Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Dragon Rising ❯ Chapter Nine ( Chapter 9 )

In which an unusual occurrence happens and a lesson in ancient theology is required

 

Yugi ducked, falling forward to land on his hands and feet before flipping over and pulling himself up with just a twitch and contraction of stomach and leg muscles. “Nicely executed,” Drizzt complimented, even as he came back around with his lethal scimitars. “Thanks,” Yugi replied, leaning back and placing his hands on the floor, which led him into a back flip away from the drow.

 

“Keep this up and I'll be upgrading you to using weapons.”

 

“I can always hope.”

 

The blades whistled down towards the young man's head again and he ducked and shot to the side and spun a tight semi-circle around the drow, stopping with his fist placed by the drow's left kidney. “You're dead,” he announced. Drizzt looked over his shoulder and grinned, “You've just been promoted.” He suddenly whipped around and leveled a glare at Joey and Tristan, “There, did you see that? That is what I'm looking for. Keep moving, keep your face to your enemy, never your back turned. This is a dance of perfection!”

 

“But if we're psion—” Tristan said.

 

“Discipline of mind and body must combine before you are anything!” Drizzt retorted sharply. “Now, get up and for the love of the gods move or you will get hurt.”

 

“Yeah, but aren't we—” Joey started.

 

“NOW!!” the drow roared.

 

The two leapt to their feet and immediately had to duck as scimitars sliced over their heads. “Am I excused?” Yugi asked. Joey and Tristan dove and rolled to avoid another descending blow. “Yes, you are,” Drizzt replied without missing a beat.

 

Yugi grinned as his friends continued to dodge in their own way, only to be roared at again, and stepped out the door that led from the magically installed training room to the living room. Alianna looked up from her book and raised an eyebrow, “Joey and Tristan again?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Ah.”

 

“Where'd Tea get to?”

 

“Oh, I let her stay in the target arena to get more practice in, since she asked. I almost feel sorry for that infestation of gnolls that took up residence.”

 

A blood curdling war cry came from another magically installed door near the one that led to the training room. Yugi looked at it and raised an eyebrow, “She can bellow.”

 

“That she can.”

 

“Gnolls aren't that challenging, are they?”

 

“No. Especially for an Amazon.”

 

“Right.”

 

He got a water bottle from the fridge and walked back into the living room, sitting on the stone filled bean bag. “Mail in yet?” he asked. Alianna marked her page and set the book down before picking up a pile of pixie-mail. “Yes, and your belated birthday gift from your grandfather, Drizzt and I finally came in. And a letter,” she said, handing him two thin envelopes.

 

Yugi set the letter on the coffee table and opened the slim parcel, sliding the paper off a thin box and opening it. A necklace sat inside, black cord beaded with smooth, polished wooden beads, bone, and pebbles. A small rectangle of ivory had been carved into…something. “What's this?”

 

“That,” Alianna said, leaning over to look at the ivory, “Is a dragon totem carved from the horn of a three-horn.”

 

Yugi froze in the process of putting it on and stared at her. “As in…dinosaur, three horn?” She grinned, “That would be it. In Terran, some still live, although they're rare, and they only live with the plain-dwelling tribes of the drueagare.”

 

“The who?”

 

“The oldest race living in Terran. Their magic is based in the earth and living elements themselves. Their artifacts and items are some of the best. You'd never want to get into a fight with a drueagare shaman.”

 

“I'll keep that in mind.” When fastened, the necklace rested comfortably around the base of his neck, the totem occupying the hollow of his throat. “So, what's a totem do?”

 

The elf shifted so she could tuck her feet primly on the chair. “Well, generally, they're a guardian. Whoever wears one is theoretically supposed to have the spirit the totem represents guarding them and helping them along. For instance, since yours is a dragon, you'd have a dragon spirit looking after your well being.”

 

“You said `theoretically',” Yugi noted.

 

“Well, there are many tribes who have totems, but very few of them have true magic to them.”

 

“Does this one?”

