Bound At Heart

Finality

Ilyana now stood facing a border between the kingdom and the Forbidden Wastelands. A kingdom crowned in winter and a land that fulfilled its title. She slapped the behind of her horse and as she had hoped, it ran back the way they came. She clenched onto her coat and shivered as she found herself alone with her weapons and conscience to pay attention to. She turned back and walked past the tree line and towards an open, fiery field that defied the season's call for winter. The forest that once stood here, was burned and whatever victim left was still being consumed by the purple flames. Ilyana looked down at her feet to see the ashes taking resemblance to the snow but even then... The snow was vibrant, composed of white crystals but this ash was sickly and churned at the contact towards Ilyana's soles. That crunching signified a darker purpose and it made Ilyana suffer through a violent jolt that resulted in her having goosebumps. She crossed her arms, clenching at the fabric of her long gloves. She took a moment of chance to look over her shoulder, noticing the crumbling ashes making way for healthy, fern-colored grass, spreading slowly.

Summoning her wings, she leaped and flew forth to face dense smoke-like fog that loomed over the base of the hills and mountain. Until it rendered her unable to see, she deemed it unsafe to fly and landed on a steep ledge.

The terrain became rugged as she found herself climbing upwards, against hills and cliff-sides. She needed to get past the fog bank. And so, she kept climbing and climbing, her grip almost slipping at one point. It wasn't until she reached a ledge where the air cleared enough for her to see and she had a spot to rest. Upon releasing an extended sigh. That was when she felt a deep growl come from directly behind her, complimenting the bone-chilling feeling with a quick and light puff of breath that blew through her. She clenched her fists and quickly turned to face Archimedes' eyes. She stood up and held her ground.

"Ah... Young Ilyana," Archimedes practically enunciated in a deep voice. "You've changed so much since I last saw you."

"Good evening, Archimedes," Ilyana said a little harshly.

"Why come and see me all by your lonesome? Hm?" He asked.

"I came to you in demanding for answers."

The large dragon's eyes widened, a moment's silence followed until he muttered, "That was something I didn't expect. Do you not want to challenge? Here I am, standing here before you, powerless because of the banishing spell one of your pets casted and you want answers?"

"YES," Ilyana bellowed. She raised her hands and the boulders secured around Archimedes' ankles and they spread throughout his body, rendering him unable to move as the thickness kept doubling. Vines and branches also enveloped him. It chained him Ilyana didn't expect the result of the magical burst to come out the way it did. However, she kept yelling at him, "I actually do want to interrogate you! Alright?! Because there is something that isn't sitting too well for me and that is how in the hell did you become a dragon when you and Ronan haven't seen each other in a month! How did this come to happen?! Who showed you this power?!"

Archimedes snarled and stared daggers at her eyes, "You really wanna know?! Alright, I'll tell you! This all began five years ago when I was making my way throughout the trails of the forest, retreating from the previous town from which I stole some valuable pieces of goods that meant a fortune on the black market. It was my final theft so I could officially settle somewhere far, far away from the wretched noise of cities and crowded towns. And during my escape, I heard a weird creature screech not too far from where I was. It startled me but its cry was that of one that it was going to meet death. I grew curious and it so happened to be along the path that I was going down anyway, so, I figured that a momentary stop to get the pesky soldiers off my scent would do me no harm.