*COMPLETE!*
He was born into a world that taught him the rage of war, subjugation and suffering. Driven by misery and grief, he embraced the Flames of Bedlam and became the First Dragon.
The world hailed him as Bahamut, the Dragon King. They tremb...
When I asked Levi what his plan was, it all sounded pretty straightforward. He and I would journey to this village, the home of what was left of the free-clan. In the meantime, Sura and the others would oversee creating a more permanent camp near the Glade.
He said that it was important that they spent time near the energies and got used to it. That's just nice talk for "I'm afraid someone could turn at any moment, and they need to be near the Glade to have a chance to survive it."
Levi claimed that none of the others were quite as far along, or as influenced, as he was when it came to the Longing. I told him that it was easy to misunderstand the feelings of others when you weren't actually the one feeling what they did. He didn't have much to say to that.
His purpose was focused, however, on me. He'd made it some crusade to try to "fix" what was broken within me... only not knowing how deeply the issue bled. He was determined that he could bring me before his village Elders and explain away all my crimes.
At least, they seemed to believe these were crimes. I didn't agree.
The Elders didn't have to live under the thrall of the Invaders. They had no idea what it was like never existing beyond the walls of those military encampments. Never knowing friendship or family or freedoms... the things they took for granted.
I kept my thoughts to myself. Though Levi tried to come off as a worldly and open-minded sort, there are just some things you can't understand unless you've lived through them. His life was full of campfires and snuggle-fests. Mine was full of death flames and dying screams.
No matter how sure you are of your plans, however, there usually comes some sort of kink. I don't think either of us expected me to become as ill as I did.
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It was two, maybe three days out on the road when I first collapsed. I'd been feeling weak and queasy for a while, something I originally attributed to the lack of real energy-food. Levi didn't understand yet how I required crystals to sustain myself, and I hadn't gone through the trouble to explain it to him.
The cuffs I wore blocked all interaction of energy and magic. They prevented me from tapping into the power that allowed me to transform — which was for his own good. But it also prevented me from consuming energy to sustain myself.
The regular, physical food Levi provided was enough to keep me alive. But my strength began to waver as my hunger for energy grew. I suppose I should have been up front about my situation, but I'm not sure he'd risk taking the cuffs off even if he knew.
There was something bigger going on I wasn't aware of at the time.
The collapse came out of nowhere. One moment, I was weaving along the forest path behind him, the next was blissful nothingness. Well, I can't really say blissful... this was the beginning of a torment that not even the Invaders could have dreamed up.
