Corrosion - Part 2

"You should be running." Akataras growls into the derelict hive of suffering in which he stands, blue fire howling around his hands. Yet the masked figures surrounding the room on their metal platforms remain as stoic as a mountain. They move for nothing, not even for the groans of torment from the brown dragon chained at the centre, his flame forced from him with cruel spikes that impale and suspend the mighty beast.

"Did they hear you?" The elf child Halu asks curiously, huddling behind Akataras, afraid of both the motionless masked men and the restrained brown dragon.
"I wasn't just talking to them." Akataras hisses, a dangerous fire awake in his eyes as he flicks a glance at Halu to say it. Halu doesn't step away from the black dragon however, if Akataras wasn't an ice mage, the fire in his eyes could easily have charred the elf to cinders were it real. Yet the elven child looks into Akataras' fierce piercing gaze with his own eyes of innocence and the flames surrounding both the black dragon's claws and blazing in his eyes slowly dissipate. With the storm in his heart quieted Akataras surveys the surroundings anew, the same bitter sight of an imprisoned dragon at the centre of the room is no different than before, yet neither is the sight of the masked individuals that encircle the dragon on their platforms. ~ 'Something isn't right here, it's hard to tell with the robes, but I don't think they're even breathing.' Akataras thinks, turning his eyes to the brown dragon, and noticing all the fury and agony of his gaze is fixated on Halu. '...curious.'

"Halu." Akataras states to get the child's attention, reaching into the brown leather pouch on his belt and withdrawing a necklace which has a simple circular shaped silver frame with a blue gemstone of the same shape set into it. "Put this on." He says to the child, who accepts the offering without question and slips the black thread of the necklace over his head. "Go somewhere safe. I have a bad feeling about this situation. When it's safe again, the necklace will guide you back to me."
"I don't want to be alone again." Halu says sadly, lowering his head.
"You will find me again, I promise. I just want you to be safe. Don't worry, you shouldn't have to be alone for long. Now go, find somewhere to hide away from here. Not too far but not too close either. Go."

Begrudgingly Halu accepts the order and leaves the building where Akataras remains. ~ 'Investigate  and do not intervene. You are a Keeper, your job is to seek knowledge, not danger.' He recites mentally to himself. 'I haven't been a member of the order long and I'm already disobeying orders. Fantastic. But why shouldn't I help out where I can, what harm is there, isn't that what the order is for?'

Akataras turns his attention to the chained dragon again, there's a level of malice in its deep yellow eyes as well as desperation that unnerves Akataras. "I need to look around first and then I will free you. Just hold on a little longer." He says to the prisoner, glancing for an easy way on to the upper platforms. Glancing around he sees that any ladders leading up to the iron platforms have rusted and fallen to pieces, seeing no other option Akataras leaps in to the air and hooks the curved claws at the top of his wings onto one of the lower bars of the platform's railings. With a swing forward and a quick swing backward Akataras gains momentum and when his claws are within kicking range of a stone wall, a quick bounce off of the surface pushes him forwards and he swings up onto the platform via his wings' hooked claws, adjusting them so they release from the rails at the apex of his swing and folding them around himself to land. Upon landing he slashes out the wings as a defensive measure but there is no attack for them to counteract. None of the robed figures even glance in his direction, despite the show of acrobatics and unconventional wing use.

'Something is very wrong here, besides the obvious mutilation and abuse of my kind.' Akataras thinks, walking toward one of the masked individuals, on guard for any incoming attacks, yet just like before none are thrown his way, even upon standing directly beside his target no reaction is  provided by any of the motionless figures that litter the platform.

Akataras removes the mask of the figure he stands behind, upon removal he finds their face as still as their body and grey as the stone it had been turned to. He examines the face more closely, noticing a relatively angular build and most interestingly, pointed ears. 'Elves made of stone and humans with rusting blood.' Akataras thinks as he unmasks another stone elf, this time a female. 'I can only hope none of these are Halu's parents. Especially not the last one, that face was unfortunate...'  

