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"I hope you have enjoyed your stay here, your highness."

A group of dragons glided through the sky, several hundred dragon lengths above the ground. There were five ruby coloured fire dragons with their scales glinting and shining in the sun, and five electric yellow lightning dragons speckled with orange, with their more jagged and pointed than the bat-like wings of the other species. Below them was a city, stretching far in several directions. It was made from smooth grey stone, chiseled from what had once been mountains. The buildings were tall and pointed, with fanciful archways marking the many doorways running down their side, each with its own balcony large enough for several dragons to land comfortably. Throughout the lower areas of the city were glorious green parks with lush trees and open spaces, and filled with the electric yellow colouring of the dragons that lived within the city.

"I have had an amazing time, Elder Joy'el," came the response from the dragoness known as Athaer, the Queen of Fire, "Your city never ceases to amaze me."

Joy'el, the representative of the lightning dragons, felt herself inwardly flush with pride at the other dragoness's compliment, "Thank you, your majesty. It has required nearly a century of work, but I am quite proud of what I have accomplished."

"I only hope I can make the fire city just as glorious," Athaer replied, glancing back at the other dragoness, "It is a rather desolate looking place."

"I do not disagree," Joy'el smiled.

When Athaer had first sent the message that she was coming to visit the lightning dragon city several months previously Joy'el had been surprised, and slightly unnerved, at the idea. Athaer had been their queen for nearly two years now, and during that time she had barely shown any interest in her other subjects, preferring instead to focus on her current home, barely even talking to them. Now however she seemed rather invested in getting to know the lightning dragons. From there she would be traveling to the other side of her nation to visit the city of Chaos dragons as well.

At first, Joy'el had been rather wary and somewhat frightened of the queen. Joy'el had been present at the battle that Athaer had defeated the previous king, seen the power and control she had demonstrated in that battle and had been as awed as the rest of the nation. It was a strange feeling, to be so amazed and daunted by a dragon so much younger than herself, Athaer was only a couple of years into her fifth decade after all, but Joy'el couldn't really help it.

Of course, the queen was still a mystery. No one really knew where she had come from, what her goal was, how she had accomplished such frightening power. It left many uneasy and slightly afraid of what was in store for their future. There was surely some sinister reason behind Athaer's taking of the kingdom. No dragon that powerful would do what she did for no reason.

But over the past week, as Joy'el had gotten to know Athaer better, her suspicions were proven quite wrong. It seemed the queen genuinely cared for her subjects and was quite willing to go over the wellbeing of the lightning dragons in order to see how they lived and if they were satisfied with their way of life. And unlike the previous ruler, Athaer didn't seem against being given advice or talked back to if the situation called for it. At least most of the time. As the two dragons had gotten to know each other, Joy'el now found it quite easy to call Athaer her friend.

Their group glided down toward their destination. Joy'el's 'castle' was more of a large house, not nearly as big as the black fortress in the fire kingdom. It had been calved at from the stone at the top of the one remaining natural mountain within the city, surrounded by several gardens full of trees and plants. They landed at the entrance, their claws scuffing the stone. Ahead was a door with an opening big enough to fit five elder dragons walking abreast. The group walked inside, folding their exhausted wings with some difficulty.

"If you need some help with reinventing your kingdom, your majesty, I would be happy to help. I was one of the primary architects in creating this place," Joy'el's mate, a lightning drake named Xhoya, said as they walked inside.

"I appreciate the offer, but I have my own vision of the city I want to build," Athaer smiled, "Though being here has given me some inspiration."

They walked inside, chatting as they went. The walls of the building were calved with intricate images of many important aspects of the lightning city. This included events like the original creation of the city, Joy'el's rise to leadership, several battles including depictions of the ashen wars, and more. As they walked through the corridors they came to a stop at a rather empty section of the wall where a couple of human servants were chipping away at the wall with hammers and chisels.

"A new picture?" Athaer asked.

"Yes. I decided that we should commemorate your victory over the old king Theleon. It was a momentous occasion after all," Joy'el replied.

The fire dragoness tilted her head, "I guess I should feel honoured."

"The honour is ours," Joy'el said with a smile, "I look forward to the future of this nation with you at the head."

There was a couple of moments as Athaer studied the wall silently, before nodding her head, "I shall do my best then."

