War of Chaos Chapter XII

XII

Ares was right about his hunch, for he could determine which direction was north, and then which direction was west. The bane in the travel back, he found was the heat that he was to go through, as if he really was going to hell and back. He could have used his dark energy to shield himself from the sun’s light, but he didn’t want to sap out his strength when passing the line of the greatest heat. What the Dark Dragon really did, was retrace his path. He found his way back to Africa. Then, he could fly back to London from where he estimated finding the Earth Dragon. The continent of Africa looked all the same to him, with the wide deserts and the dense forests. Somehow it made him miss his home country even more. Even though the heat made him weary after managing to fly above the land with the most natural life, Ares still went on, wanting to get back home. He had been away for three days. There had to be something that the elves and wizards in league with him knew that he didn’t.

After a long flight, Ares found something highly irregular for his home, especially at the start of December. The sky was clear as it could be, and the air was warm as if there was an instant transition from winter to the middle of spring. Winter hadn’t officially even started yet, and the atmosphere looked similar to the way it was in the southern world. Normally, anyone would love the warmth and the light, but this filled the black dragon’s so-called black heart with horror. His heart accelerated immensely and his breathing became laboured as he looked around without a clue. He wanted more than just his bearings. He couldn’t go to the church that he called home. The worry got the best of him, and he started to fly around aimlessly, hoping to find something familiar to him. Maybe the plant life would flourish but that wouldn’t help at all. Nature’s balance had already been broken.
Though the Dark Dragon found the tavern in the district Tyburn, he was nowhere near relieved of his concern. He deliberately let gravity do its work as he landed on the park next to the tavern, and almost as fast as he landed, he saw people instinctively run toward the source of the sound. In fact, those people were elves. One of them exclaimed, “Master Ares!” The rest of the elves in the dragon’s sight repeated it like an echo. The elf that the black dragon recognised most, clad in a hand-woven brown suit over a beige shirt and matching tie and with a crescent-shaped charm on the jacket’s lapel, was the one to approach him, and it was rapid. As if reading the mind of the elf, Ares spoke, “I permit you to omit the formalities, Eimhin.” The dragon lowered himself to the ground and folded his paws. He looked down at the elf in earnest.
“Thank the spirits for your return, Master Ares!” the elf spoke with distraught. “The change in nat’ral cycles occurred faster than we though’!”
“Light Energy has spread to here, I know”, Ares replied, managing to avoid showing his sense of horror.
“Too much has changed, my lord! We are afraid to find tha’ your absence sped the process! We’ve much to talk abou’ as well!”
Ares really did blame himself for this. It was a wonder that England wasn’t like this for the straight one hundred years of being imprisoned in that energy cage. They needed his dark energy now more than ever. “If it is any consolation”, Ares stated, “I have what I want and need. The other elemental dragons are willing to join me in the siege. I have their word, and they would not act against their word if they cared not what the world would become should I fail.”
“Speaking of others” Eimhin said, trying to stay on the subject. “Jus’ yesterday, some very interesting men from Japan, and men from China arrived, wai’ ing fer you. In fact, one of them is very eager to speak to you.”
“Any news would help right now.” He paused to think on the energy that the wizards and elves carried, and managed to detect one that stood out, now that he knew it perfectly clear. Ares then told the elf, “Call for a sorcerer named Kuro.” How he gave the request was blunt, but Eimhin wasn’t reluctant to comply. He passed the message on to another elf, who ran inside the tavern like a streak of light. It was a few minutes before the black dragon saw a cloud of black smoke form instantly and diffuse just as fast, showing the man in black robes, having short black hair, and the perpetually narrow black eyes.
The necromancer stated, “I half expected another scolding from a sudden appearance of me.”
The dragon hissed, “I assume you have sssome kind of newsss for me, Kuro?”
Kuro straightened his robes and placed his hands behind his back. He spoke, “As you are no doubt aware, I have brought the wizards of Kage Shinja here for you. They await your battle plans and what role you shall give them.”
Sounding bored already, Ares asked, “And the bad newsss?”
Kuro sighed before explaining, “There is something of great concern to me and the rest of the Kage Shinja: the grandmaster. He has changed so much over the past few days that he has become unpredictable, and likely dangerous to his kakubou and ichimon.” He was very hesitant, for his visage showed woe, meaning that he really didn’t want to let the next thought out. He breathed deeply before letting the dragon know the thought: “I fear that it has a connection to you.”
Now that had the dragon’s full attention. He widened his eyes at the strained utter of the words. He shuffled backwards so he could lower his head and have it touch the ground. He hissed lowly, “Give me everything drawn from your opinion.”
Kuro looked back before approaching the side of the dragon’s side. His eyes were closed. The wizard could make out the hint of an ear slit and said lowly there, “I noticed something different when you left me alone with my sensei when we were on that frigid island where your friend liked to be. I kept a watchful eye on him. I knew that there was a significant change in the pattern of his aura. Your aura is as foreign to me as ours are to you. I could not determine it. However, my sensei behaved differently once we settled back to our temple in Tokyo. He spoke rashly toward anyone when they erred, which was suspicious enough. He already sounded like that when he informed the fighters of what you wanted us for.
“The fellow wizards have been exercising ever since by challenging one another. One session was disrupted by an outburst from the sensei. That was when I remembered the connection that you established to me and my sensei, and I found you among that ruined temple. I could not tell you then, given the emotion you had. Things worsened after that, for my sensei unexpectedly assaulted one of the servants, which made the others question their loyalty toward him.”
“You fear that you cannot trust him?” Ares interjected.
“Not only that, Ares-sama. I fear that he will lose his sanity, that being the price of exposing him to omae no chi. I fear that one of us will have to kill him.” That last statement prompted Ares to open his wide. He could also make out emphasis on the word “fear”. The grandmaster of the Kage Shinja meant a lot to this young wizard.
Ares said lowly, “I doubt anyone can. He did imply how old he is. He could have existed before my grandfather. He must be the most experienced sorcerer of all time, and of all elements.”
Now shaking since he got to tell the dragon what he felt compelled to tell, he uttered nervously, “Can we please get onto another subject?”
“Go back in front of me”, Ares whispered, and the human quickly complied. The dragon then lifted his head so he could stretch his neck. Looking at the wizard again, he spoke, “My orders are for you to go back to St. Petersburg and seek out the Ice Dragon. You can use your connection to me to your advantage, thereby letting Viktor and his forces know when the time will come for them to travel to the other side of the world. You know the city and you know the island. I trust you to hold out this task.”
“I doubt nothing of your intentions, Ares-sama.”
“You are dismissed. I shall give the same kind of orders to others.”
Kuro joined his hands and bowed before making another ball of smoke that already started to deform from the flow of the air and became vines before disappearing, seeing that the necromancer was no longer there. Ares sighed, sharing Kuro’s doubt on the elder sorcerer.
Just like he said, Ares expected the same of others. There were several Xaolin warriors and fire sorcerers that served China’s guardian brought to London. The Dark Dragon trusted the leader of the brigade to teleport to Hong Kong and inform his superior of the time when the battle was to begin. In the process, Ares could see that there were also more Dark sorcerers among United Kingdom gathered together. Most of them were English, but there were also a handful of Welshmen and Scots.
The Dark Dragon studied each wizard, who awaited his thoughts on their skills. Most of them resorted to lives of thieving and living off the grid. Those ones were more than thrilled that they could do something more meaningful than just getting by. Others had small jobs that made terrible wages. It was possible to duplicate or grow objects, but those following the element didn’t rely on such a thing unless they were desperate. Most that did do such could not perfectly control the magic used. Another thing that impressed Ares was that another safehouse was established for the newer recruits.
It was a day after getting impressions from them all that he decided on who would be in which certain brigade and who would lead it. It was obvious that Eimhin was to speak on behalf of the elves working for Ares. The elves were the ones to provide weapons. It was part of tradition that the militant wizards carried a sword and dagger. The ones relying on weapons, possibly more than spells, were of the stealth division. The Welsh wizard among the five who found the elves, who was best at health and regeneration, was appointed general of the stealth division. Because dark wizards were excellent at stealth, that was much bigger than the assault division. Normally, they acted as a diversion for others to carry out special missions. There was already help for the wizards locating the Light Dragon’s stronghold, among the recruits were fellow Scottish wizards who travelled with sailors after the fall of the Dark Dragon’s clan for a short while, right about reduction in chance of being detected. Ares had already planned that the assault division would storm the place to begin the siege. He needed to decide which side of the stronghold to have broken through. Then there was one that Ares took to calling the Jinx Brigade, reserved for the wizards best with distant spells. They were very discreet, making them seem like a source of bad luck.

