A Rose By Any Other Tale

THE MAN

An elvish man, long dark hair, two braids at the side of his head, tied back and braided together to keep hair out of his face.  The sound of a morning lark wakes up a man, he get’s out of bed and gets ready for the day ahead of him.  He thinks of the work he is to do later in the day.  A new family is to present themselves to the village today.  He and other weavers will be in charge of crafting every detail that is to be the living space of this new family,  He clears his thoughts and opens the door.  Embracing the breeze that meets him, he walks out.  

 

Erlan

Weaving the trees is like controlling the flow of water in slow motion.  We twist and turn the wood, round and round, spiraling and spinning the wood to fit the shapes and needs of the establishment.  Weaving the roots and branches that still live, is a thrill moving at speeds so fast you mustn’t think, only feel, weave a little here, weave a little there, keep me from falling, but standing here, weaving a future home that is to be the hearth of a growing family.  This feeling is tranquil, peaceful, and calming.  Weavers are rare, not everyone who learns the art receives the gift; many try, only a few prevail, or at least that is how it was.  In this small village, many of us are born with the gift, I feel it is because of our connection with the forest and how isolated we’ve become.  It must be the will of the gods, elves are finally in their favor once again.  

 

The News

We were finishing our work on the house when I heard my name being called.  It was my good friend Petefyr, “Hey, Erlan come check this out!”  “Hold on a sec,” I told him, as I finished my work.  I follow Petefyr to a pathway right overhead the entrance to the village.  He points “Look”  a few men were waiting at the entrance and something was talking to them.  A small creature. “What is it?” I asked, quite curiously,  “It’s a homunculus, nothing good ever comes from them, I wonder who wants what…” I noticed the elders walking towards it. I feel the village would not be the same after this visit by this creature.  “Have you read the prophecies?” I looked at him perplexed, he knows I’ve read them, we sat in school together..I was about to respond when he said: “What if this is the messenger, or the gatherer, what if this is the event?”  I retorted “that old legend, we don’t know if it has already happened or not, it was a story said to come from the outside.” “Yes, but there was a warning of an event happening on our side.” “It said the event would bring either great peace or great destruction, it didn’t really have a concise ending mind you.”  “You know Erlan, many villages and tribes consider the tale to be a prophecy.” “Yes, Pet-fy-r, and many consider it a fairy tale,  how could warriors from every nation, every tribe, and race come together in peace?” ” Feuds centuries old could render the fiasco a ruin.”  I’m trying not to think of what that type of thing would bring this village, it would tear apart so many families.  At the same time, I know something is about to happen, I can feel it…it feels like dread.  I look over at Petfyr, he stares on, trying to listen on to the conversation below.  “They want fighters, is there a war going that I don’t know about?” He looks at me, I only shrug. I wonder how many they will take, and who.  I have a feeling Petfyr and I will be going away if they do start taking people, we are both still young and capable men.

Petefyr is a halfling, he has experienced much outside the village before he came to live with us elves.  His mother is human, his father an elf, his human name would have been Peter, so they added a little elven flare to it.  I call him Peter most of the time, he looks more human than he does elven.  We shared most of our teen years together, traveling to neighboring villages to go horseback riding and fishing.  While fishing, I used my bow, he used a spear he painted bright yellow.  We would catch and eat fish along the river.  We did this often since he was not a weaver, nor was he born in an elven village, he did not learn how to surf the vines and branches as a young child.  He would always stay in the lower areas of the forest trees while I and the other elves born of the village would be high above the ground using the paths and branches of the trees we built our houses on.  He taught me many things about ground and the areas around the village I had not cared to seek out before.  I always saw from above, but he taught me to see from below, as well as have fun doing it.  I can still remember riding and fishing alongside him.

 

visual part from Rose Connolly on Vimeo.

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I have a feeling that I won’t be indulging myself in such activities anytime soon, not with the arrival of this creature, it appears to be the work of the elves from the north.  What could they want with the people of this village?

During the night, there came a knocking at my door, I got up to answer the door to my neighbors, who had packed a small sack. They only looked at me and gave me a nod, it told me to do the same.  I rushed to gather my things when I looked into their eyes I understood,  I had to go.  More people were leaving their houses as I left, but only a few. As we reached the mouth of the village, I realized Peter was not among us.  It was then my eyes too, turned the same shade of sorrow I saw in my neighbor’s eyes, except he must be feeling worse than I.  For he has wife and kid, so young, so short was their joining, for he is leaving now, for war.  We must go to represent our people, so our village is not overtaken by other powers greater than us, or at least, that is what we are told.  The last time something like this happened, I was very young…and no one came back.

