The battlefield had stopped.
Even the wind was silent.
Aeron stared at the creature standing before him.
That face.
Those eyes.
That voice.
"Rian…"
His forgotten brother smiled.
"You finally remembered me."
Aeron took a step forward.
"How?"
Rian looked down at his monstrous body.
"They didn't let me die."
His voice was strangely calm.
"They kept me alive."
Aeron's fists tightened.
"Who?"
Rian's expression changed.
"The Ancient Court."
Suddenly
BOOM!
A black spear struck the ground between them.
Aeron jumped back.
Dozens of Ancient Court soldiers surrounded the battlefield.
Kael immediately raised his sword.
"They're here."
Aeron looked at Rian.
"Did they do this to you?"
Rian didn't answer.
Instead, he whispered,
"Don't come closer."
Aeron froze.
"Why?"
Rian's hands began trembling.
"Because I don't know how long I can control myself."
His eyes flickered.
Golden.
Then black.
Golden again.
Aeron understood.
"Rian…"
Rian suddenly screamed.
"RUN!"
Black energy exploded from his body.
BOOOOOOM!
Aeron was thrown across the battlefield.
His dragon caught him in midair.
They crashed into the snow.
Aeron quickly stood.
"Rian!"
The creature charged.
ROOOOAR!
Aeron's dragon intercepted it.
CRASH!
The two dragons collided.
Claws tore through scales.
Black blood splashed across the snow.
Aeron rushed forward.
His sword struck Rian's shoulder.
SLASH!
Rian staggered.
But the wound immediately began healing.
Aeron stared.
"What are they turning you into?"
Rian looked at him.
"I don't know."
Then
a voice whispered from somewhere behind him.
"He's almost ready."
Aeron turned.
A masked Ancient Court warrior stood there.
Aeron attacked instantly.
CLANG!
The warrior blocked.
Another soldier attacked from the side.
Aeron ducked.
SLASH!
The soldier's armor split.
Kael joined the fight.
The battlefield erupted again.
Dragons roared.
Swords collided.
Blood stained the snow.
But Rian wasn't attacking anyone anymore.
He was holding his head.
"Get away from me!"
Aeron stopped.
Rian looked at him with tears in his eyes.
"Aeron…"
His voice was finally his own.
"Do you remember the night our village burned?"
Aeron's heart tightened.
"No."
Rian smiled sadly.
"I do."
He touched the symbol on his chest.
"You were unconscious."
"I carried you."
Aeron stared at him.
"Then what happened?"
Rian looked toward their mother.
She was standing beside her silver dragon.
Silent.
Rian whispered,
"She knows."
Aeron turned toward his mother.
"Tell me."
She didn't answer.
"Mother!"
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I couldn't save both of you."
Aeron froze.
Rian closed his eyes.
Then
BOOM!
A black chain wrapped around Rian's neck.
Another locked around his arms.
Ancient Court soldiers pulled him backward.
Aeron charged.
"RIAN!"
His dragon roared and attacked.
But suddenly
the entire battlefield shook.
THUUUUM!
Everyone stopped.
A massive black symbol appeared in the sky.
Kael looked upward.
His face went pale.
"No…"
Aeron looked at him.
"What is that?"
Kael whispered,
"The Ancient Court's signal."
Aeron's mother immediately mounted her silver dragon.
"We have to leave."
Aeron stared at her.
"I'm not leaving him."
She looked directly into his eyes.
"If you stay…"
Her voice trembled.
"…they won't just take Rian."
Aeron's mark began glowing.
"They'll take you."
The Ancient Court soldiers disappeared into a black portal with Rian.
Aeron ran toward it.
He reached the edge
but the portal closed.
Silence.
Aeron stood there, breathing heavily.
Then he noticed something on the ground.
A small pendant.
He picked it up.
His mother's symbol was engraved on one side.
But on the other side…
was a symbol Aeron had never seen before.
A dragon wrapped around a sword.
His dragon suddenly growled.
Aeron looked at it.
"What is it?"
The dragon stared at the pendant.
Then spoke a single sentence inside his mind.
"That is not your brother's symbol."
Aeron's eyes widened.
"Then whose is it?"
The dragon looked toward the northern mountains.
And for the first time…
its voice sounded afraid.
"The first Warrior's."
Far away, inside the Ancient Court…
Rian was dragged into a dark chamber.
A throne stood at the center.
Someone was sitting on it.
Rian looked up.
His eyes widened.
The person slowly stood.
And said
"Bring Aeron to me."
Rian whispered,
"Father…"
TO BE CONTINUED…