Chronicles From the End of an Age

Under an Open Heaven - 24Yrs BTA

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A cold wind whipped across the barren, dry ground illuminated by the silver light of a full moon. The occasional tuft of foliage struggled its way out of cracks, and cactuses died luminescent blue by the light stood proud on the lifeless soil. Grains of sand flowed like water with the wind, pushed backward and forward by the occasional twister, while up above stars pierced a night sky. Clouds of purple and blue could be seen, collecting the stars like giant nets, and the moon awaited high above, a giant eye acting as guardian to an open heaven.

A single drake graced the desolate biome, his purple scales reminiscent of a piece of the sky fallen to earth. Six curved and serrated horns grew from the back of his head, each pair smaller than the one above, and two wings were held loosely to his flanks, swaying softly in the wind. His tail dragged raggedly through the sand, and each of his four paws sunk deep with every step. His pointed snout was lowered, and his eyes glowed a soft purple.

There was no direction to his footsteps, nor any purpose to his movement. It was as directionless as the wind, which seemed to push him back and forth with passive ease. He staggered back and forth as if drunk, before eventually collapsing, eyes closed as silent tears gradually formed at the corners, pulled forth by his heaving breaths. The dragon sobbed a great shuddering groan that mourned the very sky. Wind brushed over his face, as though trying to dry his tears, but each one it took away was replaced by more.

"I can't do this anymore," he whimpered to himself, "I... I can't..."

He heaved a couple more tears, before turning his gaze to the sky.

"Did you hear me? I can't do this anymore!" he roared.

The only response was the echo of his own voice. But that was the reason he had come out here in the first place. Blissful solitude. His only companion the freezing wind, the dry ground of the desert, and the moon. There was no struggle, no stresses of life. It was the only place he could truly be free. Yet the dissatisfaction in his chest still pressed against him, bursting forth like a water geyser in the form of tears.

The dragon quickly struggled to his feet, still looking at the sky, "It's too much! There is too much! I can't continue..."

He didn't know who he was talking to, or if he was talking to anyone at all. But he couldn't help himself. The words in his heart needed to be let out, and if the only thing listening was an empty sky then that would have to do.

"I can't continue... doing everything they want me to do. Not by myself," his head lowered again, and he bared his teeth as more tears continued to fall, each being sucked up by the thirsty ground.

A strong gust of wind suddenly brushed past him, causing him to stagger and draw his wings closer to his side in fear of being torn into the sky. The moment was quickly over, however, and he was pulled back into the emotional toil slowly seeping through his body. His thoughts continued to jump back and forth between events done and words spoken, trying to hold back the steadily swelling emotions as his head ached at the pressure of doing so.

"Are you okay, young one?"

The sound spooked the drake. He quickly turned with a frightened gasp, quickly dropping into a defensive stance with his wings spread and his tail raised slightly from the ground. His teeth were bared, and his whimpers turned to a rumbling growl. Standing a dragon-length away, not at all perturbed by the purple dragon's turn to aggression, was a wind drake. He had seemed to appear nearly out of thin air, the creamy scales also tinged blue in the night sky. He was an older dragon, a fair bit larger than the other drake, and had an odd aura that felt similar to what one would experience in the calm before a storm.