Shadow and flame
Furiosa the Juvenile Hero, awakening the immature Lover for the first time, with Naethnindun the Gifted Child channeling the Precocious Lover.
“The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.”
C. G. Jung
Oh by the Four Winds! She couldn’t believe that he asked her! Oh wow, this is a date, this an actual date!
She had told Gigi who had just clomped off in a huff complaining to herself, just jealous I guess, grumpy pony doesn’t have any boys interested in her, she will cool off, she always does. Eventually anyway, seriously somedragon should get her a date, might help a bit.
When she had told Mummy, oh by the Sparkling Heaven that was weird. Note to self do not talk to Mummy about boys. Five hundred year generation gap or what!
“Oh very good darling. The blacks were always the most talented servants of the shadow, the young lad is impudent but skillful, he may well develop into a suitable mate, worth a consideration at least. You have my blessing.”
“Ewww Mum! Mate! Gross! But, thanks I guess, we won’t be back late, we are just going to see his Mums show.”
“Very good, Chaznarii, may well be an entertainer now, but she has lost none of her bite, his mother is the last great drake of their line, unlike the miserable father. And Brightflame, Make sure the boy knows you are to be a Queen, you are his better, and that he is lucky to even be invited into your presence. Dominance is vital in the relationships between dragons. You must secure it early. Red dragon eggs are only fertilised by tooth and claw, strength and flame.”
“LA! LA! LA! I am not listening Mum! Weird! See you later.”
“See you later Princess of Flame.”
She shook her head again and flew onwards.
They met outside the Nocturne Arena, the great amphitheater which was hosting his mothers show, Livikina. Named after the lead and star, the role Chaznarii was of course playing, the former wife of Xiandor, the “Solar Tyrant”, and also the woman who slew him and ended the age of the Empire of the Endless Sun.
She stood around for a few moments really nervous, the big dragonette looked like she didn’t fit inside her scales.
“Heya Red! Cool you are here early, we have a bit of time, wanna grab a horseburger or something quickly first?”
She let out a huge sigh, with a bit of smoke, which was super embarrassing and she immediately regretted it. She almost shouted back, before adjusting her volume. Giving herself a mental telling off. Inside voice Furiosa seriously!
“Yeah sure! Sounds good Naeth. I never get to eat fast food, Mummy always says its not good for a growing dragon, “a lady like yourself should eat steak”.”
She grinned nervously and he grinned back, perfect pearly white fangs on black scales, she loved the contrast. Ah, he liked that one, yes!
“Ah, she’s probably right, but this place is pretty good. You never been to Five Phillies before?”
No, I don’t go anywhere, literally ever, just have arguments with Gigi that’s about it! Play it cool though Red.
“Nope! You order yeah, you know what is good.”
They had a takeout window so the two now double horseized young dragons wouldn’t have to work out if they had benches or dragonsized eating spaces. Just made everything easier. Dragons don’t mind eating outside anyway, closed spaces disd’t suit either blacks or reds.
Furiosa scanned the menu and then spoke up excitedly.
“Huh, you can add blood to any shake! That’s awesome! I am so doing that. Blood and banana for me!”
“Yeah I thought it weird at first too but actually tastes great! So that’s two extra large double horseburgers with cheese and all the trimmings, oh and I will get a blood and cookies shake too man thanks.”
Naeth paid in golden dragons, the currency unit Xiandor created, and they still used, now stamped with local civil leaders not draconic kings.
“Nice, thanks so much for asking me out Naeth, this so awesome. You sure you don’t want some money, we are loaded you know right?”
“Ah I will be the only dragon that didn’t try to steal your horde! No worries Red, my family is doing alright too, aside from having a famous actor Mum, Dad’s swamp is like half a kingdom, and he collects rent.”
She nodded along, drinking her shake, oh it’s good! What he said is really sweet! Mummy was right, dragons are pretty much the only ones that don’t want your money.
They sat down on all fours and munched their burgers and shakes, it didn’t take long, most things aren’t built for dragon sized portions, and these were growing teenage dragons. They would be hungry again in no time.
Furiosa was so nervous and she found it hard to talk, fortunately Naeth’s nerves (not that she knew) kicked in too and for him that meant anxiously over explaining everything and anything. She thought he was so cool; history, magic, music, art he seemed to know about everything, everything that was cool! She was happy to just be quiet and listen, plus to look at his obsidian claws flutter as he explained the second War of the Gate. He is really handsome and his claws are so hot. No cool, black dragons are cool, not hot you dummy. Oh girl, listen, what’s he saying now?
“So yes, that was the basic history, just the general background really, leading up to the start of the story. Oh man, Red we need to get up and go, it’s starting soon.”
“Uh huh.”
He sprung up, with a small flap and led off towards an entrance to the amphitheater, becoming for her to follow, wings fluttering in the cool night air.
She just nodded and trotted after him, gaze taking in a few other handsome and cool things too. MMMMmmmmm.
They found their places and squeezed onto the stone benches. He grabbed some more snacks from a vendor, which she also appreciated and settled in. She wished they could talk more, but this was nice too. She lost herself in the play. This was so much fun.
End of Act 3
Xiandor: “I foiled another of your plots, my love. Have you yet to realise, there is no spell or trick that can slay me! I am the strength of the cosmos and the heart of the void, a star above to rule brightly over all, a flaming orb in the darkest of skies! And, my penumbral darling, you have given me a gift more precious than gold! I rule in utter surety for all time, knowing that my sire, your egg, is growing mighty as we speak these very words. The Golden Shadow, the first of his kind, your wisdom and my might combined, together with my son at my side, I shall reach between worlds and submit heaven and earth! The planes themselves will bend and warp to our wills! You my precious beauty, sweet delicate as a dancing shadow, you are mine for all eternity, bound by my will and my might! Now bow, and serve your husband, your master, your King!”
