It Will Be OK

Solomon POV

Visiting both of my brothers and learning of the attack and Cybela’s injuries certainly proved to be a challenge, even for somebody like me. Before my next trip, I needed to unwind, I needed the blessing of the ocean, the softness of the sand on my bare feet. I needed to compose myself and regain my full strength – my whole family needed me now.

I stepped onto the shore, hot, soft sand cascading down around my feet, its gold color reflecting the sunlight in tiny sparklets and crystals within - listening to the sound of water, which over the centuries I discovered calmed me, I absent-mindedly rubbed my signet ring. Unlike the rings my dear departed wife and I gifted each other, this ring was something else. Long ago, Gia granted me the power to summon the Shadow warriors, Shedim. Not living nor dead, winged creatures of old, lethal warriors and conjures of the utmost powers, Shedim were created from the shadow itself. Gia initially wanted them to be their own tribe, to rule themselves and grow like any other tribe she created. However, Shedim became greedy and understanding the extent of their power, they became incontrollable, malicious to others, murderous to most, starting wars, killing everybody in the process. At the time when the Earth was young and none of us were tainted, Shedim spilled the first blood and gave birth to wars. No real leader ever existed in Shedim, they were bands of rogues running around for the next quick score.

Something needed to be done now that the world had lost its innocence. Shedim could not be allowed to create chaos anymore, and they could not be trusted, even though we all knew that nothing would ever be the same. Out of desperation, a decision was made. Gia created the Miftaf Hafka, a powerful ring to bind them, in shadow find them, and forever enslave them to the owner of that ring. There may be yet a time when I may have to use them, I thought to myself, gently twirling the signet, Miftaf Hafka itself.

My thoughts drifted and I felt a pull towards Dragana. I needed to see her, but I also needed to stop by the Library first. First Dragon, my bother Kal, had given me the only cure known to the alien forces that attacked us. The origin of this world was in his blood and within it, it was the strength of the Earth itself, strength forged in the beginning when life was raw, when Earth herself was forming, when within it the Earth's soil held the essence of the Creator himself. That blood, in its rawest and purest form, ran through Kal’s veins, which meant that for as long as Earth lived, so would Kal. For as long as Earth lived, so would anything which carried Kal’s blood. And now Cybela needed the said blood.

Making haste to the Library, I prayed I was not too late. I used a different enchantment and simply opened a gate directly into the gardens, going straight towards the emerald-colored lake, where I knew she would be. My whole being was rushing as fast as I could go, as there was a foreboding sense of terror enveloping me as each second passed. I had seen this future before and it had never ended well. I knew that Lord Cazima was tending to her, with some of the best healers our world had. Dr. Sina was present as well,- our world always simply called him a doctor when, in fact, he was the father of medicine for our kind. However, these were no ordinary wounds, this was not simple dark magic. This was magic from another realm, the Ahmar tribe, one of the Five. This magic was a poison specifically designed to annihilate everything we were, our world, including humans, until nothing but ash existed and Ahmar had absorbed everything in their path.

Curled around the large portion of the lake, Cybela’s purple-scaled body was laid, white lilies scuttering as close to her as possible. She was weak, barely breathing, not even stirring to recognize me or understand that somebody else was there. Her purple scales were ashen, getting this greenish-ashen quality, reminding of decay. The wounds she received seeped blackish looking like liquid which somehow looked thick, yet transparent. I was stunned and the pain rushed through me like thousands of blades. A voice broke me from my thoughts… “I .. I have done everything… but at this point…… all I am trying to do is make her comfortable, Solomon”, Dr. SIna spoke. I turned around to hear him, but my eyes fell on Lord Cazima whose eyes were glassed over from tears streaming down his face. I knew the bond they shared and the heartbreak they both had to go through when they lost Alma.

“Let me try something else … I may have a way”, I said, walking towards Cybela, as in a trance. The scent emitting from her pores, the alien magic it carried vibrated something within me, breaking my walls and guards, trying to coil itself around me and making me weaker. Finally, when I reached her snout and her face, she noticed me and slowly opened her beautiful eyes. The light had but almost left them, the flicker of life still fighting within. “Cybela….Guardian…” I called to her, and her eyes opened again, looking at me weakly. “Cybela… I am here.. First Dragon has sent his blood to heal you….. You will heal back, beautiful…It will all be OK” I whispered whilst opening the pouch of blood, quickly emptying it into Cybela’s mouth.