He vaults over a rail and lands gracefully on the floor below, walking over to the room's prisoner. "All right, I'm going to release you from this. It might take a little bit of time but I'd like some questions answered once you're free from this. You've been through hell but there are things I need to know." Akataras states to the captive, who blinks in reply. The black dragon examines the chains that restrain the brown dragon. 'Removing the hooks at this stage would only cause him greater pain. It is a short drop to the ground, but the impact of that will be nothing compared to what he seems to have been through. I'll look for weak links and break them.' He decides, spreading his wings wide and launching himself from the ground, the platforms, broken girders and hanging chains make for poor flying conditions so Akataras simply hovers near the chains, carefully floating around them with steady wing strokes to get a better look. Akataras identifies links in the chains that are partially eroded, some with relatively deep cracks and others with thinning sections, he applies ice magic to them all, lowering the temperature on thin sections to thin them even further and forces chunks of ice to form in the cracks.

Satisfied that he has weakened the chains enough he ceases flight and drops to the ground. Reaching inside the leather pouch at his belt Akataras withdraws a small, ornately etched, silver ring with a blue gemstone and slips it onto his right hand, on the ring finger to the left of his smallest finger. He looks at the ring solemnly for a moment before looking at the captured dragon again. The black dragon begins to channel energy, holding out his right hand and aiming between the weak links in the chains that suspend the brown dragon. "This might sting more than a little." Akataras warns the prisoner, snapping his fingers together.

The click seems to direct whatever spell Akataras is weaving as a circular wave of bright blue flame erupts from where he is aiming, a ripple in the air accompanying it as the weak chain links shatter on impact with the fire. The brown dragon falls for a short distance, hitting the ground with a loud crunch and a growl, but free from his suspended torture. Akataras walks over to the quadrupedal creature as it is slowly rolling itself off of its back and onto its claws. The brown dragon looks at Akataras with his yellow eyes, the orbs filled with gratitude and some other emotion Akataras cannot decipher.

"You have my thanks." The large dragon rumbles, lowering his head as a sign of respect, Akataras returning the gesture. "I am named Urizen and I am in your debt."
"Akataras." Akataras replies curtly. "Ordinarily I would not request payment of any kind under the circumstances, but my purpose is to seek truth."
"Then ask your questions, and ask quickly, I am eager to be away from this place."
"I understand. The stone watchers here, are they your doing?"
"I did not cast the spell that bound them. They were my captors and tormentors, I would have granted them a far worse fate."
"And the cursed humans outside, they are not your doing either I take it?"
"No they are not. The hooks in my wings are cursed objects and prevent my use of magic"
"I find that hard to believe, though you have no real reason to lie. If you did not weave the enchantments then who else could have?"
"The little elf wretch that you gave your precious necklace to."
~ 'Nothing is impossible, but that is a bold claim to make. He has too much motivation for revenge to not act out... yet him being the reason for this misery seems like too obvious an answer...'
"Very well. One last question and I'll remove the hooks from your wings and allow you to return home."
"Gladly. It will feel good to be fully liberated after all this time."
"When I arrived in this world, I started out in a city, yet the streets were empty and it looked as if no-one had lived there for centuries. What happened to them?"
"Fools playing god will always damn themselves to oblivion. You are a dragon, like I, though not from the same stock, you are none the less superior to all in this realm. Humans fear what they don't understand, always crave what they cannot have and do not deserve. Their own avarice led to their destruction."
~ 'Just one conversation with another dragon that doesn't devolve into claims of godhood would be nice once every few centuries.' Akataras sighs in his mind. 'Though that little tirade was interesting, albeit cryptic.'
"Well you've honoured your end of the bargain. Hold still." Akataras states, directing magic at the hooks  punctured into, chilling them with his ice magic. 'This may not be a good idea, but until I can figure out who's truly behind this, I don't have much of a choice.' He thinks as the metal contracts and Urizen shrugs the bolts free of his wings. 'He's not bleeding from those wounds any more...'

