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Mirage the DragonHeart
You should not have taken it from me.
It should not mean that much to you.
A sigh fell from the inky lips of the mare as she walked. Sunrise was not far away – and for the first time in years, the mare had to worry about it. Her eyes, so wide and sensitive to light that they saw the darkest of nights as the clearest of days, could not take the full illumination of the Sun God’s wrath any longer. So she wandered all these past nights, searching for that which her dragon took and purposefully misplaced. Akaith the delightful creature that she was, had come to the conclusion that the reclusive life was not for her beloved any longer – it was time to greet the day and live as mortals.
Mirage did not want to admit that she felt the same way.
So devoted to the Goddess was she, that the thought of losing the gift the cosmic being had bestowed upon her for all her Leal service was heartwrenching - soul-crushing. The anxiety that had quickened her heart rate when she had felt the warm licks of sunlight kissing her dark hide for the first time in years, and the sudden transformation into her other form that followed, had been enough to unsettle her for many nights. For only during the night did she search – confined to caves and groves otherwise, the dragonmare was still as reclusive as ever, unwilling to let go of the memory of the life she once lived – the life she once ruled.
It is in the past – leave it there. Sharp words came from the queenly dragoness that shared the soul-bond with the mare. Golden scales, muted by moonlight, flitted from tree to tree above her. Mirage walked beneath her as an equine, though she was ever aware of the dark, fiery magic that lurked just beneath her skin, ready to burst forth at any given moment in a flurry of fire and pain and agony.
And where did she wander? Mirage knew once her hooves settled upon Helovian ground that this realm would be her body’s resting place, that she would forever remain here – even when the Wraiths stole across the land and she was enveloped by the Moon Goddess’ dark magics to preserve her, she knew that death would find her one day, and that it would be upon these grounds she fell.
Stop, her beloved bonded pressed upon her mind, willing the mare to cease all thoughts of death and dying and misery. A huff of laughter passed through the mare’s lips.
“Why? Why stop thinking of what is happening to us both, Akaith?” The mare did stop her motion then, and looked to the golden queen with sharp, wizened eyes of molten amber. “Look at me – I am no spring foal prancing upon lush meadows, leading a valiant army towards glory and wonder. I - we - are old, Akaith.” Between them they had lived many decades. “I still remember finding you at Isilme, and being chosen by your nestguard at the time to hatch and raise you. I remember our adventures there – and I remember the doom that befell the realm, causing us to flee and seek safer pastures.” So nostalgic did she become that even the golden dragon queen settled and quietened, affected as she was by the emotion that overcame her bonded.
“I remember, before then, how I lived with my siblings, how they watched me grow, trained me in the ways of shadows and fire – I was a dancer of the deadly arts, and oh, how I excelled at it,” she reminisced quietly, her voice soft and melodic, gentle on the chilly breeze that whispered through the trees – a constant reminder of the Goddess whose Wind powers were ever-present. “I remember my dam and sire, laying together upon a stony ridge one night, never to rise again. To die like that Akaith – peacefully, alongside the one you love and surrounded only by those who cared for you – I have, I think, always wanted that. Rage might be in my name but it is something I have always fought to keep hidden – I have only ever wanted to love, and be loved for my existence upon the world.” The dragoness above her crooned a song, a melody that resonated through the lands and souls of all who might have known the mare in her time upon these lands –
For the golden queen knew what was coming now. There was no turning back.
The mare’s eyes glistened with unshed tears, tears for all the hate and harm she had caused in her failed attempt to live a life of love and compassion. Oh, Mirage always loved, wholly and completely, and she loved many who walked through her life. But it was that love that destroyed her – for when she was betrayed (and it was only a matter of when such a thing would occur), it destroyed her, body and soul. It awoke the dragon within her, the rage that was in her name and within her soul, the fire that she tried so hard to keep within. Over the years she had different ways to cope – be it through dancing amongst the shadows, or sparring with her brothers, or even embracing the dragon form that the Goddess had bestowed upon her. Occasionally it would rear its ugly head and she would behave rashly – she thought of the wars she had caused, of the hatred and she had helped brew, the sheer chaos and trouble she had impressed upon all around her – and she would carry that guilt with her until her dying day.
Which would be today.
I will see the dawn one last time, she spoke to her bonded through their link, speaking of things the wise queen already knew. Yes, today would be the day she see the sun rise, and let it blind her once and for all. Today would be the day she laid to rest in the embrace of the bond that bound her heart and soul to the golden queen dragon Akaith – she would depart on her own terms, and she could feel the sickness in her body spreading.
One last time? Akaith queried as she floated upon golden wings to land upon her beloved’s back.
