Lands of hope

It’s not to say that after the excitement of the fight had subsided, Zorath was particularly upset. Simply... when the danger was gone, he looked at things with eyes that weren't clouded by adrenaline. "More carnage, more losses," the young dragon sighed, carefully crossing the path of blood that stretched down the middle of the street. "And this is our new home?" “No, I chose that one”, Surt went to a small four-story building on the corner. "There's enough room for the three of us not to be panting in each other's paws at night. I don't want to waste energy cleaning up extra rooms. But some dragons are willing to make such sacrifices for the sake of ostensible status. As children, they probably didn't have enough space. Varlad decided to build a temple for the Dark from scratch, although with the influence of this religion, he could check in at least that Palace of crystal stalagmites. Why work where everything is already ready? We can use our strength in what we don't have yet”. “Labor will unite, the new look will be better and give more hidden meaning’, Zaryana briefly listed. "That's not what I mean," Zorath said. “Why doesn't Darkness take the role of navs and take krakalevns under her power? Then we could send them against each other instead of wasting our strength, as father says”. "Krakalevns don’t need Darkness, their mind is far from the mind of the Incarnations, so they won’t be able to command them. You can be forced to work like a slave, or instruct like an enchanted soul, but you won’t achieve either love or initiative. It's the same with navs. Maybe that's why the Darkness doesn't like them," Surt lifted the front door that had fallen off its hinges with his telekinesis and began to put it back in place. "So far, she hasn't shown much liking for dragons, either," Zorath said, squeezing between his father's back and the doorway. "You could have used your greatest hyped-up power, instead of driving us to the slaughter." “Darkness is a reality controller like myself”, Surt led Zarina by the paw inside the house, inviting Zorath with his tail. "See how clean this place is, with the exception of a couple of bodies, nothing's been looted or broken? On the physical level, finding such a good house by the first try is just luck, not the result of our efforts. Darkness doesn't work with its own paws, either. But I wasn't looking for the perfect house, because I can restore the door. But Darkness is lazy. If she was interested in poor people's shelters, she wouldn’t spare the other dragons - she would wait until the house was repaired to the last detail by someone else and kill that other person so that she could take over the house herself.” “Only waste of time” Varlad appeared, studying the situation. He simply stepped over the dead, becoming interested in the situation at home. "That's all that saves us!" Surt drawled with a smile, coming out to meet him and shielding his family from him. "No, you're not interested in poor people's shelters. It’s necessary to glorify itself in the centuries with a unique monument, which has not been there until now. It’s as if the Darkness didn’t exist in earlier epochs and it has appeared only now.” “For some, I’m really new, the propaganda of demiurge did the trick,” Varlad stepped aside, leaving most of the room in the possession of the family of Surt. "Radver has only recently appeared, that's what you mean... And before that, the Dark ones did not obey the demiurges, so why should they obey Darkness? Only you're not in the mood to talk, just to drum your opinion into my head. Why did you come here? My forehead is as strong as yours.” “That's why I came, I love difficult tasks,” Varlad lay down on the floor, put his front paws crosswise and stared at Surt with a piercing gaze. “If you are not able to change the other person's mind, tell them your truth, and eventually they will find arguments to believe it.” "My will is stronger than yours, so I didn't need Darkness to defeat navs. Get out of here, you brain rapist, " Surt spread his wing decisively toward the exit. "If you're so sure of yourself, what are you afraid of?" Varlad didn't even think to get up. "On the contrary, as a rational thinker, you should understand that in a city of enemies, it will be useful for you to have a powerful supporter to protect your family.” "Every sane winged is my champion! And you've lost your conscience, bullying the dissenters with exactly the same methods as the underage snitch who fly around the houses of the old continent, looking for those who have not yet sunk Radver's penis down their throats to the bottom of their asses, but only half into their livers. What a prestigious job for a great architect, for the embodiment of the most Beginningless Darkness, terrible to say! There's nothing else you can do, part of the Creator of the Universe, nothing more important to do than talk philosophy with the dragons who are fixing up a house?” Zorath gently took his father by the wing. It was dangerous to take on any dragon in this way, and doubly so for an Incarnation. In addition, he doesn't understand why his father suddenly became so irritable towards Varlad. That was strange... "Those who do not love their mother and want to live on their own are cast out of the family," Varlad said, finally rising to his feet. "So fly away from Utgard, Surt, and leave Nashar, if you are old enough to live on your own. This is our land, the land of the Dark ones, not yours, miserable individual.” "”Ours?" It’s correct for you to say "mine", since Darkness behaves like a parasitic entity, penetrating the consciousness of the dragon and subordinating its will to its own”. Surt escaped from his son's clutches, losing his feather, and pointed his wing at the door again. "Now leave my house and sleep on the land you love. You can even eat it until you burst.” "Two reality controllers can argue until they turn blue," Zaryana added, "Each of them will think that the universe will throw a brick on the enemy's head to prove the correctness of one of its creatures, but in the end you only pull it in different directions without result.” “It is possible to solve this issue not by will and power, with sudden bloodlust”, said Warld. "And you'll be willing to do it honestly?" Surt lifted his nose. "Without attacking with all your bodies at once, inventing laws that the beloved children of Darkness are supposed to fight off unarmed people with weapons, and so on?" "I can deal with you safely on my own, without any help," Varlad said, his eyes glittering. "After all, that's what you want, Surt.” "No, I wish to deal with you, godling. Let's go to Amenemhat.” "Do you think he'd want to risk our lives?" Varlad grinned. "I Doubt it, but it's more likely to do its best to prevent us from colliding." "Persuading me alone is not enough if you want to rule Nashar. Learn.”

