The World of Nymoria - Time's Arrow

“Awake, dragon.” Zuriak is abrasively awoken by a bucket of cold water being dumped on his head. He instinctively shoots up and charges at the source, but is met with solid iron bars. He recoils in pain as his eyes adjust to the morning sunlight, bursting through the trees. Around him, several tents are pitched around a single, large campfire with various pieces of outdoor furniture scattered throughout the campground. Two kirins, a red one and a cream-colored one, stand before him outside of his new prison, both giving him an emotionless stare. Zuriak returns their look with a dark expression. “What’s your name?” The red one asks while the other holds up a scroll and quill with magic. Zuriak stays silent. “I will ask again, what is your name?” The kirin asks again with greater irritation.

“Why should I tell you anything?” Zuriak replies defensively.

“This will go a lot better for you if you cooperate with us.” The kirin answers stoically.

“And if I don’t?”

“Then I hope you and your friend enjoy seeing these iron bars for the rest of your lives.” The kirin points to another cage a few meters away from Zuriak. Inside, Scarlet Rain lies tied up and unconscious. Zuriak stares at Scarlet’s unmoving body with a look of guilt as the two kirins start walking away.

“Wait.” He reaches a claw from outside his cage. The two kirins turn back at Zuriak, expecting an answer. Zuriak sighs in defeat.

“My name is Zuriak.” The other kirin begins writing in their scroll as the other approaches him again.

“And where are you from, Zuriak?” Zuriak growls mildly, not wanting to indulge their questions.

“Nymerion.” Both kirins’ expressions change to mild confusion.

“But, Nymerion’s been in ruins for decades.”

“Yes, all thanks to your ancestors.” Zuriak spits venomously. The red kirin aggressively puts their hooves against the cage. Zuriak remains unflinched.

“So, tell me then, Zuriak of Nymerion, what were you doing at the Jade Palace months ago? Speak truthfully!”

“Why don’t you ask the Time Qilin? I’m sure she can tell you all about that.” He says with the same fervor. The kirin relents a little upon hearing that name and backs off a little. The other one finishes writing in their scroll and looks concernedly at the red one.

“Ember, maybe this is something the higher-ups will want to know about?”

“Perhaps. Get a message to Kyrinia and let them know we’ve found the dragon intruder. I think they’ll want to know what Zuriak has to say.” The cream-colored kirin nods and the two begin to leave.

“What did you do to Scarlet Rain!?” Zuriak shouts at them before looking back at Scarlet.

“She is currently sedated for the time being.”

“And what do you plan to do with her?”

“After thorough questioning, she will be handed over to the Equestrian authorities. Beyond that, it is out of our jurisdiction.” Without another word, the two kirins continue walking towards a tent near the center of their meager camp and join a couple others. Zuriak slouches in defeat and guilt as Scarlet begins to stir from her cage and groggily wakes up.

“Ngh, what’s going on?” She tries to get up but quickly realizes her hooves are hog-tied, rendering her immobile. Zuriak briefly breaks out of his slump and turns to Scarlet with sorrow.

“Scarlet…”

“Zuriak, what happened?” She tries to wiggle herself free, but to no avail.

“I’m sorry…for putting you through all this.” He tugs at his magic suppression collar uncomfortably. Scarlet looks at him, but he doesn’t return eye contact. She then moves her eyes around the limited view of the camp and forest due to her immobility.

“We were fooled from the start.” Scarlet mentions sorrowfully.

“What do you mean?”

“Ever since I spoke to River Rock that day, I’ve been skeptical about him; the way he looked at me after asking about the piano and music sheets.” Scarlet closes her eyes. “Dragon of time.” She recites before reopening them. “I wrote it on the sheet of music before we lost it, and he must’ve had suspicions about that piece of music after the kirins were investigating Novawind.”

“Do you believe he was the one who tipped them off?”

“Maybe…I don’t know…” Scarlet’s voice starts to waver.

“Hey, we’re going to get out of here, I promise.” Zuriak assures while Scarlet shakes her head, trying to clear her face of tears.

“I haven’t been honest with you these last couple months.”

“What do you mean?” He raises an eyebrow.

“Remember a few days ago when I asked you what you’d do if you knew where your kin fled to after Ithral’s downfall?” Zuriak nods.

“I know where they are…I’ve always known.” Scarlet softly speaks.

“What!? Why didn’t you tell me!?” He shouts, getting the attention of one of the nearby kirins. Ember Shard walks over with an annoyed look on his face, giving Zuriak an alarmed look. He looks over to Scarlet, who is pretending to be unconscious, then faces him again.

“That’s enough. What are you shouting at, dragon?” Zuriak shoots daggers at the grumpy kirin.

“I’m just thinking aloud.”

