Destinies

Silver's entry for WoW!
The prompts were:
Ruthlessness, Nightfall, Challenge.
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The party of dragons standing outside the cave was made even more miserable by the whirling blizzard surrounding them. Their pale blue and white scales were hardly discernible through the snow, which weighed down their wings and made little mountains on their shoulders that they repeatedly had to shake off. The night sky, normally star-speckled and beautiful, was entirely obscured by the heavy, dreary clouds and dancing snowflakes.
Two in particular stood at the ready, clutching staffs made of narwhal horn, carved intricately with swirling and knotting designs. Each of the weapons were tipped with points of diamond. A dragoness with a bejeweled crown atop her head stood between them. As she spoke to them, she had to shout above the raging winds, her voice still getting easily swept away so that it was still hard to hear her.
“Aniu,” she said, nodding at a slight, lithe IceWing with electric blue eyes and seven concentric circles on the chain around her neck. “You have challenged Zalophus to the Diamond Trial.” The dragoness acknowledged a larger, burlier dragon with only one circle on his necklace. He was something like an iceberg, with chilled blue scales and hard gray eyes.
“You will go into the cave and search for the ice sculpture of a dragon. You will tap it with the tip of your spear once you find it,” the dragoness said simply. The high-ranking dragon, Zalophus, nodded as if this was a regular occurrence for him. Aniu, his opponent, looked mildly confused, though she tried to hide it behind a stony glare and a growl.
“Do you understand?” the dragoness asked. The whirling snow was joined by small bits of ice that lodged themselves in between scales and up nostrils. The two dragons nodded, Aniu never breaking eye contact with her opponent.
“Good. The Diamond Trial will begin in three… two… one!” As the dragoness finished speaking, a wiry attendant beside her blew on a narwhal horn. The sound pierced through the wind, making the air electric with anticipation and a sudden adrenaline rush. The two dragons sprinted into the cave, leaving the swirling snow and ice behind.
Inside the cave system, glittering stalactites and stalagmites were illuminated by a cool, ethereal light, almost like they were inside a glowing ice cube. The caves were vast and numerous, and as the two dragons traveled through them it was as if they were in a trance. Despite being in an intense challenge, the caves were too beautiful to ignore. They could hear the soft burbling of a stream that had frozen over at the entrance, which echoed through the caves like some sort of music. There were crystal clear pools in some of the grottos, with stalactites dripping water into them in a calming fashion. There were other caves that had beautiful, glittering gems embedded into their walls, and others that had carvings inside them, with words and names that had been lost to time.
Zalophus’ eyes lost their steely nature, and for a moment Aniu looked just as small as she was, without her chilly glare or her electric aura. They were humbled by the massive caves, and for a brief moment they forgot that they were supposed to be searching for something.
“It’s a pity,” Zalophus said, “That so many that come here die. They’re unable to share the beauty of it with anyone.” When he spoke, he spoke quietly, for fear of damaging the pristine beauty of their surroundings.
“What do you mean?” Aniu asked. She looked at him curiously, and he was struck by how sweet and small she seemed. Almost innocent. Almost.
“Did they not tell you what the Diamond Trial entails?” Zalophus asked. He was saying much more than he should, but the majesty of the cave system seemed to be getting the better of him.
“Of course they did,” Aniu scoffed. “You were there. Queen Gelida explained the rules to the both of us; we find a dragon’s ice sculpture and tap it with the tip of our staff.” A bit of her electricity was returning as she became annoyed with Zalophus; she felt inferior and stupid whenever he spoke, as if he were inherently smarter because of his tone of voice.
“Did you really think that was all of it? Can you remember any of the losers of the Diamond Trial?” Zalophus said, his voice steadily rising. Like Aniu’s electric aura, his steely walls were creeping in once more as he spoke.
Aniu was puzzled. She was sure she remembered the defeated dragon coming out of the trial, disgraced. Her mind whirled through her memories as she tried to recall just one loser, but she only knew the names of the victors. No matter, she thought; they were probably forgotten because they were unimportant after they lost. Like Zalophus would soon be.
“No,” he said, after she paused. “No, of course you don’t, because they die, Aniu. That’s how this challenge works. One of us gains status and importance and the other is taken off the game board entirely. They are killed, left for their disgraceful fate.” Zalophus’ voice was cold and angry, like a blast of frostbreath.
“Well, then you have to make sure you won’t be the loser,” Aniu said curtly, and began to walk at a faster clip through the caves. She seemed completely and totally unfrazzled by this new revelation that only one of them would come out of this alive; in fact, it only seemed to increase her strength, making her want to work harder.
They walked in silence the rest of the way, their small moment of vulnerability passing as soon as it came.
