-Myra-
'Wow, it's so beautiful...' Myra thought.
Glistening bodies of water teeming with life. The stars and skies changed shape and form as they traveled. Lush landscapes and geographic terrain that paled in comparison to everything she had seen until now. A gentle breeze swept past as a new land, teeming with life, came into view.
She departed from green lands. Now, trees were painted blue with purple bark. Myra could feel this clean mana flowing through the land, even from here, all toward the mountain.
Ahead, she could see swarms of Ira's kin flying and roaring into the sky.
"What did we do to deserve our beginnings..." Myra murmured resentfully.
"Lament later, soft-skin Myra," Ira said. "You seek answers, and I desire battle."
"What if they decide to kill you before then?"
"Then I will die, but I will kill many before I fall. Your fate will be uncertain."
"The fact that they are kin doesn't bother you?"
Ira's rumbling laughter shook his form, forcing Myra to grip tighter. Yet he didn't respond to the question.
"Lessers will swarm us soon, soft-skin. Do not use your magic."
"Why?"
"Your magic is a sickness. A corruption of what we know. Even now, I can faintly sense it emanating from you," Ira said. "Attacking them will create conflict."
"And you returning after killing dozens of your kin won't because...?"
"We are kin."
True to his warning, dragons quickly began to swarm around them.
"Kinslayer returns! Fight me!"
"Betrayer! I will rip your throat out myself!"
"Why have you returned, Jealous One?!"
Repeated threats and taunts echoed as they roared and bellowed, flames licking the sides of Ira. Myra winced as some of the flames got a little too close, and Ira let out a challenging roar in return.
The locus fell silent. Myra gripped Ira apprehensively, looking around to see that they had backed off slightly. Only the sound of deafening, beating wings remained.
Myra didn't speak as the towering mountain drew near, and a far-off, mighty roar echoed. Across the mountainside, she could see heads and figures move and realized quickly these were all dragons.
'No turning back now...' she thought.
Below, lesser roars echoed in response to their approach. She could tell, much like the dragons that surrounded them now, they were furious.
"Uh, Ira?" Myra asked.
He was flying straight at the mountain.
"IRA!"
He pulled up sharply, and she barely managed to keep her grip as her lower body dangled from him. Her fingertips bled as she struggled to hold onto the gaps between his scales, torrents of air trying to tear her away.
His wings unfurled after clearing the top, leveling out just enough for her feet to regain footing as he descended.
Panting and somewhat shaking from the experience, she cursed repeatedly under her breath.
"Lizard-brained idiot. Bastard. Can't use my magic, you said- so why are you doing that? Black like goblin shit."
A low, rumbling chuckle shook Ira's body as he landed. But there was something else in that laugh.
Looking up, she blinked.
Standing opposite of Ira was a pure white dragon many times his size. Its sapphire eyes pierced into them, wearing a contorted, displeased expression.
Eyes she might've called beautiful radiated bloodlust and rage.
"I, Ira, one of the first of the Primordials, have returned."
"You named yourself?" the mountain shook slightly as the feminine voice rang out, rocks shifting around them. "Do you feel worthy of a name after slaying the Sky God's creations?"
"That's why I named myself. And you? Still nameless?"
"Celeste Regina. Our home became the world's magical nexus," she said, her voice even. "Had you not done what you did, perhaps the Sky God would have named you as well."
A long breath escaped Ira's nostrils, black smoke curling into the air.
"Like the dwarves, I've taken some equally abominable creatures as companions. Pets. We are pets. No, all of you, are pets."
"Is that true of the one who rides with you?"
Myra stiffened as the Primordials turned their eyes toward her. A bead of sweat traced down her temple.
"No," Ira said. "This soft-skin is something else... It seeks answers. You can feel it, can't you?"
"Indeed," Celeste said, her gaze narrowing on Myra. "Corruption. Is this the same as what you felt?"
She turned to another Primordial in the crowd of smaller, male Primordials.
"It is, my Queen," the Primordial replied. "Corrupted mana. It flows through her as it does through those lands."
"What is your name?" Celeste asked.
The Summit grew silent.
"Myra," she said, dismounting carefully from Ira's back. Her voice was calm despite being on edge. "My people live east of here. It is an honor to meet you, Queen Celeste."
"Your people? You are their Queen?"
Myra nodded. Celeste gave her a small bow of her head in return.
"How did you acquire this power?" Celeste asked.
Myra paused before answering. "Grief... anger... hardship. And now it is a trait born into some of our kin."
"But my own power is unique. It grew stronger after our God of Tenebris blessed me, so that I might defend our home."
"God of Tenebris?"
Celeste turned toward the other titanic dragons as whispers rippled among them.
"Another god?"
"God of Tenebris? And it gives corrupted mana?"
"Has the enemy reached the heart of our world?!"
"The Kinslayer returns with the enemy beside him?!"
"Be silent," Celeste warned, and the dragons became quiet. "Is this true?"
"I am not your enemy," Myra replied. "I seek to understand this mana. It haunts my dreams, and I find myself unable to return home. When I sleep, it tries to overpower me. It tries to drag me into an abyss of darkness. If I succumb..."
"Then you will kill those you love," Celeste said softly. "And you, Ira? Why have you returned?"
As was typical for him, a trail of black smoke drifted from his nostrils again.
"I seek the enemy that makes my kin rally in fear."
"Not in fear. The Sky God declared it would end the world if left unchecked. He chose us to destroy it. And it bears the same mana as Queen Myra."
Ira's crimson eyes shifted to Myra before breaking into mocking laughter.
"Then it is indeed a threat! And perhaps I may have my rematch in another form."
"Rematch?" Celeste asked.
"I, Kinslayer, slayer of Primordials and Lessers, was defeated by Myra. And if I was defeated," Ira grinned maliciously, "what does that mean for you, pets?"
Snarls and angry roars shook the mountaintop once more, some dragons even daring to step forward and provoke Celeste's ire.
'He sure knows how to anger his kin…' Myra thought, tense from the animosity surrounding them again.
"Cease your taunts, Ira," Celeste snarled. "Everyone, leave. We will discuss this further."
Snapping and cracking stones marked the displeasure of the other dragons, yet they complied. Once they had left, save for the two female Primordials standing behind Queen Celeste, she spoke again.
"Now, Myra, tell me more of you and your people."