The Ashen Keeper

Chapter 19

[Firekeeper POV]

She stood right in front of the building laid with red bricks and enchantments.

It looks like a very old building and is clearly part of a much larger formation that shields this world from prying eyes and gods. Just as she was about the knock, the door swung open.

She looked inside the door and found portal swirling in an orange energy. There was not a single soul here. The ancient one is clearly taken some measures to hide her appearance from her disciples.

After all, she alone had been supporting Kamar Taj for hundreds of years. It was time for her to rest.

"I did not expect you to come as early as you do."

"Yet, thou hath taken measures for mine arrival."

"Things that are unclear for normal beings before will always be clearer to those who foresees it. So now, do you wish to prolong yourself or solve my curse first?", she asked as if she was testing her once more.

She did not care whether it was a test or not, after all she have never lied in her immortal life.

" I shall fulfill thy wishes before proceeding with mine. I fear we may take more time than I believe to prolong this life of mine. Firstly, we must strengthen thy body.

Because of thy act of plundering power from demons, it has caused thy soul to be imbalanced. Thy body art weaker than thy soul. We must first strengthen thee. Take some souls from me to complete the deed."

"I can't just take souls from you. You will need to guide me on how to do it."

"Very well, then touch the darkness within me."

The guardian did what she was told. She closed her eyes and concentrated on strengthening her body. Taking physical energy from the soul might sound strange but to a being as long live as this, it was no longer something mysterious.

"Let these souls, withdrawn from their vessels,

Manisfestations of disparity

Elucidated by fire,

Burrow deep within me,

Retreating to a darkness beyond the reach of flame,

Let them assume a new master,

Inhabiting ash, casting themselves upon new forms."

The ancient one opened her eyes once again after she finished her chanting.

"Now, thou soul art in harmony with thine body. Allow me to tend to thee injuries caused due to the imbalance between them."

She said as a tiny flame danced across her palms. They eventually morphed into a sphere and flew straight between her eye browns.

She made symbols with her hand and arcane circuits came out of it.

"My condition has been cleared by the looks of it. Now, it is my turn to fulfill my bargain. We shall visit the depths of your soul to prolong it".

She said as she suddenly pressed her forehead. The firekeeper did not resist for you cannot prolong your soul without knowing the state it is in. She opened her eyes to a nostalgic scene.

"So, this is your former world. Can't say that it's a great place."

"I am well aware that it isn't the hospitable of places. But nothing compares to home after all."

She smelt the familiar smell of death and ash. The darkness that she grew up in. The world has been destroyed but and an ember still existed.

However, she could not sense a single living thing. "Can you not sense them?", asked the Ancient One." Correction, she did not sense any 'living thing'. She did sense other things.

"The last keeper of the first flame ... so, you have sensed us."

What spoke was not the undead she expected but a dragon. Not a drake or a wyvern but an actual everlasting dragon. She, however, has no knowledge of who this dragon is. Moreover, she was not simply sensing one or two everlasting dragons but thousands of them.

"You look surprise."

'Surprise' was too small a word to cover it. She thought every single dragon had ceased to exist yet here exists thousands of them.

"I thought the everlasting dragons no longer existed."

"Oh! You are right. Technically, we no longer exist. But have you wonder why we are called eternal and not immortal? Immortals walk every single day on your land yet nothing truly eternal ever exist. We are the only eternal beings to exist.

You pray upon our names in reverence, yet you look down on us. Tell me, even an outcast like Seath is well aware of our weakness. Did you think we would simply watch them abuse our weakness?"

She was shocked to hear those words. It made perfect sense. The everlasting dragons were prideful. Not arrogant.

Where had they been all these years?

How did the Lords not find them?

How did they even survive the onslaught of the three lords at the height of their powers?

Seath was one of the weakest everlasting dragons without his scales, yet he remains one of the most powerful in the Age of Fire.

How could a race that existed beyond time itself disappear into the flow of time?

Their strength lies not in power but their unattainable durability.

"No", she replied. "I had once assumed the everlasting dragons to be no more but now I have no doubts no your existence. However, I shall pose thee a question. Where were you when this world ended? And how did thou survive the onslaught of three lords.

"Your Lords are strong child, but we are beyond strength.

We are eternal. While they are arrogant. Prolonging an era for the sake of themselves is the height of arrogance that a Lord can attain.

Do you blame us for the destruction of our world. Do not forget keeper, we were the original inhabitants of 'our' world before your three Lords claim it as theirs. Now it is my turn to pose you a question. Why did you survive the destruction of a world?"

The everlasting one revealed himself in all his might. What appeared her resembled Seath but simply bigger and with scales. He had a hint of dark tone compared to pure white color of Seath.

"I'm afraid I do not have an answer for that. After all, even I do not know how I survive it. I thought an age of darkness would befall upon us. It appears untrue."