Zyal walked down the large earthen corridor, head held high and seething anger flooding his breast. His heavy footfalls echoed loudly, the flat stone beneath his feet ringing as his claws scraped along with them. A patrol of dragons walked with him. Two earth dragons in front of him, with their forest green scales, large form, and great spiked balls at the end of their tails. Two crystal dragons walked by his side, their diamond-like, near-transparent scales shining in the beams of light cascading from the roof above. Behind him walked two metal dragons, their metallic shells shining with the same brilliance, and their pale-yellow scales running along their underbelly and legs.

He could feel their unease at his presence. The occasional glance here. The shaky breath from the crystal dragon at his right. The desperate ignorance of the earth dragons in front as they resisted the urge to glance back. It amused him slightly. All six of them knew of him. All six knew that, if he so chose, he could have them crushed into bloody pulps in a matter of moments. The anger he felt made him nearly tempted to do so, but he had enough control over his emotions to prevent himself from doing that. It wasn't their fault he was in his current predicament.

Instead, he focused on keeping himself regal, professional, not letting them know what he was considering even if he had no intention of acting upon it. With every step he reached down into the earth at his feet, using its calm reassurance to help maintain a level thought. His own great green wings he held loosely at his side, and the spiked ball at the end of his own tail was held slightly off the ground as to avoid it scraping large grooves in the stone. He looked forward, focusing on their destination with as much intensity as he could muster.

The corridor was a massive building, built from stone and steel. It levied several hundred dragon-lengths in height, and more than three dozen across, with pillars twice as thick as Zyal's body placed along the walls. Each pillar had engravings dug deep inside them, engravings that depicted massive battles between dragons, of mountains raised and oceans made. Images of the earth in all its glory, with life flowing through it, and depictions of the element of earth, Gaia, formatting the very landscape of the world. Each engraving was etched deep into Zyal's memory. He knew them. He had been the one to create them.

At the end of the corridor was an opening of equal grandeur, exiting out into a large open cavern. The cavern had an open roof, much like a volcano, as the rock walls slanted inward toward the top. Toward the other side of the cavern were three more pillars, each with their own engravings. The pillar on the right was made from earth and rock, spiralling upwards to a flat top. The one of the left was made of pure crystal with a slight purple sheen, sparkling gloriously in the midday sun. The one in the middle was the largest and made from pure metal, the steel shining silver to match that of the one with crystal.

Each of the pillars had a dragon sitting on top of the corresponding attribute, all three looking down at him with solemn faces and worried eyes. Zyal's escort lead him to the centre of the cavern, where a slightly raised platform had been made. Without question the earth drake hopped onto it, promptly sitting on his haunches. Knowing that the ground was hard, and feeling slightly spiteful, Zyal gripped the stone below him, making it his own, before shifting and grinding it, turning it into sand. The dark look given to him by the three dragons above made him smirk.

His guards situated themselves around the platform, but instead, they each gave a short bow to the dragon's above out of respect, before also sitting on their haunches. No one spoke. So, with a short sigh, the earth dragon lay himself down on his sand bed, showing his boredom and contempt of the proceedings. There was one more they were waiting for.

As Zyal studied the surroundings his gaze came upon a trio of humans at the far edge of the room, chiselling designs into the stone. More depictions, more art. He snorted at their work. Yes, human's certainly had far more dexterity in their limbs then dragons, but they scarcely understood a dragon's culture, or of what should be on the walls. Zyal could create artwork of just as much detail in far less time with simply a press of the stone walls with his mind. The fact his leaders were now relying on humans to do the work was a testament to how far they had fallen.

Another dragon walked into the cavern from a small opening at the other side. This dragon was another earth drake, old and scarred, with shifty eyes and a slight hobble in his joints. Zyal made eye contact with this new dragon, showing the dragon his teeth in a mock snarl. It was a taunt, a challenge of the most offensive order. The other dragon ignored him, simply moving over to the pillars where the leaders sat and setting himself next to the metal pillar.

"Zyal!" the metal dragon's voice boomed through the room, emphasising his power and authority, "You have been found guilty of experimenting with the powers of element stones. How do you plead?"

Zyal looked up at the metal drake, narrowing his eyes slightly. The metal dragon was known as Strager, the king of the nation of the earthen species, the earthen species being earth, crystal, and metal dragons. On either side of him were the representatives for their respective species. Opallio, the crystal dragoness and Garner, the earth drake. Each were dragons of equilibrium, and each represented their species in terms of power, discipline, and strength.

"Guilty," Zyal replied with confidence, his own voice just as strong and just as convicting.

His reply seemed to only infuriate the king, "You do realise the punishment for this transgression?"

"It's death... right?" Zyal said nonchalantly.

He didn't miss the smile that crossed over the old earth dragon's maw. A smile of victory, and triumph. The old drake didn't seem to think that Zyal would be able to get out of this easily.

"Yes," Strager growled, "Yes, it is."

"And is that your verdict?" Zyal challenged, his words hanging in the air between them.

When the king hesitated, the old earth dragon seemed to realise that maybe Zyal's fate wasn't quite as set in stone as he first thought.

