Requiem for a Phoenix
(Well. This wasn't what I was hoping on writing. Alas, sometimes RP takes unexpected turns and leads to unexpected places. It leaves me on some unsolid ground and has kept me from sleeping, so now I get to share it with you all. Don't ask me where this is going yet. I really don't know.)
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A bold plan. The return of an estranged son. Dealings with darker powers than the captor. A hatchling that knew the way to circumvent every ward. Truly, it was a daring and remarkable plan.
If only it had worked.
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Maurger stared at the black dragon before him. “I should have dealt with you when I last saw you,� Daza said. Even though his body was riddled with cuts and wounds, he seemed powerful. Maurger could fight him, here in this lair, with all the wards that Maekrux had so unwillingly provided for him.
It began simple: the two dragons exchanging words and taunts, seeing who would crack first. Then followed their expressions of strength: Maurger, showing his dark-primal powers, Daza displaying his Star Dragon abilities. Had it stopped there, would things have ended differently? Perhaps. But Maurger knew that was the problem with males. It never ended there.
When Starthyr escaped, that was the cue. Aegis suddenly swarmed into the lair, controlled by the blighted feral persona of Amethyr. Amethyr herself soon joined them, intent on extracting their revenge on Maurger and taking back his prize: the transformed Blue Phoenix. All of this was possible with the help of Ausixen, Maekrux’s grandson, who knew his lair even better than he did. They must have reasoned that, when faced with insurmountable odds, Maurger would flee.
No.
Maurger was not the hatchling who ran anymore. Not without taking his piece. He had suffered too much: born a disgrace, cast out from his loving lair, abused and neglected by his truant father. Maurger had built a world from the ashes of the Phoenix he had extinguished in revenge. They had taken that world from him – once more his happiness was taken. This was an insult that demanded immediate recompense.
Maurger did the only thing he could. He surrounded the Blue Phoenix in his gel-like body and crushed him utterly. Taking from him the Gift, his body, his soul, and absorbing it into him. Not even ashes would be left this time. He then left without another word, though they tried to stop him. Maurger hoped vehemently that they would suffer for their insult to him – know that their attempt to save Maekrux was what ultimately led to his demise.
Maekrux Vythulhar, born by a different name, had experienced many passings of the sun. He was raised Lunus, but he chose Helian. His heart was large, perhaps too large. He risked everything and lost, all to save his friend. And that was only in his hundredth year. How many lives had he touched? How many had he helped as hatchlings? What good had he truly done in the world? These questions would surely plague him now, if he still had sense for them.
Maekrux was approaching 600 years of age. May he rest in peace.
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A bold plan. The return of an estranged son. Dealings with darker powers than the captor. A hatchling that knew the way to circumvent every ward. Truly, it was a daring and remarkable plan.
If only it had worked.
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In Pace Requiescat. Resurgat.