“Well, you would do better to keep those thoughts to yourself. I don’t want to hear any more from you until the royal council arrives and we depart for Kyrinia.”

“And how long will that take?”

“By daybreak tomorrow, so you’d better have your story straight by then.” The kirin then turns and leaves to rejoin the others. Scarlet opens her eyes and gives Zuriak a fearful expression. He returns the same look.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He asks in a quieter voice.

“I was afraid you’d leave me if you knew where they were. That’s why I posed the question.” Scarlet breathes deeply. “Across the Celestial Sea and beyond Drogos, there’s a settlement called ‘Nemora’ in the far east. It was constructed as a haven for refugees of Ithral. I don’t know much more than that, but the dragons of Rathu in Drogos know how to get there.” Zuriak grips his cage bars with force.

“Are you serious?” He counters with a hint of anger. “Are you telling me I wouldn’t be in this shit right now, if you told me?” He continues, raising his voice.

“I didn’t mean to mislead you.” Scarlet’s defeated expression remains unchanged. Zuriak releases his grip and slumps in his cage depressingly.

“Not that it matters anymore, my fate is sealed.” He bitterly comments as he tries to get his long and tangled body comfortable in the cage.

“It was selfish of me to withhold that information, and I’m sorry for that.” Scarlet coughs a couple times, producing some flames as she tries to move her head off the dirty cage floor. Zuriak looks at her current state and softens a little, regretting his outburst. “I think I need to let you go, Zuriak. All I’ve done is make your life more difficult.”

“Well, if it wasn’t for you, I’d have died months ago. And you gave me a chance to reconnect with my past.” Zuriak relents.

She doesn’t respond and instead coughs up a couple more bursts of flames while looking out into the forest. Zuriak looks over at her with concern, but quickly notices she doesn’t have a magic suppression collar on.

“Huh, that’s weird, they didn’t give you the same collar they put on me.” He mentions.

“What collar?” Scarlet asks as she coughs up more fire. Zuriak points at his neck.

“This one. It’s supposed to dampen magical abilities.”

“Well, I’m not a unicorn, and the only magic I have is the ability to breathe fire, if you even want to call that magic. Kirins are impervious to fire, so they probably don’t consider me a threat.”

“Years ago, when Idylya and I found ourselves at that qilin camp, they put these same collars on us ‘just in case’ as they put it.” He gestures with air quotes. “Apparently, they’re made of a special type of metal that’s incapable of breaking and can withstand fire…well except…dragonfire…” Zuriak trails off as he ponders what he just said.

“First time I’m hearing about it, honestly. Can’t say I know very much about kirin tech.” Zuriak breaks out of his brief trance and grips his cage bars, appearing more energetic.

“Wait, aren’t you a dragon?”

“Half.”

“Even so, the fire you breathe, that’s dragonfire, right?”

“Hmmm, probably? How can you tell?”

“The core temperature of dragonfire is much higher than normal fire. You might be able to melt my collar.”

“What if I can’t breathe dragonfire? And wouldn’t you suffer severe burns in the process? I can’t control the spread of my flames, so you’d get hurt pretty badly.”

Zuriak eases his grip on the bars and slumps down again as he looks across the kirin camp.

“The way I see it, it’s either I endure the burns, or endure a lifetime in chains.” He then turns towards her. “I can then use my magic to break us out of here.”

“And then what? We’d be escapees. They’d just come after us again.”

Zuriak strokes his beard and ponders.

“Come with me to Nemora.”

Scarlet hesitates for a moment. “Are you sure I’d be welcome there? I don’t exactly fit in with other dragons.”

“We’re not all bad. I think they’d warm up to a friendly face.” Zuriak responds reassuringly. Scarlet rubs her chin.

“Maybe it’s time to move on from this place. The farm is all I have in life and it’s currently running me dry. I don’t think I can sustain that for the rest of my life, so…” Scarlet cracks a smile. “...let’s do it.”

Zuriak breathes easier. “We’ll wait for nightfall, when they’re all asleep.” Scarlet nods and Zuriak rolls over in his cage and stares up at the metal ceiling, mildly content, though some chatter across the camp catches his attention. Zuriak tries to look over his cage and sees a sliver of the red kirin speaking with the cream-colored one. He rolls back over and holds his ear out through the cage to listen better.

“So apparently, this dragon has been spotted elsewhere in Kyryo. Some kirins reported seeing him in Kirin Grove about two months ago, and they believe he was the cause for the snowfall there during that time.” Ember Shard says to his companion.

“No kidding? What was he even doing there?”

“A kirin who had a run-in with him reported he was after her flute, claiming it was his.”

“Hmm, I bet I know why. That flute must’ve been a relic.”

“You think so?”

“Can’t think of any other reason. Back during the war, Ithralian lung dragons would hunt for these mythical objects because of their rarity and power, it was one of the major instigators for the war between us and them.”

