Hello! This is an original short story that my friend (Quizilla user Shimoyake) and I wrote using her character Braeden, and my character Saiyame.
Both characters have personalities and backgrounds that go far beyond this short story, so if you decide that you would like to get to know them better after this, check out their full profiles on Fantasy Realm.
It's just over 14 pages so I put it in two separate parts ^^
Happy Reading :) I'm sure it won't be hard to figure out who wrote which parts >.< Not that it matters...I wrote what's in gold, and Shimoyake wrote what's in blue. Also, I made the banner and I totally take requests.
Braeden is the Dragon of God.
Braeden Yuki could not pull his frozen ocean eyes from the purple gaze of Abyss. He suddenly found himself gasping for air, each breath pulled in by rage and exhaled with force. Venom poured into his mouth and without thinking he swallowed it so that he could speak.
"How dare you..."
His fangs flashed as a roar burst out of him, his aura suddenly blasting out around him in a cold, perfectly shaped sphere before shrinking into nothing. His pupils lengthened into a dragon's slits. Power poured into his veins and a chill slipped down his spine. His body wrenched and his hands snapped outwards; excruciating pain overtook him as the anger, far hotter than he could ever remember it being, made him its slave. One hand found his chest, tearing off his cloak and shirt, ice already beginning to form on the cloth in the brief moment that his touch met it. His bare chest became cast in shadow; overhead dark, angry clouds of gray formed in the sky and darkened the day, rumbling softly as they spiraled into one another.
Abyss simply watched, his long silver hair blown back in the rush of wind that Braeden's aura had created before the air had gone still. He refused to shiver as the air suddenly became colder than winter. His unmoving, smiling form was the only thing in Braeden's world. Abyss's breath clouded in front of face as the creature inside him chuckled.
Black, ragged wings tore from Braeden's back, frost dusting their edges already. Their span was longer than usual when he was still in a partially human form; their tips brushed the ground and spikes of ice formed at their touch. The dragon's tail formed next, whipping back and forth and crashing into a nearby tree, its length also more than Braeden usually allowed. The tree shattered, its shards held in midair as ice overtook them. Braeden's skin seemed to shred as black scales blossomed on the entire length of both his arms, his fingers cracking into claws. He flapped his wings and snow appeared from nowhere, blown in Abyss's direction by the air his actions moved.
Rage was blinding Braeden. Abyss's form blurred for a moment, the snapped back into focus as another snarl bubbled out of his jaws. He blinked several times, but his breathing only continued to quicken and shorten. Every inch of him ached. He pulled more and more power into his body with each second in response to the smug expression on the mere mortal's face. Sleet began to pour from the sky, falling with such force that it stung the flesh and refused to melt when it touched warm skin. Braeden threw back his head and roared, long spines sprouting down the length of his back.
He took a step towards Abyss and the ground at his feet froze. His directed his power towards his dragon's-paw hands, bringing them together and trying to form something between them. His voice was a shaking whisper.
"I'll..." He gasped quietly. "Kill..."
Abyss shrugged his shoulders, his aura lifting slightly as though he had taken off a coat and set it free. "You'll what now, worm?"
The concentrated power in Braeden's hands shattered. His eyes widened and a shudder moved through him. Every inch of him became so tense that even the smallest of movements required great strength, his muscles unwilling to move. He winced as his dragon transformation went farther, curved horns parting his hair and arching towards his back. At the same time, he coughed, a large amount of blood trickling through his pale lips. He ignored a mild ache that blossomed in his chest.
That arrogant...I'll...
"I'll..."
The power flowing through Braeden was unheard of, ice appearing on his chest, neck, and chin. And he drew more power still, until the ground all around him froze and the air became unbearably cold. Blood spilled freely between his fangs as he crouched, preparing to leap at Abyss and tear him to pieces.
Braeden's thoughts became so angrily loud that even Abyss, whose skill with surface thoughts was slim, could hear them. The hatred, and its white hot energy, that Braeden held for him was obvious as his mind became unable to form complete sentences and he realized that his vision was shaking and blurring constantly.