* * *

Namira was too busy organizing the construction of the Temple to draw attention to the disappearance of Varlad. The battle had somewhat wearied her, distracted her attention, and so Arma first discovered the disappearance of the third Incarnation, and then she realized that for some reason she couldn’t feel Varlad. Both Incarnations left alive immediately thought Surt was after that killing - but the certainty of Darkness still had to be explained to the dragons, who wouldn’t take anything for granted, even from the mouths of their leaders... "You could say that Varlad wasn’t killed by Surt," Arma suggested suddenly. "And he didn't die that easily," Namira said, annoyed at both the fact of the murder and the lack of evidence. “And I will punish Surt myself," Arma assured her/ "Our demiurge, Amenemhat, has not yet forbidden us to kill our kinsmen for nothing. Especially out of revenge. “Death for him is a punishment too lenient,” Namira has already begun to invent a legend of the heroic death of Varlad, so did not immediately react to Arma's words, although the general idea flashed into her head. "It makes more sense to influence his offspring than himself.” “With a living father, this will be difficult, but I'm right,’ Arma treated the other Incarnation's statement as her own, “it should start as early as possible and even before Surt's death.” ‘Zorath can help us in the future…” Namira completed the skeleton of the legend, she will build up the meat later. “With Varlad he hardly comparable, but can replace him.”

* * *

Thagirion flew over Amenemhat to finish krakalevns in the heart of the continent, but in Uthgard he couldn’t find a place. The excitement reached its peak when an Incarnation Arma flew into the room of the house occupied by Tagirion and landed next to the dragon. Recently, he had almost loathed the female, but he hadn’t dare to turn her out or leave. "I will not call you to a faith that you cannot digest. But you're not even honest with yourself as a Dark one. What's upsetting you?” Arma asked. "Doesn't the all-knowing, all-encompassing one know?" Thagirion replied a little nervously. He walked around Arma and sat down at the krakalevn table, which was rectangular, not triangular, as was the custom among dragons. "I know, but you'll believe your own words more. All you want is adventure, the sea, and women. The first you are fed up, the second is far away, and the third is someone else's.” The dragon flinched, almost overturning the table. "What's with you? Shouldn't Darkness encourage monogamous marriage by preventing a female from being owned by more than one male?” “At a time. This is an important difference. And I support the most worthy and strong-willed.” "But you didn't just come here to talk, did you?" hope flickered in the dragon's eyes. “I am ready to help,” said Arma. "It seems that you’re hindered by Surt?” Thagirion steepled her fingers in the lock. "Give me the opportunity to finish him off without my actions being known. And I can attract a disconsolate widow to me.” "Surt will leave the city tonight, and you can wait for him there. His free will will not do him any good.” Thagirion wanted to know the details, but ARMA had already spread her wings and flown away, not even bothering to tell him which direction Surt would take. You'll have to guess for yourself...