“I see, and what do you make of this ‘Time Kirin did this to me’ bullshit? She’s been dead for over thirty years.”

“That I’m not sure about. No one really knew Terra Nova outside of her clan, much less a dragon outsider.”

“Well, we’ll make sure to squeeze more information out of him tomorrow.” Ember Shard concludes as the two move further out of Zuriak’s earshot.

A relic? Was Xellis right about it being a divine instrument all those moons ago? If it contains cosmic, otherworldly power, would it be possible to use it to get me back to my own time? They are essentially imbued with power from the divines, magic that is otherwise foreign to us, so there exists the possibility.

Zuriak pauses his thinking and turns over to Scarlet, contemplating his current situation.

No, it’s not worth it, especially now that I have her to watch over now. I have a plan and I need to stick to it for both our sakes. Besides, I wouldn’t know how to use that power even if I had it.

He directs his attention to the kirins once more by the campfire.

And yet…

~

As nightfall descends onto the forest, the sounds of night begin taking hold, and moonlight replaces sunlight. The four kirins around the central campfire stand up and begin packing tools and equipment in one of the three tents. Zuriak watches from afar in his cage while Scarlet does the same. None of the kirins pay them any mind as they meticulously clear the campsite, preparing for their departure tomorrow morning. Zuriak and Scarlet give each other nervous looks, hoping to escape without being seen. About half an hour later, the last kirin out, Ember Shard douses the fire and returns to his tent. On cue, the two nod and Zuriak digs his claws into the dirt outside his cage. Using immense strength, he then slides his cage across the grass, trying to keep the metallic noise low. He stops a couple meters away from Scarlet’s cage and gives her a confident expression.

“Are you sure about this?” She whispers. Zuriak gives a nervous smile, picks up a branch near his cage and clenches it in his mouth before tilting his head up to give Scarlet a clear shot of the collar. Scarlet shakes her head and takes a deep breath, then releases a stream of fire aimed at his neck. He bites down hard on the branch to avoid screaming as his neck starts to burn and blister. The collar starts to slowly melt away as his pale scales turn red. Scarlet stops the firestream, noticing tears of pain forming in his eyes. He quickly grips his collar and tears it off before it re-solidifies and cradles his neck with his ice to soothe the burn. His heavy breathing starts to taper as his pain is relieved. Scarlet looks at him in bewilderment as he spits out the branch.

“You’ve been through so much…” She whispers to him. He doesn’t respond and grips two of his cage bars, freezing them over.

“Are you ready?” He asks. Scarlet gives a soft nod before closing her eyes. Zuriak releases his claws and forces his weight against the weakened bars, causing them to snap. The noise from the bars stirs up the kirins nearby and both of them see lights coming from their tents. Zuriak slithers out of the opening and performs the same ice magic on Scarlet’s cage before snapping them open as well. As Zuriak breathes some ice on Scarlet’s chain hog-tie, a fireball flies just above his head. He ducks below and sees both Ember Shard and his cream-colored accomplice come barreling towards them.

“The prisoners are escaping!” Ember signals to the other three kirins. Zuriak floats up and discharges some lightning at Ember. He summons up a fire shield, but the force of the lightning against the fire explodes and sends him back against a tree. Scarlet looks around in a panic and forces her hooves apart against the frozen metallic brace. It gives way and snaps allowing her to quickly stand up and bolt out of the cage. As the cream-colored kirin darts towards them, she sends a massive fire wave towards the duo. Scarlet jumps in front of Zuriak and breathes a counter wave of fire, blocking her attack. The other two kirins appear from behind her and charge at the two with glowing horns. Zuriak drops to the ground and breathes ice on all three of them, freezing their hooves to the ground. Scarlet rushes past them and into the main tent where her saddlebag lies resting in a corner. She grabs it with her mouth and runs back out where Zuriak defends against the onslaught of kirin fire. She takes off and flies up into the sky past him, giving him the ‘ok’ sign. He then releases a wide shockwave of ice from his core, covering the entire camp with frost as he follows Scarlet up into the night and away from the kirin camp. In the air, Zuriak takes the saddlebag out of her mouth and rests it on her back in front of her wings as the two fly in no particular direction.

“Thank you, that was close.” She comments alongside him, but he keeps his attention forward. He puts one of his claws against his neck and tries cooling the burn some more with ice magic. Scarlet notes a pale ring where the collar used to be surrounded by redness. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It will heal over time.” He assures. Scarlet redirects her attention to the land in front of her. Faint moonlight lightly covers the forest below them.

“Where are we?” She asks

“I don’t know. Look around for any lights or signs of life.” Scarlet nods and scans the barely visible horizon when a blurry glow catches her eye to the right within the trees.

“What do you think that is, a camp?” She questions. He looks in the general direction where her hoof is pointing.

