War of Chaos Chapter XVII

XVII

What did Ares want? He questioned himself about the meaning of his life, not just that of being the Dark Dragon. Any leader wanted something more than power. The answer to that question, was simple. He listened to his newfound friend tell how she felt being a gratuitously large reptile with wings. It was just how he felt: disgusted by their kind being featured in tales as an obstacle to a princess or a special piece of treasure; angry toward anyone spreading the hate and fear. That made things even more difficult for him. He already had so much in common with Hecate. Still, he had the compulsion to confide in her.
He spoke, “I was in love with someone before. I needed nobody to tell me what happened to her. To cause a greater heartache, she laid an egg when I departed before having my clan brawl with that of my enemy. I had the name nightmare that I saw when I was comatose. I never took the time to think of how I could see it. I did think of her before that white light shrouded me…”
“How did you meet?”
“During my travels in search of allies, I found myself in Rome, where my path crossed with the Wind Dragon, Daedalus. I had no qualm with him. Instead, I exposed him to my dark energy, which influenced him to bring out his aggression. Twas a cruel trick of mine, but I found that he wanted to know how he would fare against the Earth Dragon, and I gave him the push.
“As I followed a series of aqueducts, I met a dragoness as dark as I was, and…” He paused, not wanting to raise any questions from the dragoness before him. “I told her about myself as we studied all the ruins that we could. She could see in my eyes, my interest in wars from the past. When I looked at anything ruined: rubble scattered about; holes and cracks in walls, pillars, statues, and roofs; fragments that seem to fit with each other—I knew that a story is behind each detail. Twas in the Colosseum where we bonded.
“Whilst I subscribe to Greek mythology, she followed Roman. So, we could share parts that had our best interests. That was when I let her know what I was up to. She went with me back to England so we could talk more. From letting her know how I lived, she decided to live, and before long, we fell in love… Apart from “amora”, I would affectionately call her Venus. Her real name was a nice Italian name… Priscilla…”
He sat with his paws folded with sadness in his blood-red eyes. He could envision himself nuzzling her, but he could feel nothing. How she looked, remained imprinted in his memory. It was the feeling of her hide pressed against his that he forgot. She learned to see from his perspective, as he hers. Priscilla grasped his concept of honour.
Hecate broke him out of his daydream, stating, “Memories are what we have most.”
Ares then looked into her eyes to say, “Priscilla loved me for who I am… That is the best one can have for a lover… I needed more than just a lady second-in-command… The one to know me better than anyone is dead… I cannot replace her…”
Hecate objected, “Cannot? Or will not?” Her tone was sad, finding what he was getting at.
“What is the point in mending a heart, if it is only to break again?”
“Surely, having convinced yourself of being the god of war, you would know that wars bring casualties on both sides. All those sorcerers died defending what they believed in, both the light and the dark.”
“Twas not war that brought about her demise. From my point of view, the Light Dragon killed her on cold blood. I was told how he inflated his own ego after he defeated me. He challenged every dark sorcerer that he could find, and showed them no mercy. When I killed the light sorcerers here, that was not for vengeance.”
“So you are conflicted. You cannot decide whether you should actually slay the Light Dragon or not, regardless of the other damage caused by him.” Ares gave no response, but Hecate didn’t need to hear one.
After much hesitation, Ares leaned to her side and whispered to her ear. What he was talking about in a hushed tone, surprised her, but she assumed that he needed her. He had a plan involving her now, and it was the instructions that he gave.