"Ah freedom, it's been too long." Urizen sighs in relief. "You have my thanks friend, I lost count of my imprisonment after the first century, feels good to spread my wings at last."
"No need to thank me." Akataras states, flicking a glance at Urizen and noticing that wounds on his body are slowly healing. ~ 'Why doesn't that seem like a good omen to me?'
"I still feel I owe you something more, and there is still the elven whelp to deal with. I am not as strong as I could be, but the creature should be no match for the two of us."
"Why so eager to hunt? I thought you wished to be away from here as soon as possible."
"Freedom comes in many forms friend, the freedom to hunt is one of many I can reclaim."
"So be it." Akataras responds. 'I don't like the feel of this at all.' "I can call the child back here, we could ambush it."
"A wise decision, do not be fooled by its size, the creature is more powerful than it appears."
~ 'That may be the first true thing he's said to me.' Akataras thinks, reflecting on how easily as well as how severely Halu had wounded him earlier."Stay in here for a while Urizen, I'll head outside this settlement and lure the child back here, he may not draw close enough to kill if he spots you. When I've gotten him back inside this building, we can ambush him together."
"How...cunning.Very well..." Urizen replies, distrust lingering in his eyes.
~ 'I really need to become a better liar...' Akataras sighs mentally as he steps outside of the warehouse.

The black dragon is surprised to find the sky covered with thick black clouds as he steps into the open air once more, and a light breeze drift around him, faint but noticeable. ~ 'That's new.' He decides, surprised at the strange change of weather. 'It's comforting though, the first comfort I've found here.' Akataras turns his eyes away from the sky and realises there are no corrupted humans in sight, nor any slivers of rust to mark their passing. 'Nothing is certain in this world it would seem.' He walks till he is out of sight of the main foundry building and stands on the outskirts of the shanty town, staring off into the vast desert, spotting the warehouse where he first met Halu not too far away. 'I can only hope I'm making the right decision.' Akataras mutters, lifting his hands and cupping them together in front of his mouth, breathing a small orb of blue fire into them, letting the flame flicker harmlessly in his hands. He looks deep into the flames while whispering a silent phrase and the flame flashes brightly once before vanishing out of existence. 'And now we wait.'

A short amount of time passes but eventually Akataras spots a small shape appear from within the warehouse, a miniature, blue, shimmering light visible against its chest. It walks across the sands toward Akataras who after a momentary pause for consideration walks out into the desert to meet it. Halu and Akataras reunite at a spot roughly halfway between the old warehouse and the foundry settlement, only the dust and the dirt to witness their reunion.

"What happened?" Halu questions, looking up at Akataras with wide eyes.
"I set him free, he won't suffer any more." Akataras responds with a forced smile.

Halu remains silent as a look of terror spreads across the child's face, Akataras initially thinks the boy is staring at him but when crouching to try and comfort the child at eye-level, he notices that Halu's eyes aren't staring directly at him, but behind him. The black dragon turns and spots the object of Halu's fear, Urizen stood glaring not far from the foundry. Akataras rises and stands protectively in front of Halu, returning Urizen's gaze.

"You were supposed to stay inside." Akataras calls out.
"You were taking too long." Urizen snaps. "Regardless, you have the child, we can end this at last."
"Really? You see he doesn't seem as dangerous as you think he is, why would some one so powerful, be so terrified of you?"
"Do not be so blind." Urizen replies bluntly, beginning an approach towards Akataras. "It is afraid because it knows that together, we can crush it. It will play innocent for now to be sure and slip poison in your ear, turning brothers of blood against one another till one is slain. Then no doubt eliminate the weakened victor. What better way for a sinner to hide than in the flesh of an innocent?"
"Enough." Akataras retorts coldly. "I've heard enough, your rhetoric is impressive but I won't be fooled by you."
"The child already has fooled you boy, open your eyes, see the truth!"
"I already have Urizen, I see a dead world, yet you don't seem to care."
"Why care for those that are beneath me? They aspired to be gods and were punished for it."
"By who?"
"The true gods of this world, which they imprisoned, chained and defiled in an attempt to claim our power for themselves. Insects on the ground should not aspire to rule the air."
~ 'Got you.' Akataras thinks noticing the mention of 'our' by Urizen in his little speech. "You have some impressive delusions of grandeur there."
"Delusions!?" Urizen snarls, nostrils flaring with fire. "They are no delusions boy! I am a god!"
"This world deserves a better one." Akataras replies swiftly. "Halu, return to the warehouse."
"You would protect the child knowing what his kind did!? Knowing what I am?"
"I see a dead god of a dead world, nothing more."
"Impudent worm!" Urizen snarls, closing most of the distance between himself and Akataras with a leap, sweeping sand and dust toward the black dragon with his wings on landing.