“Could be. Let’s find out.” Zuriak speeds up past her.

“Hey, regardless of whoever they may be, are you sure you want to show yourself?” She warns. Zuriak looks back at her.

“I’m done hiding, and I’m done living in fear of those around me. All that matters now is going home, to my real home.” The duo hover over the light source from above the treeline and peer down. Two earth ponies are sitting next to each other on a log near the campfire. Both of them appear to be eating something with more food roasting over the fire. Zuriak aggressively descends to the ground across the campfire from them and hits the dirt with a loud thump. One of the earth ponies chokes in surprise, while the other jumps back in fear.

“SWEET CELESTIA!” They shout in unison. Scarlet lightly floats down and lands in front of Zuriak, hoping her presence will calm them down. Zuriak’s expression remains neutral.

“L-look, you can have whatever you want from us, just don’t hurt us!” One of them says, cowering in fear.

“We’re not here to rob or hurt you, we just need to find our way home. Do you know how far Novawind is from here?” Scarlet asks, giving the two some relief. They both look at each other confusedly.

“I-I don’t remember the n-name, but we did pass through a village north of here a c-couple days ago.” The female earth pony stutteringly answers. Scarlet smiles optimistically.

“Thank you, and for the record, you never saw either of us.” She gives a little gesture with her hoof before they both rocket upwards through the trees. Zuriak takes one last look down at the couple as he stays in line with Scarlet accelerating northward.

“What’s the plan now?” He asks her.

“Assuming my house hasn’t been searched and looted by authorities, we’ll need to grab some things, then quickly head east towards the coast. Once we’re over the Celestial Sea, I doubt we’ll have any more trouble with the kirins. From there, we can figure things out, but for now, we’re still in danger on both sides, ponies and kirins.”

Scarlet and Zuriak continue flying further north until they see the familiar village lights of Novawind cresting over the night sky. Before long, Scarlet passes above her strawberry fields and her house comes into view. Both of them descend and slow down towards the front door of the house. Scarlet lands carefully on the front porch and peeks inside from the window, making sure it’s clear.

“Okay, I think we’re good.” She enters and lights a candle from the living room table with her fire before proceeding up the stairs with haste. Zuriak plants his claws on the ground and follows her up the stairs. As he enters her room, she’s carefully packing away valuables and keepsakes into her saddlebag. Zuriak searches through the bag and retrieves the lone sheet of music they’ve been searching for. Scarlet stops scavenging through drawers and looks at the sheet he’s holding.

“Hard to believe that single slip of paper caused a whole mess of trouble.” She notes bitingly. Zuriak stares deeply into the notes on the paper and studies them.

“I…can’t remember what this sounded like…” Zuriak struggles to remember.

Scarlet looks at him with concern. “It wasn’t that long ago, are you feeling alright?”

Zuriak shakes his head and regains his composure. “Yeah, everything’s fine.”

Scarlet nods and starts humming the theme as she continues packing away valuables. “Why don’t you get your journal downstairs? It should still be on the kitchen table.”

He spins around, takes a second candle from her shelf and lights it off the one Scarlet brought up before heading downstairs. Past the living room, he sees his journal right where he left it on the table. He walks over and flips it open across the dining table, positioning it within the candlelight. The words glisten in the light and give him pause.

“Her flute…” He whispers and flips through more of the pages silently.

I want to leave you with the one thing I hold dearest. He recites in his head from Idylya’s last entry.

“A divine instrument…”

A moment later, Scarlet sneaks up and taps him on the shoulder. Zuriak gasps and twitches in surprise.

“Is everything okay? We should get going before it’s light out.”

“Right, let me grab my dagger, it should be in the living room somewhere.” He grabs the candle and moves past Scarlet, inspecting the darkness in the room adjacent. “Ah, here we go.” He jumps over the chairs and furniture to the windowsill and finds it shining in the moonlight. The runes along the serrated edge glow an eerie color. “I’m ready.”

Scarlet takes both the dagger and journal and places it in her saddlebag with the rest of her stuff and picks up Zuriak’s candle with her wing. She then gives her house one last look, knowing it’s unlikely she’ll ever come back. “It’s hard, y’know?”

Zuriak steps outside on the porch and looks back at her with a raised eyebrow.

“I’ve lived here my whole life, and now I’m about to leave everything behind.” Scarlet wipes a bittersweet tear from her eye. “It’s for the best though, and now I’m ready to start a new chapter. Thanks to you.” She blows out the candle, turns around and hugs Zuriak briefly before floating up over the strawberry fields. Zuriak glimpses once more inside the house, then closes the door.

“You’re welcome, Scarlet.” He says to himself with a hint of sorrow as he flies up to her level. The two bolt east into the night, not turning back.

