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Literature Text
Chapter II
The Zion Tower
What happened previously...
After Zeyros struck the Tree of Growth and set out to destroy it once and for all, Dawn and Neera managed to find the last guardian of the tree. They called them "Aura", named after the real name of the tree "Aurora". There, they decided to grant Aura's wish and guide her through the three trials that are necessary for them to go through in order to defeat Zeyros. The first one was the Ruins of Ashes, hidden deep inside the jungles of Erye. After discovering it at the Great Falls, they entered the Ruins and there they managed to grant Aura the first power of the guardians. The power to bend light to their will and use it as a weapon. Although, the Ruins collapsed, and the trio has to run for their lives, and when they got out, falling from high above into a lake. But they weren't alone...
After Zeyros struck the Tree of Growth and set out to destroy it once and for all, Dawn and Neera managed to find the last guardian of the tree. They called them "Aura", named after the real name of the tree "Aurora". There, they decided to grant Aura's wish and guide her through the three trials that are necessary for them to go through in order to defeat Zeyros. The first one was the Ruins of Ashes, hidden deep inside the jungles of Erye. After discovering it at the Great Falls, they entered the Ruins and there they managed to grant Aura the first power of the guardians. The power to bend light to their will and use it as a weapon. Although, the Ruins collapsed, and the trio has to run for their lives, and when they got out, falling from high above into a lake. But they weren't alone...
Dawn gasped for air, opening her eyes widely when she woke up along the shores of the lake. Her clothes and body were soaking wet. It seemed they were out of the jungle, considering the mountains ahead. Dawn looked around more, then suddenly saw Neera reaching out for her and pulling her on her arm to let her join Neera and Aura, sitting behind a rock in fear. Neera's hands were shaking.
"What?" Dawn asked, but Neera immediately held her hand over Dawn's mouth, pulling her closer.
"Quiet." Neera whispered very softly. Suddenly, a very loud and deafening roar sounded behind them, followed by a loud thump that made the earth shake. Was it the beast? Was it Zeyros landing right behind them, searching for them? He must be out for Aura, considering they're the only threat left.
Hiding from Zeyros (soundtrack)
They could hear his breath. Deep, long and heavy nose breaths, with soft growling as well. He was moving. With every step he made, the ground shook. Then, Zeyros' long tail slithered in front of Dawn and Neera. A tail covered in sleek black scales and short spikes on top of it. Dawn held her own hands across her mouth to muffle even her breathing sounds. Both Neera and Dawn were sweating profusely, shrinking back and hunching shoulders. They were even struck with more fear when Zeyros let out another deafening and menacing deep roar towards the skies. The tail slithered out of sight, and then Neera had a very risky idea. She decided to try and peek behind the rock carefully, but Dawn stopped her by holding her arm, shaking her head and widening her eyes. Aura stood between Neera and Dawn, not quite looking scared, but more confused. Though they still wanted to do what Dawn and Neera told them to do.
More of Zeyros' heavy footsteps trembled the ground. He just wasn't leaving. He really thought Aura was out there. And he was out for blood...
Suddenly, Zeyros' wings dusted off from the ground as he flapped them heavily, creating gusts of wind beneath him, making Dawn and Neera's hair flutter. With a final distant roar, he seemed to disappear.
"Okay, now is the time, run!" Dawn said with a shaky voice. Aura climbed on Dawn's back and they started running towards the mountain canyons in the distance. Running while looking behind them sometimes, they felt the wind whistling past their ears, sending dirt in the air with their feet. When they almost reached entrance of the canyons, Zeyros' roar sounded behind them again, and when looking back, Dawn couldn't believe her eyes. Zeyros landed on top of a rock, spreading its colossal wings widely. He looked incredibly menacing. He opened its massive jaws and roared very angrily towards the trio. He was completely black scaled, with four big horns on top of his head. His eyes were fiery red, and his tail slithered around aggressively.
But for some reason, Dawn was fixed to the ground. Seeing this massive, powerful beast in front of her, shocked her. But suddenly, Neera pulled Dawn out of her shocked state to run.
"What are you doing?! Run!"
Zeyros flapped his wings and roared again, but this time, in a different tone. The air felt chilly for only just a moment when Aura noticed shadowy creatures crawling out of the ground in front of Zeyros. The creatures didn't seem to have a body, but only existing out of black shadowy smoke...with the silhouette of humans.
"Um, we might have a problem!" Aura said, making Dawn and Neera look back again, noticing the creatures being summoned by Zeyros. What were those things? "No no no no! Keep running!" Neera panted. They ran further into the canyon, when only noticing hundreds of these shadowy creatures were chasing them, and Zeyros flying over their heads. He couldn't reach them in this narrow canyon, that is probably why he summoned those creatures instead. The adrenaline pumping through Neera and Dawn's body made them run longer and faster than they usually were able to. Unfortunately, the shadowy creatures were way faster, and were approaching the trio closer and closer.
