The Chronicles of a Wizard [ Part VI ]
Raigoth and The Path of Wind
A crystal shining with a hue of yellow had risen from the center of the meadow. Raigoth turned around and walked towards it. As he walked, he shape-shifted into his human form. A young, dark haired fellow with purple eyes and light skin. His walk had a swagger, mainly leaning to the left side. And he seemed to know exactly what we wanted.
“How did you know that I was a dragon?” asked Freckles as we all followed him towards the nexus. Finding it odd, I looked at Freckles and asked “How did you know that he knew that you’re a dragon ?”
Raigoth started laughing loudly, almost obnoxiously, but with a dash of innocence in his laughter. “She knew that because I could read her mind—which is how dragons communicate, that’s how I knew that you guys were looking for the nexus. As for how I knew that she was a dragon in the first place, Seriph told me” he explained. Something he said struck a memory of an event that didn't take place. Not that it’s an event that didn't take place yet, it’s more of an event that didn't take place ever; at least not in this reality. I wipe that thought out of my head as we reached the nexus.
Naxx —silently— moved towards the nexus. I had not heard a single word from her since we left the cottage. I didn't let it bother me too much, but she seemed to be bothered by something. “Step back” Naxx ordered us as she started moving her hands in small circles while shaking them to vibration. We started hearing strange sounds and loud noises. Screams and shrieks of dragons, men and machines echoed across the entire meadow. The ground was shaking and ripping itself from the inside. Winds started blowing. The trees bent and the grass beneath our feet was blown away. Everything was turbulent until suddenly an oval portal appeared in front of Naxx and everything went silent and still.
“Naxx, what’s wrong?” asked Duhff. “Nothing!” Naxx replied, “Freckles you can use this portal to travel back to Dirge. Have a safe trip.”
At that point Duhff jumped in “I’ll use the nexus to tessellate back to my dimension. I’ll be waiting for your return Naxx.” Duhff siphoned yellow energy from the nexus into the birthmark on her cheek. Her birthmark glowed yellow and the same webs that spread across her body the other day started appearing, but this time they were yellow. Just before she vanished, she winked at me “good luck”.
“Zusynoid, you have to promise me that you will do all you can to become what you must” the golden dragon spoke last to me as she walked into the portal. But just then, just as she walked through, a meteor smashed into the nexus. Rubble, dust and fire spread out around us. Had Raigoth not instantly gone into dragon form and spread his wings around us to protect us we would have definitely perished.
“What the fuck happened Naxx! Where is Freckles?” I screamed. “She’s going to be fine, but I don’t think the portal will take her to Dirge. This is exactly how I ended up here. She’s going to have to find a way herself.” She said as she got up and dusted herself off. Raigoth screeched in pain. I rushed to his human form lying on the ground. His back was burnt and ripped. It was weird for me to see a human being letting out shrieks of pain that sound like those of a dragon. Naxx seemed very calm still. She walked over to Raigoth and placed her palms over his back. The brightest of white lights came shining out of her palms. And around that white light, was an electric hue of green. It oddly resembled the energy I had in me. She kept going for about a minute or two after which she passed out. Raigoth passed out too. Fortunately, he did so in his human form. Before he passed out though, he managed to leave me a message in the dirt beneath him; an arrow, pointing south-west.
I carried Raigoth and put him on Syd’s back. Syd wasn't too fond of the idea but he didn't complain. I carried Naxx on my back and we headed south west. Out of the meadow and down a darkened path we walked. Nighttime was falling swiftly as though forced. The steady winds blew horror sounds into the trees’ branches. Sounds of screeching and sounds of wailing surrounded us as Syd and I walked firmly forward, un-phased by the theme of the forest that night. Bats and night owls owned the treetops and the air above us. They fluttered and swung by us like we were nothing but branches. They too were un-phased by the theme of our resolve that night.
Our tired bodies had started to give in to the tiresome journey. But it wasn't an issue, we had to push on through. It was only after hours of walking that we found a decent crevice in a huge stone-y hill, in which we could slumber for the night. I laid Raigoth and Naxx on the ground and went out to get wood for fire while Syd watched out for the two.
I had gathered some wood for the fire and was heading back towards the cave when suddenly a huge wolf appeared before me. She was magical and calm. She had bright yellow eyes that shined through the night and spoke straight to my inner beast. She stood there for barely a few seconds, then rushed off into the dark of the forest. I kept my way and headed back. Raigoth and Naxx had not woken up yet, so I decided to get some rest myself.
Dreams of weird took over again.
“Wake up Dirge, ” I woke up to the sight of a majestic white wolf. She had a bronze hue along the top of her back and bright blue eyes. I realized that I was in a bed, in a blue room with red wooden furniture. Before I could speak back to the dog, something woke me up again.
The weirdness following waking up from dream of waking up from another dream doesn't go down easy. It felt like my own brain had betrayed me. I woke up angry but the sight of Naxx’s smile wiped that away. She was fine, and so was Raigoth.
“I am impressed you’ve carried us this far Zus. We’re almost there anyway” Raigoth said, “We must reach the path of stone. You must take the path of stone to reach the second nexus.”
“Why? Why do we need to get there?” I asked, childishly, as though I no longer wanted to keep going. Something had taken over me, a fear of some sort. In cowardice I found momentary solace. In cowardice I found momentary serenity. Raigoth could see it and his face filled-up with disappointment.
“Seriph, what the fuck are you doing?” Raigoth mumbled. Shortly after, and for no reason, I passed out.