~

“Hey, can we stop here? My wings are getting sore, and I can barely keep my eyes open.” Scarlet shouts up at Zuriak, who’s a bit further ahead. The morning sun is beginning to crest over the eastern Celestial Sea as the two near the tropical coast. Zuriak doesn’t respond to her and continues flying at the same pace, looking down at the jungle below. An annoyed Scarlet speeds up to his level, and taps him on the head with her hoof. “Hello!? Did you hear me? I need to stop otherwise I’ll pass out!”

“Hmmm? Oh sorry. I didn’t hear you.” Scarlet rolls her eyes as the duo descend onto the sandy beach along the coast. Zuriak digs his claws into the sand and feels the warmth while Scarlet drops on to a patch of tall grass and rolls over, causing her saddlebag to drop and spill its contents.

“I’m just going to rest a while.” Scarlet yawns.

“We shouldn’t stick around for too long. Got to get to Rathu before it gets dark.” Zuriak says looking out across the sea. He turns back towards Scarlet who’s already snoring. He sighs and goes to pick up the things that spilled out of her saddlebag. In it were the piece of music and his journal among other things he doesn’t recognize. He opens it up and tries humming the music, but struggles to find pitch. He grunts in frustration, slides it back into the bag and retrieves his journal with a stick of charcoal wedged between the pages. After walking down to the shore, he collapses and coils up against the sun with the journal resting on his body in front of him.

I hope you can find your way. He once again recites from Idylya’s journal entry, his head progressively filled with doubt.

“Should I be doing this?” He turns his head and peers across the sand at Scarlet sleeping. “Is this the best thing for both of us?” He looks out onto the sea again and the rippling waves, in contemplative thought.

“Would I be more complete with Idylya’s divine instrument even though I don’t know how to use its magic?” He looks down at his claws and grips them. “I don’t feel good about any of this.” He then opens his journal to a new blank page and grips the piece of charcoal, his claws trembling. “I’m sorry Scarlet, but I’ve got to do what I think is right before I can be at peace.”

Starden, Twenty-Third of Sarais, 3E454Y

Scarlet, I am sorry for what I’m about to do, but I need to make a hard decision that will impact us both. I never wanted to hurt you, lead you astray, or get you tangled up in the mistakes I’ve made, and that’s why I need to follow through with this. I believe Idylya’s flute is a divine instrument and that its cosmic magic can help me fix my past. I want to ‘right my wrongs’ and find my way, my true path. I don’t expect you to understand, but please let me pursue this. I promise we will meet again soon.

Zuriak stands up and carefully walks over to Scarlet so as to not wake her. He places the book down in front of her and sets a rock on the open entry so it stays open. He then slowly floats up and bolts in a westerly direction back the way they came.

“I promise I will return.”

~

Zuriak peers through the trees ahead of him as the sun begins to set over the horizon. Light starts fading making it more difficult to see his surroundings. The rumbling of his stomach lightly catches him off guard as he takes a look at the bushes around him.

“Need to find food before it gets too dark.” He reminds himself as he starts picking through the bushes for anything edible. In the distance, he spots a lone white rabbit partially blending in with the frosty bushes scavenging for something edible. Zuriak charges an ice spell quietly and slowly approaches it, carefully avoiding any branches or twigs that would alert it of his presence. Just as he’s about to fire the spell, the rabbit turns its head and stares at him from behind the brush. Startled by its sudden blank stare, Zuriak hesitates for a moment, then fires the ice spell at it, missing by a long shot. The rabbit hastily hops away further into the brush. Zuriak sighs and begins walking back towards the fire pit he constructed days ago.

“It’s been a few days since I’ve returned and I haven’t seen any sign of that blue qilin, Ivory Frost.” He comments to himself, fatigued and malnourished. “I can’t get too close to the village otherwise they’ll see me. Somehow I have to draw her out without the whole village following like last time.” Zuriak looks around at his surroundings, noticing the decayed flora as a result of his ice storm spell almost two months ago. The snow has melted completely now, but the ground still remains cold and moist. “That spell did a number on the environment here.” He then walks over to a berry bush nearby and inspects them carefully before taking a clawful, not wanting to get sick again.

“Hmmm, what if I did the spell again?” He ponders as he eats several at once. “It would require a lot of chakra, but it might work.” Before he could continue, a thunderous boom echoes through the trees and a gust of wind rushes through, pushing down much of the foliage. Zuriak drops to the ground and takes cover, uncertain of who or what caused it.

Shit, was I spotted!? Where did it come from?

He rises to his feet cautiously and circles the area before kicking dirt into the fire, dousing it. An eerie, reddish-pink glow emerges through the trees far away from his vantage point, but does not move. He quietly slithers into the bushes and peers through the leaves in the direction of the glow. Before long, a second boom reverberates throughout the forest centered on the unmoving glow.

