Cruel Awakenings

Sthuna awakened with anger in his heart.

Rising to the surface of wretched dreams, searing hot iron and the scent of burning copper, was like a blade that severed his flesh and tore into his body. All awakenings were cruel ones. For to awaken at all was to be thrust into a world possessed by cruelty.

He could feel the acid flow as it built in his throat. The hidden organ that stored his acid pulsed like a heart against his esophagus. Bubbles collected at his maw, ready to spill over. It was not often that Sthuna woke before Aarik’s prompting. His Keeper was ever keen, ever plotting, and delighted in catching him unaware. But this time, as Sthuna stirred without lashes or painful prodding, he knew that he had risen before Aarik. And he was reflexively ready to lash out at Aarik, eager to land the first blow before he could be harmed.

Sthuna’s tail whipped from side to side, braced to strike like a scorpion, using the iron barbs that had been hammered into it. His lips curled back, teeth bared, wings flaring aggressively, ready to-

A pair of wide green eyes met his.

Not the sadistic blue eyes of Aarik. Not the cold judgemental gaze of the Executioner, glinting from beneath his helm. Not even the eyes of a fellow wyrm, vicious and hostile. No, these eyes were vibrant and filled with life. Green, like… Like fresh green leaves. Like things he rarely saw in his life.

Sthuna froze.

His maw was bared open, staring unblinking into those eyes. Unspent acid dripped from his jaws, sizzling against the ground.

Quick as a viper, Sthuna surged backwards. Away from the inviting green eyes, to look truly upon the girl that they belonged to. He paced, pupils razor sharp, all three hearts pounding, tail coiling like a whip as it all came back to him. The girl from the well. The fierce green eyed girl, with long hair, black as ink. Human. He could tell immediately, the taste of her blood still lingering on his tongue.

Sthuna recalled now. A flash of images flitting through his mind’s eye. Blood in the water. A figure reaching out to him. And, before all that…

The earth beneath his claws writhed and wriggled.

Sthuna snapped from the reverie.

New life began to grow where his acid had fallen and killed it. Shoots pushed through the soil with an unnatural speed. 

Sthuna gave a low hiss. 

This place he had awakened in was flooded with thick, corrupting magic. Absolutely brimming with it. Decadent magic, wasteful magic, seeped into every pore. The kind of magic, and magical creatures, that he had dedicated his life to destroying.

Sthuna was not normally one to hesitate. Under other circumstances, he would already be tearing through this place. Purging it, as was his grim duty. But his instincts screamed at him to be wary. Beings of great and wretched power dwelt here. They lingered. They watched.

Sthuna sized up the strangers before him. The human was irrelevant. But behind her, a fae beast watched him right back. Full antlers, covered in moss and blooming flowers - and, more importantly, a near full crystallization of those horns, glinting like milky quartz. The older a fae of this nature grew, the further crystallization of that nature progressed. The deadliest fae beasts were like living gemstones. This one had plenty of soft flesh. 

Sthuna’s nostrils flared, scenting the air. The fae beast was relatively young. Nowhere near full potency. Six, maybe seven hundred years old. And he moved with a slight limp at his left side. Almost imperceptible. But Sthuna’s keen eyes saw it right away. An old wound, likely caused by iron. It had healed improperly. If Sthuna was lucky, the beast might even have shards of iron still embedded inside his leg.

Sthuna ran a forked tongue over his lips. Sthuna could take him. It would be a fierce fight, but it was in his claws already. There wasn’t enough space to take flight, but that didn’t matter. He was faster. A quick snap of his jaws at that tender weak spot, and the beast would crumble.

Sthuna lunged. 

No snarling, no growling, silent and immediate like a true predator. The powerful length of his tail coiled around the human girl. He could feel her hands scrambling at his scales, but he ignored it, tossing her into a patch of flowers. He didn’t know why he did so - it simply happened in the same flash that he launched himself. Later he would tell himself it was to get her out of the way.

Sthuna descended on the horned fae, a feint he knew the creature would dodge. As the creature swiftly sidestepped, Sthuna flared his wings, using them to redirect his movements. 

His jaws snapped shut a hairsbreadth from the fae’s skin. Sthuna herded the fae, forcing him to put weight on that injured leg. Slowing him, ever so slightly. A human’s eyes could never hope to see that weakness. But it was enough for a sleek, swift dragon like Sthuna.

Sthuna’s tail lashed out. He heard a pained grunt as one of his barbs found purchase, sinking into the fae’s flesh.

“Stop!” The horned fae’s voice was a thunderclap. “You will cease this immediately!”

Stop? Sthuna chuffed a cruel laugh. As if he was going to stop. He’d destroy this creature. His acid pooled and bubbled in his mouth. Sthuna prepared to spit it, like a hissing cobra. He would blind his enemy before he tore them apart.

But as the muscles of Sthuna’s throat contracted, he was struck from the side. He went rolling, disturbing earth and blades of grass. Sthuna recovered immediately, ready to face his new opponent. He hadn’t heard anyone approaching. A sneak attack. The sharp spines along his back bristled protectively.

He saw… Nothing. No one was there. No new fae, no new foe.

Sthuna’s head whipped around, elegant neck flexing. 

It was just him. 

The fae beast. 

The girl.

His enemy was unseen. He knew it wasn’t the fae beast. That one was still recovering from the barb. Sthuna’s eyes dilated, searching. Tense.

The moment Sthuna realized what it was, his blood ran cold.

The tree.

The entire tree was his enemy. His eyes tracked branch and root networks as they closed in on him, crawling like worms. Sthuna’s chest expanded with heavy, tense breaths. Eyes glinting like shattered glass, he expelled a menacing hiss. His jaws snapped, flicks of acid scattering over those roots. A warning snap. He would go down fighting if he had to - he didn’t trust the filthy, crawling tendrils, not for a second. He wouldn’t let them touch him and inject him with their dark magics.

But much the same as his instincts told him he could destroy the fae beast… He knew, implicitly, that he could not do the same for the accursed tree. This was too great a foe for him to take down on his own. Sthuna bared his fangs, bristling with acid dripping from his mouth. Tension emanated from every muscle in his body.

“Be at peace, child of fire.”

The voice echoed from all around him. Sthuna flinched visibly, feeling the voice reverberate in his skull. It was an uncanny feeling, like ants crawling between his scales, digging into his flesh. This was the power of a true Warden... And it was horrible. He had heard tales of these creatures. Beings of greater power, connected to the primal magics. But never had he been forced to confront one.

“So filled with anger, child... You are safe here. None shall bring you harm.”

Child? Safe? Sthuna sneered. He refused to speak to the wretched Warden. He wanted to flare his wings aggressively, to lash out. But he didn’t. He wasn’t a fool. He would pick his battles. He quieted himself, watching with deadly sharp eyes. He would find his window of opportunity to escape.

Sthuna’s mind was locked on the mighty foe before him, the need to plan his escape route, to enter into his old habits and reflexes of battle. He failed to notice the human girl’s approach. There was an oddness in her presence, a way in which she folded into his own as if an extension of him.

But Sthuna did notice as the horned fae beast surged, trying to grab the human girl before she could reach Sthuna. “Eyna! Do not-”

Eyna. So her name was Eyna.

For some reason, the name snagged in his mind, like a silk ribbon caught in a branch. He hesitated. And in his hesitation, the girl - Eyna - charged right at him.