Return of Ikrah: Prologue
Exiled for ten years at the Decree of the Emperor, Ikrah existed as a forgotten memory until a man of mystery fell from grace landing at her feet. Through the eyes of a stranger, she met her heart and terms of endearment only to be pulled back into the land that rejected her origin.... Olstare awaited the Dragon Apparent. Her return would subdue the Astra into relinquishing their Oracles. But the world was more deadly in politics than it was in war or sin. The price on her head had followed her all her life up to the moment of her befallen battle at the River Tear off the edge of Zandria....
Little Phoenix bounded up onto the cloister of the Sky Tower to see better what was coming. His heart flew inside his chest as he recognized who was coming their way disguised as that star. That army was running away from her in a race to reach Tare. He had to try, even if they had been apart for so long. "Ikrah," he called out through telepathy, reaching out to her with his mind. A wall of iron slammed straight up against him. He forced through it with Fire burning a hole in the center melting it like a forge overpowering metal. "Ikrah, it's me." "Crown Prince!" she retorted. "You're coming to Tare. I will meet you halfway so we can trap them." Pause. "Help me cut them off at the River Tear." He donned his magical armor, slipping on golden flames as he rode Chimera out there. Phoenix was not far behind him shrieking battle cries in the night that was close to breaking into dawn. They met at the canyon range where the tundra broke in rifts like wide lesions in the earth. Phoenix fire drew a wall in the ground to keep them from coming further into Zandria. He could see the enemy in droves and they brought blood bats to curse his land. Her lightning was not enough to catch them all. He roared with his Soul Spirit giving off fire to add to the wall to intensify lighting up the earth all the way to heaven. Behind Ikrah in the near distance was the sound of a stampede rolling like thunder toward her. The cavalry was a surprising twenty thousand horse-riding Knights of Tarenne strong coming out of Obendell's back path to wedge Astra into a deathtrap. Falshire's Imperial Army was beside them with the Dragon leading the way having defeated Astra where the battle started. The only thing in their way was the River Tear, which was the canyon filled with her tears from some years ago. She flew there turning up a tornado to draw the water up into heaven. Hail was created spinning in the swirl of her sudden storm. She drilled it into the river, turning it into a frozen land bridge, allowing the Knights to cross without breaking momentum. That was when she was vulnerable as she stilled to maintain that bridge. The Dragon tried to reach her lending its breath of frost into the river to widen the bridge, but it was a hair's breadth short in stopping what was to happen to her in the same moment. Astra's dozen sacred druids pooled their power together summoning blood bats her way slamming into her like a bombardment of blackness covering over her light. She was sealed off from the rest of the battle. Little Phoenix felt her panic in claustrophobia, her one weakness. He changed direction gliding over the battlement seeing the last of the Knights of Tarenne crossing the bridge that was breaking into melting ice chunks as the river was flowing back through. Even the Dragon was confused as to what was going on, having lost sight of her in that mass of darkness. But it searched for the Astra druids scanning the landscape. Something was wrong. They were shielded from the creature's eyes. He, on the other hand, followed what sense of her he had left, though it was waning as she was fighting the power that was consuming her will. There. He dived straight in that one direction roaring in that inhuman voice as Chimera blew water into the darkness that turned out to be bodies of giant black bats. They fought back by bursting into blood splattering explosions to blind him, causing him to withdraw. He drew a shield of fire and water to prevent any of it spilling on him. That was when he drew from the river to slam a tidal wave into them, freeing Ikrah from their grasp. She was on her knees, staggering to stand up on her feet. He was diving for her again only to be denied with the Dragon swooping in grabbing her body in its front limbs. Appalled for a moment, he recovered to give chase. Out of nowhere, Thoran appeared in the air and disappeared and reappeared again grabbing hold of her in one arm while gripping on the Dragon's wrist with the other. Garbed in only his deep blue robes with silver stripes to the train, he was a sight for sore eyes. He was not strong enough to free her from the creature, but he reminded her what was important. "Thoran!" she cried. "Ikrah," he called back amid lapping winds taking his breath away. He searched for a way to fight the Dragon only to stir its wrath into blowing frost vapors at him. "No!" She drew a shield over him to ward off the Dragon's frost-biting breath. "Thoran!" she called desperately, trapped as she was. She had been weakened and couldn't summon lightning at the moment. "Teach Ocelyn everything about me. Don't forget me!" That was when she pushed the shield forcing him to let go. He was thrown into the Road to Summons to return to Exodus. In that fleeting moment, before he was there, he saw her transform into the half-Dragon that she was writhing to be free fighting the creature with the last of her strength left. And then, he was gone, safely tucked away in Exodus without another chance to come back to the battlement. In the sky, the two Dragons were joined by Phoenix and Chimera with the rider fighting in a frenzy that made a storm of hail, fire, and hard rain. The battle below waned into a sea of defeated Astra fighters that dropped their weapons in surrender. The people stared into the dawn as the heavenly creatures fought each other in circles. Phoenix had grown in size to match the Dragon, snapping at it every which way and spitting fire in between. The half-Dragon, a wingless serpentine version of the original, dove and ducked to escape. Chimera at Little Phoenix's command was unwilling to let her go either. He blocked her at every turn. They were in a stalemate situation that repeated itself over and over. And then, the Dragon locked claws with Phoenix in a vicious fiery and wind-driven ripping fight. Chimera pounced onto the back of the Dragon clawing into its body. Little Phoenix held onto his Soul Spirit with a dispassionate expression as he was consumed by the fight. The half-Dragon circled them in a panic, roaring to be heard. And then, she butted them with all her might whipping her tail at whichever creature available, which happened to be the Dragon. He released Phoenix just as Dregin shot up in the air striking at Chimera with lightning bolts blasting the hybridized Soul Spirit and rider off of his own. The Dragon slammed its head into Ikrah's serpentine form throwing her back. The winged lizard snapped around biting her in the neck below the head, then released to catch a better grip only to have her whip back with her tail weakly. She clawed at him with her talons in a panic of pain, roaring with cracks of lightning and breaking thunder. It was enough to push away from the Dragon, who gave her one last blow by unleashing a blistering frost from its mouth at her. She was knocked out cold by the continuous blast. The earth shook, breaking apart beneath the riverbed. The water drained away into that rift. She fell into the river that was running in rapids by now having melted all the ice. Her dragonite form receded transforming her back into human shape as soon as it touched water. Dregin saw what his creature of instinct did, but it was too late to catch hold of her. The Dragon swooped around catching him as he dropped from the clouds landing on its back. "Nooooo!" Little Phoenix cried out seeing she was carried off in the fast waters. He dived for her but she was out of reach disappearing under the waters that ended in a whirlpool. "Ikrah!...IKRAH!..." He plunged himself into that swirling sinking body of water without much thought. His Soul Spirit instinctively folded into himself. She was just a speck down below caught in there spiraling away in the sweeping currents. Chameleon grappled onto his ankle and plucked him out of there with help from the Dragon holding its long tail, flapping those massive wings that air-lifted them straight up. She was beyond his reach disappearing from sight altogether. Futility encapsulated him then and there. He closed his eyes, giving in to exhaustion letting the water fall from his mouth and nose.