"No!" Dawn yelped, panting very heavily out of exhaustion. When the creatures got really close, Aura couldn't see this happening anymore and furrowed their brows angrily while sending bursts of light towards the shadowy creatures, picking them off one by one. When Aura's light cut through them, they screamed in agony and disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Aura kept doing this, and it worked to keep them off Neera and Dawn during their chase. But the canyon never seemed to end, and they were getting really tired now. Suddenly, Zeyros slammed into the canyon, letting parts of it collapse in Dawn and Neera's way, although, the other crumbling rocks fell on Zeyros as well, pinching and immobilizing him between the rocks. He was stuck, and he squirmed as hard as he could, roaring loudly. But now, Dawn, Neera and Aura had nowhere to go, being cornered by the shadowy creatures. While keeping a safe distance from Zeyros, they prepared themselves to fight. They had no other choice.
"Take your bow and shoot them! We have no other choice!" Dawn shouted, taking her bow, nocking an arrow and firing it towards one of the shadow creatures, but it just flew right through.
"NO! Our bows aren't working!" she whined. Aura was trying her best to fend them all off, sending countless beams of light cutting through multiple creatures at once. Zeyros, being stuck, had no other choice but to summon even more of the creatures to completely surround them. And so he did, with another roar, Dawn, Neera and Aura were quickly surrounded. They faced each other's backs, as Aura was starting to get too tired from using the power they just learnt from the ruins. Suddenly, Dawn noticed her arrow was glowing with Aura's light.
"Wait!" she said, nocking the arrow and firing it towards one of the creatures. On impact, it exploded into a burst of light, getting rid of an entire group at once.
"Aura, I don't know what you did, but it's working!" Dawn added. And so, the trio, while being surrounded, kept defending themselves with Aura's light. Creatures dissolved into smoke everywhere, until they were starting to overwhelm them. Dawn and Neera were also starting to run out of arrows. The creatures came closer and closer, almost managing to touch the trio. When the creature's claws reached them, Aura suddenly charged up and released a massive flash of light, creating a deafening exploding sound, followed by a painful screech of Zeyros, and then...complete silence.
More of Zeyros' heavy footsteps trembled the ground. He just wasn't leaving. He really thought Aura was out there. And he was out for blood...
Suddenly, Zeyros' wings dusted off from the ground as he flapped them heavily, creating gusts of wind beneath him, making Dawn and Neera's hair flutter. With a final distant roar, he seemed to disappear.
Canyon chase (soundtrack)
"Okay, now is the time, run!" Dawn said with a shaky voice. Aura climbed on Dawn's back and they started running towards the mountain canyons in the distance. Running while looking behind them sometimes, they felt the wind whistling past their ears, sending dirt in the air with their feet. When they almost reached entrance of the canyons, Zeyros' roar sounded behind them again, and when looking back, Dawn couldn't believe her eyes. Zeyros landed on top of a rock, spreading its colossal wings widely. He looked incredibly menacing. He opened its massive jaws and roared very angrily towards the trio. He was completely black scaled, with four big horns on top of his head. His eyes were fiery red, and his tail slithered around aggressively.
But for some reason, Dawn was fixed to the ground. Seeing this massive, powerful beast in front of her, shocked her. But suddenly, Neera pulled Dawn out of her shocked state to run.
"What are you doing?! Run!"
Zeyros flapped his wings and roared again, but this time, in a different tone. The air felt chilly for only just a moment when Aura noticed shadowy creatures crawling out of the ground in front of Zeyros. The creatures didn't seem to have a body, but only existing out of black shadowy smoke...with the silhouette of humans.
"Um, we might have a problem!" Aura said, making Dawn and Neera look back again, noticing the creatures being summoned by Zeyros. What were those things? "No no no no! Keep running!" Neera panted. They ran further into the canyon, when only noticing hundreds of these shadowy creatures were chasing them, and Zeyros flying over their heads. He couldn't reach them in this narrow canyon, that is probably why he summoned those creatures instead. The adrenaline pumping through Neera and Dawn's body made them run longer and faster than they usually were able to. Unfortunately, the shadowy creatures were way faster, and were approaching the trio closer and closer.
"No!" Dawn yelped, panting very heavily out of exhaustion. When the creatures got really close, Aura couldn't see this happening anymore and furrowed their brows angrily while sending bursts of light towards the shadowy creatures, picking them off one by one. When Aura's light cut through them, they screamed in agony and disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Aura kept doing this, and it worked to keep them off Neera and Dawn during their chase. But the canyon never seemed to end, and they were getting really tired now. Suddenly, Zeyros slammed into the canyon, letting parts of it collapse in Dawn and Neera's way, although, the other crumbling rocks fell on Zeyros as well, pinching and immobilizing him between the rocks. He was stuck, and he squirmed as hard as he could, roaring loudly. But now, Dawn, Neera and Aura had nowhere to go, being cornered by the shadowy creatures. While keeping a safe distance from Zeyros, they prepared themselves to fight. They had no other choice.
"Take your bow and shoot them! We have no other choice!" Dawn shouted, taking her bow, nocking an arrow and firing it towards one of the shadow creatures, but it just flew right through.
"NO! Our bows aren't working!" she whined. Aura was trying her best to fend them all off, sending countless beams of light cutting through multiple creatures at once. Zeyros, being stuck, had no other choice but to summon even more of the creatures to completely surround them. And so he did, with another roar, Dawn, Neera and Aura were quickly surrounded. They faced each other's backs, as Aura was starting to get too tired from using the power they just learnt from the ruins. Suddenly, Dawn noticed her arrow was glowing with Aura's light.
