This fic was originally published HERE.
The Plaguebringer was greatly misunderstood. To most she was a cruel deity that cared nothing for those that served her. To most she delighted in finding new ways to kill, mutilate, and torture dragons. To most her servants were sadistic creatures that reveled in death. That mutilated themselves for pleasure.
Yet the truth was different than that. The truth was she cared for her children. She cared for them more than an outsider would guess. She was only cruel as she believed that was the only way to protect us.
The Ruby Eyes, my clan, was more peaceful than most clans in the Plague Flight. Though dragons that served other deities did not seem to think so. We didn't interfere in more conflicts than we had to. Of course participation in wars and battles had to happen so others did not think us weak. We would not give up our freedoms or give up the Plaguebringer's blessings.
I was very young in that part of the Ruby Eyes' history. There wasn't much that I noticed. Instead I spent my days of freedom running around and playing games. Those memories are the things I hold onto when the days are especially dark.
No one knew when they started to arrive. They must have arrived, observed, and then attacked. There was no other explanation for how much devastation the demons caused. I remembered the day they attacked. It was a painful memory that Tarik likes to torture me with whenever I'm being too annoying.
My mother was teaching me how to hunt. In my youth distractions were everywhere. The breeze rustled leaves and suddenly the plants were enemies. I wanted to learn and yet...yet everything was interesting. This caused my mother to be a little violent so I would stay on the right path. Even the young must show respect for the Plaguebringer's teachings.
"Kali," My mother growled. "Focus, you need to focus."
"I am focused." I replied with leaves in my mouth.
"Games can come later. If you do not learn how to hunt you will be killed. Worse, you may be kicked out from the clan."
That look in her eyes was something that I didn't see anymore. My memory showed tears coming from her eyes but that couldn't have actually happened. She was a strong dragon and would not have shown any sign of weakness. Not even to her own daughter. Especially not to me. If she had then she risked me dying in the future. Dragons in the Ruby Eyes had to trust only their own strength and the blessings of the Plaguebringer. We all knew that death is a part of life and those closest to us could leave at any moment.
The hunting went on for a long time until I made a kill. Cuts were all over my body when I rejoined the others. My fellow hatchlings were interested in anything I said due to the dried blood that covered me. While I had spoken to my friends with bravado, there was shame in my hunt. Due to my mistakes the kill had been sloppy. My mother did not refrain from any words when she had reprimanded me. If only I could hear her scolding me now.
We all turned our heads as there were screams. Normally screams weren't something to worry about. They were a natural part of clan life. Yet these screams had a strange edge to them. They were screams of war. All of us hatchlings huddled together as a few adults placed themselves around us.
"Do not kill each other." A dragon said as it walked up to us.
It took a moment for my hatchling brain to recognize him. He was the leader Lantir. Because I was just a hatchling, he never paid me any mind. Yet the stories of his exploits had never ceased to amaze me. It had been my dream to fight alongside him in battle. Now, though, that dream was dashed. His voice didn't sound like his own and the movements of his body were off.
"We had to deal with quite a few of you already." Lantir's mouth growled. "We do not like killing host bodies."
"What did you do with Lantir?" One of the adults asked.
"Oh, he is here and his screams are glorious."
We hadn't known what he meant but we soon did. The second after he spoke I lost control of my body. My eyes hadn't picked up anything. One moment I was free and the next I was a slave. A small cry left my lips and then no scream was strong enough to get out. Some of my friends attempted to kill themselves instead of becoming slaves. A few didn't succeed.
Now my clan was a shell of its former self. The demons ruled and, for the present, they didn't have any interest in the rest of Sornieth. If my clan was the only one affected then that was a fair price. Though it was a heavy price to pay. We did nothing except what our demons wanted. Mine was named Tarik.
Most of the time he hunted as both of us liked death. Even though it wasn't me who controlled my mouth, it was still fun. It was fun to see the life leave the eyes of a creature and to taste its blood. Tarik laughed as he joined in on the emotions. He knew that if I found a way, my blood lust would be turned on him. Those thoughts amused him and I was always punished. So I did my best to remember my place.
[Yes, remember your place.] Tarik sneered as he opened my eyes. [You are mine now. And even if you do find a way to escape, what would you do? I know you much better than you know yourself. There is so much untapped rage that your free life wouldn't last long. You would kill your friends and anyone that wanted to help.]
[You're lying.] I replied. [You're only saying that so you can keep me.]
