"Wake up! He is coming! You must wake up!" Lifeless and skeletal hands grabbed at Lorthrendel's flesh, their voiceless cries whispering in his ears. "Wake up, wake up! He is almost here-"

The fae's eyes slowly opened. Darkness stared back at him, surrounded him and suffocated him. And as Lorthrendel stood up, he began to realize that he had been here before. But this time, something was different.

The darkness pulsed with life. Whispers reached his ears, hands touched his clothes, fingers played with his hair. He could swear that he could see a face out of the corner of his eye, or an apparition appear right in front of him and then promptly vanish. When he looked around, he saw no pale light in the distance. He only vaguely remembered what had happened before-

Thump-thump-thump.

Footsteps, heavy and slow, began to echo all around him, but the mage could not tell from which direction they came from. This time, he did not run. This time, he was not dreaming. And this time, he wanted answers.

"You must run!" shrieked the voices in unison. "He's here! The Horned One is here! Woe to foolish mortal who gets in his way-"

The footsteps came to a stop right behind Lorthrendel. He could feel the hot breath of the creature on his nape. He turned around-

Vadrioth stared back at him.

Lorthrendel took an involuntary step back. His eyes widened. "You." He swallowed, his breath quickening. "I expected the Dragon King to be an actual dragon, not just a man who shares a few draconic aspects."

Laughter boomed throughout the seemingly never ending chamber. The god grinned a rare smirk, showing a row of razor sharp teeth. "I found this weaker form more...appropriate for the moment." He raised his black scaled arm and folded his clawed hands into a fist, as if admiring himself.

Vadrioth's intimidating figure caused even Lorthrendel hesitation. Standing taller than even Fibius, only his tanned, seemingly youthful face, chest and torso were not covered in shiny black scales. His eyes were golden, with slit, reptilian pupils. Two horns sprouted from his head where his ears should have been, forming a misshapen crown. Leathery wings with golden viens streaking through the membrane were folded against his scaled back, and his body rippled with muscles. His arms were massive, with biceps larger than Lorthrendel's entire head. A single golden hemmed waistcloth hung from his hips. His eyes glinted in the darkness as he returned his gaze to the fae.

"One of my brother's Eastern Fae, I see. Disgusting. Weak. Tiny. Like all the rest of you distasteful mortals," the god hissed. His voice was so deep and resonating Lorthrendel could feel it vibrate inside his body. Vadrioth gently fanned his wings around him. "Lorthrendel is your name, correct? The bastard with nothing to his name."

"I-where am I?" Lorthrendel forced himself to not back up. He felt so...insignificant at that moment.

"In the realm between the living and the dead. Souls pass by here on their way to the next life. Some get stuck, and remain here for all eternity." The god rolled his muscular shoulders and cocked his head at the mage. "I'm sure you already heard their voices. You are here because I have brought you here. As far as your friends know, you are currently dead. Your body is cold, pale, lifeless. An empty husk." He took a step closer to Lorthrendel and used a claw to lift his chin up. Blood trickled down his neck. "You have something that I...have an important need of. Or rather, one of your companions has something that I need.

"Now, who this male or female is, I don't know. I can only see you, and therefore I can only capture your soul and bring it here. A link was formed between us when you so foolishly cast that spell not long ago. It was originally me that was going to inhabit your body, but it also caught Fibius in its claws as well, and he beat me to it." He suddenly dug his claws into Lorthrendel's shoulders, causing the fae to grimace in pain. A small groan escaped his lips as Vadrioth put his face just an inch away from his. "So I need you to tell me if you- or anyone else in your group- was given something by my siblings," he whispered fiercely.

"Even if I knew, why would I tell you?" Lorthrendel gazed into Vadrioth's golden eyes, unflinching. He felt his clothes begin to form a crude bandage over his shoulders, his warm blood causing it to stick.