"Wait!" she said, nocking the arrow and firing it towards one of the creatures. On impact, it exploded into a burst of light, getting rid of an entire group at once.
"Aura, I don't know what you did, but it's working!" Dawn added. And so, the trio, while being surrounded, kept defending themselves with Aura's light. Creatures dissolved into smoke everywhere, until they were starting to overwhelm them. Dawn and Neera were also starting to run out of arrows. The creatures came closer and closer, almost managing to touch the trio. When the creature's claws reached them, Aura suddenly charged up and released a massive flash of light, creating a deafening exploding sound, followed by a painful screech of Zeyros, and then...complete silence.
Zeyros and his minions, blinded by anger...did not seem to be a match for my guardian's light. But they only barely managed to survive from his grasp...
A thunder sounded very far away in the distance, as raindrops softly drizzled down in the canyons underneath the grey stacks of clouds in the skies. Dawn slowly opened her eyes, noticing herself laying down in the canyon's sand. She immediately had sight of the collapsed road that Zeyros caused. Though, Zeyros was gone. He escaped, considering the boulders had been moved. With a soft groan, she pushed herself to a sitting state, looking over to Neera and Aura.
Aura and Neera were laying on the ground still. Aura was slowly moving though, their ears twitching as their little head lifted up, looking around. Neera on that matter, didn't move at all.
"Aura..Neera...are you okay?" Dawn asked.
Aura looked at Dawn and nodded. "I am..."
"Neera?" Dawn asked again. But no response. Realizing this wasn't good, Dawn quickly crawled on her hands and knees towards Neera, turning her body on her back. Then she noticed the black imprint of long fingers on Neera's arm. Did the shadows touch her? Dawn's heart was beating into her throat as she shook Neera a little.
"Neera?" She asked, her breaths becoming more frequent.
When Neera still didn't respond, Dawn desperately shook her again her tears started watering up.
"Neera, please wake up?"
But no response. Aura carefully walked towards Dawn and looked in her eyes with a sad look on their face.
"I don't see her light anymore, Dawn..." Aura softly said.
When hearing that, Dawn burst into tears. "No..please no.." she sobbed, supporting Neera's head on her lap. The darkness got to her...and now only she and Aura were left.
...unfortunately...at the cost of one of Aura's protectors...
"Aura..Neera...are you okay?" Dawn asked.
Aura looked at Dawn and nodded. "I am..."
The Light that Vanished (soundtrack)
"Neera?" Dawn asked again. But no response. Realizing this wasn't good, Dawn quickly crawled on her hands and knees towards Neera, turning her body on her back. Then she noticed the black imprint of long fingers on Neera's arm. Did the shadows touch her? Dawn's heart was beating into her throat as she shook Neera a little.
"Neera?" She asked, her breaths becoming more frequent.
When Neera still didn't respond, Dawn desperately shook her again her tears started watering up.
"Neera, please wake up?"
But no response. Aura carefully walked towards Dawn and looked in her eyes with a sad look on their face.
"I don't see her light anymore, Dawn..." Aura softly said.
When hearing that, Dawn burst into tears. "No..please no.." she sobbed, supporting Neera's head on her lap. The darkness got to her...and now only she and Aura were left.
...unfortunately...at the cost of one of Aura's protectors...
Hours of mourning had passed, as Dawn was finally finished digging Neera's grave with her hands. She looked so exhausted. Bags underneath her eyes, and her hair all messy, she walked over to Neera's body and picked her up in her arms. With new tears rolling down her cheeks, she walked towards the grave and softly placed her into it. By now, the distant storm had come much closer, with the rain intensifying and the thunders sounding way louder. Aura approached Dawn with a few flowers in their hand.
"These are the only ones I found..." Aura said. Dawn took them and placed them on Neera's chest. How is it that such an energetic head of red hair can be dimmed down so easily? Dawn pushed the heaps of sand back in the hole, burying Neera forever. When the rain became worse and worse, Dawn and Aura took shelter beneath a series of fallen boulders.
"These are the only ones I found..." Aura said. Dawn took them and placed them on Neera's chest. How is it that such an energetic head of red hair can be dimmed down so easily? Dawn pushed the heaps of sand back in the hole, burying Neera forever. When the rain became worse and worse, Dawn and Aura took shelter beneath a series of fallen boulders.
Overwhelming Darkness (soundtrack)
With Aura in Dawn's arms, Dawn just stared into the pouring rain for hours. Loud thunders echoed in the canyons with lightnings lighting up everything for just a split second sometimes. Everything was so somber and grey. Though...Dawn felt a sense of warmth hugging Aura on her lap. Aura's light was the only light she had left. First the death of her sister many years ago, and now the death of her best friend. Dawn softly rubbed Aura's black fur with her thumb while she hugged them. And Aura didn't mind. Aura was still a living being with a sentient mind. Although...despite their natural lack of being able to feel, spending so much time with Dawn and Neera started to form something inside Aura. Aura started to feel sadness...happiness...love for the people who have been protecting her for so long. And on this moment...being hugged by Dawn felt great. Despite Dawn not having light like Aura, her body heat still felt similar. Dawn felt her eyes getting really heavy, and it didn't take long before she fell into a deep slumber, waiting out the storm...