The group continued on into the main throne room, the conversation becoming much more light-hearted as they spoke about what they had seen that day, a few laughs being thrown out as they recalled one of the fire dragons, a young drake that Athaer seemed quite fond of named Vitto, had tried to race one of the lighting dragons through a small forest, only to fail as he crashed into a tree.

The space was rather large, with a big pit in the middle where the dragons ate. There were more carvings on the walls, and several other archways leading off into different sections of the castle. The roof above them was flat and low for a dragon's roof. They wouldn't be able to fly comfortably within the room.

As Joy'el looked over the feeding hall, taking a moment to check if everything had been cleaned from their previous meal, her gaze landed upon a dragon she did not expect to be there. She came to a halt, frozen in her footsteps as she stared at the dragon, eyes wide in surprise and horror. The rest of the group stopped as well, staring at the dragon in the centre. The lightning dragons were just as shocked and horrified as she was, while the fire dragons were simply surprised.

Sitting on the far side of the pit was what looked like, at first glance, a shadow dragon, with dark purple, nearly black scales and dotted with slightly lighter coloured purple flecks. But his wings were jagged and pointed, like a lightning dragon's, with the same sharp tip at the end of his tail. Purple electricity zigzagged over his body at random intervals, random and uncontrolled. Some even launched outward and into the ground with small zaps, leaving the ground beneath him burnt and damaged.

Joy'el growled, quickly taking a step forward in front of her guests and spreading her wings in a challenge, her own electric yellow lightning running through her body as she pulled on the power within herself, allowing the aura of equilibrium to ripple through the room. She held the power back so she wouldn't transform, but she wanted this dragon to know exactly how unwelcome he was in her home.

"Long time no see, sister," the dark lightning dragon said with a small smirk, not at all perturbed by the ripples of energy washing through the room.

"What are you doing here?" growled Joy'el.

Before the drake was able to answer, Athaer stepped up beside the lightning dragon with narrowed and wary eyes, "Who are you?"

"A pleasure to be of your acquaintance, your majesty," the dark lightning drake stood up from where he was sitting, bowing his head low to the ground, "My name is Exol; a rare and unique dark lightning dragon, and your host's loving brother."

Joy'el scoffed, "He's dangerous, your majesty. A psychopath who was sentenced to death over a hundred years ago by my predecessor for the most grievous of crimes. He escaped, and ever since then has been causing havoc along the borders of our land. Sometimes disappearing for decades before resurfacing again."

"Oh, yes, decades on the run," sighed Exol, "Always annoying when you and Aegis pursued me so vehemently through the land. My own siblings hell bent on my destruction."

"You've slaughtered hundreds."

"It's thousands, my dear sister. Don't make me look bad in front of our queen," he glanced at Athaer, who was studying him with an appraising eye.

"What do you want?" she asked eventually.

"Why, only to pay my respects to our newest monarch, and to offer my services in a token of appreciation for your new rule," Exol bowed his head again.

"You heartless slimy lizard," snarled Joy'el, "I should kill you where you stand."

"Yet you haven't," Exol spread his wings, the infuriating smirk still on his snout, "But I welcome you to try."

Joy'el's growl echoed through the room, her talons scratching against the stone as every muscle in her body tensed at the challenge. But she practiced restraint. A battle between the two of them here would not be good for either of them. She didn't really want to destroy the home she had worked so hard to create. Xhoya stepped up beside her, lightly trapping her tail with his own. She looked at her mate, feeling herself calming down at his presence. Slowly the aura of equilibrium faded around her to the light buzz it usually was.

"I don't see why I would want a murderer as part of my kingdom," Athaer stated with a snort, "If you truly have murdered thousands then I should be the one to turn you to ash."

Exol bowed his head slightly again, "And you would be truly justified to do so, your majesty. Which is why I have come to appeal to you for forgiveness. I have turned aside my ways and am now looking for retribution. I have been gone for a long time now, attempting to change myself and looking for a way back. I thought perhaps with your new leadership you would be willing to spare the charges against me in return for my undivided service. Besides, as a dragoness who appreciates the value of power yourself, I would think that perhaps you would like to have the most powerful lightning dragon in the world under your rule."

