EPISODE 211: POTENTIAL MADNESS 1

— GREAT EDRYAN, YEAR: 7292. SEASON: NEW BEGINNING.

Twelve thrones—some jade—others, bone .

Twelve Deities—each kept score—while She prepared War.

She laughed, a rich, haughty thing that drew the attention of the eleven others. "Oh, Rasheed, you are breaking all the rules, yet it happens to be in my favor, so I'll allow it."

Madris Edryani — The Challenger laughed .

Her voice was rich. It held a deep, commanding presence to it that couldn't help but attract the attention of those around Her. Her throne flashed the brilliant colors of the ten primary mana types, and behind Her, displayed on wicked, sharp blades were ten magi hearts that bled with the respected element. A queen's crown laid upon her head while her braided hair, an ebony gradient, fell neatly into her lap. Dark armor covered Her body, and a sword was implanted into the ground near her right hand. The Goddess of War was like a lone blade standing in a field of flowers.

The Goddess sat on her throne, eyes carefully gazing at the grand chessboard at their feet. Its shape was irregular, crescent-like, but checkered in black and white like a regular chessboard would be. The pieces on it were seldom, but each stood out from the other. Madris Edryani focused her divine gaze on her territory, where her pieces remained.

…

A single King and a Rook.

…

That was it—nothing else existed in her black and white territory. Yet outside of this, a seemingly overwhelming number of pieces were on display.

In one corner lay a moving city that occupied its own small white square; it stood next to a decayed land where a piece shaped like a ruined city lay. In another corner was another King's piece; below it stood a city of white and gold, with several other large pieces occupying its territory—most notably were the pyramid and what was hidden within.

Although there were many game pieces, the final piece shaped in the traditional sense of the game was a Queen's Piece.

…

Three Chosen.

…

Just Three And None More.

…

"You face an impossible board Madris… yet you have time to laugh," A curious, red goblin asked, Her body changing the moment Madris's red-golden divine eyes gazed her way.

"Oh, Unera , still playing tricks for the approval of your sister? This board has all the pieces in play and only needs a small tinge of {Madness} to make everything erupt," Madris — The Challenger, spoke—dismissing the other Goddess as she turned back to the board. "I hope your goblins do not experience eating the taste of Saphen flesh to survive once again—disgusting creatures," Madris spat at the side. "Should Alidra not have had mercy, such scourges would not exist today."

Unera snarled. Her form shifted into that of a fire elemental, but Madris's gaze had already dismissed her. The Goddess looked to the figures sitting closer to Madris's side, waiting on the words of one of them—words that never emerged. Unera clenched Her fist, opening Her mouth to speak when another did so.

"Oh, Madris, still believing you hold the Power to get your way," Ivory mocked. Her eyes were the color of hatred as they fixated on the Goddess of War. "You believe defeating the Dragon will help sway us to your side and open our eyes to some Truth you have no proof to display? Then, you are just as Mad as Him."

Madris's eyes flickered to one of the thrones, the farthest from Her central point. Disdain appeared within her eyes, unhidden by Her as she spoke. "Still upset your divine child turned out to be nothing but a dull husk from a man who didn't want you but me ?"

She dismissively waved a hand, laughing, and turned Her attention back to Her King's piece. It stood before a mountain, a sole dragon curled around it. The dragon's gaze was upward, and lightning shot from its eyes as it snarled, seemingly at the sky as it protected a large egg in its bosom. She gazed deeper, and Her perception changed.

"Here. Be. Dragon."

"Here. Be. Dragon," Lawruthian laughed, a loud, boisterous thing.

Madria tightly clutched his hand, but her thoughts weren't on the present. The words of Lawruthian still echoed through her mind, and now, after many months away, the pair finally returned to a place that changed their lives and perception forever.

Madria knew things that the magi didn't. She understood a past that the magi didn't. A past of multiple Chosen and great wars waged by their Goddess to complete some sort of objective, Madria didn't know what for.

