All right, all right. One last question for now. We're getting close to the Wards anyway.
Indeed, because of the conversation, I didn't even notice that we had come a long way through the forest, " Huona added quietly, pleasantly surprised by the circumstances.
How does he kiss?Zarri asked with a wide smile, her eyes darting to her older sister's face as quickly as possible.
" Zarri!Huona drawled, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. What kind of questions?"
" Hee-hee " the young prankster laughed loudly, straightening her curls in the wind."La-aa-bottom, I was joking. You don't have to answer, but tell me about his magical abilities, since they are so powerful.
No one else has such magic, not the mountain elves, not the sun elves that Trion belongs to, or the Norg shamans. It has something to do with his father and being a member of the Order of the Five Talons. He has incredible fire and wind magic, which he can effortlessly combine to form even more powerful spells, and he can also talk to various draconids-wyverns, hydra, and, of course, dragons. He can also make contact with other monsters, I've already heard a couple of stories.
It's amazing. I've never heard of elves talking to monsters before!Zarri said admiringly, already anticipating interesting stories from Trion himself.
I doubt we'll ever hear any more. The rest of the order's priests are dead, so Trion is the last of the elves with such abilities.Huona breathed in frustration, realizing the position of her object of sighing
Now I understand why the Elder is so protective of him. How does he even live in the casemate?Zarri mused, not even waiting for a response from her sister.
Everything was fine, but the last time we met, Kyte told me that Trion had been raving about the plot for more than a week, hearing the whispered conversations of the plotters who were planning an attack.Huona said suddenly
What do you think of that?"Zarri asked, surprised by her older sister's response.
I'm worried about him. Almost three years of living in an empty casemate, locked up and unable to leave his reservation I just want to know that everything is fine with him-excitedly and sadly said the girl, and these words in her shining eyes flashed a light of fear-But I have not been allowed to enter the Monastery for several days.
Okay, "Zarri said, running away from her sister, who was frozen in place," I've already learned a lot, now all I have to do is meet the Great Son of the Dragon in person.
Looking up, Huona saw five shining pillars of light rising high into the sky, as if resting on fluffy clouds. The girls were so engrossed in talking about Trion that they could easily have missed the right path leading to the top, to the very pillars of light that emanated from the Wards. Zarri, well ahead of the lagging Huona, was the first to climb to the Altar of Knight's Wards, through which the phylactery was to be filled. Placing the box in the center of the altar, the girl removed a pendant with a purple stone that shimmered like mother-of-pearl from her neck and, leaving it next to the phylactery, went to one of the wards. There were ancient runes scrawled on the stone wheel, which framed a small design that vaguely resembled wind currents moving towards the ancient altar. With a wave of her hands, Zarri let out a fairly powerful gust of air from her small palms, aimed at the runes of the amulet, from which they gradually acquired a glow, lighting up clockwise, one by one. The glow grew brighter, bursting out of the stone ward in slow, careful tongues of non-scalding blue flame. The stones on the box in the center of the altar table also began to twinkle, like stars in the night sky, which flickered on and off again, giving their light to the neighboring ones. When the box finally began to shimmer and warm steam began to flow from under the closed lid, Zarri went back to the table and put the pendant back around her neck. The box abruptly went out and once again stood calmly on the gray stone, the runes on the amulet also lost their radiance, until they did not lose their magic fire at all.
" All right, we can go back.Picking up the phylactery, Zarri said, calmly approaching her sister.
There was a soft flapping sound from the girl's back, like a cloth fluttering in the wind. Grabbing her sister's arm, Huona pulled the girl toward her, and then both of them froze for a moment in shock a couple of meters away, at the very edge of the cliff, three huge lizards soared into the sky and, flying over the very heads of the elves, flew towards the Monastery.
Who is it? Winged?Zarri asked, clutching at her older sister in bewilderment.
No, did you see the webbing on his wings? The winged feet don't look like that. They were mountain wyverns.Huona replied, recovering from the unexpected encounter."Hurry, we need to get to the monastery as fast as possible, they're going there!"The girl shouted, pulling her sister after her.
****
With a single sweep of its powerful tail, an old wyvern with slightly frayed wings tore down the archway of the stone archway, covering several guards with it. The Templars swung their engraved blades, glittering in the sun, and charged at a pair of young animals that were rampaging around the main square. The lizards flew in circles around the garden, playfully clashing in battle with each other and did not even pay attention to the approaching opponents. When one of the elves finally gave the party away with his furious war cries, the wyverns scattered to either side of the garden and swooped down in a slicing maneuver, knocking the temple guards to the ground. The fallen elves were about to get up, but the merciless lizardmen landed on top of their immobilized enemies. Bones crunched under heavy paws, and even the heavy armor that the dwarves had forged especially for the Monastery's guards couldn't withstand the force of the blow. The poor devils died under the clawed paws of bloodthirsty lizards, without the ability to resist the monsters.