Warmed by Aura's light, Dawn's devastating mourning did not last long. Although, her mourning will not be gone forever. But they had to move, as the king's men were on their heels...
Warmed by Aura's light, Dawn's devastating mourning did not last long. Although, her mourning will not be gone forever. But they had to move, as the king's men were on their heels...
The dark skinned woman just arrived at the lake at the end of the jungle where Dawn, Neera and Aura fell into, in her full leather armor with steel paddings, by now, a lot more dirty. Her face had a few cuts and looked dirty, despite the pouring rain. Her men, wearing the steel masks covering their whole face, black hoods that topped it off and their symbol of the Regial Kingdom on their chest. Their metal armor clanking on every step as they followed her. She halted and pointed at the distant entrance of the canyons. "The wyvern flew this direction. And they've definitely been here...hold on." she suddenly saw something further ahead behind a formation of rocks. The rocks where Neera, Dawn and Aura hid behind.
Her guard's clanking noises were following her again as she approached the thing she saw. When she got a closer look, she leaned forwards and raised her eyebrows a little, fascinated by the massive three-toed footprint with claws.
"Unbelievable..." she said. Her southern Volarian accent really showing up now. She crouched next to it and ran her fingers across the footprint.
"That's the wyvern, no doubt. And very fresh as well..."
A close thunder struck loudly in the skies above them followed by a lightning. One of her guards seemed to have noticed the drag marks behind the rocks.
"Commander, ya' might want to take a look at this." their voice sounding raspy behind their metal mask. She stood up and looked at the drag marks, then nodded, following the marks all the way until they were footsteps going to the canyon entrance.
"They hid from the wyvern. And they 'ad to run...we're very close. Let's not waste any more time."
She and her men followed the tracks into the canyon entrance.
Her guard's clanking noises were following her again as she approached the thing she saw. When she got a closer look, she leaned forwards and raised her eyebrows a little, fascinated by the massive three-toed footprint with claws.
"Unbelievable..." she said. Her southern Volarian accent really showing up now. She crouched next to it and ran her fingers across the footprint.
"That's the wyvern, no doubt. And very fresh as well..."
A close thunder struck loudly in the skies above them followed by a lightning. One of her guards seemed to have noticed the drag marks behind the rocks.
"Commander, ya' might want to take a look at this." their voice sounding raspy behind their metal mask. She stood up and looked at the drag marks, then nodded, following the marks all the way until they were footsteps going to the canyon entrance.
"They hid from the wyvern. And they 'ad to run...we're very close. Let's not waste any more time."
She and her men followed the tracks into the canyon entrance.
On the road to the Zion Tower (soundtrack)
Dawn finally managed to climb on the blockade of boulders after a long and exhausting climb. She reached the top of it as well, climbing out of the cliff they were trapped in at first. When she crawled out, she stood up and brushed off her hands, clapping them together.
"Right...finally..."
Aura climbed on Aura's shoulder. "Are you sure you don't want to say your final goodbye to Neera?"
"No...I'm fine. I already did it. And we're running out of time. We have to get to the Zion Tower don't we?" Dawn asked, rubbing Aura's cheek.
"Yep! We do! It shouldn't be too far anymore. We just have to climb the mountains ahead."
"Alright. The mountains. You mean those ones over there?" Dawn pointed at a distant range of mountains, quite foggy and barely visible because of the rain and cloudy skies. But suddenly, she noticed something else high up the middle mountain. When a lightning struck, a silhouette of a massive tower showed up on top of the mountain. And when the skies over there cleared up a little, she could see it completely. Still quite foggy, but it had a tremendous sight. That was the Zion Tower. The second trial of their adventure.
And so they began their hike up the mountains...
Through pouring rain and heavy wind, Dawn pushed herself to hike further, with Aura clinging onto her, shielding their eyes from the stinging speed of the raindrops. Dawn never felt that determined before. She knew Neera wanted this. So she wanted to finish her adventure. No matter, the cost. When they were about halfway up the mountain, Dawn really had to take a break from the climbing, as her legs started to feel numb, and her vision dizzy. There was no shelter up there, but Aura could summon a shield of light to shield them both from the rain and the wind. Though she required a constant concentration, and it was really tiring. Aura couldn't talk to her then, as their eyes were glowing brighter when using their light magic, fully concentrated. After a full hour of resting, the rain had finally toned down. It was still drizzling softly, but the clouds were a lot brighter. They climbed on Dawn's back again, and continued their hike. The wind up there was still very strong though. And Aura...they've been quiet for a while now.
"Aura? You've been pretty quiet lately. Is something the matter?"
"Huh? Oh, uh...nothing. Just...I have a weird feeling. Something I've never felt before."
"What is it?" Dawn climbed on a steep rocky slope, groaning loudly. Aura jumped off her back and climbed the slope very swiftly, looking at her from the top.
"I have this feeling that I actually want Neera to be here too..."
Dawn sighed and closed her eyes, stopping her climb for a moment before finishing it. When she climbed up, she sat next to Aura and stared into the distance.
"That feeling you have, is called 'yearning'. You miss her..."
"Oh..."