Seeing one dragon in the city in the middle of the day was already a disturbance. A larger disturbance was two dragons in the city in midday. Hecate did comment, “For being stealthy, you seem to subtract subtlety.” As a reply, Ares pointed out that he would put subtlety aside when the matters at hand were urgent. Finding where to fit, was an issue. So, Ares guided Hecate over to the Westminster Chapel, and told her to wait there, whilst he flew down to the Tyburn District and summoned all his followers. By his count now, there were at least eighty sorcerers that pledged allegiance to him, but those were of the sorcerers of the United Kingdom. His clan now also had sixty-seven elves. The Kage Shinja clan from Japan—those brought to London—consisted of a hundred men. As for those of Jilie Huo brought from Hong Kong of China, there were sixty-three fire sorcerers and forty-four Xiaolin soldiers. They were the declared the strongest of the clan, and would represent the aura of their idol Tai Jun. This did take up much of a single tavern, but they were able to expand their small headquarters with the adjoining buildings.
Putting the pleasantries and customary social protocols on hold, Ares simply ordered all his followers and allies to meet him at his favourite church. Since the sorcerers didn’t know the exact location, they couldn’t teleport themselves there so quickly. They were able to do that once his energy signature was to give them a heading. So, all the sorcerers waited patiently for the dragon to approach the location, which wasn’t long. Having the direction and the range, all the dark sorcerers transported themselves along with the others.

With a cloud of black that diffused as quickly as it was formed, everyone now in league with the Dark Dragon, and the warriors from the east, stood before the black-scaled tri-horned dragon. The morning light caused a glare in his blood-red eyes. Unlike most others, that wasn’t something to intimidate those meeting his gaze at the moment. Ares hissed, “My sssoldiersss… my partnersss… my friendsss…  The time hasss come for darknesss to fall upon the perpetual light, and make the sssun ssset on the time of an empire for the lassst time.” Changing his tone, he ordered, “Kuro of Kage Shinja. Approach.”
The eastern sorcerer, clad in his robe, tunic, and trousers, all black, did as he was told. He looked to his ally with his perpetually-narrow eyes, waiting to hear his new assignment, but nervous as he was still worried about his former teacher and father figure.
The ebony behemoth, sitting with his paws crossed, lowered his head to better look at his subordinate, to say lowly, “I understand your personal plight, sssorcerer. Have patience. In due time, you will know, and you will need be prepared to make a choice.” Only Kuro seemed to comprehend the inference, for those that did hear, looked at one another in confusion. After lifting his head without breaking eye contact, Ares continued in an earnest tone, “First order is that I need you to locate Aquarius. With your rude interruption, you found yourself in Athens. I would wager that she is among its country’s waters. Tell her that I want her to head west. Tell her to refrain from taking any detours. Once you have given, I need you to return here. Transport everyone here to America, but keep your destination outside the enemy’s territory.” He then turned to the dragoness and added, “I need all the help that I can get. We need all the help we can get. Any of your skills can prove useful in the field.”
Hecate replied, “Consider it done.”
Eimhin approached and orated what was on everyone else’s minds: “Where will you be?”
Ares spoke, “Out of all of us on these grounds, I am the only one who knows where the elementals are. They will need to hear from someone the word that the war has begun.”
Eimhin objected, “But Master Ares”-
The elf was cut off when the black dragon countered, “My apologies, Eimhin, but this is not the time to argue. We must not stall.” He addressed everyone when going on, “Pack up everything that you can take with you. When Kuro here returns, you are all departing.”
“Of course, Yami-sama”, Kuro replied. With that, the sorcerer disappeared after seeming to become a cloud of smoke.
Ares spoke, “You are dismissed.” As the crowd departed the park of the church, Ares, focused on the female, stated, “I hope that you are right this time, giving the sorcerers strength.” His tone was sincere. “You seem to have given me courage. That makes for a good nudge. Thank you.” Hecate was lost with words, but he doubted that words were needed. He bared a sliver of his fangs as a smile, before he stood up and leapt into the air, his wings flapping as he climbed up to the sky.
The dragoness sighed as she watched the Dark Dragon fly out of her sight, before he she went to catch up with the sorcerers. She felt so alone when his clan was destroyed. She felt so close to Ares, yet so far from him. She longed to find her purpose, but she never went over what her solitary and mobile life was like.

Ares flew now as if he was in a panic. He really was hurrying to get back to the Russian territory. The reason for making haste was simple: London was warm for the middle of December. It was no surprise that America was affected by the defiance against nature. The Light Dragon was unknowingly trying and failing to be a god. These effects were what filled Ares with dread. He didn’t need to track the energy signature to see how far he was to fly. He lowered his altitude to recognise the pattern of the city, which he approached, and he was making good time. It was about two hours before he actually left London when he was over St. Petersburg and bearing northeast, having a hunch of where his best friend was.