The scattering of dust and sand temporarily blinds Akataras who staggers as the obscuring tumult explodes around him. Only the bulky shadow of Urizen's claw raising to strike gives Akataras any indication of his opponent's location, but the small hint causes Akataras to roll under the attack, hastily evading a brutal decapitation. Akataras instinctively performs a leg-sweep as he crouches out of the roll, succeeding only in kicking up a useless line of sand and turning to face his opponent. His inexperience with fighting larger enemies beginning to show.

~ 'Of course that wouldn't work, he's eight times the size of me. Idiot, remember your training.' Akataras thinks, scolding himself as he handsprings away from another attack. Upon landing his foot slips away from him momentarily, the unfamiliar terrain weakening his stance. Urizen seems to notice this lapse in balance and unleashes a burst of flame in Akataras' direction, the black dragon braces himself for the impact as the torrent of orange flames whips around him, closing his eyes to shield them from the heat. He feels the feathers at the edge of his wings smouldering as the worst of the heat rapidly fades away, opening his eyes to spot Urizen in the middle of a leap.

A dive to Akataras' left saves him from the snapping jaws of the other dragon, but the movement was too hasty, too unrefined, as Akataras finds out shortly after when the sensation of ripping flesh explodes along his back. He staggers from the impact but somehow remains standing long enough to turn around; and be met by three claws raking across his chest. The force of the strike throws Akataras off his feet and a short distance away from the other dragon, not that the distance is worth anything as the pain from his wounds keeps him from rising.

Akataras lies wounded and bleary eyed, slumping against the slope of a sand dune, the scent of charred feathers lingering in his nostrils with a pool of water that looks oddly familiar to his right and a fresh blood spatter trail to his left. He looks up from the furthest point of the trail to witness Urizen looming a short distance away, the last blow having knocked Akataras clear of the dragon's claws but not of his vicious gaze. A confidence swells in his yellow eyes coupled with a blaze of malice the likes of which Akataras had only seen once before. Urizen's maw opens and a fresh gout of flame can be seen flickering at the back of his throat, ready to engulf Akataras and remove him from the world forever.

~ 'Looks like I'll be seeing you sooner than I thought...' The black dragon thinks to himself, closing his eyes and resigning himself to his fate, too injured to flee.

The familiar sound of roaring flames floods Akataras' senses, but though the sound seems to grow louder, it doesn't draw closer and the searing impact of heat never arrives. Akataras opens his eyes and turns his head to spot something astonishing. Urizen's jaws are open wide, spitting ceaseless torrents of flame though the stream of fire is blocked by a shimmering transparent wall, a small elven child stood directly behind it with his arms spread wide.

"Halu?" Akataras questions, agape at the display of power before him. Motivated by the show of strength he attempts to stand and almost succeeds in the attempt till a jolt of pain erupts in his right ankle, forcing him to fall again. He notices the odd angle that his talons seem to pointing at and realises with dismay that his ankle must be broken. Sighing with irritation the dragon places his hand at his side to reach for his flask but finds his belt is not with him. Casting a hasty glance around he spots it close to the edge of a nearby building, which draws his attention to an individual hunched in the entranceway, staring at the black dragon. The orange veins on his pale skin marking him as one of the humans Akataras had seen earlier.

"You there. Help me..." Akataras calls out, frantically hoping the individual can understand him.