Abyss sighed. "Truly, all of that power is wasted on you. So much strength within you at this very moment, but you cannot even manage to strike me, much less kill me. You are pathetic, Dragon of God." His image really did blur as he flashed forward, appearing again at Braeden's side with his hand on the angry young man's shoulder. Leaning in and feeling the tremors of rage shaking Braeden, Abyss whispered, "And you might have killed me, had you not been such a pathetic slave to your emotions. I will enjoy watching you die."
Abyss vanished, but Braeden did not notice. He stepped forward, preparing to plant his foot and swing his claws into Abyss's neck, but he was shaking with rage so badly that he stumbled. He slipped on the ice beneath his feet and fell to his hands and knees.
"I'll...I'll..." A final roar tore through Braeden. The ice all around him disintegrated and his power raged violently, the force of it hidden to all those nearby because, rather than tearing through the air around him, it was tearing through his body.
An aura streaked across the sky as it approached, and in a flurry of black feathers Sereph appeared, panting with the haste of his approach and his scythe in hand. The light of several souls hovered around him; he had come directly from his job as a reaper and had not paused to guide those dead lives to Heaven. His eyes fell on Braeden, who failed to even sense him. Sereph's slender fingers rose to his lips in a feminine gesture of shock.
"Heaven help me," Sereph whispered. His eyes passed over the people standing nearby, searching for the one person who he knew was capable of helping him. In his haste he nearly slipped on a remaining patch of ice. He caught himself with his scythe and said, "I came as soon as I sensed Braeden's power breaking its usual limit without the sounding of the bell." He was referring to the bell in the cathedral where Braeden was to someday fulfil his tainted Fate, which rang quite loudly when Braeden took his dragon form. Despite the way Braeden treated him, the concern in Sereph's eyes was heartbreaking.
"When Braeden gets like this he... he can't let go of his power. Some of you have seen this before, but I have never seen him this angry." Or this powerful. "If this keeps up Braeden will..."
Sereph turned to Saiyame, trying to ignore the concentration on her face as she worked to keep Braeden's violent thoughts at bay, and said, "Saiyame I must ask you to help Braeden. You are the only one that I know who could even have a chance." He gripped his scythe so tightly that his knuckles were painfully white. "You could easily still fail, but, I must ask you to try His mind is the only place that we could reach him now. Just.. just look at him."
Braeden had buried his claws into the ground, gripping the earth tightly. He trembled with fury and with the cold that was slowly filling his body. He gasped and spit up blood, his eyes closed, even as his power shook with his desperate urge to kill Abyss. Anger tainted his expression as though he could not feel pain, even though his insides were freezing solid.
Sereph bowed to Saiyame. "I will forever be in your debt." He could not bring himself to add, As will Heaven, but it was probably true. The Dragon of God was nothing but their pet project, their tool.
Saiyame is a fox demon. She is blind. Ankoku is a Dark Dragon, who is currently in spirit form.
Saiyame pressed her ears flat against her head and she backed away from Sereph uncertainly. Her tail flicked quickly back and forth, and she did nothing to conceal her worry. The unbearable cold was even beginning to have an effect on her, and Saiyame could clearly see how out of control Braeden's power was.
"S-Sereph-san," Saiyame began uncertainly. "I-" she cut herself off, sorting through her thoughts carefully so as not to give an answer that she would regret.
Saiyame, Ankoku said, don't let the past guide your future decisions. What happened that time was not your fault, and we both know it.
I know, Saiyame agreed, looking down and clenching her fists in frustration. But I fought so hard to save Kaci-chan...what if the same thing happens here? Her breath quickened just thinking about that experience, and she took a few more steps away from Sereph.
Saiyame! You need to let the past rest in peace, and stop feeling guilty for every little thing that doesn't go your way, Ankoku snapped, flicking his own tail impatiently. You were not able to save Kaci, oh well. And the little stunt that made you blind wasn't your fault either. You need to think about the here and now! Look!
Ankoku pointed meaningfully at Braeden's writhing form and even though she couldn't see the agony and rage written across his features, Saiyame could feel his pain as if it was her own. She clutched at her heart and whined pitifully, trying to get the image of Kaci's hopeless face out of her mind.
Braeden-san, Saiyame thought, extending her aura towards his violent aura impulsively.