Get down!"Kait shouted as Yuona ran up, spotting a flying clot of wyvern acid from afar.
What's going on?" trying to shout over the screams of the dying and the sounds of battle, the girl asked. Why did they attack the Monastery?"
We don't know.The guard shouted as he ran to safety."The lizards arrived so unexpectedly that we didn't have time to raise the alarm.
Where is the Elder?Zarri asked, tapping into the conversation. I don't see him on the battlefield.
He is near the Monastery fighting off the alpha male of this pack with other guardians. Now is not the time to talk, I need to help the others, so find a place where these creatures can't reach you and keep your head down until everything calms down.The templar said in a commanding tone, already gaining on his squad
Well, no way!Huona shouted angrily and resolutely " I'll find the Elder, they might need help."
Will you leave me alone with these winged monsters running around? Looking into the eyes of her sister, Zarri asked Well, no, I'll go with you too.
" Zarri is not safe," Huona drawled, trying to dissuade the young elf
no. This is not up for discussion. I'm coming with you, period! strictly answered the girl, catching up with her hurrying sister.
The lizards tore down everything they saw in their path, sometimes smashing down stone structures, sometimes spitting acid on monastery gardens and houses. There was chaos all around, noise, confusion, the screams of wounded or burned guards mingling with the clang of steel swords against the tough scales of wyverns, maintaining an unbearable atmosphere of madness around the bacchanal. The dying Templars crawled along the blood-soaked ground in the hope of escaping, but the lizards caught up with them and tossed the pain-stricken elves into the air, playing with the bodies of the guards as a cat plays with a trapped mouse. Most of the inhabitants of the monastery settled in houses that the monsters, for unknown reasons, did not attack, passing through each house in pursuit of warlike templars and monks. It seemed that the lizardmen were selective in their goals, attacking only warriors and magic-wielding monks, but what was driving the unexpected rampage of the dragons, who had previously lived peacefully in their caves, only occasionally attacking passing caravans, was still a mystery. The monks were lost in the chaos, torn by difficult elections that would have a lot of consequences. There were guards who were slowly losing their vitality and needed to be helped to heal the warrior's wounds, for which you would most likely pay with your own life if you didn't have time to escape from the wyvern that had overtaken you. Or you can just run away from the battlefield, letting the poor guy die in the clutches of ferocious monsters, for which you will reproach yourself for a long time, realizing the weight of your guilt. Of course, most of the priests, ignoring possible remorse, hurriedly left the danger zone, locking themselves in the Monastery, like cowardly rodents hiding in their burrows in case of danger.
Cowards! Traitors and scoundrels!Elder Valn shouted from the locked door of the temple " Saving your own skins at the cost of the lives of others, isn't that what your abbots and ancestors taught you?"
Accept your death with dignity, old man, " one of the priests replied through the locked door."Today, everyone is saving themselves as best they can.
The gods will punish you for your treachery!Valn shouted furiously, abandoning all attempts to negotiate with the terrified monks. The death of all these people will be on your conscience
After taking a few steps down the stairs and leaving the pillared terrace, Valn looked around for his enemy. Growling fiercely, the old male flew down from the temple roof like a tornado, landing in the very center of the courtyard. This wyvern was three times the size of its own kind, larger and stronger than even the largest of its kind, an old man covered from muzzle to tail with scales that were horny like stone growths, which even a well-equipped warrior could not break through. With its wings, the lizard could take down a squad of heavy infantry, and with the spiked tip of its tail, it tore down walls and towers built of strong stone that were beyond the power of even a well-assembled battering ram. The monster's fangs and horns were as sharp as sharpened dwarven swords that could split heavy carapaces of black silver, and the monster wielded them as well as a swordsman wielded his blade.
I'm not afraid of you winged serpent!Valn shouted as he lunged at the alpha male.
The beast snarled angrily and swung its long neck, waiting for the elf to reach a certain point. Waiting for the right moment, the lizard lowered its head to ground level and let out a deafening wail that made the Elder's ears bleed. Covering his ears with his hands, the priest fell to the ground, screaming in agony.
Valn!Leta shouted as she ran up to the temple, sending a magical swirl through the wyvern.