One last time, the dragonmare returned, her age-old smirk curling her lips as she bowed her dark cranium and summoned the fire and darkness within her, letting it engulf her, letting it cover her bodice in iridescent scales, allowing wings to sprout from her shoulder blades, elongating her tail and nape so that she became no longer equine, but draconian.
As the sky lightened with the creeping dawn, the dragon rose from where it crouched and peered at its surrounds. With a shiver, and a shimmering resettling of scales, she tested her body, stretching her limbs and wings out before realising just where it was she stood. At the cusp of the Grove and the World’s Edge border, overlooking the great Endless Blue, the dragonmare was not trespassing but instead perched upon the precipice of the cliff that overlooked the great expanse of sand and ocean. With wings spread, she flew into the twilight of the dimming night, with her bonded flying by her side, and farewelled the starry skies for the final time.
She did not know how long she flew, but the Sun was lapping at the eastern border of the realm by the time she landed. Amongst the trees, it did not hurt her eyes as much as she expected – she could still look to the western horizon and think it was hours away yet – though she knew better.
Hooves replaced talons, and a dark, shadowy pelt replaced glimmering scales. As she resumed living in her own, true-born skin, she felt her other magic, that of illusion and mystery, wash over her. It’s embrace was like an old friend’s warm hug – it was what she needed as she farewelled this land and prepared to shut her eyes forever.
A deep breath expanded her ribs as she released even that magic too, and looked to her bonded, who sat at her eye level upon a branch. Velvet was the texture of her muzzle as it stroked the scaly nape of the dragoness, who crooned warmly under her beloved’s touch. Dragons could not cry tears, but Mirage could feel the heartbreak and soul-shaking emotions that toiled and roiled within as she held her beloved queen this last time. It wasn't until she pulled away from her to wipe her own tears away upon a slender foreleg that the mare heard something else – a distraction, a snapping of sticks, an approach of another. Delicate ears pricked at the obvious sounds of approach, and the mare had to check where she was – she did not want to be trespassing, to be ushered away from her chosen place of death, - she feared what might happen should whomever was arriving was an unfriendly set of eyes, or horns, or wings.
But her dragon did not worry, her dragon sung a song of welcome to the one who approached, and Mirage soon knew why.
How could she ever take from her daughter one last embrace, one last farewell?
It should not mean that much to you.
A sigh fell from the inky lips of the mare as she walked. Sunrise was not far away – and for the first time in years, the mare had to worry about it. Her eyes, so wide and sensitive to light that they saw the darkest of nights as the clearest of days, could not take the full illumination of the Sun God’s wrath any longer. So she wandered all these past nights, searching for that which her dragon took and purposefully misplaced. Akaith the delightful creature that she was, had come to the conclusion that the reclusive life was not for her beloved any longer – it was time to greet the day and live as mortals.
Mirage did not want to admit that she felt the same way.
So devoted to the Goddess was she, that the thought of losing the gift the cosmic being had bestowed upon her for all her Leal service was heartwrenching - soul-crushing. The anxiety that had quickened her heart rate when she had felt the warm licks of sunlight kissing her dark hide for the first time in years, and the sudden transformation into her other form that followed, had been enough to unsettle her for many nights. For only during the night did she search – confined to caves and groves otherwise, the dragonmare was still as reclusive as ever, unwilling to let go of the memory of the life she once lived – the life she once ruled.
It is in the past – leave it there. Sharp words came from the queenly dragoness that shared the soul-bond with the mare. Golden scales, muted by moonlight, flitted from tree to tree above her. Mirage walked beneath her as an equine, though she was ever aware of the dark, fiery magic that lurked just beneath her skin, ready to burst forth at any given moment in a flurry of fire and pain and agony.
And where did she wander? Mirage knew once her hooves settled upon Helovian ground that this realm would be her body’s resting place, that she would forever remain here – even when the Wraiths stole across the land and she was enveloped by the Moon Goddess’ dark magics to preserve her, she knew that death would find her one day, and that it would be upon these grounds she fell.
Stop, her beloved bonded pressed upon her mind, willing the mare to cease all thoughts of death and dying and misery. A huff of laughter passed through the mare’s lips.
“Why? Why stop thinking of what is happening to us both, Akaith?” The mare did stop her motion then, and looked to the golden queen with sharp, wizened eyes of molten amber. “Look at me – I am no spring foal prancing upon lush meadows, leading a valiant army towards glory and wonder. I - we - are old, Akaith.” Between them they had lived many decades. “I still remember finding you at Isilme, and being chosen by your nestguard at the time to hatch and raise you. I remember our adventures there – and I remember the doom that befell the realm, causing us to flee and seek safer pastures.” So nostalgic did she become that even the golden dragon queen settled and quietened, affected as she was by the emotion that overcame her bonded.