Ares orated to the wizards, “What I have in mind is simple. Time may be against us. The safehouses may be compromised before long. All that I want, is confirmation on what I have been told. This may be a treacherous action toward myself, but I want the truth about my enemy. That is why I want to be transported to whatever any of you saw of the western world. I swear to you, comrades, I will return with a full strategy.” As confirmation, he showed his best attempt at crossing his heart. “Should you be exposed to those wanting you dead”, he continued. “You will need to start running again. My mission is to restore the balance. I intend to carry that out.” He then turned his gaze toward a wizard next to him, ordering, “Take me as far as you can.”
This sorcerer wore black coats and had bright-red hair. He stated, “I can take you as far as Brazil, my lord. ‘Tis the closest place to America where I’ve bin.”
“You doubt me, no?” Ares asked.
“Of course, my lord. We all worry ‘bout yeh. I can understand yer intentions, but we want not fear that we’ll never see yehr again.”
That was understandable as well. That last battle between these two dragons was a thrill on one side, and devastation on the other.

(The two dragons that represented light and darkness grew a rivalry so intense that so much damage was done. The wizards and elves of the clans conducted serious skirmishes. Frequent property damage took a toll on the lives of the non-magic humans. All fingers pointed to the dragons. So, the time had arrived for them to battle face-to-face, and see once and for all who was superior to the other. While the two clans had their frontlines established around London, the two dragons were to have their own challenges. No one was to interfere.
(Ares gained the upper claw from having his enemy search for him for hours until night fell. Ares was the one to engage as he made the first move. The fight was first over the meadows of Ireland, and then to the skies. The aerial combat took them later to London, the Dark Dragon’s favourite city. They landed into the palace. It wasn’t damaged too badly, for Ares actually made sure that there would be no intolerable casualties among non-magic humans.
(The fight was finally brought to below the lowest floor of the palace. It was so dark that Ares had a great chance of besting his opposite. With his stealth, he managed to strike his opponent when least expected. It was by the time that the Light Dragon was done with the Dark Dragon’s games. They finally clashed, having their energy beams collide. That was all that anyone needed to know.
(All the dark sorcerers could sense their master being subdued, letting the entire clan know that the Light Dragon was victorious. Several were eliminated from letting their guard down. The Light Dragon made his announcement known all over the United Kingdom of the outcome. The dark sorcerers were threatened by him from thereon out. That was why those that refused to challenge him, moved from place to place under a low profile.)
Ares said somberly, “I know what you fear. The Light Dragon has killed many. I need no proof of that.” He was thinking of the mental sequence that had been with him. He doubted that he would ever love again.