 

The Forest

The group from our village walks out to meet another group full of elves from neighboring villages.  As we walk, we only stop at villages to acquire more men and women.  After the last village, we start to jog across the forest, we were going for hours before we stopped at a clearing, where we had water and rested.  The homunculus counted us over before finding himself a nice patch of grass to sit upon.  Moments later, two barely covered women walked out of the brush, their seductive manner had every man starring.  Verbana and Rosenia Dryad sisters were well known to us elves in this part of the forest.  Verbana is known for crossing her syntax to speak differently.  The homunculus became irate at the sight of them, he pleads them to leave, but they insisted they come along.  “If this forest is at risk then you best prepare for the Dryad’s wrath.” “Yes, come we must, in order to protect the forest and it’s creatures.” Their voices were like a trance, smooth as desert silk, flowing like sweet wine into one’s cup.  The homunculus interjected, “Well, are you here to play the sirens role?  Change in-into something less.. uhh..r-revealing and I’ll think about it.”  The little one didn’t seem too sure of himself, he was almost quivering.  He knows he cannot deny them passage into this war, he is also probably aware of what the Dryads can do to him.  “Small one, you are brave, and you are right.” ”We will do as you requested.” I was surprised they didn’t react harshly, it is a great offense to the dryad to be compared to that of a siren.  The rest of the men seem somewhat disappointed and the women encased themselves in bark.  

Their transformation was enchanting, they rooted their feet to the ground, vines from their legs dug into the ground like snakes slithering into their earthly homes.  “That’s how they draw energy, by connecting themselves to nature.” This came from an eastern elf, one from the Mystic Isles, his robes dark, his hair white, he must be a scholar, for he looked like no warrior I have ever seen.  There was a crackling sound as bark grew around their sides as if growing and pushing from their spine.  As it reached the center of their bodies their transformations began to differ.

Rosenia’s skin like texture turned to moss between the bark, as it spread to the collarbone bone area, it changed into vines and roots that curved around her neck to the back of her head, leaving her face untouched. As they reached for scalp her hair slowly turned into verbena petals from the bottom up, once the petals appeared they started to fall.  Although they did not touch the ground, they floated gracefully to her waist where they would lie, once they surrounded her waist they would attach themselves to the ends of each other, forming a small skirt of petals.  Her hair was gone, but the skirt continued to grow, from under the small verbena petals grew impossibly long petals of what appeared to be of white lilies.  Covering the center of her pelvis, and outer thighs, spaces were left for her legs to move freely.  From her skirt grew little white flowers that would grow in the moss of her body, climbing upwards to meet her arms.  Her arms would be left simple, wood, just as her face and feet would be as well.  The little bed of the white flowers grew atop her shoulders.

Verbana’s transformation, however, was not so graceful.  When the bark reached the center of her body it’s clashed vines came out and lined the bottom of her chest and retreated to her backside. Giant thorns protruded from her shoulders and flattened themselves as they were pushed further along her arms, layering themselves like armor.  The tips were a dark blood red and the base a gloomy green.  More vines slithered up her legs and to her arms, then they painfully weaved themselves in and out of her limbs, crackling and creaking, I cringed at the sight. Bark encased her face like a mask, and horns of bone grew atop her head, breaking apart the bark.  Once the bark had fallen, I realized, they weren’t regular horns, they were antlers, that had curved under the bark to form a protective layering for her face.  She then took her hands and touched the antlers, first caressing their smooth finish then thrusting thorns into them.  We were all aghast, it looked like she was trying to destroy herself.  When her hands fell back at her side I got the creepiest feeling, as I witnessed the antlers…and how they began to drip, as if they were melting. The thorns and the bone melded together to form a tighter fitting mask for Verbana.  She then bent to caress the vines that had dug into her legs, and as she did, dark bark covered the soft wood of her unshielded legs, only leaving spaces where the vines showed.