“I remember, before then, how I lived with my siblings, how they watched me grow, trained me in the ways of shadows and fire – I was a dancer of the deadly arts, and oh, how I excelled at it,” she reminisced quietly, her voice soft and melodic, gentle on the chilly breeze that whispered through the trees – a constant reminder of the Goddess whose Wind powers were ever-present. “I remember my dam and sire, laying together upon a stony ridge one night, never to rise again. To die like that Akaith – peacefully, alongside the one you love and surrounded only by those who cared for you – I have, I think, always wanted that. Rage might be in my name but it is something I have always fought to keep hidden – I have only ever wanted to love, and be loved for my existence upon the world.” The dragoness above her crooned a song, a melody that resonated through the lands and souls of all who might have known the mare in her time upon these lands –
For the golden queen knew what was coming now. There was no turning back.
The mare’s eyes glistened with unshed tears, tears for all the hate and harm she had caused in her failed attempt to live a life of love and compassion. Oh, Mirage always loved, wholly and completely, and she loved many who walked through her life. But it was that love that destroyed her – for when she was betrayed (and it was only a matter of when such a thing would occur), it destroyed her, body and soul. It awoke the dragon within her, the rage that was in her name and within her soul, the fire that she tried so hard to keep within. Over the years she had different ways to cope – be it through dancing amongst the shadows, or sparring with her brothers, or even embracing the dragon form that the Goddess had bestowed upon her. Occasionally it would rear its ugly head and she would behave rashly – she thought of the wars she had caused, of the hatred and she had helped brew, the sheer chaos and trouble she had impressed upon all around her – and she would carry that guilt with her until her dying day.
Which would be today.
I will see the dawn one last time, she spoke to her bonded through their link, speaking of things the wise queen already knew. Yes, today would be the day she see the sun rise, and let it blind her once and for all. Today would be the day she laid to rest in the embrace of the bond that bound her heart and soul to the golden queen dragon Akaith – she would depart on her own terms, and she could feel the sickness in her body spreading.
One last time? Akaith queried as she floated upon golden wings to land upon her beloved’s back.
One last time, the dragonmare returned, her age-old smirk curling her lips as she bowed her dark cranium and summoned the fire and darkness within her, letting it engulf her, letting it cover her bodice in iridescent scales, allowing wings to sprout from her shoulder blades, elongating her tail and nape so that she became no longer equine, but draconian.
As the sky lightened with the creeping dawn, the dragon rose from where it crouched and peered at its surrounds. With a shiver, and a shimmering resettling of scales, she tested her body, stretching her limbs and wings out before realising just where it was she stood. At the cusp of the Grove and the World’s Edge border, overlooking the great Endless Blue, the dragonmare was not trespassing but instead perched upon the precipice of the cliff that overlooked the great expanse of sand and ocean. With wings spread, she flew into the twilight of the dimming night, with her bonded flying by her side, and farewelled the starry skies for the final time.
She did not know how long she flew, but the Sun was lapping at the eastern border of the realm by the time she landed. Amongst the trees, it did not hurt her eyes as much as she expected – she could still look to the western horizon and think it was hours away yet – though she knew better.
Hooves replaced talons, and a dark, shadowy pelt replaced glimmering scales. As she resumed living in her own, true-born skin, she felt her other magic, that of illusion and mystery, wash over her. It’s embrace was like an old friend’s warm hug – it was what she needed as she farewelled this land and prepared to shut her eyes forever.
A deep breath expanded her ribs as she released even that magic too, and looked to her bonded, who sat at her eye level upon a branch. Velvet was the texture of her muzzle as it stroked the scaly nape of the dragoness, who crooned warmly under her beloved’s touch. Dragons could not cry tears, but Mirage could feel the heartbreak and soul-shaking emotions that toiled and roiled within as she held her beloved queen this last time. It wasn't until she pulled away from her to wipe her own tears away upon a slender foreleg that the mare heard something else – a distraction, a snapping of sticks, an approach of another. Delicate ears pricked at the obvious sounds of approach, and the mare had to check where she was – she did not want to be trespassing, to be ushered away from her chosen place of death, - she feared what might happen should whomever was arriving was an unfriendly set of eyes, or horns, or wings.
But her dragon did not worry, her dragon sung a song of welcome to the one who approached, and Mirage soon knew why.
How could she ever take from her daughter one last embrace, one last farewell?
floweringfatality | larfsalot
on deviantart