"Most powerful? Both Aegis and I far exceed you," snarled Joy'el, "As well as the several other equilibrium lightning dragons that live within this city."

"But Aegis left, didn't he?" Exol smirked slightly, "And, as I'm sure her majesty knows, having equilibrium is not what makes a dragon powerful. After all, I am the one that pushed both of you to that point in the first place... and I survived what happened afterward."

"Well then perhaps you would like to see what I am capable of now that I have it," growled the lightning dragoness.

"I would be all too happy to spar with you, Joy'el," sighed Exol, "If her majesty would grant me a pardon."

"Don't trust him, your majesty," Joy'el turned to Athaer, "After everything he has done... he's a monster."

Athaer seemed thoughtful for a moment as she looked between the two siblings, a subtle grin showing on her muzzle, "Very well, Exol, I will grant you your request, provided one thing."

"What?!" exclaimed Joy'el.

Exol smiled, "Anything you wish your majesty."

"You defeat your sister in a duel," the queen replied calmly, sitting back on her haunches, "What better way to prove your statement. If you are telling the truth, then I will consider letting you back into the kingdom."

Joy'el was frozen, staring at her queen in shock, before shaking herself out of her stupor, "Excuse my confusion your majesty, but you can't seriously be considering this?"

Even Exol was slightly stunned by this announcement. For a mere moment, his wings drooped in defeat, before he tensed himself and let out a curt growling nod, agreeing with the terms.

"I was planning on testing your power for myself," Athaer responded, "But I believe this will be a far better judge. Besides, you shouldn't have too much trouble. In your own words you 'far exceed' him."

"Yes, but any battle between us may be deadly to those around us," Joy'el said.

"Then we shall use the arena," responded Athaer, "It was made to house fighting between two powerful lightning dragons was it not? It will be a perfect place."

"But... he..." the lightning representative was still in shock.

"If you don't want him to be a part of the kingdom then there is a simple solution," Athaer responded in a tone that left no argument, "Win."

* * *

Joy'el sat in the centre of the arena, her tail twitching anxiously behind her. The arena was a large dome made from a metallic frame. The frame was hundreds of dragon lengths wide and was circular in shape. It was surrounded by stairs, allowing spectators to sit in relative safety, allowing them to spectate any battles within the dome. The metal was dragon steel, a material which Joy'el had been forced to go to great lengths to acquire, but eventually had found a group of metal dragons willing to create her dome for the right price.

Sitting across from her was Exol, the dark lightning dragon sitting easily on his haunches as his tail flicked back and forth, studying his sister with narrowed eyes. Despite their boasts about their power the previous day, Joy'el felt rather wary about this battle. She had fought against the dark lightning drake before. She knew how deadly a strike from it could be. When she was younger a single blast from it had nearly killed her.

The crowd observing the battle was far smaller than what she was used to. Athaer and her fire dragon entourage were sitting in a group to observe the battle. Several lightning dragons had joined them, including Joy'el's mate and six of their hatchlings. They were all adults now but still cared enough about her to watch this fight.

"You know, you have never stood a chance against me before. What makes you think you will now?" Exol said with a rumble.

"I told you, I have grown a lot since we last fought," snorted the lightning dragoness.

"So have I."

"Then we shall see which one of us stands the greatest."

Joy'el stood to her feet, spreading her wings with a roar of challenge. She could feel the lightning in her body running through her, appearing in her scales and wings in yellow flashes of power. Random bolts fell from her, striking the ground around randomly around her. Her yellow eyes sparked with electricity, and her tail whipped back and forth, lightning sparking from the tip. She wanted to show this dragon just how much she had improved.

Exol snorted his growl, the dark lightning in his own body reacting the same way, erratic purple bolts crashing outward from him in booms of thunder. A mad gleam crossed his eyes as he spread his own wings, preparing himself to launch forward. They both waited for the signal to begin. It came suddenly, a loud roar of the sideline calling the start of the match.

Both dragons moved, letting their element empower their bodies and movements, and they careened toward each other. Joy'el was a flash of yellow, her body a blur as she hit the dark lightning dragon with as much momentum as she could carry over the short distance between them. He had leaped forward as well but wasn't quite as fast as his sister. She hit him hard, clawing and biting as the electricity from her body surged into his, throwing him back against the ground.