A qilin perhaps? I better wait in hiding for now.

Zuriak monitors the glow for a couple hours waiting for it to dissipate, but it continues persisting long after the sun has set, leaving only the crescent moon and the glow illuminating the forest. Progressively, the glow tapers off until it disappears completely and the sounds of the forest return. He slithers through more bushes, getting closer to where the glow was while trying to stay low. Coming up on a dense patch of jungle, Zuriak peaks his head out at a shocking sight. Many of the trees, grass and foliage are coated in a mysterious red crystal with stalagmites jutting out from various spots. He leaves his hiding spot, and charges some lightning in his claw to light the area, enthralled at the sight before him.

What could’ve caused this?

Zuriak approaches a large stalagmite to his left and carefully holds out his claw to touch it. A sharp, stinging sensation causes him to retract it instantly.

“Jeez, that was cold!” He exclaims as he aggressively shakes his hand to get some feeling back. “Wait, that was cold? I shouldn’t have been hurt by that, I’m an ice elemental.” Zuriak takes a couple steps back away from the crystalized forest, nervous about the situation, and launches himself in the air. He looks down at the jungle below, then up at the towering Peaks of Peril in the moonlight, nearly reaching the cloud layer.

“I need to end this now. The more time I spend here, the greater the chance of me getting injured by mystical qilin magic like back there.” He gazes up at the cloud layer above him. “I’m afraid this is my best shot. If it worked last time, it should work again.” Zuriak outstretches both claws in the air and flies up to the clouds once more. They glow blue as he splits the outer layer of the clouds with his ice magic. An hour goes by as he continually infuses the clouds with ice magic over the Peaks and southern Kyronian jungle, causing snowflakes to form and fall down into the forest below. He ceases his spell and flies towards the Peaks, planting himself along a ridge overlooking a steep trail leading into the forest towards the grove below him.

“She has no choice but to confront me again.” Zuriak looks around him at his handiwork as the woods and trail are increasingly coated in white once more. The temperature has fallen to freezing levels and the wind has picked up. “I don’t know if I can sustain another battle with a matriarchal qilin, but I don’t need to win. I just need to survive long enough to take it and go.” Lights start illuminating the village below, and most of its residents are leaving their homes, determining the source of the recent weather. Minutes later, a lone light follows the path from the village up to the base of the Peaks where Zuriak sits. His heart races at the thought of the inevitable fight that will arise, but also at the thought of seeing her flute again. The light, carried by the horn of a blue kirin, emerges from the forest at the trailhead. Zuriak looks down at her emotionlessly, inspecting her character and physical appearance. The markings and runes on her horn glow a vibrant green now, and in her magic a flute glows the same shade of green. She looks up at him with glowing green eyes, matching her magic aura. Zuriak rises and hovers down to her level, keeping a distance between them.

“You’ve come.” He says blankly. She doesn’t respond and instead holds the flute up to her mouth. The runes along the instrument glow yellow as she begins playing a melody he has not heard of before. The notes echo through the forest and fill his ears with dread as his vision starts contorting. He cups his ears to dampen the music, but as the tune continues, he begins growing ill. Without warning, he removes his claws and stabs them into the dirt, quickly producing an ice spell. A path of ice stalagmites erupt from the ground and chase after Ivory who pauses her song and dodges the ice. Zuriak’s senses recover as he glares down at her who returns the same look.

She knows about the flute’s divine properties.

The tendrils on the flute glow red as Ivory holds it up to her mouth once more. Zuriak acts swiftly and charges at her with great force. Before she could react, he slams into her and raises her off the ground. She drops the flute and struggles against his grip. Seconds later, Ivory’s body heats up as she transforms into a nirik and launches herself out of Zuriak’s grasp. Fire erupts from her four hooves as she stabilizes and propels herself up to Zuriak’s level. He watches her in awe over the sudden transformation, caressing his burns. Ivory briefly scans the trail and forest below her, but doesn’t see where the flute landed. She then turns towards the dragon across from her and glares as their eyes meet.

“You’re aware of the power it holds.” Zuriak says down to her calmly.

“This is your last chance, dragon! Leave my kin alone!”

“Not until I reclaim what is rightfully mine!”

“I would no sooner destroy the flute myself than hand it over to you!”

Zuriak growls and clasps his claws together and forms an upside down triangle with them. They glow a vibrant azure and in a short moment, he fires two beams of ice from both claws at Ivory. Ivory produces a magical shield just in time to absorb the beam, but just as it dissipates, Zuriak charges at her and tackles her to the ground along the pathway up to the summit. As the two make contact with the rocky surface, he loses his grip and the two separate. Zuriak quickly returns to all fours and hovers slightly while Ivory struggles to stand up, still in nirik form.