Livikina: “As you say, my love, Xiandor the magnificent, my master, Xiandor the mighty, My King…”
She bowed her head, long and slow, rose again, head lowered and carried to him his chalice, the rarest of shadowine, his favourite, harvested from her homelands, everything taken and brought before him, held at the Solar Throne, tribute to the Dragon Emperor.
He took the chalice and drank deep, but she bowed nomore! She rose, head tall and gazed directly into his swirling pupilless orbs of pure molten gold, her own shadowy cat’s eyes open and alert, wild and free.
Livikina: “Xiandor “The Solar Tyrant”, the fallen! A dragon I chose, I chose as my mate who promised to restore the world to order, a dragon who I chose as he swore to bring hope to the hopeless, a champion of light to which I gave my life and a son. A great love, an alliance of shadow and flame, to drive back the great enemy, The Everlasting Shadow. And, a drake who became, slowly but surely, its most potent servant.”
He coughed once and stopped silent, his words stolen by a sibilant shadow from his very soul. His heart of pure gold, his dragon engine of burning light, the light of a trapped star, the great burning solar orb that could fuel his fire for millions of years, it felt cold. He had never even known this feeling before.
Livikina: “A DRAGON I SERVE NO MORE!
I am the sublime shadow, wise in the ways of darkness, the penumbral priestess that travels between spaces like the fading of the light, my ways impenetrable, my heart, my own!!”
He fell down to the floor and gripped his chest, purple and black lines crossing his golden scales. He felt the icy shadow of fear for the first time in his long and powerful life. Golden dragons aged like stars, the rarest and mightiest of their kind, he had but now tasted the power of death.
Xiandor: “How! I am the fire of a thousand suns. No poisons or magic may touch me. HOW?!”
Livikina:“It was not easy, my love. A thousand parts and more wove this spell, to turn The Shadow against its strongest servant was not easy. But the greatest ingredient…” She lifted her pristine white robe to reveal a terrible scar, her scales ripped away, her chest hollow and empty. “The heart and soul of a true love lost, a true love, my King, a true love now lost.”
She also fell to the floor, her shadow magic failing to sustain her, the illusion now broken, she had but moments left.
Xiandor: “No. NO! NOOO! I am their greatest ally, The Shadow is my servant! I bound and marked it, broke and sealed it, made it my slave. I am the King! I am the KING! I am, eugh, I am… Eughh…”
She cried dark tears and whispered in his ears as she caressed his mighty frame.
Livikina: “The Shadow only takes my love. The Shadow only takes.”
Furiosa took another huge clawful of spicy roasted crickets and chomped down loudly, talking with her mouth open.
“Holy Horse Dump Naeth! Your Mum is amazing! You want some?”
“Yeah sure, thanks. She is pretty damn good ey? Better than the green dragon they painted gold at least.”
“Yeah, not really many options though right?! Is that the end? It was really good! Thanks for…”
“No, seriously this next bit at the end is crazy. Watch…”
The beautiful and graceful Queen of shadow kissed him one last time upon his brow as the fire went out of his glowing golden eyes. She then crawled, slowly, agonisingly, her heart gone, suspended only in shadow, creeping on the edge of the void, wailing in fear and terror, she crawled to her single egg, her child of purple and gold.
Livikina: “Why?! Why?! Why did you do this? Why did you fall? I promised to follow you to hell and back my love. We flew together through a great gate and battled demons and darkness. We rode down hell itself in the Endless Steppes! We swore to throw back the terror. I bowed to you, I submitted willingly, to help you raise a kingdom that would unite the world, in love, in love and care. And now, my even most precious one, my only fertile egg, my child, I gave you everything, my life and soul. But…”
And she wailed and let out a harrowing and devastating scream, a noise only black dragons can make, both loud and silent, the voidscream they call it, like the sound that haunts you as you cannot sleep, in your mind but louder than any thunder, the wail of death.
“He, you, you little one cannot live, or this empire of shadow and death will rise again. Why?! Why?! I love you little one. Mother loves you.”
She scooped up the egg and gently, carefully cracked it open. Too early, too young.
She held the embryonic dragon, already large, already getting so strong, purple and gold in a radiant metallic sheen that no words could describe. A colour not of this world.
The boy was strong, he fought it, his lungs weren’t formed but he opened his eyes and gazed into his mothers.
They were pure gold, like his fathers.
She held him tight.
She held him long.
He stopped moving and she closed his eyes.
Her magic gave out a second later.
The royal guard rushed into the room, The Dragon Tyrant, dead and decaying into darkness, his form consumed by The Shadow.
Livikina “The Sublime Shadow”, greatest beauty of her age, priestess of the shadow, a Queen, and mother, coiled around her dead child.
The saviour of Archetopia.
Curtain close.
The crowd roared and clapped. Stood, stamped and thundered.
Naeth leaned over to whisper to her that they should leave now, he didn’t need to see his Mom do another call back, but Furiosa raised a claw and grabbed him. Pulling him into a clumsy, awkward and passionate first kiss.
He paused for a second, shocked, then kissed her back.
It was all fangs, but they loved every second of it.
Shadow and Flame.
The standing ovation continued, another sold out show, two years live, Chaznarii came out for two callbacks as they cheered and called her name. Black roses cast upon the stage.
This is solid gold xD
Ah thank you so much 🙏 I am glad you liked it 😊