To the Dark Dragon’s horror, the island that served for Ledyanoy Drakon Olrot, had a terrain that seemed unstable when he landed, for he heard cracks in the ice that disturbed him as much as thunder disturbed any human. He found that subtlety would waste his time. So, he lifted off again, and flew very low, to avoid touching the ground, and hurried to find his friend.
To make him feel even worse, Ares saw that the ice castle serving as a shelter for the ice sorcerers, was weaker and thinner, seeing that it lacked detail. The climate was mild. That was something that Ares judged wouldn’t be liked by the Ice Dragon or his people. Suddenly, he felt chilled winds from all directions, but that didn’t bother him until it became a nuisance. A pale-blue dragon landed before him. His slit-like nostrils on his muzzle like a wolf’s, flared more of frigid air, his orange eyes now glowing with anger. The pale-blue dragon snarled in his native language, “Hell has come to our lands now.”
Ares replied in Russian, “Everyone is seeing hell, disguised as heaven.”
Deciding to speak English, Viktor growled, “I know that Light Dragon brought this part of madness upon my land.”
“Wait no further, Comrade. How many wizards have you banded together since I bade farewell?”
“I have regrouped most of my past followers, plus several new. You want precise count? My clan now consists of two hundred forty-two wizards. They are not afraid to show off their skills, easy task, hoping to preserve island and castle when weather changed. Difficulty has grown over mere days.”
Having a simple answer out of an explanation, Ares said plainly, “Viktor, setting siege on the Light Dragon’s domain is a matter of now or never. If we weaken the light energy in the world, nature’s balance should be restored before Christmas. I need you, not just as one to deliver combative force, but as my friend.”
That made the Ice Dragon stop and stare. Ares went on, “I must confess: when we grew a bond with each other… when we entwined our auras… I hoped that our unity as dragons would be a bridge between our worlds.” The two dragons were the best of friends. For their home countries, that came off as unusual. Ares sighed, “But I have not been fully honest… I also found an ally in the Fire Dragon, Tai Jun. I kept it secret from the both of you, not wanting involvement in a conflict between you two should it arouse.”
“That is currently of no importance, T’ma”, Viktor spoke. “I will stand alongside you. Perhaps, when you have chance, you can tear out Light Dragon’s other eye.”
“I only need you and your sorcerers to head to the western side of the world. Pull up at the east edge of America. I will have others meet there. We can speak more there and then. Comprehend, Comrade?”
“Da. Perfectly.” He then placed a paw on the black dragon’s shoulder before continuing, “I have never underestimated you, and I have never questioned motivation or strategies. I hope that as always, this plan will be successful.”
Ares nodded. “So do I.”
Viktor said, “Good luck, T’ma”, and then lowered his paw. The pale-blue dragon watched as Ares flew directly off of the ice island and out of sight, the heading being south.

No time for breaks. No time to stop, not even to eat. The ebony behemoth shut out the feeling of light-headedness. If he was correct, he needed only to go straight south, and the natural rotation of the earth would take him where he wanted to go. That was his wager, and he was almost correct. He did find himself on the coast, but the air was significantly hotter. The sun was up and ready to cause difficulty to anyone under its rays. Ares refused to succumb to the heat of the day. He found no difference in the time of day, and could find no shadows to tell him. It was nearby a monument bigger than even him, where he found the dragon that was the root of all magic on the continent. The energy that he could sense was alive like a flourished tree. The foreign auras in the air were hard to determine where they were coming from. The Dark Dragon remembered that his target was well-connected to nature. So, he headed west, toward the wide acres of undergrowth, flying frantically. All standards about laying low were put aside. Whilst airborne, the Dark Dragon sent black beams to the sky, which reshaped into clouds that later diffused in the air. When nearing the forest, the sky became noticeably darker by the minute by the grey clouds that seemed to hover over the land without a sign of any approached. It was all part of the self-proclaimed war god’s plan. All that he needed, was to make the rain fall. Once passing the border of trees, Ares shot up another black beam, and upon contact with the grey clouds, thunder rumbled. He needed to storm; only rain. As if on cue, a drop tapped the black dragon’s leathery hide. More drops came down intermittently until the erratic nature permitted the pattern to continue, for more drops fell upon the dragon, along with the wooden arms and their bare fingers. The pattern of the water drops tapping against the spacious array of high plants, along with his scales, was music to his ears. He stood in wait as he embraced the shower from the sky, the mist from the grey, submitting to the gravity.

