Gnashing his teeth, Ace clutched his father’s sword and swung at the raging beast before him. Anger and outrage spurred him on, but his lack of experience, coupled with his growing weakness, made his efforts unfruitful. Each swing missed as the dracleon flinched and remained just out of reach.

Finally having enough, Hylas uttered a crackly roar and swatted at Ace with a clawed paw. He made contact with the blade, and the Aureus was knocked from his hands and clattered onto the ground.

Ace was tugged in the sword's direction by the force of the blow, but before he could dive to recover his weapon, the mighty dracleon stepped on it. Between the beast’s weight, the age of the blade, and the uneven rocky ground, the sword snapped in two. His outstretched hands froze. 

The dracleon’s paw lifted, leaving blood behind on the broken blade. Eyes dilated, the beast roared again and ran at him.

Ace narrowly rolled aside, coming to rest in a coughing curl on the ground. He struggled back to his hands and knees, only to witness Hylas’ momentum carry him to a skidded stop at the edge of the cliff–and hear the clanging of metal as both halves of the Aureus sword were knocked down the mountain.

The dracleon’s wings folded. His silver eyes darted back to him.

Athena grunted as she climbed back onto the mountain’s to the summit, cradling bruised ribs with one arm. She glanced back down for only a moment to look again for Dorian, but when the dracleon roared ahead of her, she turned back to find Ace, defenseless, in the beast’s path.

“Ace!” she shouted. She ripped her rapier from its sheath and rushed at Hylas.

Distracted from his prey, he swiped at her with a backhanded paw.

She managed to duck backward, albeit painfully, and while he regained his footing, she landed a jab to the beast’s shoulder.

“Raaakk!” He bellowed. He swiftly bowed his head, thrusted his massive body forward, and squarely headbutted Athena.

The force knocked her backward, and the back of her head struck the rocky mountain. She did not get up.

“‘Thena… no!” Ace blurted, every breath a painful wheeze as he leaned heavily on his hands.

Hylas backed away in defense, as if expecting her to rise and fight again. When she did not, his posture lowered as his lips curled to bare pointed teeth.

Ace struggled to rise as his breathing grew more and more labored. He searched the mountaintop, but there was no one left to come to Athena’s aid. Then, his focus narrowed in on the hilt of a different golden sword.

Saliva dripped from the dracleon’s mouth as bared teeth parted. Silver eyes looked upon its unmoving prey. He did not notice Ace running behind him.

Ace staggered to a stop before the unsheathed Sword of Ignarathos. This was the only weapon left–and it was the only way to return Hylas to his former state.

“‘A drop of blood the blade must shed; the blood must touch the stone of red.’” He glanced up at Hylas, gritting his teeth. “This is all because of me,” he choked on the words. “If this is my final act, so be it.”

His bare hand grasped the sword’s golden hilt. He stood and brandished the sword, holding it firmly in both hands.

Immense pain ripped through his chest; the very act of breathing felt like knives within his lungs. The rosy discoloration of the curse began to spread down his arms and up his neck; the act of holding the cursed object speeding its course. He doubled over, and the tip of the sword struck the ground.

The clang caught the dracleon’s attention. He turned around quickly, his silver eyes practically bulging from his lion-like head as they honed in on the golden sword.

Ace shouted and swung the sword with both hands.

“Aarrkk!” Hylas twisted to the side and retched as the sword sliced across his maned chest. 

Ace let the sword drop–this time, on purpose–and he held the sword upside-down by the golden wings of its hilt.

Hylas roared as his leathery wings stretched to their full breadth.

Ace dove below Hylas’ teeth and pushed the red gem into the bloody gash on Hylas’ chest.

The beast uttered a scream into the air, rearing back on its hind legs before tripping and falling to his back. Writhing in pain, the cries became unearthly heaves of sound as the once great beast began to morph back into a twisting, frenzied humanoid. Wings flapped erratically on the ground, bones melted away, and fur dropped from the ever-shrinking form.

Ace had fallen to his back. He gagged, unable to inhale or exhale as his body lurched with each attempt.

The Sword of Ignarathos had come to rest between them both with blood smeared across the red gem and golden hilt.

A man emerged from the knotted figure that once resembled a great draconic lion, though much of his lower half remained covered in fur. He, too, fell still after one last howling cry.

