Armageddon

Chapter 21: The Bells

Damien and Noctis remained sky-borne for hours more, even after Selena returned to begin her drills. Lord Godfrey, Colonel Cyres, and General Araneus worked with some of the top fighters from the Shadow Templars and assigned them a Nidhoggr to train. One by one, the ferals chose their handlers. Vyrilion agreed to align himself with Kain and Maria, and Obsidian, a male close to Noctis' size, partnered with Lord Godfrey. While still battling through much reluctance after recently losing Onyxria, Colonel Cyres partnered with a large-weighted female named Ysyra.

Ignoring his disposition, Rahim ruefully worked with Eshara, a large-weighted female part of the formation. As he was still young and too small for combat, Volterion and the other whelps around his size and age assisted with moving supplies as part of Rahim's plan. Sethak and Rhasydra were far too small to be of any real help and instead stayed with their mother.

As the general wanted, the ferals took direction well, and the new riders began forging their unbreakable bonds with the undead dragons—including Rahim, though he didn't want to admit it. Skyfyre and Volt worked directly under Gromm, Beck, and Vulcan as they would cover their left flank; during their drills, however, Volt briefly broke away and approached Selena before she broke away from Silver, Araneus, and Cyres. She squinted at him, and her former superiors eyed Volt suspiciously, but Volt acknowledged her as queen by bending the knee. As he apologized for past behavior, Skyfyre approached, tucking in his wings and chittering in agreement. Yet, Volt kept a watchful eye on Silver, who wrapped an arm around Selena's shoulder. "Please, forgive me," was all he could say.

She and Silver nodded, though Volt couldn't help but dote on her blossomed beauty; he only averted his gaze when Silver growled at him. "Don't you have somewhere to be, Mr. White?" Volt scrambled to his feet, and he and Skyfyre rejoined Gromm and Beck.

Selena and Silver laughed, and she excused herself and returned where the training dummies were and began her practices; many other ground soldiers were there and joined in. As powerful as she already was as a dragon, she still chose to practice her melee attacks. She didn't want to turn into a dragon if it wasn't necessary, and it never hurt to be prepared.

Selena would shoot out blue Aether blasts from her punches between sword swings; she repeatedly persisted with her techniques. Everyone stopped their training and watched as her deadly dance turned into a blinding inferno flurry of strikes, but she ignored their stares; Selena was too focused. All she could think about was perfecting her techniques, but her attacks became faster as she fell victim to her worries. The eclipse was only days away; Selena knew they would have to leave Dark Blood Hold by tomorrow's end if they were to make it to Alfheim in time for the Day of Eternal Darkness.

Already, General Araneus busied with arrangements. The Nidhoggr assisted with carting over the newly crafted metal airships, fit to carry Godfrey's estimate of a thousand abled bodies; simultaneously, the daintier and smaller ferals moved crates holding weapons, armor, and other supplies like food and water. As big as many ferals were, the powerful flight would have no issues transporting their precious cargo.

Selena stopped her practices and left the dummies and archery targets, ignoring the other soldiers behind with their mouths agape. Making it down the tower, she strolled through the war preparation commotion until reaching beyond the castle gates, traversing beyond the edge of the black sandy beaches until she had approached Dark Blood Hold's crimson dream. The thick trees twirled their branches, creating a tunnel of red and orange; even in late autumn, the leaves stood firm against the coming chill.

A faint and delightful tune twinkled in Selena's ears as she freely transformed into her Aether dragon state; her turquoise gem-like scales glimmered a rainbow from the peeking sun. Selena kept her ethereal wings, glowing like the northern lights burning Armageddon's evening sky, extended and unfurled as the celestial membranes passed through the guardian trees like a ghost vanishing through a wall.