“You stole everything from me, matriarchal qilin, and I’m not letting that happen again!” Zuriak charges some lightning and directs it at Ivory as she narrowly jumps away from the first bolt. He follows her up the cliffside with more bolts, gaining the upper hand while Ivory dodges the storm. Before turning the corner, Ivory doubles back and hastily shoots a stream of fire from her horn, separating the bolt and pushing him back. He ceases the barrage and evades the fire allowing Ivory time to fly again.

In the air, the two begin flying higher up along the cliffside as the clouds severely darken. The two fire shots at each other, progressively increasing in altitude to evade. The storm above transforms into a grim sight as lightning fills the clouds. Ivory and Zuriak reach the apex as the storm reaches its height. Ivory gains more speed and begins circling Zuriak, shooting beams of fire from her horn in a pinwheel fashion. Zuriak spins in synchrony with both his claws producing an ice shield. As the two ascend higher, Zuriak breaks from the spin, spreads his arms out, and couples two fingers together. He then channels lightning from one end to the other, directing it towards Ivory. It strikes her before she could charge a spell and sends her back as she loses focus on keeping herself airborne. As Zuriak prepares for another attack, Ivory regains composure and streams fire much more fervently from her hooves. She fires a beam of energy at Zuriak, pushing him away from her, but he courses through it, grabs her, and sends them both into the mountainside, breaking into a crystal-covered cavern. The two split off in different directions, with Ivory now covered in bruises and cuts. Zuriak slowly rises in the darkness and squints at his surroundings, unable to see anything.

“This all seems familiar.” He says, coming to his senses. A ball of lightning forms in one of his claws, creating light as he inspects the caverns around him. “I’ve been here before.” He looks all around him at his reflections in the crystals and touches a claw to one of them. “My vision…and the blue qilin.” His words darken as he forms a fist with his lightning claw and punches through the crystal wall. “I’m not going to let that happen.” He quickly slithers through the opening towards the light to find Ivory along the edge trying to recover. He snakes up along the wall, looking down at her viciously.

“Why are you doing this? I’ve never done anything to you.” She says through labored breaths.

“That divine instrument you possess is not rightfully yours.”

“I didn’t steal it. Many years ago, I received it as a gift from the Emperor. It used to be the Time Kirin’s flute, a relic!”

“Lies!” He shouts. Ivory shakes her head.

“I didn’t understand why I received it before, but now I know.” Ivory slowly stands up and looks him in the eyes. “You were right, I am Terra Nova’s successor, and it’s time for me to finish what she started!” She instantly transforms back into nirik form and charges at Zuriak like a fireball. Unable to move in time, she slams into him and pushes both of them back out into the sky. Zuriak uses his ice to push himself away from the kirin and gains more ground while Ivory chases after him. Her horn glows a deep pinkish-red and she fires strange red ice shards at Zuriak from afar. He dodges them and uses his ice shield to deflect most of the shots.

What is this spell? Kirins don’t possess ice magic!

Zuriak charges some lightning and fires it at Ivory, but she swiftly dodges and sends a wave of fire barreling towards him. He summons another ice shield, but it shatters and sends him back down towards the summit. His impact creates a small crater as Ivory lands down next to him. He rolls over and struggles to his claws, looking at Ivory’s horn symbol.

“I didn’t realize it before, but you’re an ice qilin. Zenya, the Zyntrithian symbol for ice is on your horn.” He notes, remembering what Idylya told him back at the monolith all those years ago. That’s what your goddess gave you?” He spits.

“You have no idea what I’m capable of.” She answers, matching his tone.

“Are you prepared to give up everything?” Zuriak closes his eyes and releases a shockwave from his core, sending Ivory towards the other side of the summit. She gets up, but stumbles a bit and looks to the sky at the fading crescent moon and red star above.

“There’s more to a matriarchal kirin than the Zyntrithian symbol on their horn!” She shouts from the other side. Zuriak watches as her body glows the same pinkish-red color as her ice shots before, an aura forming around her horn. Magical thorns erupt from her horn during the charge as Zuriak moves back, uncertain of the spell.

Could this be the same crystalized ice I saw in the forest?

Without warning, Ivory fires the spell directly at Zuriak. He instantly holds up both claws and blocks it with an ice shield, using the force of the beam to keep him balanced. The shield progressively breaks down as his chakra drops. Ivory sends a brutish wave of the beam down towards Zuriak, shattering his shield and stance. The red beam strikes him in the chest and quickly coats his entire body in a layer of red ice. Zuriak closes his eyes, wishing for the pain to end as his body is crystallized. Seconds later, the beam dissipates as he opens his eyes again, peering through the diffracted crystal at the kirin, the pain going numb. She collapses to the ground, breathing heavily and struggling to stand up. The markings and rings on her horn turn a charcoal black as she collapses once more, unable to get back up. She looks at Zuriak pitifully as the lifeforce from her body fades away. The tremors caused by her magic cause the rocks around her to loosen and slide down the mountainside, taking her with them. Before long, he witnesses her disappear down the cliffside presumably falling into the woods below. As minutes pass, a slight sense of relief washes over Zuriak, but is quickly replaced with dread at his current imprisonment.