After their transformations they took each other’s hands and stepped forward, the vines and roots that connected them to the ground tore away and went back into the earth.  Now in such contrast were the sisters.  One so dark armored, the other, bright and lively as if she were the God of the forest winds.  Verbana speaks, “I know how you came here little one, we will not leave by your way.  Know this, your warriors will not be ill-equipped.” Rosenia stepped forward “neither will they hunger, go now and tell this to your leader, the forest meet them there.”  Those words sent a chill up my spine, I didn’t even know where we were going.  “How do You speak for the forest and how will you meet us there, how do you know where it is to meet us?” The little homunculus stammered.  “Every creature as old as I know where to go, every relic will be called to go there.”  “Yes, so go we must, we have Nyxie to guide us there.  Remember you must get there before the day of the Dead Moon. ” “Tell me, what do you mean?” the small one demanded!  Before they could answer the earth beneath our feet began to tremble. “They have a single PIXIE for guidance and speak of the Black Moon! ” “Not so quickly small one, Nyxie is not the name of a pixie.”  The face of the homunculus was dumbfounded, this was obviously not a time for joking.  The trees were moving, something was heading straight towards us. “Nyxie is one of us,” she said, as she made a gesture her sister and herself. Out of the brush appeared a hulking beast of lumber and logs, moss and vegetation lie above its massive towering limbs, as if it laid like a lamb for decades in wait.  The dryads sauntered towards this hulking beast and gracefully weaved vines that brought them up to what could be Nyxie’s shoulder blades.  As They stand upon this creature towering above us, with its shadow cast so long, their combined beauty was nothing short of majestic.

“Make our leave we must, and wait you shall, they shall be here soon.”  With that they left, the Homunculus shouting and sputtering, although no one could hear him over the sound of Nyxie’s footsteps.                                             

 

The awakening

We stayed in the field after the dryads left “what are we waiting for” a man asked, to which the homunculus replied “the awakening,” we wait in silence for only moments more before another asked, “what’s waking up?”  The small one’s short temper blew “How am I supposed to know, I’m only relaying what I’ve been told. They said we will know when it happens! THAT IT!” he stammered. A few moments more and a Lady atop a White Stag stepped out of the brush.  Once in the opening, they stopped to look at us.  Her beauty was unmatched by any I had ever seen, she had flowing white hair and flawless skin, her eyes a calming silvery purple.  She dismounted the great Stag and turned to the forest, more specifically a giant pile of rocks.  She started to speak although, I can’t quite understand what she is saying.  She speaks the same language, I can tell that much, but her form is much older and most of the words differ from the forms I speak them in.  She is speaking in what seems to be an ancient dialect of my language.  Perplexed am I and the men as we stare, suddenly there is movement.  The rocks move to reveal relics and inscriptions, as she speaks the inscriptions start to move.  All of a sudden the rocks  suspend themselves in the air and start to orbit other pieces of rock and stone, around, and around the circle, nothing but air between them.  The lady steps a few paces back, and begins to talk again, an earthquake starts, we hold our balance as boulders dig their way out of the land and into the sky.  This time, when she stops, she stops for good, walking over to the White Stag and mounting him; before he rears up on his hind legs and stomps the ground in front of him.  The instant the Stag does this, the boulders fall, we brace ourselves for the landing, but they don’t touch the ground, they hover and spin above right above the land.  Stones gravitate towards the boulders as they move to form creatures only mentioned in fairy-tales and fables, The Ancient Anarchs.  “Well, I guess that’s it,” the homunculus says, as if unimpressed.  “Move on, we have a lot of walking to do” after having said this, he starts to run, and we jog behind him, so much for walking.

 

THE DEPARTURE

We enter a clearing, exhausted from two days worth of hiking, we finally reach the cliffs. The group amalgamates together into a single gelatinous form, and we wait. The sun is more intense in the open field, the longer we wait, the more we look and feel like heavy condensating bags full of boiling water.  Suddenly I heard a humming, it grew louder and louder, I had never heard anything like it before. It became more of a rumbling roar as it reached the cliffside.  The thing that was making all that noise stop just at the end of the cliff, it was a flying craft.  A roaring boat in the sky, suspended by a bloated bag of what looked like skin.  It was enormous, I and many others were gaping at its arrival. The small creature started to corral everyone to towards the hulking mass that was suspended in the air.  This must be the work of enchantments and magics I have yet to hear of.  Walking towards this thing that we were to depart on, I realize, I may never see this land again.  I wish I had said goodbye to my family and friends back in the village, I may never come to lay eyes on them again.  

