Desolate Peaks
Rain and wind howl through these jagged, twisted spires of bare iron. Green electrical fire coruscates along each sword-like shard, with larger arcs dancing amongst them with every lightning strike from the raging storm. The peaks seem to float between two layers of black clouds, although glimpses of dark or burning land appear below as the wind tears open brief windows in the turmoil.

Alptraum is starting to realize that overusing the Shadow (or other forms of magical exhaustion) leads to having odd dreams. And his oddest ones usually bring him to this terrible place.

"Aw come on, I didn't do that much with the Shadow," Alptraum can't help but grumble when his eyes crack open at the sound of thunder, "And I'm sure Mave will recover." Groaning, the Eeee rolls over, then pushes himself slowly up to his feet. Out snaps his wings which fold and flick up to shield him from the expected rain. "Is this punishment, Kaira?" he asks the air around himself, then comes to the realization he's alone.

"She punishes you, then?" rumbles the voice of doom from overhead. It seems that Vorgulremik is clinging to the mountain above Alptraum's perch, head down.

Alptraum freezes and then very slowly swallows to buy himself some time to suppress the urge to run screaming. "No, but I was worried she started," the Eeee eventually remarks. "Why are you hanging on that mountain?"

"Do you not hang upside-down to relax?" the dragon asks. "And… hmmm… there's something a little different about you." The head comes closer to sniff at Alptraum, nearly sucking him off his feet from the vacuum.

"Ack, I am not a handkerchief!" Alptraum complains as he swats at the huge nostril, "These are wings! And of course I hang upside down, I'm a bat, we're built for it." After using his toe claws to ensure his stance on the rock, the bat's brow arches. "Different? Different how?" Alptraum has to ask … and of course stands methodically checking his various body parts, starting with his right hand, then working from toes up.

"Ah, your spirit has a clinging… scent… " the dragon chuckles, and then winks at Alptraum. "You've been mating with my daughter, haven't you?"

"Since when is what I do with others your business?" Alptraum has to ask, "It's not like … wait a moment, did you say mating? What she did was the equivalent of her species … er."

The dragon launches from the side of the mountain, only to land lower down so that he's eye to eye with Alptraum on his ledge. "You cannot trust females, my boy," he purrs.

"If you're about to suggest I should spend intimate time with males … I think I'm going to find myself another mountain," Alptraum retorts as he crosses his arms over his chest. "And I never said I trusted her! There was no harm done, I came out intact and unchanged."

"But do you feel the same way towards her as before?" the dragon asks. "Intimacy… well, that's for mortals. Although, now that you bring it up, and since Kaira is not hovering about you like a protective hen… are you ready to continue your education in regards to me?"

"I don't trust her, but she had advantages to warrant keeping her around," Alptraum claims. The Eeee then flicks his wings, his ears wilt, and he looks moderately nauseous. "I'm not biting your tongue again!" he blurts.

"Oh no, that would nearly revisit the same or similar memory," the dragon notes. "No, this time, I think… something more personal. Something Kaira would not allow you to see if she were here."

"I already saw that on the the steel dragon that expressed interest in Tulani," Alptraum claims. "I still have nightmares."

The dragon actually blinks, and then laughs. "I meant memories, Alptraum," he notes, after cupping his wings over the ledge to block out the storm. The only light seems to come from his glowing golden eyes.

The bat actually smirks. "Well, if all else fails I can take up travel comedy. I was able to make the most evil being in existence laugh," he says. After he pushes back his now wet hair, he asks, "What kind of memories?"

"Telling ones," Vorgulremik promises. "Not just of me, but perhaps of your ally as well."

"And how do I know that they're not modified in any way as to alter the truth, hmm?" Alptraum asks pointedly.

"Have I ever been anything but honest with you, Alptraum?" the dragon asks in mock hurt. "You cannot know, of course, aside from previous experience. If I could alter what you saw, would I not tailor things to make you more sympathetic?"

"You do whatever is in your best interest. Modifications can be simply omitting aspects, you know," Alptraum points out, "I used to do slight of hand tricks. Simple movements completely change perception and all that. I'm not saying I won't see the memories … I'm just stating I'm not a complete fool … More about fifty percent fool. I never finished foole school, I don't have the hat with all the bells, you see."

