Elemental Witch: Court of Hearts ( Part III)

Lost Faith

Drakos paced the walls of the fort and when that wasn't enough, he joined his warriors in battle, cutting through the enemy with an energy wrought from restless worry. Thus he passed the days he had to wait, though his heart shifted oddly in his chest when a single Feysha finally stepped out of the trees within view of the fort.

It was the sign that the team had reached the mountain and was probably venturing beneath the earth at that moment. Drakos had hoped that it would settle him, knowing they had made it that far safely, but it had only sent him to pacing even more. He growled at any of his men who came near him, unable to fight down the clawing certainty that something wasn't right.

Not many hours later, Prince Vasha landed on the ramparts with General Pharos and one of the men Verana referred to as Vasha's brethren in tow.

The Prince looked worried as he offered a formal bow. "King Drakos."

They all knew what was happening, the plan that was taking place, even as the fighters maintained the pitched battles through the woods.

"They're in the mountain by now." Drakos nodded to him, before motioning towards the looming peak.

None of them filled the silence with words, standing there with him for a couple minutes before they moved within the stronghold to go over the maps, the rotation of more or less fighters into the area, anything but the topic that was on their minds. They planned over things already planned, looking for any flaws in what they were doing. They focused on anything other than staring out across the forest towards the deceptively quiet mountain. And then the reports that the Cassaei had begun to pull back from battle. The teams and sections patrolling through the woods could find nothing to fight.

The night grew late and Drakos glanced at the other men in the room, watching them curiously for a moment as he realized that a break for sleep would only be used to worry alone. None of them wanted to rest, none of them wanted to be safe behind stone walls when the battle was happening outside of their control.

Pharos met his eyes and inclined his head, an acknowledgement to the unspoken thoughts. The man who had been the bane of his Empire and the source of a great deal of his consternation for much of Drakos' life seemed to understand him perfectly.

Yet exhaustion was eating at their minds, causing them to run around in circles as the darkness crept forward into morning. Finally, Drakos stretched his back and wings, hearing his neck and several other joints crack with the movement. "I need fresh air."

Drakos left the room and his footsteps took him up onto the high ramparts again, looking out at the looming peak, watching it turn from black to purple as the sun rose behind it. It was there that General Pharos joined him, frowning at the mountain that consumed all of their thoughts. Neither one of them spoke, merely watching the visage of the peak come clearer into view.

It was that silent moment between night and dawn, when nothing in the world dared make a sound and the shadows of night disappeared in a sparkle of magic.

It was an eerily beautiful morning.

Which meant it only made sense, in Drakos' dry humour, that the faint tremor of the earth that sent birds screaming into the air destroyed it. He had time to look at Pharos in surprise before the pre-morning darkness exploded in light as flames burst from Clavak mountain, followed by an echoing roar as a cloud of dust and smoke erupted where the mountain had stood.

As simple as that, the mountain disappeared in a plume of smoke and dust that clogged the sky, bringing a waft of heat and toxic fumes that had them both choking for a moment.

Drakos cursed and leapt into the toxic air, wondering if he was so different from those birds moments before, only he didn't wheel about the air and flee. He headed straight towards the cloud of ash, dust, smoke and acrid mineral smell that reminded him of the hot springs outside their sacred healing pools.