back and pulled out a second volume. This one she recognized as Hazzleblazzlekerblazzleflam: A Memoir, the book her father had read to her from to teach her about their history.
"Are you going to read it to me?" Age asked, perking up. She loved being rad stories.
"No, that would take to long. I hate to think what mischief your friends would get up to if we took the time to read all that," Zunde teased. "No, if you want to read it yourself, you can, but I'll just give you a summary of what happened."
Age nodded.
"So, do you recall the rebels that killed Ivi's brothers? And that they tried to attack and kill her at her coronation?" Zunde asked.
"I thought the rebels were stopped at her coronation!" Age's eyes widened in alarm.
"They were, they didn't complete their goal, but the rebels evaded capture and slipped away," Zunde reminded her.
Age shivered. She now recalled that line as her father read it to her. She had always been so caught up in the excitement of Ivi and Izak finally becoming mates that she forgot about the rebels. They had won, they had nothing more to worry about.
"Well, after losing her brothers, Ivi became very worried about the fate of the children she and Izak had together. As a result, she sent two of them away for their protection and kept only the heir, Javan. Javan, however, was so distraught at losing his sisters that soon after, he ran away from home, leaving Ivi and Izak childless and heirless," Zunde explained.
"Is that why Ivi was the last queen?" Age asked.
"Not exactly. They could have had more children. But before any of that happened, Javan returned, with a mate and kids in tow. Ivi and Izak were overjoyed to have their son home, but it was not to last," Zunde suddenly grew more solemn. "Not long after the return of Javan, the rebels began to attack again. They were stronger now, more determined. This time their goal was not to end the royal line, but to eradicate it completely. They started with Arcene and Akira and worked their way down. It was terrifying. No one knew what to do or how to stop it. No one knew who to trust."
Age shivered at the thought of such violence. So this was how the clan had fallen to ruin. It must have been a terrible rebellion to have caused so much damage.
"In the end, it was revealed that the attacks were led by Javan, who had joined the rebellion to get revenge against his parents for taking everything from him. The rebels succeeded, they destroyed the royal line, but not without hope," Zunde continued. "Before the last of the attacks, Izak went to see Kaho, the clan mage, about a spell that would save everyone while destroying the rebels. A spell like that is massive, it takes weeks or even months to prepare it properly, but he only had a little while. Eventually, the situation got too dire, and Kaho had to cast it with what little he had prepared. He succeeded in saving the youngest, most innocent members of the clan, but everyone else perished. That spell still lingers on today, that is the curse that haunts this city."
Age felt numb. She could suddenly see why her father had not shared such a dark ending with her. He sought to educate her about past rulers, not scare her with the stories of their downfall. And to think the curse still lingered, a remnant of such a horrifying time.
"Are you okay?" Zunde asked.
"I need a moment," Age admitted, feeling the weight of her emotions crash over her.
"Of course," Zunde said softly. Suddenly, there was the sound of a loud crash and a pair of screams. "If those two have damaged anything-" Zunde growled. "I'll be right back."
The coatl rushed away, leaving Age with her emotions. That was when she realized that Zunde had forgotten to take him lantern with him. Pulling herself together, she picked it up and began searching for her brother.
She wandered the library, trying to follow the sounds. With the story of the rebellion and the curse on her mind, she was suddenly very aware of how dark the library was, and how many shadows lingered between the shelves.
"Zunde!" She called into the darkness. There was no response. "Heaven? Neveah?"
She turned a corner, and that was when she found them. Heaven and Nevaeh were standing next to a fallen bookshelf, eyes wide and staring in horror at a writhing Zunde. Age's mouth opened in a silent scream as the lanterns in her hand fell to the floor. Hers rolled a little way, but the flame still flickered. Zunde's shattered as it his the floor, the fire within dying immediately.
"What happened?" Age said, finally managing to make her mouth move as she stared at her wriggling brother.
"We don't know! He was yelling at us and then all of sudden he fell over!" Nevaeh looked like she was nearly in tears.
Heaven didn't say anything, she couldn't even take her eyes off of Zunde.
"Zunde?" Age's voice cracked as she moved next to her brother. His eyes were closed, and a black liquid was seeping out of his mouth.
Then, all at once, Zunde was still. He was dead.
@CleverDual @HauntedWhale @Disillusionist @AlchemyFox @Tirtouga678 @catmeow1 @Leopardmask @Midwinter @chantric @Dynami @ShinyDecidueye @tigressRising @FallenEclipse @Stitched @Willnotgogently @Sabariel @MisterMylez @Skystrider
You know Pinkerton, when I added yesterday's chapter with "what could possibly go wrong?" what was me leaving it open in case something like this happened, not as an invitation to kill off one of my favourite dragons thank you very much.
It was Age who fell in the Coliseum, it was Ulf, Zunde and Age and because Age has immunity due to be my alphabet legacy challenge heir, I had to roll to see who would take her place. Unfortunately it wasn't until I was nearly done the chapter that I remembered that the roll was supposed to include all my pinkerlocke dragons (including hatchlings) and not just the ones battling with her, so it was too late to reroll. I am honestly crush, and it puts such an ironic spin on his theme song too... Looks like he can't write his way out of this one...
If anyone wants to take Zunde, you have until tomorrow (Friday) at midnight FR time to claim him before I exalt him.
In amongst this surprising and terrible turn of events, here's another fun piece of trivia for those who read The Stories of Windkeep Tower: Kyra is one of the hatchlings that Javan brought home with him. She is his daughter, and was also one of the few dragons the spell managed to save.