I have to find a way out of here. There’s still a chance.

Zuriak uses his magic to break the ice, but not a single crack is formed. He then tries to move his limbs, but the ice doesn’t give in. He continues struggling when suddenly, the ice around his form begins compressing, applying intense pressure to his body. He tries screaming in pain, but is unable to move his mouth or any facial features as the ice continues its crushing force. An odd, thorny sensation is then felt across his body at various points, much like acupuncture for a brief moment before the ice’s force loosens up. Moments later, the ice cracks and splits without any force, miraculously freeing him. Zuriak collapses to the rocky ground, breathing deeply and caressing his extremities.

“I’m free? But…how?” He coughs up, looking into his reflection in the red ice. Zuriak stands up on all fours, feeling the same strange acupuncture feeling across his body as he walks over to where Ivory fell from. He looks down at the vertical drop, trying to see where she fell, but to no avail.

“She could not handle the power of the gods and her chakra network turned to ash. Young and inexperienced, she did not know what she was getting into and it led to her death. Perhaps the spell failed and that’s why I’m free now.” In an instant, he grabs his left arm, feeling a sudden rush of pain as he turns away from the ledge.

“The flute should be along the trail somewhere below.” He hovers up and carefully inspects the rocky pathway leading back down to the forest while holding his arm. Near the base, glistening in some rays of morning sunlight, a thin metallic object sits wedged in the rocks near the treeline. Zuriak smiles weakly, hovers down towards it and picks it up.

“After so much time, and so much pain, I finally did it. I finally recovered your most cherished item, Idylya, your divine instrument. Maybe now I can reunite with Scarlet and-” Zuriak finishes triumphantly but is cut off by a strange phantom feeling in his left arm. He holds it up and is stunned to see his entire left claw is gone, replaced by light particles flaking off along his entire arm.

“What…?” He whispers as he looks behind him at the rest of his long body all experiencing the same effect. He carefully places his claw-less arm on the ground, but collapses, causing him to drop the flute. Quickly getting back up, he rushes over to the flute as it rolls down the trail, grabs it, and launches himself in the air, leaving a trail of light particles.

“No no no no no no, is this part of that spell? Was it the ice? I gotta find Scarlet-” Zuriak is interrupted mid-flight as he comes crashing down in the forest near a lake. “What’s happening!?” He drops the flute and attempts to shoot ice from his right claw, but nothing happens. He then tries breathing ice, but to the same effect, produces nothing. “My magic is gone…” Zuriak looks around at the forest, his flaking body, his missing left claw, then finally at the flute, recognizing the futility of his situation. “I’m not going to make it…” He says with pain in his voice.

He picks up the flute and limps through the trees, feeling his tail get lighter as it begins disintegrating into stardust. Beyond the forest, he continues up a grassy hill where a waterfall is spilling into the lake below when one of his legs collapse, succumbing more to the spell’s effects. He falls on his stomach, now motionless, looking down at the lake below from the cliffside.

“I’m not going to make it, Idylya.” He repeats with more sorrow as he struggles to keep tears from forming around his eyes. Memories of his past flood him as all his mistakes come to light.

“I had a chance to make a life for myself, and I blew it.” He chokes back a couple sobs as his left arm completely disintegrates, leaving only his right arm, grasping the flute tightly. He holds it out towards the lake, letting it glisten in the sun once more.

“I kept living in the past, thinking there was a way out, clouded by the vision of connecting with you again through this divine instrument in the hopes I’d see you again, but I didn’t realize you were here all along. Scarlet…she’s all alone now because of me. I was unable to let go, tethered to all of my past mistakes.” The clouds above start dispersing, making way for the late morning sun to shine through. Soon rays of sunlight bombard the field creating a calm sense of atmosphere.

“I’m scared. I don’t know what lies ahead, or if there even is anything beyond life. I wish I could ask you, and tell you everything I’ve been through. And you would tell me everything is going to be okay because it doesn’t matter.” Tears start streaming down onto the grass.

The sun’s rays eventually combine and light up the hill and lake in a golden aura. Zuriak takes a deep breath as his midsection slowly disintegrates, moving up his body. The light particles mix in the sunlight, flowing with the wind.

“I will always be the sun and stars shining down upon you, and you will always be the moon protecting me at night. Through time eternal, nothing will separate our bond, and I will always remember you.”

Tears riding down his face, he embraces her flute one last time before a brush of wind disperses the remaining fragments of his body. The flute drops to the ground where Zuriak once was, but nevermore.