Kicking up dust from the stone-paved square, the tornado summoned by the elf rushed at the monster, which did not frighten the dragon in any way. With a flutter of its wings, the old dragon dispelled a powerful spell and charged in mid-flight. The elf loomed in front of the lizard, running left and right to confuse the monster, but the wyvern was constantly spitting blobs of caustic acid, blocking Lethe's escape routes. When there was nowhere else to run, the woman stopped and wrapped herself in a barrier of winds that was supposed to protect her from the monster's venom, but the cunning lizard was no longer going to attack from a distance. The dragon took the elf down with a flutter of its broad wings, then launched a powerful charge at the immobilized opponent.
" Mother!Huona cried through her tears, having lost all hope of saving her mother.
The lizard lifted its head and opened its mouth wide, preparing for a final attack, but a deep, commanding voice came from the temple roof behind it:
Incurventur ante dominum! hearing these words, the lizard jumped away from the fallen elf and turned in the direction of the speaker.
On the roof of the temple, a tall sun elf with glittering scales on his hands was walking slowly down the tiles. The elf's broad-shouldered and slightly thin frame spoke of a strength and agility that the Dragon's Son had in common. The lizard obediently took off and hovered in the air near Trion, who was standing on the edge. Holding the dragon's mouth, the elf looked into the monster's small, pain-filled, bestial eyes, then carefully examined the wyvern. After a few seconds of thinking, he opened the monster's mouth and pulled out one of its fangs. The Wyvern howled in sharp pain, shaking its head, but quickly calmed down.
" Tu libero damnant te,"the elf said, stroking the dragon's face. The monster let out a booming roar as the other wyverns swarmed around the temple.
Trion leapt onto the dragon's back, holding on to the lizard's dorsal growths as he descended to the ground. Drawing a knife from its scabbard at his belt, the elf shone in the sunlight and plunged it between the scales into the old lizard's throat, which quickly killed the monster. After circling the dead leader's body, the rest of the wyverns immediately flew back to the mountains, leaving the Monastery grounds.
Poor guy.Trion said sadly, stroking the dead wyvern It didn't deserve to die like this
What happened to him?"Huona asked, coming up to her lover.
Merciless monsters are responsible for his death, and they have doomed a harmless animal to suffer for a long time " Tryon drawled slowly, not taking his eyes and hands off the dragon."There were runes etched on his fang, and someone cursed him for personal use. The crazed lizards attacked the Monastery, sweeping away everything in their path, just to get rid of the excruciating pain.The elf paused for a moment, taking his hand away from the dead monster and looking at Huona. We need to find their nest, because there's something there that's driving this pack crazy."
The elf's amber eyes, like two shining suns, expressed all the sadness and pain he had absorbed in saving the wyvern from its torment. His bronze skin glistened like polished metal in the afternoon sun, and his tousled, slightly curly locks swayed in the light mountain wind. Running her hand over the elf's hundreds of lash-scarred back, Huona took his hand.
His abusers will pay a huge price for what they did.The girl said, trying to calm Trion down a little.
" Yes, cor meum, you're right. Just as the priests who betrayed you paid for their cowardice. hugging his beloved tightly and leaning on her shoulder with a slightly wet cheek from rolling down tears, the elf replied.
Leta and Valn watched from afar. No one was going to come any closer, knowing that only Huona could help Trion calm down. Most resolute of all was Zarri, who gradually approached her sister and her lover. The girl was genuinely surprised and moved by Trion's emotionality. The elf mourned the slain dragon as if it were a comrade or a close friend, which made those present wonder who the monster really was a lizard that killed against its will, or its abuser, who brought the beast heavy torment.
What happened to the cloistered monks?"Zarri asked as she approached the sun elf.
They are waiting for their punishment.Trion said, taking Huona's hand and turning to Zarri, " The elder must pass judgment on the traitors.
Are you sure they didn't run away?"Leta asked, putting her hand on the boy's shoulders as a sign of regret for his loss.
Chained in a casemate, they can't escape anywhere. And those who were punished before their accomplices can no longer go anywhere.
How many of the monks have already suffered retribution at your hands?Valn asked, trying to find out as much as possible about what had happened.
" Three. A traitor, a conspirator, and a coward. They were in league with the Templars. I could hear the guards whispering in dark corners at night, discussing their plot.Trion spoke in a prophetic manner, closing his eyes as he spoke. To them, I am a deity who must be rescued from here, sacrificed to Eira in my glory, to raise the new Dragon of the Sun to greatness.
It can't be " said Valn, tossing and scratching his head. The Dragon Cult couldn't get in here, we did everything we could to keep you safe here.
But they didn't take into account that cult members can hide everywhere, " Trion said confidently and reproachfully.
If this is the case, then you need to do something about it.Valn was lost in thought, but was interrupted by the sun elf.
Just move on with your life. The cult's affairs are my own, and I will not allow them to harm anyone close to me. Not Huon, not Lethe, not Zarri.