Soon, they found what they were looking for. As the opponents ventured farther into the caves, they were surrounded by frozen sculptures of IceWings, in different positions of fear or supplication. Aniu hunted fiercely through them, her excited energy back as she remembered what she was here for: to win. She tapped each with the diamond tip of her spear, waiting to see if anything would happen. Zalophus, on the other hand, sat down on the ground, not even trying. Aniu ignored him at first, but soon it became too much to bear. After all, this was supposed to be a challenge. It was even called the Diamond Trial. He was supposed to be hunting with her, in order to be the first to find the special sculpture. She turned to glare at Zalophus, giving him the worst possible look she could muster.
“Yes?” he asked. He seemed too calm for the current situation, and his voice was detached and cool, as if he weren’t present.
“This is no fun if you aren’t even trying to beat me,” Aniu said, looking at him harshly with her electric eyes. With the cold blue light illuminating her scales, she seemed to crackle with energy, making her look more formidable than the queen herself. As if she had her own personal lightning.
“I’d hardly call murder fun,” Zalophus replied simply, not moving.
“So you want to lose? You want to let go of your high ranking? Your life? Why on Pyrrhia would you willingly lose everything?”
“I have a hard time justifying the murder of someone I just met a moment ago.” Zalophus’ eyes were full of an intense emotion that was such a wild difference from his former detachment that Aniu paused in her beratement for a moment. Just as quickly as it came on, however, the emotion went away and Zalophus was walled up once more.
Aniu recovered from her shock and resumed her glaring. “You’re going to have to,” she said simply. Zalophus looked confused for a moment.
“And why is that?”
“Because I want you to,” she said, sounding for all the world like a petulant dragonet.
Zalophus smiled, amused. He shook his head, spines rattling as he stood. “You can try to convince me to fight you, but you’ll have to do better than that.” He walked forward, towering over Aniu in his full height. “You challenged me. I want no part of this.”
Aniu growled. “You don’t have a choice. You’re already part of it; that’s the point of a challenge. So you’ve got a choice to make: sit back and let me win, or fight for your ranking. And your life. I have no qualms about murder.”
Zalophus said nothing, his gaze hardening. “I am not one to hope much,” he said, “but I prayed that you would not be as ruthless as the rest of them.”
“Well, you bet on the wrong dragon,” Aniu hissed, now thoroughly annoyed because she had been interrupted from her duty by this dragon for so long. She tried to ignore the fact that the passion in her opponent’s eyes had actually moved her, instead turning to tap on each icy dragon with her spear. She was beginning to feel that she fallen down a rabbit hole that was too deep to climb out of, and the helplessness of it terrified her.
“Oh,” was all Zalophus said. Aniu was glad for the small mercy that he could not read her thoughts as she continued to viciously prod the dragons with her weapon. Zalophus began to weave methodically through the ice sculptures which covered their surroundings, ignoring all of them, even if Aniu hadn’t yet tested them with her spear. She watched him curiously, until he stopped in front of one and stood there, almost entirely obscuring it with his bulk.
Suddenly, Aniu realized what he was doing. “That’s the dragon, isn’t it?” she asked, hurt and angry that he was actively preventing her from getting what she needed.
Zalophus said nothing, his face set in a stony expression of detachment.
“Is that the moons-blasted dragon!” Aniu screamed. She had no idea why, but tears began to prick at her eyes. Zalophus still did not move, looking like a statue himself. His cold gray eyes stared into hers with determination.
“Curse you,” Aniu hissed, and stabbed her spear forward, towards an unguarded tip of the dragon’s ear. She didn’t want to hurt Zalophus until they fulfilled their instructions, despite her raging anger. Electricity seemed to crackle and spark in the air as the diamond tip headed for its mark.
Zalophus tried to bat the spear out of the way, but it was too late. The dragon was beginning to move, and as the ice receded, 
Aniu suddenly realized that it wasn’t an IceWing. It was a NightWing dragoness, middle-aged, perhaps, with the look of someone who must once have been a true beauty. Her scales gleamed as she growled at the two, much like a wild animal, and leaped forward.
Both IceWings dashed out of the way, struck by a sudden terror. Aniu, for her part, didn’t know what exactly she had been expecting, but the pure ferocity of this dragon made her fear take over her body for a moment longer than she would have liked.
Zalophus, on the other hand, was more surprised than afraid. Though he had known to expect a NightWing, he had not thought about what her attack strategy might be, or that she would even attack at all. He had imagined- or hoped for- a slightly more civil dragon, since despite his well-honed form he had never actually fought another dragon in his life. At a loss for what to do, he stayed in a hiding place while he tried to gather his senses.
Aniu had already overcome her terror, and she rushed at the dragoness, spines bristling and spear pointed. The NightWing dodged elegantly, smoke rising from her nostrils as a fire built in her throat. She landed right in front of Zalophus, who seemed to be at a loss for what to do. He bit down on the soft part of the dragoness’ tail, causing her to roar and thrash in pain.
The NightWing slashed wildly in front of her, tearing Aniu’s throat and side viciously. The dragonet howled in agony as she darted away, and Zalophus loosened his grip on their opponent’s tail in surprise. The dragoness tugged it out of his teeth and rushed after Aniu, a blur of black against the icy cave.