"Then consider this: in the end, all that may remain of me are the memories you take," the dragon explains. "It is in my ultimate best interest that they be true, you see."

Alptraum nods at that. "Now that's a fair statement and one I agree with," the bat concedes. "So what sort of horror do I have to do to enter these memories?"

Vorgulremik rises up, so that it seems a river of giant scales is cascading upward (or that Alptraum is falling down past them) until his chest is level with the bat. There in the center is a single giant scale, scarred and melted. A white, star-shaped scar remarkably similar to Alptraum's own dominates the scale, standing as tall as the Eeee. At its center is an apparent stab wound a good six-inches across, which oozes dark blood with every beat of the dragon's heart. "This wound will never heal, not while I am held by Kaira. Drink the blood, and you will relive my defeat."

Alptraum holds up a finger. "Okay, aside from knowing how vile your blood tastes … that wound scares me," he says, then pulls open his own shirt to expose the white scar. "I don't like the similarity."

"Another sign that we have much in common, perhaps," Vorgulremik notes. "And both were inflicted by draconic women. Your wound made you stronger though, did it not?"

"More that it scared me into doing something or dying," Alptraum points out, "And I have nothing in common with you!" The Eeee grumbles and releases his shirt. There he stands staring at the oozing dark blood and before he even tastes it, nausea hits him. "I know I'm going to regret this," Alptraum mutters. The Eeee then leans in and presses his opened jaw against part of the six-inch gash. He tries to not taste it and just swallow quickly.

The world spins for Alptraum, and then… he loses himself in something else…

---

There is no going back. The flaming portal is miles behind him now, and the Veridan hounds must be through it by now. But they have their weaknesses, and Vorgulremik knows them well. He turns towards the nearest city he can sense, counting on his tormentors' dislike of collateral damage. There's a large population center ahead of him, he can tell. The closer he gets, the more he can sense.

Mortals. Perhaps a million of them, and not even a hint of a wizard or sorceress. For the first time in days, the Steel Dragon parts his lips in a grin. Easy prey, and pitiful enough to elicit the protective instincts of his pursuers.

That opinion does not last long, however. Even as he approaches the outskirts of the city, the air begins to fill with smoke and noise and flame. The natives have flak cannons! And that means they may have armed aircraft as well. Vorgulremik homes in on the nearest artillery nest, and launches a fireball that takes it out – along with any other buildings within a hundred yards. It doesn't matter though, as the dragon suddenly feels light headed for a moment. There's something wrong – I'm not recovering my strength, he realizes.

Ignoring the cannons and heading for the city center, Vorgulremik devotes his arcane senses to studying the world around him. There's magic here; more than enough to sustain him. But something is preventing him from drawing on it, which he'd normally do without even thinking about it. This time, he focuses his abilities and reaches out tap the magic

and nearly falls from the air! He recovers at he last moment by beating his monstrous wings until they creak with the strain; another worrying sign. The flow has been reversed! It's draining me instead of feeding me, Vorgulremik discovers. He feels something like admiration. A trap. Set just for me. Clever.

Time is limited. He chooses his roost; the largest building in the city. It has a minaret- like dome, and Vorgulremik chooses that as his final roost. His only chance of escape now is to commit suicide before his enemies can take advantage of his weakening state. Damn them, he curses inwardly. But on a new world, with a new body, they will not be so quick to find me. I can build my strength in seclusion, until they've forgotten about me.

The cannon fire is more dense now, and beginning to become an irritant. Shells simply bounce off of the dragon's scales, but his wings are itching from holes and tears now, and the weight of his massive body is sapping his strength faster than he anticipated. Without magic, a creature of his size simply can't exist.

Limbs, claws and talons extend now for landing on the giant dome – and then something impacts hard into the monster's side and literally spins him around. Vorgulremik crashes down onto the dome spine first. His wing bones snap, and his back breaks in several places. Even breathing is painful, due to the weight of his chest and ribcage.

There's nothing wrong with his eyes, however. He spots the retreating streak of golden light. Fairy dragon, he curses. The Veridan won't be far behind, so Vorgulremik works to ignore the pain of his broken body and prepare a final spell. He will release all of his remaining magic in a single burst; destroying his body and most of the city around him. Then, his spirit will be free to

PAIN

His eyes open and he glares down at the center of his chest. An armored dragon is there, looking like a midge atop a pachyderm so great is the difference in relative size. The figure wields a giant sword with a glowing red blade – and it is slowly melting its way through the massive scale protecting his heart. Even in his current state, he should have been able to detect the dragon. He checks it now, looking for some sort of stealth magic and finds nothing.