She mentally gripped the electricity running through his body, aiming to end this battle as quickly as it had begun. It reacted to her will as readily as her wings and claws, surging through his body as it paralyzed his limbs, causing him to convulse in screaming agony as the electricity refused to dissolve into the ground below him. Joy'el narrowed her eyes in concentration. Electricity was notoriously difficult to control, and this technique was one of the hardest abilities for a lightning dragon to achieve. But it was effective, able to immobilize and kill an opponent with a single bolt of lightning.

But it seemed it wouldn't be so easily done to Exol. With a scream and an impressive display of mental fortitude, the drake opened his mouth, a shock of dark lightning striking from within it and smashing into his opponent. Joy'el let out a cry as her entire body convulsed, before being thrown backward from where she had been hovering in the air. She hit the ground, rolling several metres, before remaining still, a low grown escaping her maw. They both took a couple of seconds to recover from each other's attacks, before forcing themselves to their feet as they breathed heavily.

"You have improved," growled Exol over the distance.

"And you are as tenacious as ever," snarled Joy'el, launching into the air with a flap of her wings.

He followed with a roar, purple lightning pouring from his body, the separate strikes being drawn toward the metal frame surrounding them. The dragoness opened her mouth, sending another bolt toward the dark dragon. But with a flap of his wings, he accelerated, making Joy'el miss the attack, before striking forward with his own, the dark purple bolt careening through the air toward her. As the bolt hit her, feeling the surge of unfamiliar electricity, Joy'el narrowed her eyes, warping the lightning running through her to act as a conduit, combining the dark lightning with her own... and letting it run through her and into the metal behind her. The dark lightning descended into the ground, dealing minimal damage to the dragoness.

She let out a breath of relief. She hadn't known if that technique would work with dark lightning. Now she knew it did, she was much more confident in her ability to win this battle. She could see Exol's confusion as he hovered near the top of the dome, seeing his lightning strike hit with negligible effect. With a roaring scream, he flapped his wings, speeding toward her again. She snarled, electricity surging through her, and she shot upward toward him with a roar. The two crashed once again, but this time Exol was prepared for the crash, sending his own electricity into her. Yellow and purple lightning surged together, creating an excessive amount of energy that exploded with lightning, throwing the two dragons apart.

Joy'el grunted as she hit one of the metal frames. Exol was sent backward, missing the frame and being sent out of the dome, before catching himself with his wings. With a roar he charged back into the dome, lightning sparking from his body and into the metal around him. Joy'el was quick to recover. A dull ache pulsed around the shoulder of her right wing. It felt slightly off as she opened it to fly, but the adrenaline dulled the pain as she wouldn't be any worse for it. The two charge each other again, followed by another explosion of dark and yellow electricity, throwing them both backward again. This time Joy'el was prepared, turning around and catching herself with a steep bank in the air, narrowly avoiding another crash with a metal pillar.

She opened her maw, firing another bolt of electricity at her brother. This time he had no chance to dodge, so he responded with his own, the two bolts colliding together in the centre of the arena with a booming crash. With a roar, seeing as she wasn't going to get anything from attacking her brother directly, she warped the electricity within her body to strike at the metal frames around her. Instead of letting the electricity dissipate into the ground, however, she focused it with her mind, forcing it to spread across the frames of the arena. Before Exol could figure out what she was doing, a bolt of lightning suddenly hit him from above, striking from the metal frames. He was thrown into the ground below. As he staggered to his feet another bolt struck him in the side, throwing him another couple of metres. Once again he staggered to his feet, his eyes glaring at her with murderous intent.

She was surprised to find him still standing after her onslaught. So she sent more electricity into the metal, and with a flap of her wings, she sent multiple bolts in his direction from several different directions at once. With a scream he opened his wings, dark lightning exploding from his body in a storm of power. If the metal frames hadn't been there to attract the lightning, it would have likely struck the observers of the battle. Joy'el wasn't so fortunate. Her attack hit him, but his far more powerful one also struck her. She felt the lightning surge through her body, summoning a scream from her mouth as she was blasted backward and out of the arena by several bolts of dark lightning, too much for her to conduct out of herself. For a moment everything went black, and when she came too she found she was falling toward the ground. Her limbs wouldn't move. Her hearing glands were ringing. White dots sparkled in her vision. The entire world felt like it was just a blur in the background.