We cross a laddered board to get on the majestic vessel, it was much wider than I imagined, so much space, so many people.  Groups of men stand in wait while we board, men coming out to greet sections of new arrivals and leading them to other parts of the ship.  The wood was a deep russet color, with a fine sleek finish, the entire ship seemed to be cut of the same trunk, every plank and pallet identical.  I thought to get on and get situated was going to take a day, but as we got on, we were brought to other areas, it was fast paced and efficient.  The men gathering us were all in the same bland garb, their uniforms of brown fabrics almost matched the ship.  They showed us to our quarters, two per room, bunk beds, and adjoining bathrooms.  Everything was so neat and clean, tidier than any inn I’ve ever been too.  During my time on the ship, I had to follow a schedule, which had a strict morning portion.  

Schedule:

—————————————————————————————————————————-                                      

Airship docking	day	personal	times
The Western Ring	3rd of the sun’s star	Meet with team	5:45 am
Marilt East	17th of the sun’s star	Eat breakfast	6:00 am
Armony city district	8th of crying rain	Equipment deck	7:00 am
Exihbition Bay	10th of the first seed	Bay room 6	7:25 am
Drepuwoond Vale	12th of the next harvest	Team conditioning	7:25 – 7:45 am
Cremaria Harbor	18th of the next harvest	Defencive maneuvers	8:30 – 9:00 am
Skyhaven harbor	20th of gales wind	Use of Specialties	9:00 – 10:30 am
The Mumbling Crag	30th of the fallen star	Combination training	10:30 – 12:00 pm
		Free combat	12:00 – 1:00 pm
		lunch	12:00 – 3:00 pm
		Personal duties	3:00 – 10:00 pm

 

THE RIDE

My days mostly consisted of training and writing.  When I had the chance, I would look at the passing sky and the sea whenever we got close; which was usually near ports we went too, to refuel and resupply.  Training with the team members I was assigned to, reminded me of spending time with my friends.  Whenever I would look out at the sea I would reminisce over the memories of Peter and fishing with him.  They made me learn how to write in English, so I would spend hours, writing down the alphabet and new words I learned.  Once I started training the members of my team some techniques I used while running through the forest treetops, showing them how to maneuver across large empty spaces.  It was a little hard of course, only having some climbing walls to work off of.  During one of the stops we made, a member of mine, suggested we go out into the city, it was an older city, he said it would be great to run and use some of the jumping techniques I taught them.  We were all itching to leave the boat and touch some solid land anyway.  We got permission, but I had to change into “civilian” clothing, wearing blue jeans and such.  However, I chose a jacket that was a nice earthy green, kind of like the clothing I’d wear at home.  I also chose a fingerless glove for one hand, in case I needed to use my bow or defend myself.  After I had put together, what I thought was acceptable, they put bands and do-hickeys on me, accessories, they called them, a watch to keep the time was one of them. After getting dressed, we left for the city, although, they wouldn’t allow my bow to leave the ship.  We ran across rooftops and scaled small buildings, it was the most exhilarating thing I had done in months.  It different from the trees and rocks of the forest, if I fell in the city, the only thing to catch me would be cement and brick; no vines or leafy branches to slow your fall, and definitely no soft dirt.  

 

 

video part from Rose Connolly on Vimeo.

 