The dragon trying to burn through to his heart was undetectable because it isn't a true dragon at all! It's mortal.

Despite the pain of breathing, Vorgulremik opens his mouth and laughs. "They send an insect to sting me?" he rumbles derisively. "A mortal to slay a god? A parody of a dragon?"

There's a sudden stab of pain as the sword sinks another foot into the scale, causing cracks to spread from it. "Then destroy me, if I am but an irritant," the smaller dragon says, it's voice indicating a female.

For a moment, Vorgulremik considers doing just that: he can still move his head enough to burn the insolent creature with his breath – but doing so would drain his magic too low for him to detonate himself. It's to be a race then, he thinks. "What is your name, morsel?" he asks instead, while devoting the rest of his concentration to gathering his remaining magic.

"Kainudy Schantryssrhyn, former Queen of Tyrrhyn," the armored midge replies. "And you are Vorgulremik Soldatenmangel, last and greatest of the soon-to-be-extinct Molryekarin."

"Never heard of you," Vorgulremik notes, finding it harder to concentrate through the searing pain of that blade. "But I can tell you've no true magic of your own. You are not of the Veridan, and I have not met your like before so you can hardly hold a grudge against me. Are you the one who came up with this trap?"

"Yes, I am," Kainudy replies, pressing the blade another few inches and causing the cracks in the scale to expand out into the points of a star. "They decided they needed someone with my special talents, and I needed a challenge to give me some purpose in life. And so here we are."

"You expect me to believe you are doing this for sport?" Vorgulremik asks. Just a little more time, he thinks. "You aren't even a real dragon. What special talents can you possibly have?"

"Well, ruthlessness for one," Kainudy replies in a reasonable tone. "And the will to do whatever it takes to win. The Veridan seem hesitant about genocide. It goes against their moral sensibilities. You can imagine the mountain of lies I had to tell them in order to get this trap set up. This world will never recover from the inversion of magic. It will die within a few years. But that doesn't really matter now… "

"Impressive! You have the spirit of a true dragon, Kainudy. But you lack the power to truly destroy me. Kill me, yes… that I grant you. But as a true immortal, I will simply reform my body elsewhere."

"Oh, that. Yes, well… the Fairy Dragons helped me with that," the small dragon says. "This sword isn't just to pierce your heart – it's to pierce the barriers protecting your soul. It's going to be your prison, Vorgulremik. Once I have your soul, I will bring you to the elves. They've had a lot of practice at dissecting your kin to release those they've devoured. For one as great as you, I expect it will take many centuries, and be excruciatingly painful. But it's nothing personal, as you guessed. I'm just doing my job."

"What?" Vorgulremik coughs out in anger. The cough isn't just from the progressive failing of his lungs, but an attempt to knock the smaller dragon off his chest. It doesn't work. "Impossible! I cannot be held in such a way!"

"Oh, don't worry, I'll be there to hold you. Well, a part of me," Kainudy explains. "A copy of my own spirit is bound in the blade. Once your soul is pierced, it will bind to you and share your True Name. It's really an honor, as I'm a wonderful person to be around. Everyone tells me so. And then when they've cut out the last of your prisoners, my spirit-clone will unravel, and you will unravel with her. It's only because of your great power and the sheer number of captives you hold that it was reasonable to sacrifice an entire world to stop you."

The sword plunges down another foot, and the pain and anger causes Vorgulremik to lose hold of his magic. It flows back to his limbs and organs, keeping him alive a few minutes more instead of destroying him.

"This is undignified!" Vorgulremik wheezes in complaint. "I deserve a hero seeking justice or revenge; someone I've wronged! Not… Not some bored mercenary princess!"

Kainudy's voice takes on an edge now, as she says, "I've got plenty of pain, wyrm. And I can't seek revenge against the cause, so you will be its surrogate. I hate you and all like you. So called 'real' dragons, caring for nothing but power. Insolent and arrogant from the immortality you take for granted. If it helps any, know that your kind caused me pain and took away all I held dear! And I take great satisfaction in knowing that you will suffer horribly for a long, long time before your soul is snuffed out of existence. It will keep me going despite the guilt of what I've had to do to this world. I've become a monster in order to beat you, monster. So that will be your legacy!"