"But can we agree on one thing? I know you're probably going through this as well, but let's agree to not bring up Neera again. Okay?" she looked at Aura, observing their reaction. Aura softly nodded. It was still so strange to Dawn that such a sentient being with the appearance of some kind of animal, could behave a lot like a human, using a lot of the human body language.
"Okay.." Aura answered, looking at the Zion Tower, which was really close now. Only a short hike up the rest of the mountain to the summit left. "Let's continue! We're close!"
"Yes. Let's go."
Dawn and Aura hiked up the rest of the mountain to the summit. It was really cold up there, and the wind wasn't making things easier. But now Dawn and Aura could inspect the entire tower more closely. It was a tall tower, made of ancient stone bricks and had metals rings around it every few feet with metal stumps on the entire ring. It had a lot of windows and the top looked more like a platform, being slightly wider than the rest of the tower. The rusted steel door entrance however, had once again, faces of ancient Vilxians carved into them. That was a sign that they were at the right tower.
"It looks incredible...and so old. I really wonder how old these trials are." Dawn said, looking to the doors with wide-eyes. "Now how do we open it?"
She walked at the door and attempted to push them. But they didn't budge. Not even when Aura came closer, the door didn't open. "Don't tell me they rusted shut?..."
"They probably are." another voice behind them suddenly emerged, making Dawn and Aura shoot their heads behind them and Dawn reaching for her bow, but she already realized this person already had a drawn bow aiming at her. It was the southern commander that followed them. But she was alone?
"Who are you?" Dawn asked, raising her hands. Aura frowned angrily and prepared a bolt of light above her head, but that only made the woman draw her bow even more.
"Tell your friend to drop 'is magic. You and me will both be dead, and this world will be no more. Is that what ye' want?"
Dawn's heart was beating into her throat. She looked at Aura. "It's okay Aura...do what she says."
Aura still had their frown, but they aborted their bolt of light. This made the woman relax the string of her bow a bit more.
"Considering yer tracks, I thought there was a third person?"
Dawn sighed, and the woman immediately knew what happened. She smiled a little and looked down. "Oh...that sucks. I've followed you for so long...how did you survive the attack of this beast? We saw the tracks. Especially at the canyon. You were cornered..." then she scoffed. "This creature saved you didn't it?"
"They did...who are you and what do you want?"
"I am Nemir Mehda, commander of King Meriac's army. Normally I'm here with more men, but the canyon separated us. That is why I managed to catch up with you..." Nemir paced around, but kept her bow up a little. She smirked a little and took a quick look up the tower before returning her eyes on Dawn.
"Ye know what I want. This creature can save the world and yer doing a nature trip to some ancient old structure that means nothing at all? Hand 'em over."
Dawn shook her head, but was fixed on the ground. "You don't understand...do you really think this tiny creature can defeat the wyvern? I've seen that thing with my own eyes. It almost killed all of us. Yes, if it wasn't for them, I would be dead too." then she pointed at Aura. "But they, would've been as well. Why do you think I am going through all these ancient places? First the ruins, now this tower? The tree spoke to me, I-"
Nemir interrupted her by chuckling and shaking her head, turning her side to Dawn. "Oh come on.."
"It's true, and I can show you!"
Nemir looked confused after that, furrowing her eyebrows. "Show me?"
"If you follow me in this tower, I can show you. I'm not crazy..."
Nemir sighed and put away her bow and arrow, gesturing towards the door. "Lead the way."
"Well there's a problem. It's rusted shut...we might have to find another way." Dawn said. Nemir rolled her eyes, sighed and walked past Dawn, pushing her aside a little, stepped towards the door and kicked it very forcefully with a grunt. The doors flew open, with some pieces of rusted metal flying around. She then walked back, waiting for Dawn and Aura to move into the tower. And so they did. When entering the tower, the round room had a...it didn't seem like a Vilxian statue, but this time, a statue of a gryphon. A mixture of an eagle and a lion, with massive feathered wings. It had a proud stance, but the statues eyes were little blue gemstones again. Along the wall, there were stairs going upwards.
"Let's continue up here." Dawn said, climbing the stairs carefully. Reaching the first floor, the room was almost empty. Only ancient carvings decorated the room, and a series of blue orbs in the corners of the ceiling. Five of them. The orbs weren't emitting any light though, which they usually did before.
"There's nothing here, are you leading me into a trap?" Nemir asked, keeping her bow in her hand next to her.
"No..it's-...there has to be more to this." Dawn answered, looking around the room, standing in the middle of it. But she really couldn't see anything else but those orbs on the ceiling.
"Maybe those orbs have something to do with this..."
But then, Dawn received a flashback from a moment in the Ruins. Right before Aura got her powers, and right before the ruins started collapsing, all the orbs around them lit up. This made Dawn have an idea.
"Aura, try to shoot one of your bolts of light on the orbs."
Aura summoned a ball of light above them, which also made Nemir nock her arrow, ready for any attack to her. But Aura send one of their arms forward, sending a very swift bolt of light towards the orb, and it worked. The orb lit up, creating a strange chiming sound.
"Yes, that's it! Do it with the others as well!" Dawn said, looking excited. Aura sent their bolts of light to the others as well, until they were all lit up. Each of those orbs made a different chiming tone. And when they final one was lit up, they all made a very calm and beautiful tone. And then, the tower started shaking.