 

“Considering what the three of us paid to have it made for you, it had most certainly better have something to it.”

 

“So…how do I find out?”

 

“It will come when it will come.”

 

“Okay…why is it made from three-horn ivory and not dragon's?”

 

“Well, for them, the ivory of the three-horn is more readily available and much less hazardous to attain. Secondly, the three horns are a symbol of strength and endurance and, in the case of a female three-horn, protection. There's something behind everything they do.”

 

Yugi nodded slowly, taking that all in as his fingertips ran over the totem. His fingers prickled a bit as they ran over it, something he'd learn to associate with sensing magic.

 

He picked up the second envelope and began to open it when a sickeningly sweet smell of decay hit his senses full force. A metallic tang rested on his tongue and a headache pounded at his temples. His stomach twisted oddly and he felt his throat constrict as he fought nausea. “Ali!” he gasped, dropping the opened envelope and clapping his hands to his head. He began to cough.

 

“Yugi!”

 

A black, slimy shape slithered from the envelope, rearing and hissing at Yugi. Sharp, needle teeth the color of old blood dripped with silvery venom. “Damn!” he heard Alianna swear, as if from somewhere far away, and dimly registered several more, larger black shapes keeping the elf from helping him.

 

You cannot escape me. A whispery voice hissed.

 

Pain shot through his head and pierced his limbs, searing through his nerves like wild-fire.

 

The rearing, serpentine shape came nearer, its mouth dropping open, widening and spreading.

 

It is stupid to resist. My curse will follow you, no matter where you run, boy.

 

By now, Yugi's head was hurting like someone had taken an axe and cleaved it in two. The sweet, metallic tang of corrupted magic filled his nose and scorched his throat and lungs.

 

Now, die like your wretched mother before you!

 

Even as the serpentine thing reared back to sink its teeth into Yugi's neck, there was a miniature squeak of a roar and he felt the totem grow hot at the base of his neck. The black thing smacked into a barrier and reared back, hissing in annoyed surprise. Its head swayed back and forth slowly, seeking what had stopped it.

 

For some reason, the only thing Yugi could think of was his old deck of Duel Monsters cards and, if this was a game, the card that would've been activated now. Mirror Force, except the attack hadn't been reflected. Then, since his Dark Magician most likely would've been in play, he'd have his favorite card obliterate this little thing with one powerful blast.

 

His fingertips tingled with magic, and static jolts went up his arm. Blearily, like watching through a sheet of water, he reached up his hand towards the black thing, which reared back and hissed and moved to strike.

 

There was a blast of dark flame and everything went black.

 

“You, dragon-child, are certainly an interesting being to be looking after,” a haughty voice informed him. Yugi opened his bleary eyes and found himself in some subterranean cavern, warmly lit with torches and an inviting hearth. He tilted his head back to see who had spoken and blinked when he saw what appeared to be a curvaceous drow woman seated on an earthen throne, reclining in the large seat amidst furred pelts and luxurious fabrics.

 

She was rather scantily clad, he noted, wearing only filmy, clinging material in a long skirt that slit on either side at her hips and going down to her ankles. Her chest was covered by identical material that covered what they needed. Strings of hematite stones and bits of garnet hung from her neck and wrists. A circlet of teeth and claws rested on her brow.

 

The woman leaned over to look him in the eyes, “I will have you know that it takes a very powerful magician to deflect corruption with minimal injury. You ought to be dead.”

 

That was interesting.

 

“Perhaps you're more like your mother than I gave you credit for.” A king cobra slithered over her feet and rubbed its head on her calf like an affectionate pet. More serpents lay coiled about the throne and on it. And, flitting among the serpents, spiders of all kinds skittered, a particularly fuzzy tarantula sitting on the arm of the throne, receiving gentle caresses from her fingertips.

 

“Well, no matter. What's done is done. Now get home with you. I don't have much time to be looking after you constantly, anymore than my siblings do.”

 

“I never asked to be looked after,” he informed her.