At first it seems as if the man doesn't understand the black dragon as he throws a hasty glance into the darkness of the warehouse around him. Upon looking back the second time he calls something Akataras cannot hear and another afflicted villager appears, then another and another. It seems to Akataras that they entire populace he had seen earlier have gathered in the warehouse's entranceway , though he counts ten and realises that their number may have lessened since he last saw them. They watch him for a moment before Akataras tries calling out for aid again, though before he can even start speaking three of the villagers quickly stumble out of the building toward him, casting short looks at Halu's duel with Urizen as they do so.

Eventually they reach Akataras and between them manage to lift the dragon from the sand, their rags becoming covered with the dragon's blood as they do so. They try hauling him to his feet but the broken ankle and level of blood loss leaves Akataras' legs too weak to support him. Two of the villager slowly lower him toward the ground again while the third grabs hold of Akataras' legs, avoiding applying too much pressure to his ankle.
Between them the three manage to carry Akataras back towards the warehouse and as the dragon is being carried through the entrance he notices that a large swelling of black clouds had gathered above it, a single drop of rain tapping against his scales as the darkness of the building swallows him.

The villagers lower Akataras against a wall, seating him in a way that allows him to remain upright. Before he can thank them the third villager disappears outside again and returns a moment later with Akataras' belt. The black dragon makes a quick nod of gratitude and swiftly withdraws his flask from within the belt's pouch, rapidly consuming three quick gulps of the dark blue liquid within. He coughs once before drawing a claw to his face and covering his mouth, fighting against the reflex, not wanting to show any further signs of weakness beyond the convulsions of his chest as his wounds knit together as if they had never occurred. Akataras growls angrily as he feels the bone of his ankle set itself back into the correct position and repair, the sound causing many of the assembled villagers to back away from him.

Taking a moment to compose himself Akataras rises from the ground as a roar splits the air outside. The villagers shiver in response and one of them even looks hopefully at Akataras' flask as one of her arms begins to disintegrate. The dragon shakes his head mournfully in response and the villager lowers her own, huddling against a wall. Halu appears in the entrance to the warehouse, soaked to the skin with rain and chanting something rapidly, he looks frantically at Akataras but his gaze doesn't linger and passes over the black dragon as if he isn't there. The elven boy begins pacing back and forth, hands clasped together against his chest, constantly reciting the same mantra of sounds with increasing speed.

It takes a moment for Akataras to realise that he is actually chanting a prayer in the elven tongue, the dragon catching glimpses of phrases he recognises within the hasty babbling. Smiling with nostalgia Akataras steps forward and crouches in front of the child, stopping his pacing by gripping his shoulders and locking their gaze. "Halu." Akataras states warmly, the name seemingly having no effect. "Halu. The prayer doesn't work if the gods can't understand it you know." He smiles, a flicker of recognition alight in the boy's eyes. "Yu iras illa ihrey, ohm vanir fehrs sohs uhri ihm ahkur hyer arehn." Akataras recites in Elvish, a shiver running along his spine as he does so.

The words seem to be heard by Halu who looks at Akataras directly, his eyes no longer wandering and his chanting ceased. Outside the warehouse another roar rocks the sky. "Stay here Halu." Akataras states to the boy, walking back to where his belt was and replacing the flask into its pouch.  After doing this he takes a look outside and notices that the black clouds that once hovered over the warehouse and surrounding buildings had spread and now blanket a large area of the sky, rain pouring from them and soaking the desert. The clouds don't yet cover the entire horizon however and a large area of the desert remains dry and it is within this dry area that Urizen stands, howling furiously.

The brown dragon stands snarling at the sky, looking different to how he had before. His left eye is missing and a large portion of the scales of his face as well as the skin underneath have been seared off, his wings also show signs of burns and sport large holes where something seems to have ripped through the membrane. Despite these injuries Urizen still stands and as far as Akataras can see, his wounds are slowly healing. The black dragon begins walking towards Urizen, intending to challenge the dragon again while he is injured, hoping that the wounds will prove advantageous and allow him to kill the dragon Urizen before he can fully recover.