Remember, Saiyame, that this man fought for you before, even if it was somewhat reluctantly. If he hadn't done that, Ankoku shrugged, I would not think him worth saving.
I remember. That man is hurting Braeden-san even more than he hurt me. Saiyame bit her lip and frowned, pushing her troubled thoughts into a corner where they would not bother her. Her frown turned into a glare as Abyss' name slithered through her mind like a most unpleasant poison, and her aura began to swell indignantly.
"Sereph-san," Saiyame said, smiling with just a hint of nervousness, "of course I will help Braeden-san. How could I possibly refuse after all he has done to help me?" She took a few bold steps forward and managed to not cringe away from him when Braeden roared again.
Be very careful, Saiyame. Ankoku gave her a comforting squeeze with his aura, because he knew he wouldn't be able to follow her into Braeden's mind. Just calm him down, and don't let his anger overpower your emotions. Approach with caution and-
Anko-kun, it's ok. I'll be ok. Saiyame clasped her hands together and shifted into her animal form, taking a few more steps before directing her aura and her very spirit into Braeden's body. From this point on she was alone, and her heart skipped a beat as the worst possible scenario flashed through her mind. She shook it off irritably and allowed her aura to take on the form of a fox, like it had when she fought Kaci. However, instead of attacking Braeden's aura, the fox wrapped itself around his body as if embracing it, and some of the energy began seeping into him immediately.
Saiyame's body fell limply as her mind left it, but Sereph managed to catch it before she hit the ground. Her mind pushed its way slowly into Braeden's, so he would hopefully be able to sense it coming, and Saiyame's last thought before she became fully submerged in Braeden's thoughts echoed throughout the chambers of his mind like a beacon. Braeden-san, I will save you even if it kills me!
Who is Kaci and why does Saiyame keep thinking about her? Kaci's Story
Soft, determined words drifted through the darkness.
The area around the towering door that led to Braeden's mind was lit by several crystal spires of ice that seemed to glow with their own inner light. It would make sense that Braeden would have no candles or torches to illuminate even an inch of his being when their flames would have repulsed him in the physical world. The door itself was made of black stone that shone in the light, thin layers of ice clinging to its hinges. A dragon crest, that of Braeden's royal bloodline, was carved into the doors, but like the crest on his back, an X ruined it. The mark was jagged and deep, as though Braeden himself had dragged his claws through the door.
The low lighting was easy on Saiyame's eyes as she adjusted to being within Braeden's core. The doors required a strong shove, but once open they swung wide to admit her, slamming shut behind her with a rumbling boom. Ice immediately sealed them shut. For better or worse, Braeden's self had trapped her within. She continued to push back her fears and forced herself to walk forward.
One of the most surprising things that Saiyame first noticed was the utter silence. Braeden's enraged thoughts did not echo at her or threaten to overwhelm her; at first the only sound was the whisper of falling snow. The white stuff came down all around in massive flakes at a steady, but not dangerous pace and sighed as it touched the ground, where several inches of snow already rested. A gentle, cold wind breathed through the air, making the snow occasionally dance as it fell. A stone path meandered through the drifts, the bricks shining like glass beneath the ice that covered them. The clouds above were dark, but the massive field was illuminated by a swollen, nearly full moon that poured through a parting in the sky.
The path eventually led to a frozen gate, which stood much taller than the dark stone wall it provided an opening in. Though the wall was not quite as tall as Saiyame and easily climbed over despite the ice clinging to it, she went through the gate, which screamed on its hinges due to lack of use. Icicles broke free of the metal and sprinkled the ground. On both sides the wall ran to the right and left for nearly fifty feet before turning forward. It made a perfect rectangle, within which was a frozen, empty garden. Willow trees with no leaves on their forms shook in the breeze, making musical sounds as their ice-covered limbs touched one another. The grass below was white with frost and crunched underfoot. In several places, flowering bushes with no blossoms adorning them seemed frozen in time, unable to move or grow. There were, surprisingly, no flowers around the trees or amongst the blades of grass, only empty space where one might consider planting them. If one were interested in that sort of thing.