Origins

Today is the 19th day of the fallen star, tomorrow, we fight.  All teams were called to the main hangar, there a man was waiting for us.  He stood tall, his face was serious, his eyes solemn.  His eyes are a bluish-grey, and they never wavered, you could tell he had seen war before. He looked young, not even over the age 40 years.  “I am General Grathgor, and as you know tomorrow we fight. Our enemies are not like anything you’ve ever faced before.  They are not man nor flesh.  They are tougher than banshees and quicker than wraiths.  They have been spreading across the land, using their enemies to supplement their numbers.  When you face these creatures, you face your fears.  You must keep a clear mind and a steady hand, you’ve been training for months now, it is time to put it to use.  You have been put into small teams for maneuverability and precise impact, IF you find yourself back to back with someone of another team, I Do Not care who or what they are, you will defend them like a brother!  Your teammates will die, the whole squad will die, you are to combine your efforts with another team, you must work together.  If you try to be a hero or a lone wolf, you will find yourself dead in an instance.  These creatures are not to be played with or thought about.” he paused as if to look every one of us in the eye and said, “They go by many names, The darkness, The Taint, Nightmare men, the fear, even the Shadows of Smoke.” He started pacing, keeping steady eye contact with us.  “Their purpose is extermination, all they do is kill, the only souls they have are those they have taken.  If we don’t all work together to take down this plague Here.  Then there will be no more us, only them, as they take our world as they did the last.”  we all started looking around, and whispering to each other, bewildered and confused.  The lady of white hair from the awakening stood up and walked to stand beside him.  “It is true, These creatures have been around since before your beginnings.  Many of us call the dark moon, the dead moon, not because it is dark and black, but because it was once a planet, so lively and lush.  The dryads like many ancient creatures of this war started on the dead moon before it was taken by Nocturne..as he infected the planet with his darkness and slaughtered others, they became followers, not the bodies, but the nightmares and fears.  Corrupt energy without souls, they grew stronger with souls they stole, forever trapping them inside the darkness that was themselves.  They all followed Nocturne as their Leader, Nocturne the eternum.  Many of us fled, as the madness of Nocturne and his shadow warriors enveloped the land.”

It was then we understood what we were fighting for, not just us, or our families, we were fighting for the planet, all who came before us, and all that should come after us. If we are to lose today, then the whole world is to lose forever.  This, This is the event, the event that is so destructive, maleficent, so grave, that it brings us all here today.  Every race and species working together as one. This battle could be our salvation…or our damnation.  

Mumbling Crag

I was sitting in my room preparing myself for the battle to come, I thought of Peter and what he would say while we wait.  Then I remembered, the last conversation we had was about the legend taught to us in school.  He was right, this is it, and I was a part of it.  I tried to remember how it ended, then it came to me…”The legend said it when the dead moon reached the crown of the sky, all eternity would reveal itself and choose, either all will be regained or all would be forsaken.”  It didn’t help much, either we succeed and live happily ever after, or we face pearaless destruction.  

The ship was slowing down, I left my room suited up for battle, I joined my crew on the deck.  It was I and three others, Victor a red-headed pilot and his engineer, a young blonde fellow, Jeter, I became close friends with Jeter during sword training.  I call him Jet.  Lastly is Saida high elf from the north, her hair is dark like raven feathers; she enchanted our weapons so we could hurt the monsters, she will be using magic to fight.  Victor and Jet are both humans, and will be using machines to fight, but if their machinery fails, Jet is a good dual swordsman, and Victor can use a broadsword with much skill and ferocity.  I will be using my bow and throwing knives.  

The airship nears our destination, the Mumbling Crag.  Jagged obsidian structures reach toward the sky like a spike trap, all the blades were crooked and bent like sacrificial daggers.  As we exit the ship, we can hear the wind howling as it passed through the rocks, I can see how it got its name, mumbling crag, if anyone were to fall from this cliff and survive, they would surely find themselves lost in the sea of daggers and winds that speak.  I turn to face the land we are about to march, there lie one of the giant obsidian daggers, we must go around it.  On the other side, across from the giant rock lie the forest edge. As we are about to embark on the rest of our journey, the trees start crashing in on themselves, the sound of a great stampede; this must be the dryads, who they bring and the rest of the awoken.  Nyxie bursts from the trees, birds flying in a frenzy as the trees are brought down.  Behind her, trents, fauns, anarchs, creatures I had never seen or imagined to be real.  The White Stag galloped towards us,  the lady of white was reunited with the White Stag, and they rode off to the Obsidian structure, the rest of the awoken following behind them.  All those in wait at the forest’s edge, leave the tree line and start to fill the field. General Grathgor started his shouting for us to move, and the march began.  All of us jogging as one formation, our breathing, the heaving of our chests, the beats of our hearts as one.  We were all the same here, we were all one.  As we move the Obsidian structure no longer blocks our view of the enemy.  Except there was no enemy, only darkness, as if a large cloud was covering one side of the field and our side of the field was in broad daylight.  I look to the sky to see no clouds in sight, and the shadowed area was dark.  It was not dark like the shade of any regular shadow, the air across the land look thick and soupy, the land looks to be oozing some form of dark almost purple sap.  A breeze would pass us on the field, but it would never make it to the other side of the line that drew “us” from “them”, whatever or wherever “them” was.  I see why others call it the taint.