And then the sword plunges down the rest of the way, and pierces the Steel Dragon's black heart. For Vorgulremik, the world goes red. His mind is stabbed with invisible claws that tear their way into him and steal his inner self. And then those blue-scaled limbs drag him down into burning torment

---

Alptraum wakes to find clawed hands clutching him, attached to blue-scaled arms and a draconic face shouting down at him. "Wake up!"

"Gah! Don't eat me!" Alptraum blurts out as he starts flailing violently at the creature holding him. It actually takes a moment for him to recognize the color and blink. The flailing halts for the moment and he asks, "Kaira?"

The dragoness rears back from the flailing, letting go of Alptraum. "Of course it's me," she chides. The sky is the painted blue of her garden, instead of the dark and violent storm Alptraum arrived in. "What were you doing, going to him by yourself!? You should have called me!"

"I didn't plan on it, it just happened!" Alptraum says as he pushes himself upright. The pain that lances through his head from the change of blood flow immediately makes him his he hadn't. So … the Eeee clenches his head in pain. "And since you watch me all the time I figured you'd pop up while he was trying to seduce me, or something."

"You know I have trouble sensing you when you enter this realm through dreams instead of blood," Kaira complains, sounding a little worried now. "What did he do to you? I found you writhing around on a ledge while he watched from a distance."

"I can't control my dreams, you know," Alptraum points out as he pulls his ears down over his eyes in an attempt to snuff out the light and clear the headache. "He showed me how he died."

"Oh? Was it dramatic?" Kaira asks. "Was I… I mean, my creator… dashing and heroic?"

"If his 'memory' was true … she killed an innocent world in order to kill him," Alptraum admits. A few more seconds and he releases his ears as the headache from blood rush subsides.

"But… was there a big battle?" the dragon asks, as if not quite processing what Alptraum just said.

"No. She lured him to a world where the immortals reversed the nature of magic. Instead of empowering him, it drained him. But it would also kill the world in time. It was there she struck and slew him. It wasn't a move of heroics or duty, it was of revenge, mostly. And her claim of a desire of a sense of purpose," Alptraum explains.

"Oh," Kaira says, a bit quietly. "How… disappointing."

"But … I'm not mad about it. I feel sad for what she did to that world, but I understand the choice in a way," Alptraum says. "Why are you disappointed?"

Kaira looks at Alptraum, and instead of answering him asks, "Before you knew your real parents, how did you imagine they'd be?"

"Never had much of an idea, really. I guess most orphans imagine their parents as Kings or something grand. I never did," Alptraum admits. "I mean … I grew up with so little and all the towns I visited had little too. I honestly figured they were just ordinary people that died in all the stupid wars or due to monsters."

"But you must have felt that they loved you, right?" Kaira asks.

"Well, yes," Alptraum says.

"I guess I thought she may have felt something for me, since I was created to be sacrificed," Kaira says. "But if she was willing to sacrifice a whole world, then I suppose she never gave me a thought, really. No pride, or disappointment, or sense of loss or… anything."

"I don't know about that," Alptraum says as he tilts his head a bit to the side to look to the dragon. "She saw you as herself, more or less. She wanted to be sure that he would be destroyed and only trusted one person to see that through was herself. So … in that sense you are an extension of her pride in herself."

"I… maybe," Kaira says, shaking out her mane. "It shouldn't bother me. I shouldn't care. Vorgulremik is very clever, and probably thought this would hurt me."

"It wouldn't bother you … except that I've insisted on treating you like a person. I gave you existence outside of your duty. I showed you what living is like," Alptraum says and then pauses to sigh. "So the pain you are feeling is my fault. Kainudy gave you purpose, which Vorgulremik can't touch. I gave you … desire; wants, a reason to live, friends. So … he's attacking that, he's attacking the woman I showed you that you could be."

"So, what do you think he expects me to do?" Kaira asks. "Retaliate? Prove that I'm as bad as he is?"

"If I had to guess? Question yourself. Question your duty. Question your creator," Alptraum says as he now gets up to his feet, then offers a hand to Kaira.