Aura's Light (soundtrack)
A platform started descending from the ceiling, making a lot of dust fall down from it, making Dawn and Aura step aside. The platform was being carried by chains on top of it. When it finally reached the ground, the platform had a statue on it. Another gryphon, sitting proudly and holding an orb in its beak. This one once again, was not lit up yet. Dawn took a look above, through the hole where the platform came from, and all she saw was a massive room going all the way to the top. There were no other floors anymore, the rest was just empty.
"Aura...I think this is the final thing we have to do. Light up the gryphon's orb as well."
Aura prepared herself. What would happen after this? What power would they get this time? They could only answer those by lighting up the orb. And so they did. The orb emitted a bright blue light, creating another eerie chime before it cast its light upon Aura, making her entire body glow. Dawn and Nemir took a step back, watching Aura become bigger, and change form.
"No way.." Dawn mumbled to herself.
Aura lifted up, floating in the air as their body changed into a bigger creature. A gryphon. The entire room was lit up by Aura's light. It was incredibly beautiful, with the light reflecting into Dawn and Nemir's eyes. When the transformation happened, and the light around Aura's body dimmed, they looked very majestic. A full black gryphon, with bright blue eyes, a black beak, wide wings and two front legs of an eagle, a tail and two black paws of a lion. Aura couldn't believe she was in this form herself, and being able to move more muscles they never had before, felt incredible strange.
Escaping the Tower (soundtrack)
But there was no time to admire this moment, as the tower started trembling heavily, dust and stone crumbles falling down as the stairs down below were already blocked off.
"Crap! What do we do?!" Dawn asked, panicky. Her heart pounding in her chest, and sweating intensely. Aura suddenly shouted in Dawn's mind.
"Get on my back!"
"What?!" Dawn shouted. "Are you insane?!"
"Just do it!" Aura shouted, preparing herself to fly upwards towards the top of the tower. Aura was right, they had no other choice. Dawn climbed onto Aura's back and reached out her hand to Nemir.
"If you want to live, then trust me and climb on as well!"
Without hesitation, Nemir climbed on Aura's back as well, clinging onto their feathers. When both were on, Aura dashed through the hole and started flapping their wings to fly upwards. Parts of the tower were falling down in boulders and debris, making Aura having to dodge them. Dawn and Nemir just closed their eyes and held onto Aura as hard as possible, wishing for this escape to be over as soon as possible. Dodging left and right, Aura ascended up the tower, sometimes missing falling boulders just by an inch, but they still managed to dodge them. The tower was even collapsing more, with massive chunks raining down. Some smaller chunks did fall on Aura, but that didn't stop her as it only hurt and slowed her down. Dawn whimpered, feeling the wind of the chunks falling past her. They were almost out, daylight was coming closer and closer. Aura was getting tired, but she pushed through, closing her own eyes as well, hoping to breach through the final part. And then they finally did!
Breaching through the top of the tower, they were exposed to the light of day again, and Aura was soaring through the rainy skies. It was calm. Dawn and Nemir opened their eyes and looked down, the tower completely collapsed, creating a massive cloud of dust. They were all covered in dust as well. Dawn couldn't believe they survived that. But she was still nervous, considering the massive height they were flying. But then, a thunder struck, and Zeyros' shadow soared over Aura, followed by a mighty roar. Aura panicked, and wanted to fly away, but Zeyros was way faster than Aura's gryphon form and flew in front of them, roaring into their faces. Aura wanted to fly away again, but then, Zeyros approached them and struck Aura with his claws. This was it.
Aura was unconscious, and was falling down in an incredible speed, uncontrollably spinning around as Dawn and Nemir were still holding on.
"Aura! Wake up!" Dawn whimpered. The falling speed was so fast, that Dawn accidentally pulled out Aura's feathers, making her fall off Aura. At that moment, they all knew they were doing to die. With the wind soaring past their ears, they just accepted their fate. The dense forests below them was approaching closer and closer. Dawn lost where Aura and Nemir were, and then she reached the ground, and everything went black...
My final hope...a hope...that vanished...
"Right...finally..."
Aura climbed on Aura's shoulder. "Are you sure you don't want to say your final goodbye to Neera?"
"No...I'm fine. I already did it. And we're running out of time. We have to get to the Zion Tower don't we?" Dawn asked, rubbing Aura's cheek.
"Yep! We do! It shouldn't be too far anymore. We just have to climb the mountains ahead."
"Alright. The mountains. You mean those ones over there?" Dawn pointed at a distant range of mountains, quite foggy and barely visible because of the rain and cloudy skies. But suddenly, she noticed something else high up the middle mountain. When a lightning struck, a silhouette of a massive tower showed up on top of the mountain. And when the skies over there cleared up a little, she could see it completely. Still quite foggy, but it had a tremendous sight. That was the Zion Tower. The second trial of their adventure.
And so they began their hike up the mountains...