Just as Ares predicted, he could hear the sound of thumping that only a massive reptile could produce, and then the rustling of the leaves from the trees around him. Then the black dragon turned to where his instincts said the sound came from. He was correct again, seeing perfectly how the beast stood out among the trees, the water of the rain making more of a glare upon the leathery hide. He could remember the spikes that decorated the brown dragon’s jaw and the row down his back.
Opening his jaw a slit, baring a hint of his fangs as a grin, the self-proclaimed god of war said contently, “So good to see you, Earth Dragon.”
The deep and rich musical voice of the brown dragon said, “My chief shaman sensed a foreign aura on the coast of Egypt. I thought that it was familiar when it met my range.”
“That is no surprise to me… Imamu...? Was it…?” His head was angled.
The Earth Dragon responded, “It is.” He continued in an earnest tone, “I can determine why you arrived here again. You wanted confirmation on my clan’s status. I have sought out the shamans and recruited them, along with non-magic humans that praise me and wish to fight for the cause.”
“So you have prepared for the siege?”
“I give the order, they come with me.”
Now sounding somber, Ares spoke, “I suffice to say that I advise your followers against fighting. If you care about the humans, I wish to not have those without magical aura in the crossfires. The Light Dragons and his blindly loyal magical followers are the priority. Someone needs to ensure safety. Everyone has their own intentions. If you intend to humiliate the Wind Dragon, refrain. This is more important.”
Imamu chuckled, “What makes you think I would delay?” Without waiting for an answer, he said, “We shall depart immediately.”
Before the brown dragon turned away, Ares told him, “Keep your distance from the Light Dragon’s territory. Wait for me before making a move.”
Imamu silently nodded, understanding that piece of advice. Then, he turned away, to go tell his men that the time had arrived.
Not wanting to take a break even now, Ares leapt into the air and pulled himself straight out of the forest breaking off any of the short and slender fingers of the trees. He already had his bearings, and therefore his heading. This heading would be to a dragon as important as any of the other dragons.

Being the last elemental that he had an unannounced meeting with about the balance of the energies, Ares could remember how it went. However, he was given a sense of regret by the time he saw what he was convinced that his prolonged absence from London caused. He frantically flapped his wings as he flew now, but decided that he needed to stop, seeing that it would only delay his flight. He had an idea: he dove down as if he was going to fall into the sea and let the harsh mistress claim him, but he quickly pulled up after his long direct descent. Now, he had built momentum with this method and continued gliding in the air as normal, except with a short speed boost. He silently cursed himself, not thinking of taking advantage gravity earlier.
By the time he reached and landed upon a grassy field, he saw that the sun still up. The day was nowhere near over. Ares closed his eyes and breathed deeply. The moment to catch his breath, was short-lived, as he headed to the best part of nature that the country had to offer. Normally, being in a natural part of land would make the black dragon content, but he had no time to even think of embracing it. Whilst in flight, Ares looked back on his previous meeting with the long-avoided elemental. He needed to be in the northern territory of the country, where he headed.
The natural sector of the territory looked just the way he remembered. It looked too good to be reality, but it was right there in front of him. The black dragon headed for the foamy waterfall among the forest full of life. He paid no attention to the distant cries and hisses of the various animals this time, gliding in the direction of the cliff where the river flowed down.