[Partially. But you know I am telling the truth. At least with me your insanity will not harm those you care about.]
[I do great harm already.]
[But not to your clan.]
As always, Tarik brought up a good point. All the horrors in my life were only known to my clan. Other clans didn't have any idea there had been a change. Other clans in the Plague Flight were glad that we had become more bloodthirsty and more likely to go to war. Maybe this was a test by the Plaguebringer and we had all failed. Now our punishment was to be the toys of a stronger species. Maybe they were-
[We are not the creations of your deity.] Tarik said with a laugh. [I do admire your Plaguebringer, though. If not for her ways we would not be able to fit in so easily. You are wrong that others do not guess. It's just that they fear creatures strong enough to break through your deity's territory.]
Fear was a horrible emotion. The only thing worse than fear was cold calculation. When both worked together then friends abandoned each other. If Tarik was telling the truth then our allies had abandoned us. It was most likely my demon was telling the truth as he enjoyed taunting me. He loved to see me in pain. Though I could not read his thoughts, I could feel happiness radiating from him.
[You won't try to attack Sornieth, will you?] I asked weakly.
[You know we don't make a move unless we can win.] Tarik replied. [You can get rid of your hopeful thoughts. Dragons are such an interesting species to have. Even if they weren't, we do want a home. Maybe not in my lifetime, but one day Sornieth will be ours.]
Tarik had never made it so clear before that the enslavement of Sornieth was the end goal. I shouldn't have been so hopeful. Ignorance could've been mine if only I had remembered not to show any signs of hope.
[Good girl.] Tarik said. [You need to remember that more often. You need to remember that there is no hope for you or anyone. We will take what we want. If you do cause anymore trouble I can make sure we are on the front lines, if we live to see the enslavement of your world. You can watch the enslavement of Sornieth first hand. No one will ever come to rescue you. This is your life until death.]
Tarik might live longer than me, depending on his age. Once my body no longer held life, he would move on to the next dragon. Maybe even one of my future children. Some dragons had been bred to provide hosts for our masters. Luckily I had never been chosen for that duty. Not because my genes weren't good but because Tarik loathed anything dealing with reproduction. It was a duty he got out of often due to the vast amount of breeders already.
[You don't need to mourn your position so much.] Tarik said.
[I am sorry.] I apologized.
[Do you feel up for a hunt?]
I knew what my demon was doing. He didn't need to ask my permission to hunt. He could move my body in whatever way he chose. Could it have been my thoughts regarding the breeding program? Could it be that he was as disgusted with it as I was? He must want me to think about more pleasant things.
[Yes.] I replied meekly.
Tarik stood up and stretched. We had been sleeping near the outskirts of clan territory. There was a stench of acid in the air. Most likely a nearby clan had been doing some testing. Maybe the experiments had killed off the majority of the clan. That would mean the Ruby Eyes could expand their own territory.
My demon ran off the cliff and took off. The acid ate away at our skin and for a moment I saw bone. Maybe this would be the day that we would die. It, as with all hope, was short lived. Tarik said a few words and my body was healed. He changed direction to keep to the very edges of the acid cloud. It wasn't something visible but felt and smelled.
Down below, just barely gracing the acid cloud, was a lounge of Green-throated Skinks. They were running just for the fun of it. The species adored facing danger and loved to tempt fate. Sometimes they would be in such a good mood their sights would be set on dragons. Though those attacks never went anywhere.
Tarik changed direction from the other clan to the lounge. He circled around and we picked out the weak ones. There would be blood and death. They would never know what killed them. No, they should see me coming down and feel fear. The Skinks would know there was no escaping death. Oh, yes, they would know and then die in despair.
The demon was taking too long. I could already taste our meal. Yet he circled and it took me awhile to figure out why. He wanted to make sure we wouldn't get too close to the acid cloud. One wrong movement would mean we'd lose the hunt. Words came out of Tarik's mouth as he prepared himself in case something went wrong. Why wouldn't he move already?
Green heads made good targets for us. Tarik finally brought our wings close to our body and our tail made the slightest of adjustments to our trajectory. The first few Skinks died quickly by my claws and teeth. The rest of the lounge made its way to the acid cloud. No! They would not escape! They could not escape!
Tarik chased after them and the acid tried to eat away at our skin. But the spells the demon had said protected us. Now it appeared as if I were on fire with blue flames coming off of me. He flew up so that the Skinks were in confusion over where their pursuer was. We only had a limited amount of time to eat them as the acid cloud was consuming them. One ran off from the lounge and we laughed as it failed.