* * *

Thagirion didn’t spare his time, which was still nothing to spend it on. He sat on the roof of a house some distance from Surt's, waiting for him to fly out. The time passed slowly, as it often does when you’re waiting for something significant, but the dragon was warmed by the thought that today he might begin to reach the goal that he had looked forward to with a desperation of unattainability. Occasionally blinking, Thagirion stood like a stone statue and waited - and was rewarded for that patience. Surt took off from home, as promised Darkness, but directly to Thagirion. But he was prepared for that, and he had no qualms about killing his opponent even in front of the other dragons. However, it was pointless to hide his exploits. "Couldn't you have broken into my house if you were going to go through with your plans?" Surt asked, flying up to the enemy. Thagirion spread his wings, ready to intercept the male, but that he planned to the far end of the roof. “Don't want to hurt your family”, Thirion again reflected on the fact that he is not being honest with himself. Before any dragon, he is ready to kill Surt, but before Zaryana and Zorath - not? "So this is my family, not yours? What are you fighting for, then? You even managed to surprise me,” Surt turned sideways, straightening his tail and looking to the East. "Let's at least solve this issue for the benefit of our fellows. The universe will judge us one way or the other if we fight. But it’s better to fight not with each other, but with Darkness. She's so eager to get rid of me - why doesn't she just show up, send Incarnations or just deceived dragons? If you don't like her either, we'll try to destroy her temple. And whoever survives will be worthy of whatever he wants.” "Do you think it will do any good?" Tagirion asked in an exasperated tone. "Darkness helped us achieve victory, and serving her is a voluntary task of every dragon. You only oppose yourself to Darkness because of your stupid stubbornness, because you think you’re all-powerful. Maybe you'd better go and overthrow Amenemhat, since you're so eager to take power?" “Amenemhat overthrow krakalevns, he don’t rule. He is not a power, but a change of power, and if you know him well, you can understand his desire to teach dragons independence that is harmless to their own kind. If you want to obey him or Darkness, do it, but why did he try?” Surt turned back to Thagirion. "What if I give you Zaryana for free? Will you take her or will you give up without a fight?” "What?" the male was speechless. Surt not only knew about the impending assassination attempt, he knew even that! "How long have you been knowing?..” "Back when we were crossing the sea," the dragon interrupted. "Do you accept the offer?" Thagirion plunged into doubt. On the one paw, Surt's offer seemed like a trap. On the other paw, given that he got the continuation of the genus, and did not love Zaryana much, what does he need a female for? With the idiocy of a lover, the dragon nodded quickly in agreement before Surt changed his mind.” "Then have a good time. And I will go to attend to the necessary business," Surt flew into the air, heading towards the shore of Marlon. Thagirion was seeing him off and wondered who of the two of them was more of a coward. Surt, who did not want to join the fight for relatives, or Thagirion himself, who was ready to give up his normal glorious life for someone else's female and child. And how will he be received when everything is revealed? What did Surt say to Zaryana and Zorath at parting? There were two ways to find out - either by flying to Zaryana, where the heart called, or by flying to catch up with Surt, which was a much wiser decision. But Thagirion have not been wise... Though he was sure he would soon be. “Some time, and I'll follow you,” Thagirion put a wing to his heart, watching the receding figure. "And more than alone”.