THE ELDERIEN CHRONICLES: Aftermath Of Darkness

Survive?

Silence.

That was the only thing Elderien could hear at that point. There was total silence in all of the capital's minds, and the faintest creaking of the doors and the shuffling of weapons convinced everyone that they were in for something terrible. 

The energy from the sun's sphere had spread across the capital, forming a yellow dome of energy that gave off little Sparks. The dome was deep yellow in colour, and the heat it provided was enough to warm the capital. But that was not the only problem the capital faced.

From where they stood, the Elderien people could see that the outside world had been enveloped in a thick, terrible winter. The clouds had turned dark as well, and lightning could be seen flashing in the sky. The wind outside was terrible, causing a snowstorm to blow. How could the world be under the influence of such a powerful spell? 

How could they survive?

For Alastair, the sight of his dead dragon's outline from the Sparks was one of the things that filled him with terror. Alastair stood inside a room in the palace and looked down from the window onto the courtyard.

He still could not believe that it was over, that the very thing of significance which gave him power was gone. Alastair closed his eyes and felt the pressure building in his chest. He was uneasy. Then he turned around and looked at Cara who was lying on the bed.

She was still as pale as snow, and her lips were cracked. Elle was attending to her with three other healers and they looked exhausted. Alastair was back to his thoughts. 

How could he beat Corvius? He was the most powerful thing that he had ever faced, and the way he easily gained victory made Alastair realize that dark things had been hiding behind the veil. His people were powerful as well, and although Elderien soldiers were the best trained in that part of the world, they were nothing compared to the northerners.

How could such an enemy be defeated?

"Alastair, I need you!" Elle called out to Alastair and he dragged himself towards Cara.

"I need you to transfer some of your energy into her. She's freezing up. She needs heat, a lot of it." Elle said and Alastair hesitated.

"I-I don't think I can help that much. I lost my dragon. That means I lost the energy I used to have. What I carry now may not be enough to do what you want." Alastair said and sighed.

"Nonsense. I can sense your energy. It's still the same. Now, hurry! She is freezing. The Phoenix is frozen inside her. If she dies now, she will not come back." Elle said and Alastair was surprised by both facts he heard.

He quickly stretched out his hand and took Cara's, letting his energy flow into her. Cara breathed sharply as the energy transferred from Alastair into her Body. Her body soon lit up with white light and Elle started chanting.

She kept chanting as Alastair kept doing what he was doing and when Alastair started to feel the strain, the white light turned yellow. Elle did not stop chanting. The yellow light soon formed a cocoon around Cara and the sharp burn Alastair felt made him drag his hand away.

Cara slowly relaxed as the cocoon surrounded her. She didn't look better but she was calmer.

"That will do, for now," Elle said to Alastair who took a step back and popped out his menu.

Nothing changed.

Name: High Mage Alastair

Status: Dragon Lord

Affiliations: Elderien's keep

...

Nothing changed! But how could he remain a dragon lord when his dragon was dead? Alastair sighed and walked out of the room. He felt uncomfortable with the fact that there were so many questions he didn't have any answers to.

The walls of the corridor were stained with blood and they were cracked as well. The ground was not looking good either. The walls and the ground were wet from the melting ice. Alastair walked past some servants trying to clean things up, as well as some bruised soldiers.

He trudged towards the throne room and opened the door. There, he found Miranda, Kevin, and Drax, speaking. They all gazed at him as he walked inside and in Miranda's eyes, all she could see was a broken, confused man. She quickly walked up to him and took his hand.

"How is she?" Miranda asked.

"Elle is attending to her," Alastair responded. He looked at Kevin and then at Drax who stood at a side of the room, gazing at the pair.

"How are you?" Miranda asked Alastair. She could sense his tension.

"I'm fine," Alastair responded. Miranda knew that was a lie but she decided not to push it.

"Come, join us. We were just discussing how to remedy this situation. As it stands now, there are good news and bad news. The good news is that we are safe, for now. The bad news is that we are also trapped here inside the capital. The sun sphere won't let anyone out." Miranda said to Alastair.

"We are not trapped. I designed it that way. I will make modifications as soon as I can. But it is Paramount that we all stay inside the sphere." Alastair responded.

"The sphere will not hold forever. Sooner than later it will come down and we will be attacked again." Drax said to Alastair.

"I know. I will find a solution before then. I will get us all out of this mess. The mad king cannot take Elderien. I will make sure of it.

Alastair said to them and although even he did not believe that statement, he knew he had to try. Everyone inside the court looked to him for answers because he was their genius, but he did not feel like a genius anymore. He felt like a fraud.

As Alastair was still lost in thought, Elle dashed into the throne room. She was almost breathless as her eyes were ravaged with worry.

"You all need to come outside, now!"