Suddenly I was aware that Tarik's grip on me wasn't as tight as normal. He loved how cruel I could be during hunts. During those times we were extremely close. We were friends on hunts. We both lived only for my bloodlust. Today, though, I felt strong. There was no doubt that an antidote to the acid cloud would be figured out in a few hours. For now there was a new danger that could allow me to die.
I flew deeper into the cloud and ignored the Skinks. When Tarik attempted to gain control my body was still my own. It was sluggish but still mine. I laughed as he struggled to gain control of my body. Then the pain of the acid cloud wore away at my resolve. Tarik took control of my body and headed back to our clan.
[Fool!] He said and allowed a few wounds from the cloud to remain. [You nearly ruined your body!]
[I was trying to kill us.] I replied meekly. [My body would matter to neither of us after that.]
[I would've been greatly injured, but there are suitable hosts for me.]
So I hadn't been about to kill him. He would've lived on. My mother would've called me a coward for forgetting how strong the demons were. If only she could scold me for my actions. The only reason Tarik let me see her nowadays was to make me feel pain. Seeing my mother was a form of punishment my demon delighted in.
Emmi looked up at Tarik. The other demon possessed Lantir. While my own torture was more than painful, it was nothing compared to the former leader's. He had spent a good portion of his life protecting the clan. Now, though, he had to watch as the demons took over. Sometimes Emmi would let him cry to bring the morale of the clan down.
"Tarik," Emmi said. "Did you bring back any food for the rest of us?"
"My host deserved a reward." Tarik replied. "Yet it abused my generosity."
"That is was they like to do. Did you encounter the acid cloud?"
"Yes, do you need a report?"
"No, an antidote is already in the works."
If only there was no antidote. If only the acid cloud meant the end of this pain. Though even if all my clanmates died there were other hosts for the demons. Other bodies for them to possess. I would be free but others would have to suffer in my place. For a moment the word coward meant nothing to me but freedom.
The rest of the day passed in a haze. The only things I noticed were the feelings of despair and rage. If only demons could be more easily killed, the acid cloud would've been the end of mine. Now I was forced to wait until we both died of old age.
"Tarik!" A demon yelled out in joy.
Most demons were calm, like my own, but others showed emotions. They seemed to take delight in everything. To me they were the most disgusting of the foul race. Luckily they were in the minority and were easily avoided.
"What?" Tarik asked.
"I thought we were going hunting together today." The Pearlcatcher's mouth said. "I was all prepared. You are extremely fun to hunt with."
It was hard talking to this demon and not only because of its joy. It was because it had destroyed its host's pearl in order to make it more controllable. Now my clanmate was without identity. I felt a shiver radiating throughout my soul. These creatures had to be destroyed for the good of Sornieth.
[But there is no hope.] Tarik said.
[I know.] I replied.
[Remember that the next time you dare disobey me.]
"So why did you forget?" The demon asked.
"My host disobeyed me." Tarik replied. "It likes hunting and I wasn't going to reward it today."
"I understand. If only you had a Pearlcatcher host, you wouldn't have this problem. After destroying this creature's pearl, it stopped resisting. Before it would yell and keep me up at night. It would even blink its own eyes when I had full control. But once the pearl was destroyed there was no more resistance."
"If only there was something similar that could be done for Mirrors. It seems as if resistance is ingrained into my host's very soul."
A compliment? Was that a compliment? No, no of course it wasn't. Tarik was bemoaning his position. He was talking about what a bad dragon I was. I shouldn't be causing so many problems for my demon so I would be treated kinder. If my actions were changed then moments of peace would happen more often.
If only it was in me to tune out my feelings for the other dragons in the clan. Yet that was impossible for me to do. Lantir had been someone I admired and now he was nothing more than a puppet. One of the strongest dragons I knew was nothing. We were all nothing now.
"Right now she is sad and yet there is resistance in her." Tarik muttered.
"Do you think she could resist you?" The demon asked.
"Of course not!"
"Maybe attacking and invading a few other clans will help you calm her down."
"Are the rumors true that we have taken over other clans?"
"Not large ones, but enough to provide us hosts."
Tarik must not be one of high rank if this information was kept from him. The other demon, though, must be. The only other option was that they did not have the strict hierarchy of dragons.
In any case, the takeover of Sornieth had started. Why hadn't I noticed their true plan sooner? Was my need for peace so great to make certain facts pass me by?
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