…

Did she have to?

…

She was a [Priestess of Madris], it wasn't her place to question the vision of her Goddess. That changed when Her Chosen emerged. He was different. Well, of course, he was different. He was the [Chosen of Madris]—he was different from Madria. Not like a prince, not like a Chosen. Not the image she once held in her mind of what they would be.

…

He was better than that.

…

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Madria liked it. She liked the time they spent trapped in Rasheed's mountain, even if it was uncomfortable, and she was unused to certain actions. It brought open a side of Lawruthian he hadn't shared with anyone else in their group. Not Simra, not Amaya, not Lorde or anyone else.

…

Just Madria.

…

A selfish thought of hers, but selfishness didn't go against the Nine Mandates. In fact, some scholars said it encouraged it.

"Here. Be. Dragon," Madria said, laughing. Her laugh was different, more similar to a giggle, but once it erupted, it hadn't stopped. She only took a breath to get a few words out before the giggling consumed her. "Let's put an end to this adventure."

They hadn't resolved it—straight from Starglow Valley and right into the maw of the dragon—The Dragon —[End of Adventure]. Immediately after it was the Imperius Grand Summit, a reorganization of their country and a dissolution of the noble system. So much had happened in so little time. Madria wasn't one to keep things half completed—she was far too neat and organized for that.

It was time to complete the fable—more of a tale at this point, in Madria's opinion. She finally got control of her giggling, not of her accord. It stemmed from Lawruthian loosening his tightly clasping hand.

"Someone has to ring the doorbell," he told her apologetically.

She tightly clasped his hand back, not allowing him to let go. "We entered and left this place together… I think it's only right we return together."

He always did that. Always attempted to shoulder the burden. And Madria would always remind him that there were people he could count on—truly count on—and not just dictate things to.

…

She was one of them.

…

She didn't know where this self-reliance stemmed from; perhaps it was the clutches of his previous life shaping his new one. Or maybe it was from a distrust of those around him. Madria didn't know; all she knew was that she would never stop trying to help. It was her duty, but more than that, it gave her a sense of purpose in this grand journey they were undergoing. An anchor, the [Chosen of Madris] needed an anchor—and who better than the [Imperius Saintess] to keep him on a straight path. Just like the heroes around his mother were her anchors.

The armies organized themselves, the [Path Walkers] and those close to such a limit organized themselves above. There was no need to communicate to the Chosen what he needed to do.

They walked forward together, and together, each placed a hand—for Madria, it was her right hand, and for Lawruthian, it was his left—the others remained occupied. Those large, dragon red, grand doors—easily able to allow army ranks to step in side by side—opened. Nary a creak of sound escaped as they slid open. Only the thrum of magic intensified.

Madria's chest rose and fell, her breathing syncing with the man next to her. Here. Be. Dragon. It was funny, and that was why they laughed. It stated something so obvious, something ridiculous—so ridiculous that they couldn't help but laugh—like, was there supposed to be something else after their harrowing adventure in Wyvern's Roost and the known sole home of the only dragon in Elrunian? It stated the obvious, and that's why they laughed. But, they weren't laughing anymore.

Ancient pillars rose into the darkness. Large clawed incisions remained on their outskirts. Kair-unian script, the name of runes, were scribbled insistently upon their surface. Some were lightly written, and others deeply gouged as if spurts of inspiration struck the one who carved them. Together, the two entered a place that once kept them prisoner—light from the demigoddesses above the source of their sight.

The hall extended as far as the eye could see and beyond. Ancient, bronze lanterns hung from the pillars and ignited as they neared, extending the range of their vision. A blade, [Legacy], appeared in Lawruthian's free hand, while Madria took out a short staff that would amplify her skills and spells. As they breathed, frost entered the air, and the temperature grew colder the deeper they entered.

Lawruthian paused, and Madria did so as well, the demigoddesses above them coming to a stop. "Minerva is just ahead… but she's not responding."