 

“Mind your tongue, dragon-child. Now get home with you. Your little family is worried.”

 

She waved a hand impatiently and his eyes fell closed again.

 

He heard a voice.

 

Yugi.

 

He was drifting through…somewhere. Wherever it was, he couldn't say, but it was dark and cool and…rather comfortable. His head didn't hurt, his throat didn't ache, he couldn't smell the awful stench of corrupt magic. It was…nice.

 

Yugi!

 

A voice was calling him, insisting he wake up.

 

YUGI!

 

Another stench, almost as bad as corrupt magic, penetrated the fog and he shot straight up, coughing and sputtering.

 

“I figured wake-flower would work,” he heard Drizzt say.

 

“What in the hells was that?!” Yugi demanded, then stopped when his voice emerged the full fledged deep tenor easing into soft baritone. His hand clapped his throat and he stared at the spot where the troublesome letter was accusingly. It wasn't there. Only a greasy smudge was left.

 

“What happened?”

 

“The letter was a focus for a corrupt assassin-spell,” Alianna said, handing a vial of some vile smelling liquid back to Drizzt, who stoppered it and tucked it in a pocket. “It tried to serve its purpose but something hindered it and you obliterated the thing. I would've helped, but the spell had a hindrance added on to prevent anyone from assisting you.”

 

“Oh.” His new voice would take some getting used to. “What was that you used to wake me up?”

 

“Wake-flower,” Drizzt said, “And I'm pretty sure it could wake the dead.”

 

Yugi grimaced in agreement.

 

His three friends and grandfather came in then, looking concerned. “You okay, man? We felt the backlash,” Tristan said. Yugi nodded and rubbed his eyes, “Yeah, I'm fine. I don't know why though. I was told I ought to be dead.”

 

The three teens and Solomon gave him a blank look as the two elves looked at him sharply. “Who told you that?” Drizzt asked in a carefully casual voice. Yugi blinked and shrugged, telling them about the woman. Joey and Tristan got red-faced at her description, earning sharp cracks over the head from Tea as the three adults looked at each other. “I didn't know she was in with the Elder gods,” Drizzt muttered, running a hand over his jaw line and chin.

 

“Especially Neera,” Alianna said.

 

Solomon fetched a book, sensing an impending avalanche of questions from a certain dragon-blooded relation.

 

“Spill!” Joey said before Yugi asked more pointed questions.

 

Drizzt rested a hip on the back of the couch and took the book Solomon offered him, thumbing through it quickly until he found the right page. “The Elder gods are the children of the First ones. The First are, naturally, the first two gods, the parents of everything in the Realms, or multiverse, whichever you want to call it. They were worshipped for millennia before their children got a little ambitious and took everything for themselves. I'm sure, like many scholars believe, that the Elder gods could take control if they really wanted to, or that they could get the power to wrest back their control if they went about gathering followers again. As it is, knowledge of them and their pantheons has all but dried up. A lot of folks don't believe they existed to begin with, which lets upstart `first' gods claim the glory,” the drow now handed the book to Tea, since she was in the center of the cluster and the three young men could look at the book from her hands.

 

“What's this got to do with Mom, since I'm assuming that's who `she' is. And who's Neera?”

 

“Deirdre was a hero when she was alive, Yugi,” Solomon said, taking the explanation from Drizzt, “And after her death, she was elevated to legendary. It's a plausible assumption that, as a hero of Terran, she would have the grace of some deity or other, but Elder gods rarely appear in anything, so to have one take interest in a hero would be…well, remarkable,” Yugi noticed that, although his grandfather's eyes glittered with the threat of tears, there was pride in his voice as he spoke of his daughter, “Anyway, if she was to have the interest of an Elder god, then it's possible that interest would be linked to lineage and pass on.”

 

“So, what you're tellin' us, Gramps,” Joey said, “Is that Yugi has the attention of some ancient…god?”

 

“Possibly,” Solomon said with emphasis.

 

“So…who's Neera, exactly then?” Yugi asked.

