Arc 1, Chapter 9: The Sky Breaks

  The silence following the roar felt heavier than the sound itself. Ash looked up. The night sky was disappearing.

  Massive shapes blotted out the stars. Membrane wings stretched across the dark, catching faint starlight along their edges. Black veins pulsed through the skin with a slow, rhythmic throb. The span of the wings was wide enough to cover the entire horizon. Ash had seen drawings of this in old, rotting books. This was a dragon.

  Black fluid poured from the creature in thick rivers. It trailed behind like smoke from a permanent wound. The rot settled onto the trees below, and the wood groaned under the weight. Corrupted mana leaked from between scales as large as castle doors. It dripped from jaws wide enough to crush the cliff. The eye sockets were hollow and empty.

  Ash saw metal plates strapped across the dragon's chest. Heavy chains held the armor in place, running under the wings and connecting to a harness around the throat. The edges of the metal were clean and precise. Pure mana radiated from the plates. The bright energy stayed separate from the black rot leaking from the flesh.

  The dragon opened its mouth again.

  The roar hit Ash like a physical blow. He staggered as the ground heaved. Stone ground against stone deep beneath the dirt. Trees at the edge of the clearing bent toward the earth. Rocks tore loose from the cliff and shattered near his boots. The pale ward-light behind him flickered.

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  Ash hit his knees. The pressure felt like a physical weight pressing against his skull and chest. The air turned thick and heavy. He gasped for breath as the sound finally died.

  The dragon continued its slow circle above the forest. Isolde stood to his left, her blind eyes tracking the movement in the clouds.

  Ash felt a shift in the woods below. The corruption in the Thornwood was waking up. Branches snapped to the east. Heavy movement came from the west. The mist along the forest floor began to rise in thin tendrils. The temperature dropped. Ash's breath came out in pale clouds.

  Another roar shook the world. The cliff cracked behind him. A thin fissure split the stone near his arm and ran upward into the shadows. The cave groaned. Dust and pebbles rained down from the ceiling.

  The remnants of corruption in Ash’s own body stirred. The Seed of Life pulsed with a sharp heat. He pressed his palm against his chest to push the darkness back.

  Monsters emerged from the tree line.

  Dozens of them stepped into the light. More arrived with every second. They gathered at the edge of the ward. Yellow eyes and hollow sockets watched the cave. Their limbs were bent at angles that should have broken bone. Their mouths opened too wide to reveal rows of jagged teeth.

  They did not attack. They waited.

  The dragon’s shadow passed over the clearing. Ash felt a brief sense of being watched before the creature moved on. More monsters joined the pack. The forest seemed to vomit them out in waves. The ward-light flickered as the pressure of the rot grew stronger.

  Isolde reached for the hilt of the greatsword. The horde watched her. Overhead, the wings carved wide circles through the air. The dragon descended. It came close enough for Ash to see the individual scales. The wind from its wings stirred his hair.

  It did not land.

  The monsters at the edge of the light began to move. Ash gripped his dagger. His month of training felt like a joke. The first creature stepped past the tree line.