Akataras' movements are cut short by a scream from within the warehouse, causing the black dragon to turn toward the entrance. Two of the afflicted villagers that helped him earlier are stood outside in the rain, gesturing for him to return. Akataras nods and retreats to them, returning to the interior of the warehouse to find a new pile of ashes where a person had most likely been a moment ago. Upon looking around the black dragon spots the afflicted woman who had lost an arm earlier shaking uncontrollably, clutching the left side of her face and making a strained gurgling noise. Halu is sat next to her, constantly repeating a phrase in Elvish.

A realisation suddenly dawns upon Akataras and he walks briskly towards her, crouching in front of her he notices that between the gaps on the hand covering her face rust can be seen spilling out of the spaces. "Let me see." He states, gently placing a claw against her hand. Hesitantly she allows him to pull her hand away from her face, finding his fears to be confirmed. Her left eye is missing, an empty socket filled with rust where it used to be, with the flesh of the left side of her face steadily crumbling into rust as well. "Thank you." Akataras says softly, releasing his grip on the woman's hand and allowing her to place her hand on her face once again, he notices that her veins seem more pronounced than before.

Akataras sighs and looks at the other afflicted villagers, noticing that their own signs of illness seem stronger than ever, till his eyes spot the two that had followed him into the rain earlier. Drenched from head to toe the two men look at Akataras intently as if looking at him for salvation, he notices how the veins of their skin are a much paler colour than before and nowhere near as pronounced as that of the other villagers. "You two..." The dragon mutters, his mind putting the pieces of the puzzle together. A groan of pain from the injured woman beside him stirs him into more direct action.

"All of you, outside. Now!" Akataras barks. "Get into the rain. Move it if you want to live!" He continues as they all begin moving towards the exit. "Hang on, you'll be all right." He says to the injured woman, hauling her into his arms and heading towards the warehouse's exit. Before he can reach it another roar from Urizen rips across the land and the woman looks at Akataras frantically with her remaining eye as she disintegrates in his arms. He desperately tries to get her into the rain but by the time the first drop falls upon him, she's already dead.

The sensation stirs a powerful memory in Akataras and his arms fall to his sides, his head and gaze directed towards the ground, his eyes glazed over as if his mind is somewhere else. A breeze suddenly rises on the wind which turns into a gust and then to a gale, the wind ripping around Akataras and the villagers. The villagers turn to watch Akataras as he stands quaking in the rain and wind, his right hand shaking violently. Halu walks up beside the dragon, tugging at one of the claws  on his right hand gently and calling out his name. The gesture seems to rouse Akataras from whatever state he had become lost in and the wind fades almost as quickly as it had arrived. "Thank you Halu..." He states, turning his attention to the villagers, whose afflictions seemed to fade more by the moment. He then turns his attention to Urizen who despite being mostly healed and having restored his left eye is still injured and seething with rage outside the boundaries of the rainfall.

"Halu, is this the warehouse where you injured me?" Akataras inquires to the young elf, a nod his reply. "Could you bring me the weapon you used?"

The elf nods in response again and runs into the building, returning a moment later with the roughly made spear he had used to injure Akataras in their first meeting. The black dragon gestures his thanks and takes the sharpened pipe from Halu's hands, examining it for a moment and then sweeping it through the air. "Not exactly a weapon type I'm familiar with, but the basic principles are the same." Akataras mutters to himself, gripping the spear awkwardly at the base as if clutching the hilt of a sword. ~ 'I won't have time to sharpen it into something more comfortable, it'll have to do.' He thinks. 'Clearly made for Halu's convenience, not long enough to use effectively as a spear at my height, I'll need to make sure the killing blow counts.'

"Halu." Akataras states with a tone of confidence. "Pray for me."
"Why?" Halu asks as Akataras begins walking away.
"Isn't it obvious? For the same reasons you trusted me, for the same reasons you feared me, for the reason anyone prays at all." Akataras replies not awaiting a response.