Through pouring rain and heavy wind, Dawn pushed herself to hike further, with Aura clinging onto her, shielding their eyes from the stinging speed of the raindrops. Dawn never felt that determined before. She knew Neera wanted this. So she wanted to finish her adventure. No matter, the cost. When they were about halfway up the mountain, Dawn really had to take a break from the climbing, as her legs started to feel numb, and her vision dizzy. There was no shelter up there, but Aura could summon a shield of light to shield them both from the rain and the wind. Though she required a constant concentration, and it was really tiring. Aura couldn't talk to her then, as their eyes were glowing brighter when using their light magic, fully concentrated. After a full hour of resting, the rain had finally toned down. It was still drizzling softly, but the clouds were a lot brighter. They climbed on Dawn's back again, and continued their hike. The wind up there was still very strong though. And Aura...they've been quiet for a while now.
"Aura? You've been pretty quiet lately. Is something the matter?"
"Huh? Oh, uh...nothing. Just...I have a weird feeling. Something I've never felt before."
"What is it?" Dawn climbed on a steep rocky slope, groaning loudly. Aura jumped off her back and climbed the slope very swiftly, looking at her from the top.
"I have this feeling that I actually want Neera to be here too..."
Dawn sighed and closed her eyes, stopping her climb for a moment before finishing it. When she climbed up, she sat next to Aura and stared into the distance.
"That feeling you have, is called 'yearning'. You miss her..."
"Oh..."
"But can we agree on one thing? I know you're probably going through this as well, but let's agree to not bring up Neera again. Okay?" she looked at Aura, observing their reaction. Aura softly nodded. It was still so strange to Dawn that such a sentient being with the appearance of some kind of animal, could behave a lot like a human, using a lot of the human body language.
"Okay.." Aura answered, looking at the Zion Tower, which was really close now. Only a short hike up the rest of the mountain to the summit left. "Let's continue! We're close!"
"Yes. Let's go."
Dawn and Aura hiked up the rest of the mountain to the summit. It was really cold up there, and the wind wasn't making things easier. But now Dawn and Aura could inspect the entire tower more closely. It was a tall tower, made of ancient stone bricks and had metals rings around it every few feet with metal stumps on the entire ring. It had a lot of windows and the top looked more like a platform, being slightly wider than the rest of the tower. The rusted steel door entrance however, had once again, faces of ancient Vilxians carved into them. That was a sign that they were at the right tower.
"It looks incredible...and so old. I really wonder how old these trials are." Dawn said, looking to the doors with wide-eyes. "Now how do we open it?"
She walked at the door and attempted to push them. But they didn't budge. Not even when Aura came closer, the door didn't open. "Don't tell me they rusted shut?..."
"They probably are." another voice behind them suddenly emerged, making Dawn and Aura shoot their heads behind them and Dawn reaching for her bow, but she already realized this person already had a drawn bow aiming at her. It was the southern commander that followed them. But she was alone?
"Who are you?" Dawn asked, raising her hands. Aura frowned angrily and prepared a bolt of light above her head, but that only made the woman draw her bow even more.
"Tell your friend to drop 'is magic. You and me will both be dead, and this world will be no more. Is that what ye' want?"
Dawn's heart was beating into her throat. She looked at Aura. "It's okay Aura...do what she says."
Aura still had their frown, but they aborted their bolt of light. This made the woman relax the string of her bow a bit more.
"Considering yer tracks, I thought there was a third person?"
Dawn sighed, and the woman immediately knew what happened. She smiled a little and looked down. "Oh...that sucks. I've followed you for so long...how did you survive the attack of this beast? We saw the tracks. Especially at the canyon. You were cornered..." then she scoffed. "This creature saved you didn't it?"
"They did...who are you and what do you want?"
"I am Nemir Mehda, commander of King Meriac's army. Normally I'm here with more men, but the canyon separated us. That is why I managed to catch up with you..." Nemir paced around, but kept her bow up a little. She smirked a little and took a quick look up the tower before returning her eyes on Dawn.
"Ye know what I want. This creature can save the world and yer doing a nature trip to some ancient old structure that means nothing at all? Hand 'em over."
Dawn shook her head, but was fixed on the ground. "You don't understand...do you really think this tiny creature can defeat the wyvern? I've seen that thing with my own eyes. It almost killed all of us. Yes, if it wasn't for them, I would be dead too." then she pointed at Aura. "But they, would've been as well. Why do you think I am going through all these ancient places? First the ruins, now this tower? The tree spoke to me, I-"
Nemir interrupted her by chuckling and shaking her head, turning her side to Dawn. "Oh come on.."
"It's true, and I can show you!"
Nemir looked confused after that, furrowing her eyebrows. "Show me?"
"If you follow me in this tower, I can show you. I'm not crazy..."
Nemir sighed and put away her bow and arrow, gesturing towards the door. "Lead the way."
"Well there's a problem. It's rusted shut...we might have to find another way." Dawn said. Nemir rolled her eyes, sighed and walked past Dawn, pushing her aside a little, stepped towards the door and kicked it very forcefully with a grunt. The doors flew open, with some pieces of rusted metal flying around. She then walked back, waiting for Dawn and Aura to move into the tower. And so they did. When entering the tower, the round room had a...it didn't seem like a Vilxian statue, but this time, a statue of a gryphon. A mixture of an eagle and a lion, with massive feathered wings. It had a proud stance, but the statues eyes were little blue gemstones again. Along the wall, there were stairs going upwards.