Queen Titiana frowned; she looked to her left at the divine form of Margret. No light could halt her vision from seeing her companion. Margret's divine form was different from Titiana's; she did not gain an extra eye. Instead, magenta runic script was carved into her body like tattoos. Their forms were ever-changing and seemed to contain the hidden secrets of the realm. Should one look closely, then one would recognize the runes as tier ten and the limit of what mortals could comprehend. The rune covering her face was the only difference. It remained unchanged, and when read, it would be read as Spell-Crafting.

" Lux una ori Corng, an Tenebris salu Fǔr ," Margret weaved, reciting a spell that would dispel what was before them. She continued to speak slowly, waving her hand as a spell construct emerged before her.

Light is the Origin of Courage and Darkness Fear—break away the illusion and casts all shadows into the dawn's light. The spell completed, and light mixed with dark blasted forth, covering everything before them in a wide, cone-shaped radius. A tearing sound was heard, like caught fabric ripping open.

Aged, yellowed eyes opened, the hint of gold in them covered by something else. A single, weary, deep, long breath escaped pursed lips. Then, a slow, long breath was inhaled. Dust and permafrost removed itself as a single beat expressed Power in the surroundings. The bodies of the magi couldn't help but shift with the breathing of the dragon—first backward, then forward. Two bright, aged, yellow eyes illuminated the area like lanterns in a misty forest. Sparks and flashes of magic erupted as Rasheed's two eyes completely opened. Those aged eyes gazed around at the large pillars that rose from the ground to the ceiling. Before they subtly landed on the tiny guest before him.

The heart beat in tune with the thrum and the sound only increased in volume. A second heartbeat, one that thundered, emerged from Rasheed's chest as his bodily functions began to return to full force. A single scaled cover palm emerged from under Rasheed's neck as his large head raised. The palm was placed gently on the ground, and a second palm helped to pick Rasheed up. His hind legs and front arms picked him up, and the weight of a city settled upon those limbs.

Rasheed sighed, cleared his throat, and spoke. "You're early Lawruthian—it's good to see you Madria."

As he spoke, the vast, seemingly endless hall alit. Each lantern exploded with flames and revealed the interior behind the dragon. And above him, it revealed eleven captured figures. They appeared in a large bubble and appeared to be in the midst of a tense standoff, only seconds away from igniting.

Madria's eyes carefully assessed Minerva, Vita, and Ignis's situation. The three appeared fine, but judging from the pieces of ground underneath them, they were removed from their original location. She turned her attention back to the dragon, studying him as he did them.

Massive could not be used to describe him. To Madria, they appeared like ants next to a fabled elephant. She hadn't seen the large creatures in person, but beast compendiums held plenty of descriptions. Yet, as she watched carefully, her brows furrowed as she noticed his size seemed to be decreasing. Near his chest, protectively in his embrace… was a sole egg, and suddenly those who gazed upon it understood the source of the thrum.

Behind them, the combined forces shifted. Here. Be. Dragon. [End of Adventure] was the fables their parents told them to behave. It was the stories many of them heard as they grew up and became the person they were today. Now, they were here to end that fable—what a twist of fate.

"It doesn't have to be this way."

Of all things Madria expected her Prince to say, that was not one of them. His voice was soft, gentle, as if speaking to a friend who had gone astray.

Rasheed didn't respond. Instead, he gazed down at the egg in his bosom. It clutched to him in the position a dragon's reversed scale would be. "Ignis once posed a question to you, and now I ask the same. What would ya do… if all ya've loved, all ya knew, was taken from ya," the words belonged to Ignis, but the speaker was Rasheed.

Lawruthian slightly closed his eyes, then in one swift motion, he pivoted a flung Madria back into the army behind. The dragon had given his answer, and… his guest had given his. Then, he said one final word, a thing he'd always wanted to do since he laid eyes on the fabled dragon.

"(Inspect)."

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