His Gospel

There weren't always dragons in the Valley. It's true, I was there.

Auen remembered these words, as he walked down the rocky steps, leading to what he supposed was a tomb. These were the first words HighLord told him, once he volunteered, leaving his family behind. For years now he had been learning from him, sharing his secrets on the true origins of the dragons, on the two moons and on wishes.

The whole realm was in a sort of twilight, as the blue-moon was blocking the sun. Usually the eclipse didn't last more than a few minutes, but from what Auen could guess it had been a few hours already. That would mean the dragons would... Down there, in the valley, the once thriving dragons were now earth-bound, one of them dead already. Just like HighLord taught me, what a disaster.

HighLord was nowhere to be found. Auen had climbed all the way to the top of the Great-Grey-Tower, knocked on the portal, and finally entered the forbiden private quarters of the warlock, with the only goal to warn him of the eternal eclipse. Inside the room, Auen felt like a mouse in a field. He turned around to leave but something was shining, outside, through the window. The apprentice looked through the stained glass, and saw a golden light, oozing through cracks on the mountain side. Auen figured that HighLord must be there, his powers being the source of the light. He ran through the portal and flew down the great many stairs of the Tower. The faster I can alert HighLord, the better.

His pale skin was contrasting with the crimson sky, and he coughed, the dry air of the rising wind surprising him. He almost lost footing, and looked down the cliffside, where the valley was, hundreds of meters lower. He was approaching the tomb, the golden light now dimmer. A cold sweat on his forehead, Auen couldn't breathe normally, the thoughts of the many dead dragons and the the villages overwhelming him. Where is HighLord?

Auen tried to knock on the ornamented stone door of the tomb, but his fist phased right through it. The apprentice closed his eyes, and walked foward. He opened them, only to be greeted by this grotesque creature, basking in the golden light. Before he could say anything he suffocated, by the foul smell of rotten flesh. The apprentice covered his mouth with a piece a cloth and looked up, horrified by what he saw. Gazing at him was some sort of half-dead dragon, with a glowing crown and difformed face, a mix of blood and saliva dripping from it's mouth. As the creature moved, some piece of it's wing fell on the tomb's floor, joining bones and half-decomposed bits, covering the floor all the way to Auen.

If you ever meet a dragon, do not ever talk to it. Wise words from HighLord, once more. But what if it's the dragon that talks to me?

Once I was a Priestess of the prosperous city of the Valley, and I was the prettiest of them all

After great many trials our wish came true, and in our hands, the holy power of the sun, gifted by the blue moon, our ally

I volonteered, and was transformed in the first dragon, for our wish was that of eternal life

But as I soared through the sky, to the cheers of my people, the sun emerged and burnt my wings. I was cursed to die for eternity

Heed my words, and save us all. The warlock is harvesting the powers of the blue-moon

Do not believe his Gospel

He is the one that killed the dragons in the past. It's true, I was there

Call me Fthora, the Dragon Priestess of Decay, the first attempt.

Auen felt as though he was dying. Without a conscious thought he phased back through the stone door, and the golden light faded completely. He laid there, on the floor, his mind in a complete panic. He was shaking, his heart was racing, yet all he could think about was the eclipse, that he was now seeing upside down.

Closing his eyes once more, Auen gave up. What more could he do, he was only an apprentice after all.

A flash of light woke him. Warmth. A soft breeze, birds. Auen looked up at the sun, and saw the blue-moon lazily moving along, at long last the sun would shine on the valley. Above him, hovering in the air was HighLord, his dark clothes and tall hat flapping in the wind. He seemed surprised to see Auen in such a state.

The warlock lend his hand to his apprentice, that hesitated. Behind HighLord, rising from the Valley a flock of massive dragons of bright colors, screeching and fighting at incredible speed. Auen couldn't believe it, a moment ago he saw their corpses down in the valley, yet now they were alive and well?

- What about the eclipse? What happened, HighLord? said Auen, a stupefied look on his face.

- From what I can gather, I think you suffered from an illusion. Remember my teachings, the blue-moon is wicked. Did you look at it directly? Did you look at the eclipse? said HighLord, in a concerned voice.

- I did, I did look into it. I had lost hope, I... Auen managed to answer.

Without any other words, HighLord used a wish, and they rose from the cliffside, the tomb no longer visible. They were on their way to the Great-Grey-Tower. Under them, the valley was thriving. Circling around them, two dragons were flying close, their massive eyes examining in great details the teacher and student.

Back at the tower, the warlock explained to Auen that in rare cases, eclipses could cause panic, hallucinations, even illusions. And as Auen had recently developped his first wish, he was more prone to such effects.

Alone at last, Auen thought back on his illusion, and how real it felt. He supposed that the blue-moon was not to be messed with. How glad was he that it was all false. After all, it made perfect sense. If the eclipse had really gone on for that long, the dragons would still be dead. And HighLord didn't see the tomb, or saw that half-dead dragon.

Auen exhaled, relieved. he stretched and removed his clothes. As they hit the floor, a faint thud. What was that? Did he have something in his pocket?

Auen reached down and searched mindlessly, his thoughts focused on his studies of the next day with HighLord. To his horror he touched something wet, and a familiar, terrible smell filled his room. In his left hand, a bone, still with half-rotten flesh attached to it. Auen stood still in shock for what seemed like an eternity.

Fthora's bone! That means, all of it was true...