Aniu, blue blood dripping from her wounds and staining her scales, moved quickly to get out of the way. Despite her injuries, she was still an agile fighter, and she used her frostbreath on her assailant’s foreleg. The NightWing howled as Aniu did the same to the other leg, rendering the dragoness’ talons immobile. Hardly able to move and growling in pain, the NightWing was as good as defeated. Quickly, Aniu plunged her spear into the dragoness’ eye, warm red blood splattering across her scales as she did so.
The dragoness looked with sadness at Aniu, an expression of such grief and hurt that for a moment the dragonet forgot her ferocity. They locked eyes for a moment, a terrible moment, while the great NightWing heaved her last breath.
As soon as she exhaled, however, her wound mended and Aniu’s spear clattered to the ground. The NightWing froze over, ice creeping over her scales, preserving her body until the next dragonets came to kill her. The only thing that showed the dragoness had ever lived was the red blood drying on Aniu’s scales.
As the NightWing turned back to an icy sculpture, Aniu collapsed in a sudden breath, the adrenaline forgotten in a moment as the pain of her wounds hit her like a tidal wave. It was clear she was badly hurt; blue blood oozed out of cuts in her wings and underbelly as well as her side and neck, and she was pale, the brilliance about her fading. It struck her that she might be dying, and she nearly laughed at the thought, mostly out of disbelief that it would end this way.
Zalophus, not having moved from where he let go of the dragoness’ tail, rushed to Aniu’s side. He did not know much about medicine, but he had enough education to know that his frostbreath would only kill the tissue. The wounds needed to be cauterized, and the only way to do that was fire, something the IceWings did not have. Despite having quarreled with her earlier, he felt bad for the wounded dragonet.
Aniu could not see Zalophus clearly; her vision was hazy. “I- I-“ she tried to speak. “T-Tell my f-father I’m sorry,” she said faintly.
Her would-be opponent looked down at her. “Whatever for?” he asked.
“I was supposed to be queen,” she whispered. “For my family. For the glory of-“ she stopped, wincing as she tried to move her head. “For the glory and the betterment of my tribe.”
Zalophus growled. “I’ll leave,” he said. “Get help. You don’t deserve to die like this.”
Aniu laughed, but it was weak. She did not have long for this world, not without bandages or treatment. Her breathing was labored, but she forced herself up to a sitting position with much difficulty. “What about the rules?” she asked, her voice wheezing.
“I’ll leave, I don’t know. Maybe I’ll find the Lost Continent.” Zalophus smirked at his own joke. “You need my ranking more than I do. You need the glory.”
“What makes you think that?” Aniu asked, coughing a bit with the effort to breathe.
“Because I hate it here,” Zalophus said. “And you thrive. You’re just as heartless as the rest of them.”
“That’s your reasoning? You’re bitter and you want to give up?” Aniu laughed coldly. “That’s not very noble of you. That’s cowardly,” she said, her voice coming back a bit. There was a flicker of her old fire.
“It might be cowardly, but it’s what I need to do,” Zalophus said. “I don’t belong here, with all the braggarts and narcissists. I need a new start, somewhere where I can do some good in the world.”
Aniu looked at Zalophus for a moment, truly looked at him. She saw his gray eyes, his pale blue scales, his talons stained by the cerulean blood pooling on the floor. She saw the resolve in his muscled form, she saw the hurt in his eyes as he spoke of his tribe. She saw the look of a dragon born somewhere he didn’t belong, somewhere he would never belong. He had followed the rules, done the best he could with what he was given, but in the end it was all for naught. He was never meant to be an IceWing, never meant to be a noble. He knew where he was needed, and it was not here.
“Go,” Aniu said. Zalophus took a last look at her, and Aniu nodded. She knew that she might be heartless staying here, just as bad as the other IceWings. But she also knew that she was made for this. She was meant to follow her father’s orders, to become queen. She would never forget Zalophus’ kindness, but she doubted she would ever agree with him. This was her destiny. “I hope you find what you are looking for.” Her old opponent looked at her, a slight smile gracing his face, and left, retreating further into the caves. He would find a way to escape, Aniu knew. He would find where he was meant to be.
Slowly, with a great heave and a good deal of blood loss, Aniu staggered to a standing position and hauled herself, step by step, out of the cave. She weaved through the stalagmites and under the stalactites, walking past the pools of water and the bejeweled, glowing walls. When at last she reached the entrance to the cave, with the burbling of the stream, she was exhausted and lightheaded, ready to pass out.
She stumbled the last few steps into the snow drifts outside the cave, the blizzard having turned to a light flurry in the hours the trial lasted. The scene around her was illuminated by moonlight, making the whole scene ethereal and dreamlike. The crowd of waiting dragons converged, some cheering in celebration, others grumbling in annoyance. As she collapsed into the soft snow, slowly losing consciousness, she reached a resolution. This is my destiny, she thought, so I’d better make the most of it.
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Content (SilverTheIcewingHybrid)
Category:Genre (Short Story)
Category:Fanfictions (Completed)