The Elderien Chronicles

(On the night of the Mages' Massacre)

Alastair groaned as the strain of the magic he was channeling began to exert its effect on him.

He fell to his knees, hands grabbing his head like doing that would make it all better.

His dragon roared in the sky as it flew around, lighting up the night with a stream of fire that it shot at the clouds.

Jaghryx, his dragon, flew down towards the Elderien's keep, the home of the mages that live in Elderien. As the beast approached, the mages shuffling through the grounds of the keep began to dash into various houses they could find.

Then Jaghryx opened his mouth and Alastair watched in horror as his dragon shot a stream of fire at the unlucky mages who could not get to safety on time.

"Keep your shields up! Do not let the fire through!" The head Mage barked at the others who still stood their ground, magical shields raised to block the flames, but others were not so lucky.

The air was filled with the smell of burning flesh as mages screamed. Their screams made it all worse, for Alastair could no longer think. His guilt had wrapped itself around him. He was in agony, both inside and out.

"Jaghryx, I command you. Stop!"

Alastair called out to his dragon but Jaghryx flew to the sky again, getting ready to mount another attack.

"He's coming back! Raise your Shields!" The head Mage, Master Orion yelled.

As Jaghryx began to descend again, Alastair cried out in a loud voice, one that almost made him lose his voice.

"Jaghryx! Obey me! Obey your lord! I command you to stop!"

But Jaghryx did not obey his commands. He opened his mouth again and shot out a fireball which, this time, was able to penetrate a few of the houses and enflame the mages that were hiding within. Some of the mages screamed out as the fire burned them.

Those that were not burned began to arrange themselves into a formation, joining the Head Mage and the others who were raising Shields already. There was little or nothing a mage could do against a dragon, for the beasts were impervious to magical attacks.

Only their lord could control them and Alastair was not having much progress in doing that.

Suddenly, his menu popped up.

Name: Alastair

Status: Undecided

Energy level: 700

Affiliations: Sorcery

Animal Companion: Dragon

"Jaghryx, please... stop."

Alastair begged, a stream of tears falling from his eyes as he did. His magic was drained. Even a mage of his caliber had its limits and Alastair was beginning to realize that.

He wished he could turn back the hands of time, to make sure the deadly mistake he had made never happened in the first place. But not even he could do that-turn back time. He wept as Jaghryx roared in the sky, preparing for another attack.

"You are weak Alastair. You cannot control him. You cannot make it better. You are weak!"

Alastair heard a voice speak within him. It was the voice of the same evil that was controlling Jaghryx, a voice he so despised to hear. It belonged to Asmodeus, a powerful demon from Hades, one who had made Alastair his puppet.

Alastair had decided to go into sorcery, practicing the forbidden spells and eventually binding himself with Asmodeus in a bid to make himself even more powerful than he already was. But Asmodeus had begun to merge himself with Alastair's mind and was able to use that connection to take control over Jaghryx. He wanted to destroy the Mages first before he launched his attack on Elderien itself.

"You! You deceived me."

Alastair said to Asmodeus who only burst out into a peal of creepy laughter that seemed to irritate Alastair's very own soul.

"You were foolish and greedy. You wanted it all, supremacy in all things. You were stupid enough to think that I would share this world with you. As powerful as you are, I never expected you to be so naive. And that is actually a good thing for me."

Asmodeus said and laughed again.

As he did, Jaghryx descended from the sky and hurled at the mages that had formed powerful shields on the ground. He burned right through them as he did, knocking a few off with his large and powerful wings and catching some with his claws.

Jaghryx took the mages he had caught up to the sky and dropped them. Then he descended after them, grabbing them with his mouth and crushing them with his large teeth.

Alastair checked his menu again. His energy was draining very fast.

Name: Alastair

Status: Mage

Energy level: 500

Affiliations: Sorcery

Animal Companion: Dragon

He could not believe his eyes. Alastair was one-third of his energy level already!

"I never should have trusted you. This is all my fault. I never should have fallen into the dark ways. But I know what to do. I know how to stop you Asmodeus. You will not win."

Alastair said and looked at Jaghryx. Then, he slowly stood up and looked down from the top of the cliff on which he was standing. There on the ground, Alastair saw the Head mage forming Shields with his magic and getting assisted by Blaize, the second-best mage in the keep after him. There was nothing they could do. They could only delay the inevitable.

Towers burned, ash and smoke filled the air and it seemed like the sky was getting blackened by the terrible smoke.

So Alastair sighed, wiped the tear off his face, and took a deep breath. He stretched out his hand towards Jaghryx and managed to contain the stream of tears that were trying to fall from his eyes.

"I call on the powers of the nine realms to bear me witness..." He began, and as he did, a bright light suddenly began to shine from his hand. The mages looked at him as he took another breath and resumed his spell.

"I call on the elements and all the spirits of the Divine..." Then he looked at Jaghryx who at that time, was looking at him now.

Jaghryx's blood-red eyes had turned normal and as he hovered in the sky, he seemed to give Alastair the look not to proceed with what he was about to do. But Alastair had no choice. He shut his eyes and sighed again.

"I, Alastair of the Elderien's keep, renounce you, Jaghryx, as my dragon. I break our connection, I break all that binds us together and I renounce my status as Dragonlord."

Alastair said and Jaghryx roared in the sky. He shot out a huge stream of fire which lit up the sky, making it seem like it was daytime. The clouds ran from the flames. It was an astonishing sight to see! The deed had been done. It was over.

Alastair looked at Jaghryx as the dragon slowly descended and rested on one of the buildings which had been torched by the flames. He could no longer feel the presence of the demon in his mind and he felt relief. He had managed to defeat Asmodeus but it cost him everything he had ever built. He lost the very thing he had struggled to achieve in all his time at the Dragon's keep, his Dragonlordship. But it saved lives, and that was all that mattered to him at that moment.

He slowly descended to the keep, watching mages cry and groan in pain. Countless dead bodies lay on the ground, all burnt beyond recognition. As he walked past the mages, they all looked at him. Even Jaghryx was gazing at him. He slowly approached the Head Mage and Blaize quickly twisted his staff with expert-level accuracy and pointed the sharpened edge at him.

"Do not take a step further."

Blaize said slowly in a threatening tone. Alastair stopped walking and looked at the Head Mage. He knew Blaize and he knew he wouldn't hesitate to cut him down if it got to that.

"Master Orion..."

Alastair began but the Head Mage raised his hand and silenced him.

"You have shamed me, Alastair. You have shamed Elderien's keep. What made you go into the dark arts? You were already the greatest mage in this kingdom. You were the only Dragonlord this kingdom had had in a hundred years, a feat you attained at just twenty-one. What made you give all of that away?" Orion asked but Alastair wept.

"I will make it right. Please. I will make it right. Just give me the chance to correct my mistakes. Please, Master Orion, I beg you."

Alastair begged but Orion shook his head.

"You are no longer welcome at Elderien's keep. Effective immediately, you are banished from this place. Should you ever return, you will be executed on the spot. Now, go! Leave this place!"

Orion yelled at him and Alastair took a step back. He looked at the faces of all the mages present there and they all agreed with the Head Mage. Then, he slowly looked at Jaghryx. The dragon growled slowly, setting its wings to fly away.

"Jaghryx..."

Alastair began but the dragon growled at him angrily and flew into the sky. As it did, a portal opened in the sky and Jaghryx flew through. Then the portal closed and with it, all of Alastair's hope.