The formation stops, we all wait for something to happen.  Nothing is moving, the only thing we can see is each other’s slight movements made from our breathing patterns and the revolving stones around the anarchs.  Grathgor steps forward “Step Forward!”  The mass that is us all slowly steps forward towards the taint.  Smoke starts to seep out of the ooze, then suddenly a figure appears in smoke, we stop.  It makes a sound, it’s voice airy as it moaned, the noise scratching our eardrums.  The noise it made grew louder, and more figures would appear.  Slowly, one by one, they form from the smoke.  Each figure started moaning or roaring a horrible clashing shriek of a sound.  Someone couldn’t take it anymore, an arrow shot from behind me, I watched it go right through the smoke of the creature’s head.  The noise stopped, the air grew still, hundreds, thousands of the monsters apparated out of nowhere.  Dread filled my body, a chill ran through us, Grathgor yelled “HAVE NO FEAR!”  the movement of the smoke made no sound, but we did as we trampled the ground beneath our feet and yelled our battle cries.  The teams quickly formed tight formations, sorcerers filled arrows with magic as they flew through the air and put up walls to shield their teammates.  As I launched arrows through the air, I observed whole teams being cut down like butter.  I had seen people die before, but not like this, the creatures would suck on the bodies taking their souls getting larger.  The monsters with fresh kills became my priority, I tried my hardest to keep the souls from being taken.  Our group focused on the bodies of the dead, keeping the hoards of them, we succeed to get the bodies of one group to safety.  After we placed the bodies I got up to see Grathgor running at us yelling something I couldn’t quite make out.  He was waving his arms frantically and pointing at behind us.  my legs were suddenly cold, I look down and see smoke surrounding our ankles.  I grab the closest person to me and I jump out of the way.  I look beside me to see Jet, we start crawling.  I look back to see smoke figures being drawn out of the bodies we had just rescued, in one fowl swoop the first one to fully materialize slaughters Sadia and Victor, I scream out, Jet grabs my face and I lurch back, he covers my mouth.  Jet watched as his friend’s soul gets torn from his body.  I scramble to my feet and pull Jet up to run with me.  He tugs his arm out of my grip, “THEY AREN’T STRONG YET” he yells as he rushes towards them, I throw knives into two of the still forming creatures, Sadia’s enchantments work and they disappear into thin air.  Jet is rushed by one of the creatures, I hold my breath as he evades the smoke’s attack.  He comes around and slices with both blades, and uses the momentum from that swing to cut down the other creature before it can finish taking the Victors soul.  A light appears out of the smoke and disappears, Sadia was not fully absorbed, he saved her. I run toward him as he stares at the bodies and I catch him say, “I love you brother.”  I almost tripped upon hearing it.  I grabbed him “We have to move” we ran toward the center of the battlefield, we needed to combine our efforts with another group, but everywhere we went each team would just be mowed down before we could reach them, the taint was spreading further across the field, we needed to retreat.  In one hit, we die, they take our soul, and if they don’t take our soul, we become them, our soul is used up while creating a smoke beast, and we exist no more.  I pray the Gods grace us with their presence.        

 

‘I looked up at the sky, It is over, there is no way we will make it out of this alive; they are tearing through us too easily.  I drop to my knees, and watch the dead moon touch the crown of the sky, I whispered to myself “this is it” my one remaining teammate, Jet, my friend ran to me I horror “GET UP, GET UP!, WERE YOU HIT?”  His face filled with panic, he grabbed my arm, pulling and pleading “please, we must fight, it’s all we can do!”  I pointed to the sky, I could no longer hear his screams, I could no longer hear anything, all the ruckus melted away as I stare at the slowly moving planet, I repeated the words of the legend aloud “when the dead moon reached the crown of the sky, all eternity would reveal itself and choose, either all will be regained or all would be forsaken” I look into my friend’s face, I could feel the nothingness my eyes held; his face caked in dirt and blood a crazed look upon his face, as he shook me it felt as if it were in slow motion.  He was frightened, scared, just what the dark ones wanted from us, fear.  He fell to the ground, I only stared, I could hear my heart beating, I was next, but nothing came for me.  I was still shaking, but it was not Jet who was shaking me. I heard a deep rumbling, again and again, each time getting more intense.   I come back to realization, the screaming, the roaring, it all came back at once.  The ground was trembling, I look straight up, the planet as dark as night lay directly above, I get up, looking all around me, trying to figure out how this anomaly could occur, it wasn’t Nyxie, what was it?  Then I saw it, the mountain far in the distance, they were moving, a deafening crack, then the sound of a thousand barraging cannons.  The mountains were breaking apart, I felt something closer, I look behind me and the trees looked as if they were suspended off the ground, floating beyond the tree line.  All the dryads and creatures of the forest retreat to the trees, still visible from the field.  I grab Jet “COME ON” I yell, and we run to join those gathered at the tree line.  