The dragoness takes the offer hand and stands as well. "So, if I crush him under a mountain it'd be okay, right?" she asks.

"Don't give him the satisfaction," Alptraum remarks as he begins to walk through the garden and slips his arm in hers. "One of the best methods of revenge is indifference."

"Are you sure about that?" Kaira asks, as she lets herself be led. "Because the dark elves say boiling lead up the rear is really effective too."

Alptraum huffs out a laugh. "Mind if I give you something to think about?" he asks.

"Is that a pun?" Kaira asks with a grin. "But feel free - I probably need more practice thinking anyway."

"It's about why I'm not mad over the sacrifice of that world. I thought about it in a broader sense. How may worlds did Vorgulremik destroy? Thousands I think you told me. He also had ways to escape buy simply using his magic to kill himself and be reborn. How do you fight that? How many more worlds do you allow him to kill while you try to solve that puzzle? Kainudy made a choice to stop him with a trap that would stop him. One more world would die, but it would save all the others he would kill if he escaped," Alptraum explains as he walks along. "She became a monster to stop the monster. While I grieve for those who lost their world … I find comfort in knowing that she gave so many others a future. It's not a choice many could make and it says a fair amount about her resolve. And I grieve for her too; she must now carry that guilt with her forever."

"I suppose I could forgive her," Kaira notes. Then she wrinkles her nostrils, and sniffs Alptraum's shoulder. "By the way, you've got some weird spiritual residue on you. Have you been rolling around in something?"

"Er … what sort of weird spiritual residue?"Alptraum asks warily.

"I don't know," the dragon admits. "Has a sort of dragon-like signature. Maybe a little touch of Shadow… hmm."

"Probably from me proxy-feeding Melusine to keep her strength up," Alptraum explains. "Granted she has a weird way of feeding."

Kaira stops in her tracks at this, and narrows her eyes a bit at Alptraum. "How did she do this feeding then, hmmm?" she asks.

"Well … it sort of involved being nibbled all over, figuratively speaking," Alptraum waffles. "It was nice, and yet terrifying."

"She glommed you?" the dragon asks with a horrified expression. "That wanton, fat blob of … ooooo!" she says angrily.

"Er, glommed?" Alptraum has to ask. "Vorgulremik claimed it was … well, sort of shadow sex. Kinda."

Kaira grabs Alptraum's hand firmly, and starts marching. "Exactly. We're going to scrub that scent off of you, and then make love until you forget all about her!" she insists.

"Woah, wait! I smell fine," Alptraum claims and then proves it by taking a deep sniff of his arm.

There's nothing noticeably different about his scent as far as he can tell. Must be a spirit thing.

"Wait?" Kaira asks, stopping suddenly again. "So, now that you've gone blob, I'm just not good enough anymore, is that it?"

"Yes, I smell fine," Alptraum claims. The comment from Kaira makes Alptraum sigh and just cover his eyes. "No, I prefer you, to be honest. She's different, but she also carries this risk of well … ending up horribly mutilated! Besides, the way you squirm as an elf when I … ahem." There's a sheepish grin that follows before he adds, "Well, I just didn't know elves seemed to be, ah, built for dragons."

"Everything is built for dragons, if the dragon is creative enough," Kaira points out, sounding a little mollified. "And last time, you faded out from here just as things were getting interesting… "

"Just getting interesting? It was the fifth time! What, are you insatiable?" Alptraum has to ask. There's another sigh, then a grin, "Well, I'm probably going to be asleep for a good long while. So looks like you're stuck with me for a while. Who gets to be the dragon this time?"

"I do! At least during the bath," Kaira says. "I'll make it pleasant, but… I just have to get rid of those Shadow pheromones now that I've noticed them. I'll be gentle though." After a thoughtful look, she offers, "I can get some of those dark elf girls that hang out at the bathing spring to help… "

"A dark elf scrubbing, hmm? You've talked me into it!" Alptraum agrees. "And don't I always smell a little shadowy anyway? Are you certain those are all hers?"

"Oh yes, I'm sure of it," Kaira notes. "She's marked you as hers. We'll see about that!"

As Alptraum is lead away, he has sudden and horrific mental images of huge brushes with very stiff and evil bristles…