Ace lay on the rocky ground in silence. He could not breathe. His body had ceased its movement. His vision began to fade and darken. All warmth had faded from his body.

A shadow blocked the light.

This was the end.

Instead, a voice spoke.

“It is not your time.”

The man spoke the words gently as Ace slipped from consciousness–just as a spark of warmth broke from his unmoving chest.

CHAPTER ?

The sun was bright as he blinked the world back into focus. He found a young woman with freckled skin and brown hair tied back in a high ponytail, glancing away to give him only the profile of her face against the blue sky.

“...Athena,” he spoke breathily.

She nearly gasped as a smile broke out across her “Ace–oh, thank goodness! Are you all right?”

He grimaced and sucked in a deep breath. His expression fell blank as he exhaled. “I can breathe,” the words escaped his lips. “I can breathe!”

“The curse is broken,” Dorian came into view, crouching down beside Athena. 

“Dorian,” He huffed out a relieved sigh through a parted smile.

“Hey,” the usually stoic Kalgaran found a smile of his own.

From his angle, Ace could easily see the patch-sized bandage Dorian hid under his spilled hair –which hid the fact that was missing his left eye. He also saw a variety of scrapes, cuts, and bruises–undoubtedly from Dorian’s fall from the summit. His presence, however, proved he was able to climb his way back despite his injuries.

His eyebrows twitched, scanning similar wearing on Athena’s cheeks and arms. Memories of her being knocked out made his own head ache.  “Are you both okay?” He asked.

“I’ll heal,” Dorian said passively.

“I’m better now,” Athena admitted as she squeezed Ace’s hand–alerting him she had been holding it the entire time. He recoiled his hand as she blushed and returned her hand to her lap as Dorian glanced at her slyly.

Ace rolled away and onto his side. “Where’s Mioko and Raeya?” He asked, his eyes skimming the mountain’s edge before he pushed himself up to his knees.

“I haven’t seen them since Mioko fell,” Athena replied. “I hope they’re both all right.”

“Between Mioko being able to heal and Raeya able to change into animals,” Dorian followed their gaze, “I bet they made out better that we did.”

“Listen,” Ace held out his hand suddenly before inhaling and exhaling a few times. “I don’t think I’ve breathed this well in my entire life!”

“The curse is broken,” the Kalgaran repeated. “At last, you’re free of its grip.”

Ace rubbed a hand against his chest. The scarred birthmark was gone. The discolored pink splotches were gone. His heart beat steadily beneath his palm–all pain removed. “Thank you,” he glanced up at Dorian and Athena, “for everything.”

Athena bowed her head sheepishly while Dorian shrugged. “What else were we going to do?”

“I thought you had to keep an eye on me since I still owe you a bunch of potions,” Ace smirked.

“Considering I broke everything else I owned falling off the mountain,” he cocked an eyebrow, “I’ll call us even now.”

Ace grinned at him, only for his eyes to drift to the motionless figure beside him. “...Hylas,” he whispered. He pushed himself to his feet and started over, only to wince when he studied the half-shifted Amorfian’s form. Pale, bony skin and the remnants of black fur seemed to be heaped in a pile speckled with blood.

“He died before he could finish changing,” Dorian stepped beside him. 

Ace found it hard to breathe for an entirely different reason. “Did I… kill him?” He asked cautiously, as if hoping there would be no answer.

He shook his head. “None of his wounds would have killed him; they were too shallow, and there’s no evidence he bled out.”

“Then…”

As if on cue, the scattering of rocks nearby alerted the three of the final two members of their traveling party’s return.

Mioko slid from the back of the black-furred mule moments before it shifted back into a fur-covered Raeya.

“Hylas!” She moaned before rushing towards him. She faltered before gently coming to her knees beside him. She placed a hand on his face, her expression wavering between sorrow and disappointment.

Mioko gently laid his cloak around her shoulders. “Is he…”

“I think the curse stopped his heart.” Dorian answered.

“It was my fault he got the curse,” Ace hissed coldly, eyes still glued to his form.

“It was his decision to take the sword,” Dorian turned his good eye toward Ace, “and his alone.”

Raeya narrowed her silver eyes. “And he reaped his reward,” she muttered. Despite her apparent indifference, a tear glistened on her eyelashes.