A great bellowing roar echoed in the distance, but this time, it was from neither side of the battlefield.  Then another, roar from behind us, as if in response, but that was not the last roar, others came from all directions as the earth quaked.  The White Stag Reared on its hind legs and galloped towards the taint, just then the head of dragon appeared above the trees.  It leaped out from behind the brush, stomped it’s front legs and roared.  It was massive, much larger than Nyxie, and overgrown with trees, vines, and moss, as it moved it’s shoulders around the trees started to shift and fall.  It became part of the ground and went under leaving the trees and vines behind.  The Stag ran across the taint purifying it with every step of the hoof. The ground exploded underneath the great White Stag, and it gracefully hopped from one piece of land to the other until it reached solid ground again, continuing its quest to remove the taint from the land.  Another Dragon, of white and silver, flies overhead breathing a white flame upon the broken earth.  As soon as the Dragon breathes it fire of white across the taint the thick air burns up allowing the breeze and wind created by its massive wings to pass through easily.  I look towards the mountains to see that half of them are gone, it too must be a dragon.  I hear the sound of rushing water, I turn to the cliffs to see what looks like a tsunami coming straight for us, then a blue sea dragon comes out of the monstrous wave leaving an ocean in its wake, the Cliff was now only a few meters from the ocean waters.  The dragon rests its claws upon the obsidian dagger that lay above the crag, as the dragon of the earth jumps out of the ground forming a hill, the water dragon gives three beats of its wings, taking the dagger and stabbing the side of the hill, creating a cave.  Both dragons enter the cave, and come out different ways, one through the sea, and the other, erupting out of the earth like a volcano erupting.  Roaring can be heard from every direction, the White Stag returns and kneels to the lady of white hair who get on to ride once more.   The disappear into the forest with the rest of the relics taken for this war.  The Dryad sisters positioned themselves in front of small mass that survived the battle.  I hadn’t realized how many we lost, I look past Verbana and Rosenia to see all the dead bodies, human, elves, magical and nonmagical creatures lay together in this big bed of the dead.  As I was trying to get a sense of how many people died a black dragon appeared looked at all of us, then turned to the field and burned it.  The smell of burnt flesh filled the air when the burning ceased nothing was left but charred earth.   The sisters spoke “We have prevailed in what we failed to do centuries ago” “the monstrosities of everything and everyone that has been committed, all the acts of fear and hatred have been resolved.” “Come the dragons have to remake the land” “Together we fought, together we stay”  “The dead moon, will die no more”  they take each other’s hands and turn around to walk upon the scorched earth.  They continue to talk as they do this, other dryads take part and walk forward.  “They will leave us” “the dragons” “they will return the far dead planet to its former glory”“ and rest for all eternity” as they stepped on the naked ground, grass grew around them, plants and flowers followed.  I turn to Jet,“We can go home, we made it” he looked down at his feet.  “Home…haven’t really been there in a while, won’t be the same…”he said softly, I gave him a  soft pat on the shoulder, “this all about new beginnings right? You can make one for yourself” he turned to me and gave me a light hearted smile.  I’m not sure I said the right thing, or even if it helped, but he seems a little better, so I’m happy.  While the creatures roam the newly made land, most of us head toward the airship that is just now returning.  I realize Jet is not at my side, I turn to him, he sees me and says “I’m staying, new beginnings remember.”  I see he is not alone, that reassures me, I turn and leave for the ship.

The dark surface of the dead moon dissolves into color and life as the dragons reshape and cleanse it.  The monsters are gone, Nocturne is nowhere to be found.  The planet now bright and vibrant with life from the resting place for the dragons “for all eternity.”