 

“Neera,” Drizzt took up the explanation again, “is the oldest of the Elder greater gods. She's the goddess of destruction, life, and magic. Later worshippers named her domain as chaos, but chaos and law are mortal concepts given to the ways of life. The crazier things are with the more twists and turns, the better Neera likes it. She's one of the more capricious of the old gods. To have her take an interest in a mortal's affair can be extremely good or extremely bad. There's no telling with her.”

 

“Great,” Yugi said dryly. “A goddess of destruction and chaos has an interest in what I do.”

 

“Destruction and life,” Alianna said pointedly. “Without destruction and death, there could be no life, just like with no life, there could be not destruction. And she's goddess of magic, too, so magical things interest her. I wouldn't think on it too much, though. She may just be keeping an eye on you because half-bloods lead to interesting things, or because there's a high concentration of magic around you or a half a million other reasons. She's a god, so who can say?”

 

“Yugi said she looked like a drow,” Tea piped up, looking curious, “Did she create them?”

 

Drizzt smiled thinly, “No. Her mother, the First, looks like a drow woman, but that's because she's the representation of the feminine, which also has connections to the night and moon. Neera looks like her mother and Neera is mother to the Spider Goddess, who is the maker of the drow. Unfortunately, the Bug Queen took her mother's affection for spiders to an extreme, as well as all the nasty tendencies Neera has.”

 

“I take it you and the `Bug Queen' don't get on well, do you?” Tristan said.

 

Drizzt only replied with a feral smile.

 

Tea spoke up again, “So…a god's interest…it can be earned, or passed on by lineage…uhm…could it be passed on from a lineage based heir to…an associate?”

 

“Why?” Alianna asked, raising an eyebrow.

 

“Because a few nights ago, I had a dream where I was in a grove, sitting by a pond, and bathing in the pond was a girl who looked only a little older than me.”

 

“What did she look like?”

 

“Uhm…reddish brown hair. Green-blue eyes with a gold ring around the pupil. Kinda slim.”

 

“What did she act like and what sort of animals were hanging around?”

 

“Really happy and relaxed. Friendly, like she was happy I was there even though I didn't know her. And any animal that I can imagine living in any type of forest was there or made an appearance.”

 

Drizzt and Alianna grinned as Solomon chuckled. “That would be Din, youngest of the Elder gods and goddess of freedom and the wilds. And, yes, interest can pass on from heir to associate, although, as you can see, it won't necessarily be the same god. And Amazons have a connection to Din,” Drizzt leaned over and leafed to a page that showed a family tree, “As you can see, Neera is the oldest of the siblings and three sisters—her, her sister and opposite Loren, goddess of order, power and judgment, and Din. Then there's the four brothers, the oldest male of the siblings and the brothers, Xiao. Xiao is god and personification of the element Earth. The second oldest brother is the incarnate of Fire, Zurek. The third is Maraj, god and living form of Air, and the last and youngest of the brothers is Tides, who's water and, quite especially, the sea.

 

“Now that the little blood-line lesson is out of the way, we'll get to the connection. Since the siblings are the children of the First, they are the personification of sibling love and rivalry, so, naturally they quite frequently don't get along, especially Loren and Neera, Loren and Zurek, Tides and Zurek, and Xiao and Maraj, just to give examples. It can get complicated. Anyway, Din is the exception. Although she tends to be the most free spirited and down right hard to track down of the siblings, she's beloved by all of them since she's the youngest and they all get along with her very well, especially Xiao and Zurek, because they are also the embodiment of what an older brother will do for his baby sister. Din, way way back when the hell ever, was a bit lonely and wanted some company for her and her creatures, so she went to Xiao for help. When he heard her wish, he couldn't say no, so, with the help of his brothers, formed a small tribe of women from clay. From the earth, they were given a body and strength, from fire, they were given spirit and a temper, from air, they received breath, and from water, life. Basically, he created the first of the Amazons for her. Thus, since you recently were born into that tribe, she took note of it and made a point to meet you, as she usually does.”