"Let's continue up here." Dawn said, climbing the stairs carefully. Reaching the first floor, the room was almost empty. Only ancient carvings decorated the room, and a series of blue orbs in the corners of the ceiling. Five of them. The orbs weren't emitting any light though, which they usually did before.
"There's nothing here, are you leading me into a trap?" Nemir asked, keeping her bow in her hand next to her.
"No..it's-...there has to be more to this." Dawn answered, looking around the room, standing in the middle of it. But she really couldn't see anything else but those orbs on the ceiling.
"Maybe those orbs have something to do with this..."
But then, Dawn received a flashback from a moment in the Ruins. Right before Aura got her powers, and right before the ruins started collapsing, all the orbs around them lit up. This made Dawn have an idea.
"Aura, try to shoot one of your bolts of light on the orbs."
Aura summoned a ball of light above them, which also made Nemir nock her arrow, ready for any attack to her. But Aura send one of their arms forward, sending a very swift bolt of light towards the orb, and it worked. The orb lit up, creating a strange chiming sound.
"Yes, that's it! Do it with the others as well!" Dawn said, looking excited. Aura sent their bolts of light to the others as well, until they were all lit up. Each of those orbs made a different chiming tone. And when they final one was lit up, they all made a very calm and beautiful tone. And then, the tower started shaking.
Aura's Light (soundtrack)
A platform started descending from the ceiling, making a lot of dust fall down from it, making Dawn and Aura step aside. The platform was being carried by chains on top of it. When it finally reached the ground, the platform had a statue on it. Another gryphon, sitting proudly and holding an orb in its beak. This one once again, was not lit up yet. Dawn took a look above, through the hole where the platform came from, and all she saw was a massive room going all the way to the top. There were no other floors anymore, the rest was just empty.
"Aura...I think this is the final thing we have to do. Light up the gryphon's orb as well."
Aura prepared herself. What would happen after this? What power would they get this time? They could only answer those by lighting up the orb. And so they did. The orb emitted a bright blue light, creating another eerie chime before it cast its light upon Aura, making her entire body glow. Dawn and Nemir took a step back, watching Aura become bigger, and change form.
"No way.." Dawn mumbled to herself.
Aura lifted up, floating in the air as their body changed into a bigger creature. A gryphon. The entire room was lit up by Aura's light. It was incredibly beautiful, with the light reflecting into Dawn and Nemir's eyes. When the transformation happened, and the light around Aura's body dimmed, they looked very majestic. A full black gryphon, with bright blue eyes, a black beak, wide wings and two front legs of an eagle, a tail and two black paws of a lion. Aura couldn't believe she was in this form herself, and being able to move more muscles they never had before, felt incredible strange.
Escaping the Tower (soundtrack)
But there was no time to admire this moment, as the tower started trembling heavily, dust and stone crumbles falling down as the stairs down below were already blocked off.
"Crap! What do we do?!" Dawn asked, panicky. Her heart pounding in her chest, and sweating intensely. Aura suddenly shouted in Dawn's mind.
"Get on my back!"
"What?!" Dawn shouted. "Are you insane?!"
"Just do it!" Aura shouted, preparing herself to fly upwards towards the top of the tower. Aura was right, they had no other choice. Dawn climbed onto Aura's back and reached out her hand to Nemir.
"If you want to live, then trust me and climb on as well!"
Without hesitation, Nemir climbed on Aura's back as well, clinging onto their feathers. When both were on, Aura dashed through the hole and started flapping their wings to fly upwards. Parts of the tower were falling down in boulders and debris, making Aura having to dodge them. Dawn and Nemir just closed their eyes and held onto Aura as hard as possible, wishing for this escape to be over as soon as possible. Dodging left and right, Aura ascended up the tower, sometimes missing falling boulders just by an inch, but they still managed to dodge them. The tower was even collapsing more, with massive chunks raining down. Some smaller chunks did fall on Aura, but that didn't stop her as it only hurt and slowed her down. Dawn whimpered, feeling the wind of the chunks falling past her. They were almost out, daylight was coming closer and closer. Aura was getting tired, but she pushed through, closing her own eyes as well, hoping to breach through the final part. And then they finally did!
Breaching through the top of the tower, they were exposed to the light of day again, and Aura was soaring through the rainy skies. It was calm. Dawn and Nemir opened their eyes and looked down, the tower completely collapsed, creating a massive cloud of dust. They were all covered in dust as well. Dawn couldn't believe they survived that. But she was still nervous, considering the massive height they were flying. But then, a thunder struck, and Zeyros' shadow soared over Aura, followed by a mighty roar. Aura panicked, and wanted to fly away, but Zeyros was way faster than Aura's gryphon form and flew in front of them, roaring into their faces. Aura wanted to fly away again, but then, Zeyros approached them and struck Aura with his claws. This was it.
Aura was unconscious, and was falling down in an incredible speed, uncontrollably spinning around as Dawn and Nemir were still holding on.
"Aura! Wake up!" Dawn whimpered. The falling speed was so fast, that Dawn accidentally pulled out Aura's feathers, making her fall off Aura. At that moment, they all knew they were doing to die. With the wind soaring past their ears, they just accepted their fate. The dense forests below them was approaching closer and closer. Dawn lost where Aura and Nemir were, and then she reached the ground, and everything went black...
My final hope...a hope...that vanished...
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