The only blooms were in the center of the garden and seemed permanently encased in ice. There was a white pillar nearly twice Saiyame's height in her fox form, around which a frozen vine twisted. There in the ice were fully blossomed roses, some in a clean white and others in an impossible shade of pale blue. Possibly dead within their frigid coffin, they might as well have been made of crystal with all their strength. One wrong touch would surely break them. Foot-long icicles hung from the pillar's top.
The sound of moving water joined that of the drifting snow. A few feet behind the rose-covered pillar was an icy fountain. It was three-tiered and Braeden's height. Water poured from a dragon's mouth at the top, pooling first in the smallest basin at the top, then spilling into the bigger one beneath it as the first filled over, then falling to collect in the largest bowl, nearly five feet across, at the bottom. From there the water spilled out onto the ground, where it froze almost right away. This seemed to go on endlessly, the ice that covered the fountain never melting at the warmer water's touch and the water constantly pouring from the dragon's mouth, not freezing until it reached the ground.
Not far behind that was the garden's back wall. Beyond that, the snowfield stretched on to the horizon, empty and blank. There, in the distance, was the massive black dragon that thrashed with rage. He was too far away to see clearly, but it was easy to guess that there was ice being formed and shattered by his claws as his tail snapped through the air and his wings spread themselves wide. Beyond that further still, visible in the distance only because of its dominating size, was the silhouette of a titanic cathedral. Its shadow stretched over the dragon, reaching across the ground and almost reaching the garden with its tip, falling only a few feet short of the wall.
And there, sitting slightly off-center on the wall, was Braeden himself. A slight layer of snow sat in his hair, on his shoulders, and on his legs as he sat almost perfectly still, breathing smoothly. His breath did not fog for, in here, his body matched the temperature of the air around him. He wore leather pants that gripped his legs and went into his knee high boots, where buckles in the shapes of dragons covered the laces. His pale, muscled chest and stomach was, as always, almost gleaming in the moonlight. Ice was wrapped around his hips, where the top of his pants rested. The scars on his hands and arms seemed less obvious than usual, though the one on his back was still clearly there. Bits of ice touched his face as they held to his dark gray-blue bangs, while his eyes of that same deep color lifted slowly from his hands to rest on Saiyame. His lips were slightly parted, weariness on his face.
Until then, Braeden's gaze had been on his wrists, around each of which a red ribbon wider than his hands was wrapped, tying him to something so far off in the distance that it could not be seen. Two similar ribbons were bound around his throat, gripping him tightly, anchored somewhere in the vast distance behind him. They held tight enough that the strain on his flesh was visible.
Braeden's gaze was directed into Saiyame's eyes, though he bore the expression of one not entirely focused on what was in front of him. He did not speak, but his thought echoed from all around,
What are you doing here?
It was not as harsh as it could have been. Behind him, the dragon continued to destroy everything within its reach.
How did Braeden help Saiyame? I won't bother putting a link to that storyline since it's still going, but Abyss took her soul and he helped get it back ^^
Saiyame smiled sadly at Braeden, her eyes bright with worry and unclouded by blindness. Her hand twitched and almost shot out to touch him, but Saiyame reined it back in quickly, determined to keep her distance. Instead, Saiyame let her eyes wander over Braeden's lithe form, which she had seen briefly once before, scarcely two weeks ago. Her eyes took in every curve of his body, and every scar marring his skin, and she sighed before answering his question aloud.
"Do you not know, Braeden-san, how grateful I am to you for helping me? If you will let me, I would like to return the favor."
As she spoke, Saiyame perched herself on the wall a few feet from Braeden. She then drew her knees to her chest and rested her chin on her arms, waiting patiently for him to respond. At the moment he seemed to have calmed down, but Saiyame knew better than most how deceiving looks could be. She willed her tail to stay still and perked her ears up, ready to listen to whatever comments Braeden decided to throw at her. Because she was in his mind, Saiyame also decided that it would be best to keep her thoughts in the open, so he would know just how serious she was. So, though her lips did not part to speak more than she had already said, Saiyame's next thought was very clear.
I will not be thrown out of here before I help you, Braeden-san.
In the results you will find a super special awesome picture of Braeden. I am posting the second part of this story immediately ^^
Braeden Yuki: Aka, the Dragon of God
