Cornelius was sitting within his tent Sky Breaker on his lap as he was sharpening it, it was an unnecessary act as its edge never dulled but it helped calm his troubled mind, it was in these moments of quiet that he saw her face. Reliving her last moments over and over again, the pain in his heart was palpable.
He was shocked out of his reverie when the little dragon that had been sleeping finally woke up. She walked up to his feet from the makeshift bed she had been sleeping on, just a bunch of blankets in a pile. Little Karra looked up at him and gave an adorable roar to get his attention. He felt worry from his bond with her. She could feel his emotional turmoil and wanted to comfort him.
A small smile broke out on his face but vanished just as quickly as it appeared, he bent down and picked up the little dragon, petting her to try and comfort the little beast, with his bond he felt her relax a bit.
Deep within an icy caver a lone Kalethi woman was gathering edible cave moss she had found, she seemed dirty her hair a matted mess, and the furs she wore were dirty and damp, she seemed malnourished and tired but she continued with her task as she absentmindedly caressed her stomach.
“Why do you continue to fight?” a voice came from behind her, shocked she turned to the voice clutching an iron dagger. She saw a strange man with hair that looked like a light brown rope, his clothes looked immaculate a stark contrast to the caves surrounding him, and he wore a green suit with a black shirt and a blue tie.
“Who are you?” she asked weary of the man who had appeared out of nowhere, she looked at her surroundings and noticed something strange everything except her and this man had lost their color, everything was in varying shades of black and grey, her attention was caught by a droplet that seemed to be frozen in the process of dropping to the ground.
“Who I am is irrelevant, but you, you are a special one are you not, Karra Godtongue The Last Seer of Dremor,” the strange man said a hint of curiosity could be found in his otherwise emotionless voice.
Karra was shocked no one alive knew who she was, all that had known were long since dead, Karra was old she had lived to see many cycles, and she had seen civilizations rise and fall, she had been walking on these grounds since the first era, she had seen the birth of war. So no one could have possibly remembered her, yet this man knew her she was shocked to her very core she felt afraid for the first time in centuries.
“There is no need to be afraid child,” he said in a reassuring tone “No I mean you no harm little one, not to you nor your child,” he said the last part while motioning to her stomach “No I am here because I want to ask you something,” he said.
“Why is it, you a mighty seer who has seen both the future and the past chose to fall for the man that is destined to bring ruin to this world, it truly puzzles me why you would go as far as to bear his child at the cost of your own life,” the last part shocked her, how did this stranger know that by having this child would mark the end of her life. “Oh there is no need to be surprised I know everything child, the true reason I came here was to make you a proposition,”
“And what would that be?” she asked warily “Quite simple actually, when it is time for the baby to be born I will return and ensure its survival and all that I ask is that you will make it so that Cornelius will never know,” the stranger said and she quickly agreed to his proposition. Just after the agreement was made did everything turn back to normal and the stranger was nowhere to be seen not even a trace of him was left he simply vanished.
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It was time… Cornelius donned his armor and adjusted Sky Breaker in its sheath he was as ready as he would ever be, his draconic eyes glimmered in the sunlight as he left his tent while walking many soldiers quickly got out of his way, he has had this effect on them ever since his return they most likely feared his draconic features but he did not care as he had a mission to accomplish.
Cornelius walked all the way to the edge of the army where General Myers and Commander Zoan were standing, they gave him a cursory glance as he approached but they said nothing for there was nothing left to say, they knew what needed to happen next. Looking across from them there stood the Kalethi army, the tribes had banded together as a unified front something that had not happened for two centuries, they were chanting a single phrase ‘toro mak toha’ over and over again which roughly translates to ‘glory and honor’ a simple yet effective chant as it seemed to have put some of the soldiers on edge.
There were fifteen hundred Kalethi warriors facing them while their own force amounted to a measly six hundred soldiers, but the numbers did not matter as the war would be decided by a single battle and Cornelius was ready, his bloodlust was palpable within the air the soldiers around Cornelius felt like there was a predator amongst them with its jaw around their throats.
Cornelius had left little Karra back in his tent as he felt it was improper to show a baby what he was about to do, the time came and Cornelius as well as Myers and Zoan made their way to the middle between the two armies, in front of them another envoy was walking towards them, it consisted of a mountain of a man standing at an impressive 7ft tall made of muscles he was a true behemoth. Next to him walked a slender woman with feline features she walked with the grace of a kat and finally there was a short stout man who walked with them he had a horrible scar running across his face. When they arrived in front of them they stared at each other for a while before Cornelius finally spoke up ‘this is it’ he thought before he said in Kalethi “We greet the honored warriors,” he said as Kalethi tradition dictated. “So you know our ways, but what is it that you seek man from beyond the mountain,” the mountain of a man spoke with a sneer.
“We wish to invoke Drukai,” Cornelius said with a sneer of his own, for the first time since the conversation began the giant smiled “And who would act as your champion?” the giant asked while raising his brow. “Me of course,” Cornelius said while staring at the giant with his draconic eyes he could see that they unnerved him, he smelt fear and now it was Cornelius’s turn to smile, which showcased his less-than-human fangs wide toward his enemies, with his increased hearing he could hear their hearts racing.
“So be it, then you shall face me,” the giant finally said he seemed to have steeled his will and was ready for the battle to come, the envoys from both sides returned to their warriors leaving only Cornelius and his soon-to-be-dead enemy, his bloodlust rose. “I would like to know the name of the man I am to kill,” the giant said in an arrogant tone, Cornelius swore he would rip that smug expression off his face “Cornelius Von Amydros, and your’s giant?” he asked while drawing Sky Breaker from its sheath, the giant did not take out any weapons which shocked Cornelius but he did not dwell on it as the giant finally spoke “Agar Bearclaw,” he said with a wild grin before he did the impossible he grew even larger as fur started to grow on his scarred skin and his fingers turned to claws he had turned into a humanoid bear.
Although Cornelius was shocked he did not let it show as he transformed as well, black scales grew on his skin as he grew in size, and wings ripped from underneath his skin covered in a leathery membrane, a tail grew from his lower back as two bulges formed on his forehead just before two hornes tore through his skin. He had turned into a draganoid human a monster in every sense of the word, Cornelius released a bone-chilling roar as he charged toward the bear beast.
The earth shattered as they clashed, every single one of their blows left a loud boom that traveled across the battlefield, the bear beast swiped at his face from the left flank but Cornelius used his wings to boost his jump as he landed behind the monster and delivered a devastating slash with his claws using the momentum of his jump he severed the beast's right arm, the creature bellowed in pain clutching the stump that used to be his hand.
Cornelius did not relent in his assault as he dug his claws into his back grabbed its spine and ripped it from its back, blood and viscera squirted out like a waterfall, but the beast did not die, Cornelius lost in his bloodlust continued to beat the creature with its own spine, bludgeoning its head into a a bloody pulp of blood, bone and brain matter, When his bloodlust finally subsided he was standing within a crater of his own making covered from head to toe in blood and fleshy bits as he breathed a sigh while looking into the setting sun as he finally dropped the bloody spine.