Eventually Akataras reaches the edge of the rainfall, Urizen glowering at him from just beyond the veil of rain.

"You look terrible Urizen, maybe you need a holiday. Why not join me over here? The weather's lovely this time of year." Akataras smiles with mock courtesy.

A simple growl of antipathy is Urizen's reply.

"Well if you aren't going to be polite I suppose I shouldn't be either." Akataras states, the false smile fading from his face, his expression growing fierce. "I know your secret, Lich. This world's basic principles aren't that different from my home-world's. Strangely, you aren't that different from someone I know back home either. You have the same eyes; contemptuous, arrogant and malevolent. Nothing but a corpse that didn't have the decency to stay that way. I promised someone important to me that I would kill them, and while you aren't him, you're good enough for now."

Urizen roars in response and crouches into a guarding stance.

"All bark and no bite Urizen, you're afraid of this rain and you're afraid of this spear, but you've forgotten the most important thing of all to fear." Akataras snarls, gripping the weapon tightly and slashing his wings out as a provocative gesture. "Me!" He roars, diving out of the rain towards Urizen, sliding under a jet of flames and scooping some sand into his claw. As Urizen's head turns to snap at Akataras, the black dragon throws the handful of sand into the other dragon's eyes, blinding him. By the time Urizen has staggered and blinked the sand clear of his eyes, Akataras has raised the spear ready to strike, stabbing it into the brown dragon's left eye. Urizen unleashes a roar of pain and flames as he thrashes wildly, clawing at the air after Akataras.

The black dragon backs off quickly to avoid the frantic attacks, seizing an opportunity to roll under Urizen and reach his blind left side. A quick flap of Akataras' wings allows him to stand on Urizen's back. He attempts to stab the spear into the back of Urizen's skull but the brown dragon rears wildly and throws Akataras off. Akataras hits the dust roughly and rolls across the ground for a short distance before stopping. An angered growl by Urizen indicates another attack is incoming so Akataras does his best to evade, diving to his right in the hopes of reaching Urizen's blind spot again. The attempt succeeds and allows Akataras to avoid a claw which would've crushed him to the ground on impact, though Urizen turns around swiftly before Akataras can take advantage of his weakness.

Akataras flips backwards into the cover of rain once more and Urizen follows him with a pounce, howling in pain as he falls for the bait. The rain scorches the brown dragon's flesh as he desperately tries to hit Akataras, the pain seemingly slowing his attacks. Eventually Urizen's tolerance wears out and he spreads his wings wide, throwing himself into the air with a single stroke. He rips through the cloud layer to escape the rain and floats above it, casting a glance at the dry horizon before glowering at Akataras, seemingly caught between choosing revenge or escape.

Akataras clutches the spear tightly and launches himself into the sky after Urizen, climbing quickly till he too pierces the layer of clouds above. The two dragons float facing one another in the sky, each glaring at the other with equal volumes of hatred, neither moving toward the other.

Urizen breaks the stalemate with a roar, a torrent of flame tearing from within his jaws across the sky. Akataras casually evades the blast with a quick flap of his wings. In the skies, his lithe frame and large wings always give him an advantage over larger opponents and despite Urizen's continuous gouts of flame being spat towards him, Akataras doesn't even receive a singed feather. Eventually the larger dragon's temper gets the better of him and he throws the weight of his body forward, the strength of his wings throwing him toward Akataras at an unnatural speed.

Akataras makes no move to evade in any direction and simply folds his wings against his back. The motion ceases his flight and the dragon begins to fall through the air, plummeting slowly at first before gaining speed. The action allows Akataras to narrowly evade Urizen's jaws which snap shut exactly where the black dragon was a moment ago. As he falls away from the brown dragon's grasp the immense angered beast gives pursuit, folding his own wings to streamline his body and begin his descent.