Athena noticed, however, and she crouched beside her. “I’m sorry, Raeya,” she placed a hand on her back.

The Amorfian shut her eyes, wrapping the cloak around her body. “We must bury him here.”

Mioko gestured to the ground. “But, this entire mountain is rock.”

She stood abruptly. “We must find a place as close as we can; Amorfians must be buried where their spirit left this world, even if it’s at the foot of this mountain.”

“Then, we will honor that,” Dorian said, garnering a surprised glance from her.

“We should bring the sword back to Lord Ignarathos, too.” Ace said. He rolled his shoulders and pulled the sides of his white shirt together to button it back up. “Unless we can find a way to destroy this thing while we’re here.”

Mioko shook his head. “Because of its great power, the only thing, I read, that could destroy it was a fire not made with human hands.”

“So… a fire caused by lightning? Or something?”

“Perhaps,” Mioko shrugged and glanced up at the sky. “Doesn’t look like rain anytime soon, though.”

“Prince Ignarathos said to return it; so for now, we can return it.” Ace found his black overshirt and gloves on the other side of the summit. He slipped on the gloves, then returned to the Sword of Ignarathos to wrap the hilt in the black fabric. “Can you hand me the sheath?”

Athena was already gathering it, and she carried it over to Ace for him to gently lift and slide the sword within it.

Once sheathed, Ace paused before slipping on his overshirt. “Did you need this?” He held out the shirt to Raeya.

She shook her head and returned to her pack mule form. Mioko’s cloak fell from her back. “I will carry Hylas.”

Between the four of them, they took Mioko’s cloak and wrapped it around the fallen Amorfian’s body. They, then, lifted him up to place upon her back.

Athena hissed when this action reminded her her ribs were still bruised. As soon as the body was placed, she bowed and cradled her middle with her arm.

“Here,” Mioko stopped her, reaching a hand toward her side.

“No,” Athena stepped away. “Now that I know how your magic works, I don’t want you taking something I can handle.”

“It’s all right,” he offered with a smile. “I heal fast.”

She frowned, allowing him to gently rest his hand on her side. The yellow gem around his neck glowed brighter as the pain of her bruises faded.

Mioko winced for only a moment, stifling a quick breath, before he was able to relax.

Athena, too, smiled lightly. “Thank you,” she said.

He looked at Dorian. “Do you–”

“No, thanks,” he didn’t even glance up from the rope he was tying.

Mioko simply nodded and turned back to the others. He noted Ace, healed and curse-free, standing full of new life beside the body of Hylas, hanging lifelessly from the black-furred mule. “It’s unfortunate,” he said after a moment, “the sword still took a life, even though we healed the one dying from it.”

Athena and Ace glanced at each other.

Raeya’s long ears flicked back on her head.

“Life is full of giving and taking,” the Kalgaran looked out across the landscape before breathing out a short sigh. “I am ready to be back on the ground, now.”

Mioko smiled as Ace shook his head with a smirk.

“Then, let’s go.”

----

What, something from book 1?? Funnily enough, it's right at the big climax before the ending! I'm getting closer to the beginning I suppose 😅 I debated splitting it into 2 parts at the "chapter?" break but meh.

Lots of sub-plots wrapped up leading up to this moment: like discovering how Mioko's 'healing power' really works (not in great detail yet, just that he takes on whatever he takes away) and realizing Dorian is half-blind (and not just sporting an emo haircut for no reason). There was also a lot of tension between Dorian/Kalgaran and Raeya and Hylas/Amorfian since their races aren't fans of each other, but at least Raeya and Dorian begin to smooth things enough for them to be kind, though it still catches Raeya off guard.

A few 'changes' from the older drafts are Dorian wearing a small bandage over his left 'eye'. I figured considering the cirumstances of his injury, he would have lost his eye completely, and he's not going to leave that uncovered beneath his hair. Also, as Ace's curse progresses into the final stages, his skin gets splotchy so there's more of a visual of his oncoming doom (that sounds terrible).

Lastly, I grappled with what to do about the Amorfians as they shift when they're wearing clothes... do they shift with them? Do they lose them? I feel like shifting with them is lazy... lol... so I was trying out Raeya just keeping fur "on" until she can be clothed again. Especially in non-Amorfian society, they realize the importance of modesty around other humans.

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