 

Tea was grinning slightly and gave Yugi a light push, “My god is nicer than yours.”

 

“Hey! Shut up, muscle-girl!”

 

“Coming back around,” Tristan said, “Why did Neera say Yugi ought to be dead after his…experience?”

 

“Because,” Alianna said simply, “A direct attack from corrupt magic will usually kill someone. Channeling pure Shadow magic can also prove fatal.”

 

All four teens suddenly went dead still and stone silent. Solomon, hearing the fateful “Shadow magic” decided to sit down and listen to what the elf had to say to the next wave of questions.

 

“Come again?” Joey finally said.

 

“Yugi,” Alianna explained patiently, “Was attacked directly by a raw form of corrupt magic. I already have someone looking into where the letter came from, so maybe we can find the slime ball who initiated the curse. Getting back to your question though, corrupted magic, as you know, is hazardous to even the wielders health. So, someone getting attacked by it will, nine out of ten times, die. Yugi has, besides somehow repelled it, destroyed the spell which was meant to kill him. Now, the only thing that can destroy a corrupt spell is either a purified, high level spell or, although its not as common in Terran as it is here, another form of darker magic.”

 

“Shadow magic,” Tea said.

 

Alianna nodded, “Exactly. I don't believe Yugi was born with it, since it is a rare gift, but I have a theory that Shadow magic can be absorbed. With all the exposure you four have had to it, and even the bit you have had, Solomon, it's quite possible that your bodies have absorbed it. Since Yugi used Shadow magic to destroy the assassin spell, the theory has only been supported. Now, the trick will be finding someone to teach you to control the magic, since it can be just as unpredictable as an untrained spell.”

 

More silence. The four teens were all wondering the same thing. Even Solomon was curious, because he knew Alianna had only studied Shadow magic, and a very limited study due to lack of material in her home world.

 

“Who can do that?” Tristan finally asked.

 

Alianna and Drizzt shared identical, conspiratorial grins. “You let us worry about that,” Alianna said. “Yes. Let us worry about that. Because you still have an hour left of my time,” Drizzt added. The four teens suddenly leapt to their feet and quickly made for the training room, closely followed by a drow who walked like a big cat stalking prey.

 

Solomon looked at the female elf, who blinked back at him. “And just who are you going to call?” he asked. “Well, first off, I'll need to get my father's help and probably permission from a few gods. Then, with any luck, he'll be willing to teach.”

 

The old man put two and two together and suddenly began to chuckle and shake his head. “Alianna,” he said with affectionate exasperation, “Have you not learned to let the dead rest in peace?”

 

*****

 

There are notes for this chapter:

 

First note; the drueagare are a race of my own invention. I have no idea where they came from, and I really don't want to know. All I know is that in my world of Terran, they are the oldest and some of the worst enemies a person could have.

 

Secondly, the First gods and Elder gods are a pantheon of my own creation for Terran. There are two more children of the first who aren't included in the siblings because they are wa-a-a-y older than the siblings and because they don't really care about the workings of the world outside their own domains. They might come up in later chapters, but if you want to know about them or more about the mentioned gods of the few demi and quasi gods I didn't mention, feel free to send me a message or an e-mail.

 

And finally, Solomon's questions of “Have you not learned to let the dead rest in peace?” Alright, a little background on my Ali—I've used her in other stories that I have floating on my computer, and I got some of her history on inspiration from Garth Nix's “Sabriel”, “Lirael”, and “Abhorsen” books in which the Abhorsen is a necromancer who keeps the dead down. So, disclaimer—I don't own any of the ideas in Nix's books, but I liked them so much, I created an Abhorsen for Terran—Ali's father. So, since he is her father, it's in her heritage to have some dealings with the dead and in her past, she's accidentally raised a few zombies and purposefully restored some life, although she has gotten into some trouble for it. So, that just to explain it, and, once again, I don't own any of Nix's ideas, which are strokes of creative genius in my opinion.