Akataras disappears beneath the cloud layer, tumbling back into the rain and out of sight. Urizen is only a short distance above the layer but unleashes a furious blast of flame to clear the cloud below him, yet through the newly opened gap he can see no sign of his quarry. Urizen falls through the opening, spreading his wings out and slowly ceasing his descent, hovering in place in the rain, seeking his target. A burst of blue flame suddenly erupts on the left side of his head and Urizen rips his body around to face it's origin, yet finds nothing were there should be a black dragon. Out of the corner of his right eye he catches a glimpse of a black flicker behind him but before he can turn his attention to it, a burning blue light rips into his eyeline and engulfs his remaining sight. The flame smouldering against the surface of his eye doesn't permeate the protective lense that dragons have to protect their sight from fire, but it obscures his sight long enough for a certain black dragon to close the distance between himself and Urizen.

The last thing Urizen ever sees is the sight of Akataras stabbing a rusted, hastily crafted spear into his eye, and then, darkness, an all consuming blackness that only the blind know. The snarl of fury and terror Urizen releases shakes the sky and the jets of flame that follow set it alight.

Akataras retreats to a safe distance and watches as Urizen rages at the world, thrashing wildly and spitting fire in all directions, unleashing roars of pain and anger that seem directed at the heavens themselves.

~ 'I won't be able to finish him off like this, between the flames and his thrashing I'll never get close enough. The rain weakens him, but alone it isn't enough to kill him...'  Akataras thinks, watching Urizen's display of hatred. 'Time to end this.' He sighs, gazing at the brown dragon with indifference.

Akataras hovers in place for a while, wondering how he could possibly put Urizen in a position where he could end the beast's life. Slowly a plan forms in his mind, one heavily reliant on magic and that could certainly kill himself more easily than it could kill Urizen, but the black dragon is out of options. He stretches out a hand and cups the palm gently, collecting a small amount of rain water in it and after a moment of focus, succeeds in freezing the meagre amount in his hand. Akataras instantly feels the drain on his strength and releases the flow of magic, taking a few moments to recover before deciding what to do next.

The black dragon cups both of his hands together and repeats his motion from before, breathing a small orb of flame into them and whispering a phrase. Reaching out through the link between the spell and his necklace Akataras is able to form a weak bond between the necklace's position and his own. He senses Halu and the humans praying in an almost trance-like manner and along the link he feels a constant pulse of energy, drifting along it from them to him. The same kind of energy can be felt in the rain that tumbles around him and steadily Akataras feels his strength rise.

Confident that the energy source of his spell will be drawing from the world and not himself Akataras puts his initial plan into action. Behind the black dragon the rain begins to change direction, with the drops tumbling together, directed at twelve focal points floating in the air behind him. Eventually the water begins to form shapes and over time freezes, in the end Akataras is left with twelve large spikes of ice pointing skyward, floating in an arc behind him with a small blue flame blazing at the base of each one.

Akataras focuses his gaze on Urizen. 'You aren't him, but you're close enough for now.' He thinks.

The black dragon curls his right hand into a fist close to his left shoulder, the spikes of ice floating behind him seem to respond to this gesture and adjust their positions; lowering their tips from vertical to horizontal, pointing directly at Urizen. Akataras sweeps his right arm outwards, his fist opening as he does so and the frozen missiles blaze into life, tearing across the sky on command. Eight of the spikes strike Urizen's wings, shredding gaps in the membrane which the rain helps open further but before the dragon falls from the sky two of the spikes impact with his throat, slamming into place just below his jaw, severing his ability to breathe fire while the remaining two missiles embed themselves in his chest, destroying whatever remains of the dragon's hearts. Urizen stiffens in the air before tumbling from the sky limply, his body smouldering into ashes before it even hits the ground. As the last traces of the brown dragon fade from the world, Akataras lands safely upon the desert sands once more, watching one of his own kind disappear forever.

With a sigh of relief Akataras watches the ashes drift into the air as a gale whispers into life within the rain and without warning the black dragon falls; his knees are the first to hit the ground and the rest of his body follows suit. The last thing he hears before sleep takes him is the sound of someone calling his name, it is not a voice he recognises, yet for some reason it makes the dragon smile as he sinks into slumber.

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