With a snarl, Vadrioth suddenly reached around, grabbed the fae by his throat and lifted him off the ground. "Heed my words, you disgusting worm. You're the only person among your group that I can see, and you're the only one that I can both mentally and physically torture. If you don't tell me what I want, I'll make sure that you are reduced to nothing but a sniveling lunatic who can't even walk straight." He put pressure on Lorthrendel's windpipe and watched with a glowing eye as the fae spasmodically twitched and grabbed a hold of his scaled wrists. Vadrioth's golden eyes narrowed. "How odd. I see not an ounce of fear in those glassy, red eyes of yours, fae. Do you not fear me?" He lifted him higher, increasing his grip.

"I...fear...no one, or any...thing," Lorthrendel wheezed. He coughed and gagged for air, impulsively kicking. He began to see starbursts in his vision and he tried desperately to pry the god's fingers away. Blood trickled down his nose.

"That's a foolish mistake." Vadrioth unfurled his wings. "You don't care for what becomes of this world, Lorthrendel, or your companions. I know. You said it yourself," he snarled in a lethally soft voice. "Find this object, bring it to me, and I can ensure you a most pleasurable afterlife. Hide it from me, and you will be chained and made an eternal meal for my dragons. You will know it when you see it."

Lorthrendel's eyes rolled into the back of his head. His body went limp in the god's hands, his head lolling to the side. The last thing he remembered was Vadrioth throwing him to the ground like a crumpled up piece of paper.

~-~-~

Aerysdren hung on to Lorthrendel's stiff hand, sniffing. Tears streamed down his cheeks. "No! He's not dead! He's not!"

"Lad," Ragnus said in a soft, empathic voice, holding his helmet in his hands, "he's gone. Let him go."

Isendir cast the dwarf a sad glance. He put his hands on Aerysdren's shoulders. "Come on, Aerys. We've tried everything. We have to get moving before the rain gets harder and night falls."

"No!" Aerysdren sobbed into Lorthrendel's still chest. "No...."

"What happened to him? I don't understand." Varenyl looked at Isendir with furrowed brows. "It looked like he was hearing something that we couldn't, and then he just collapsed."

"I'm not sure either, but I don't like this." Isendir glanced up at the sky, worry etched all over his face. "Something was watching us up there. That I know for a fact." He looked back at Varenyl. "Did you feel it?"

Varenyl grimly nodded. "Dragonsickness." He pulled his cowl lower over his face to keep the wind from blowing it off.

"Kid, he's not coming back." Ragnus gently touched Aerysdren's hand. "We have to go-"

"We can't leave him here!" Aerysdren cried. "We can't!"

"You don't even know him-"

At that moment, Lorthrendel's fixed and staring eyes suddenly blinked. "W-what...? Where am I? What happened? And-" he tried to sit up, "why are you on top of me?"

Isendir ran over to him. "You're alive! By the gods, we thought you were gone-"

"I told you he wasn't dead!" Aerysdren's face lit up with joy. He tried to wipe his tears away, but more escaped from his eyes. "You're alive! I'm so happy you're alive." Ragnus had to pull the boy off of the mage.

"What happened?" Lorthrendel rubbed his forehead with a grimace. He used a handkerchief to wipe the blood from his nose and chin, and Isendir helped pull him to his feet.

"You died," Varenyl commented dryly.

"You heard them too," Aerysdren quietly whispered in Sylvanaar to the fae, "Didn't you? The voices."

The mage looked at Aerysdren in confusion, not understanding. But then he remembered.

Everything abruptly came back to him in a flood of memories. The voices, the darkness...Vadrioth....

"Lorthrendel?" Isendir gazed at him with a large amount of concern. "Maybe you should sit back down-"

"No." Lorthrendel stared intently at Aerysdren, breathing heavily. "We need to talk."

***🐉***

I feel this chapter could use some work, so please tell me any critism or suggestions you have❤

This chapter is dedicated to my newest partner in the Wonder Writer's Book Club, hetachokshi. She is extremely nice, and very helpful. Please check out her book Their Fates❤❤

Thank you so much for reading! Please vote if you enjoyed, and thank you again ❤

Until next time~