She was losing this battle. The realization hit her hard. How could she possibly be losing? Exol shouldn't be nearly as strong as she was, yet his erratic dark lightning was just far too strong for her to fight against. The unbreakable mental will that forced him to continue going was too difficult to shatter. No matter how many times she struck him with her feeble lightning he would still be able to get up, because once he set his mind on something, he would get it, no matter how far he had to push himself to do so. A trait that ran in the family.

With a snarl Joy'el forced electricity through her body, snapping her wings open to catch the wind, her breath heavy and her senses dulled. She didn't care how far he pushed himself, she would go further, as she always had done. She began to pull at the power within her as her blurred vision spotted the muted dark spot begin to move from where he had been hit by her lightning, likely just recovering from the attack.

Like a breaking damn Joy'el's power washed through her, flooding her wings, her muscles, her talons. Lightning began to erratically spew from her. Her eyes filled with electricity. The space around her began to warp and distort as her power echoed over the arena. It had been a long time since she had used the power of equilibrium. This time, she would use it to destroy the dragon she called her brother.

With a cry, her body erupted in sparkling electricity. Her scales, her flesh, and her bones dissolved into pure lightning. The yellow bolts holding together barely in the form of a dragon. She could feel the power she wielded begging to be unrestrained, to be let loose and destroy everything around her. But she kept it under control, instead turning it toward the dark purple dragon as he looked upward with grim determination.

With a cry, she launched forward, what little of her that resembled a dragon disappearing with waves of electricity as it struck the metal frame, before continuing onward toward the dark dragon in the centre. He flapped his wings, his own power surging through him as he accelerated upward, narrowly dodging the first bolt. But as he hit the centre of the arena he quickly realized he was surrounded on all sides. The metal-framed dome had become a cage of electricity. Yellow lightning surged from every piece of metal. It electrified the ground. It stunned the air. Joy'el knew that he wouldn't be able to defend against this.

Growling Exol tried one last attempt, unleashing his power in an explosion similar to the one that nearly defeated her before. The dark lightning struck out against the metal, flooding it with his power. But it wasn't nearly enough to defend against the power of equilibrium. Joy'el had had enough. With a simple mental thought, every shred of lightning from within the cage imploded upon the dark dragon. He screamed out as his entire body ran rampant with yellow electricity, flooding him and reading him of any semblance of sanity. The lightning targeted every pain receptor, every muscle, paralyzing him in agony.

He fell to the ground, limp and unmoving. The lightning flashed as it condensed into the shape of a dragon once more, the pure lightning striking from multiple different directions as it looked down at the barely conscious form of Exol.

"Well... do it," he hissed quietly, "Just... kill me."

The lightning looked at him, raising a paw in order to finish the job. But stopped. She could see the tears in the corner of the drakes eyes. Whether that was from pain, fear, or true remorse, she didn't know. After everything he had done, he deserved death. After all the pain he had caused, he deserved every moment of torment he could endure. But if someone were to do that, it wouldn't be her.

"You forfeit?" the electrifying voice of equilibrium echoed through the chamber.

"You're not going to kill me?" questioned the dark lightning dragon.

"I don't know whether you truly want to change, brother, but I will not be your executioner today. Instead, you are exiled, until you can prove to us that you have decided to become better."

Exol looked at her wide-eyed, nodding his head in a slight movement. The power of equilibrium waned and dissipated. The lightning became solid flesh and blood once again, leaving Joy'el standing in front of her brother. She staggered slightly, the energy required to use equilibrium having drained her nearly entirely. Her wings drooping, she walked from the arena, collapsing into the wings of her mate as he went out to meet her.

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Hey guys! New Chronicle for you all! This one ended up being a fair amount longer than I expected. I hope you all enjoyed! Vote if you did, and tell me what you thought of a lightning dragon's equilibrium, as well as how you responded to the characters within this Chronicle. For next week, you have two choices remaining.

A Life Dragon's Purpose: Agela, life dragoness - 6Yrs BTA

Unexplored: Vyll, Rift Dragoness - 13Yrs BTA

See Ya!

Pennator^^