Something stumped the black dragon. He was at the ledge of the cliff where he had found the Poison Dragon, and she was meditating. He sensed her aura. Yet, she wasn’t perched on either side of the stones on the sides of the river.
Suddenly, Ares made out rustling leaves from behind, among the crashing water on the stones below—but he was too late to make a move. He was pinned to the ground, face-down. Ares grinned and hissed, “Touché, my friend.”
The green dragoness standing upon and holding Ares down, replied in her rich voice, “I had a good teacher, Darkness.” She then backed away so the black dragon could get up and turn around to actually look at her.
Ares waved his wings before sitting down and crossing his paws. The green dragoness did the same and looked intently at him, the hook-like claws seeming to tell how she felt. The black dragon hissed, “The time hasss come, Poissson. The occurrence of the sssiege isss a matter of now or never. You know that your ssskills are required.”
“Bloody oath”, she replied. Ares tilted his head at this, finding that Jade’s tone said differently than those words. She went on, “You can spare your earbashing, based on why you are here. Just tell me what you want me to do.”
“As this is my plan, I want to know if you are willing to take orders.”
“Give me an order”, Jade said, her impatience obvious.
Ares hissed, “You know where the sssiege isss to be ssset. I have been given to understand that the Light Dragon’s domain was meant to be in the centre of America. Are you willing to fly to the opposite ssside of the world?”
“It cannot be far if I bear east.”
Ares continued, “Well then, Jade, bear north should you happen go straight and find yourssself off the coast of the amazon. You will know for certain if you happen to detect Harpies. The Light Dragon’s domain is bordered by large cage-like fence. Keep your distance from it until I reach there. There will, of courssse, be others, dragons and sorcerers.”
“Ssseeing asss the matter is urgent, I shall enter your battlefield.”
Ares sighed with eyes narrow and gazed into the Poison Dragon’s emerald eyes. “Jade, thisss isss not about a chance for glory as a result of the conflict. Thisss isss about ending oppression to all of usss. Comprehend?”
“You are right. I have taken thingsss personally, the English claiming my country’s land. Tis wrong of me to hold that againssst you. You have my gratitude for pushing me to ssstart fighting. The other elementals avoid me and know nothing that I can do. However, any sssorcerer that crosses me, will ssse what I can really do.” She grinned at that last statement. She then stood up, prompting Ares to do the same.
“Make it safely, Jade”, Ares said with sincerity.
“Likewise, Ares”, she replied before turning away and taking flight. Ares watched her and listened to how she breathed. She enjoyed the feeling of the air currents when flying. Ares couldn’t help but slightly bare his teeth as well. All the animals that could fly and all the animals that swam deep below the surface, felt freedom where they travelled. The skies and the oceans were open, and one could be anywhere in them. Ares then had the other dragon back in London on his mind. He had told both Hecate and Jade that he loved someone in the past. Just as fast, his mind shifted to his late mate and he suddenly felt sad. He looked around, wondering if she would’ve preferred residing in a place like this over the United Kingdom if they were to grow old. He couldn’t help but cause a cloud of black smoke to swirl up to the sky, which he didn’t notice; not even when he took flight and followed his heading back to London.

The black dragon had his late mate on his mind. He couldn’t get her out of his thoughts anymore. He had been telling himself that his reason to declare wasn’t vengeance, but he had been doubting that now. Instead of going to London, he took a detour. He pulled up at a coast, and wandered in the sky for three hours before he found the place he was looking for. It was late afternoon where he was now. Where he found himself was at a memorable place in history: not just to the humans, but him as well. He now stood in the centre of it: a large circular barrier, greatly damaged over the years now, and served as a place for sightseeing. He looked around, studying the curves and lines of the damaged walls, bringing back that old memory of his. There was no problem for his contemplation, for all the humans around the place, ran off in fear of what he would do. The silence made it easier. He could hear in his mind, how he and Priscilla compared the Greek gods and the Roman gods.
Now he sighed intermittently at the details that he took in of the ancient structure. There seemed to be no change in its appearance, but to Ares there was. He looked to the sky now, solemnity in his blood-red eyes. He thought, “Priscilla… Forgive me… I promised to return to you… And I failed… I failed you…” He felt himself choke and his eyes well up, as if he could cry at any moment. He looked down again, thinking, “I never knew that I would miss you this much… I loved you more than anything in the world… There is no other being that can encourage me…”