The Fall of Arrahku

Also featuring Hahnu who is somehow my primary storytelling character, despite Monahven being the canonical storyteller. #

Pure, perfect, seamless, timeless, selfless. An infinite well of pure, pitch black opaquity in which no sound, no light, no thought exists- only the pure absence of all that defines mortal existence. 

A shimmer of white forms in the darkness. Stretching, fading, and joining with others, slowly taking form before the observer- the form of a dragoness, bathed in the purest, white light. A masked dragoness, slowly approaching upon what must presumably be the floor of this utterly formless place. 

"We haven't much time, Arrahku," comes a pained, but determined voice from behind the mask. The name brings a flood of consciousness to the only other entity in this deep, vast darkness. 

-What is this place? What happened to the sky, the earth- where are my comrades?- The conscious entity in the darkness asks, though no vocalization rises through the suffocating, inky blankness. 

"All will be answered," comes that voice, calm and soothing, maternal in tone with the barest note of apologetic intonation. "Show me your loved ones," she says insistently. Another flood of memory courses through that consciousness, and the world begins to take form before it. Four dragons in the distance, sat around a fire deep in a wooded valley. 

-How did we get here? I left this place years ago,- the being voicelessly protests in disbelief, feeling a wash of homesickness, curiosity, and confusion as it gazes upon its brother, mother, mate, and young daughter. 

"That isn't important, right now. Go, be with your family," the dragoness states insistently, "Tell them everything that you need to tell them. Don't hesitate- go while you still can." The dragoness in the darkness steps aside, and sits on her haunches, watching the being expectantly. 

The being begins to close the distance to its family with a cautious movement, which develops into a slow series of steps. As the consciousness approaches the fire, its body begins to form around it. Scale, flesh and bone emerge from the darkness, lit in the orange glow of the warmth-bearing flame. Sensation returns, the weight of the armor on his back, the ache of battle-weary muscle and the smell of smoke in the air. A sharper pain under the breastplate of his armor is pushed out of his mind as he approaches his family in disbelief. 

Arrahku is met and greeted with genuine warmth and love by the others, sharing fond touches and words. He tells the others that he loves them, and misses them, and how each night, looking up at the stars, he's longed to share one more evening with them. He wants to say that he'll hurry home as soon as he's able to be with them again, but somehow, he's unable to form the words. He remembers, now. His expression grows somber, and the burning pain under his armor wells back to the surface. He simply tells his loved ones goodbye, shares one last fond moment with them, and turns back toward the dragoness. Walking away from the campfire which slowly fades back to that inky blackness behind him, his expression is stern. The pain of realization is evident upon his hardened features. 

"I know now, why you brought me here. Thank you," Arrahku states to the dragoness, who leans forward, and kisses him upon the cheek. 

"No, Arrahku. Thank you, for all that you've done, all that you've sacrificed for your brothers, and everything you've endured. We are in your debt for all time. You will be honored." The dragoness turns and walks away- the light slowly fading, until all that Arrahku knows is a pure, pitch-black opaquity in which no sound, no light, and no thought exists. Pure, perfect, seamless, timeless, selfless. The absence of all that defines mortal existence.