The drake stepped forward, speaking, "Your majesty, this dragon has disgraced the laws of our land. He has tampered with forbidden powers, even when warned to stop by yourself. He has disrespected you, this council, and endangered the lives of millions through his work. He deserves to die."

"Doran, it is not your place to decide the punishment of this offence," Garner said with a rumble at the old earth dragon.

Doran snorted, but stepped back, sitting on his haunches once again and glaring at Zyal. Zyal chose to ignore him, instead looking directly at the king, the challenge still echoing in his mind.

"I believe we should give him a chance to defend himself," Opallio said, her voice echoing with the edge of diamonds, "Zyal, why have you gone down this path? Do you not agree with our laws?"

The earth drake barked a laugh, "Hah! Do I agree? Of course not. Element stones are some of the most powerful weapons on the planet. We are fools to be ignoring them."

"It is because of their power that they have been outlawed. Their destructive capabilities far surpass any average dragons, and rival that of our equilibriums," the dragoness responded smoothly.

"Not if we learn to control their power," Zyal turned to look at Stager, "Could you imagine it? If we learnt to control the power of the element stones we could become the most powerful nation on the planet. Not only that... but what the stones teach you about your element and controlling it is... it's amazing."

"No one can control the power of the element stones Zyal. It's impossible," Stager snorted, "And even if it was, that is too much power for a single dragon to control."

"Is it?" Zyal smirked, "Is it too much power when we have fire dragons that can defeat equilibriums by themselves? We are the largest nation of dragons in the world, and we are falling behind."

"It has been tried before, and the resulting chaos killed millions," Garner responded, "I will not endanger our species like that."

"Neither will I," agreed Opallio.

"But I have learnt to control them," Zyal snarled, "I know it is possible. I know how to make them safe!"

"You have learnt to control the element stones?" Doran sputtered.

"Does that frighten you?" the accused looked at the elder drake, "What? Spending all your time whispering to the most powerful dragons in the land hasn't desensitised you to it? Or are you just afraid that this is a power you can't control, simply because you don't have any connection with an element?"

Doran snarled at him.

"You will hold your tongue Zyal," Strager roared, "Doran's council has been invaluable. You will treat him with the same respect you treat us."

"I will give him the respect he deserves," Zyal thudded his tail into the ground, "As I will you."

"Do you wish to be killed?" the metal dragon said, frustrated.

"Oh, I would certainly like to see you try," growled the earth drake in response, thudding his tail again.

This time however it was as though the earth itself was awakened by his movement. The ground shook in obedience. The mountain roared out. The pillars nearly threw off their occupants, and the humans on the far side were shaken off their feet. Even the guards were forced to take to the air, preparing to attack the earth dragon if he gave any indication of further aggression. Zyal was calm through it all, staring directly at Strager, challenging him silently to make him go any further.

"Stand down," the metal dragon called to the guards, shaken by the expression of power, "I said stand down, damn you."

"See, he's dangerous," Doran growled, "We can't let him go."

"If you would like me dead so much, then why don't you try and make that happen yourself?" Zyal snorted at the old earth dragon, getting up from where he had been sitting and shaking off the sand.

"Shut your mouth Doran, dammit. He'll bring the entire mountain down upon us," Opallio said.

"I'm glad one of you is seeing reason," Zyal tilted his head in a small smile.

"What do you want Zyal? Why are you doing this?" Garner spoke with an angry edge.

"What do I want?" the earth dragon laughed, "I thought we were here to bring me punishment. To give me something I don't want. Or are you all too afraid to even stand up against me?"

"I want to do this peacefully," Strager grunted, "That's all I want. If we ended this in a battle, our entire kingdom would be in danger."

"Oh, I know," Zyal said, "Which is why you won't be killing me. Because if you try, I will fight back."

"But we can't let him continue to experiment with element stones... your majesty," Doran bowed his head, "It is too dangerous."

"I know Doran," growled Strager, "I know."

"This leaves us in quite the impasse. Because I don't want to stop working with element stones," Zyal shuffled his wings.

The silence that followed his words grew thickly, engulfing both Zyal and his accusers. Garner gouged the stone beneath his paws with his talons. Opallio's crystal tail flickered back and forth, agitated, and Strager's entire body was tense, as though he wanted to pounce forward and rake down Zyal with his claws.

"What happened to you Zyal? Have you really fallen so far that you would threaten the lives of our entire nation for your own selfish ambition?" Strager hissed.

"Selfish ambition? I am trying to improve our nation," responded Zyal with a growl, "I am not threatening anyone's life but the ones that threaten my own. My work will make us great! It will give us the power to make sure that wars like the ashen wars never happen again!"

"Greater power only means the greater destructive potential of such wars. If we start using element stones, then others will as well."

"Not if we control them," Zyal snorted.

"We can't Zyal! Don't you understand? Are you really so blind to the truth of these matters?"

"Truth?" the earth drake roared, "Truth? All you do is listen to what that bumbling earth-starved creature tells you. He is the one blinding you all from the truth. And now he is trying to weaken us all by taking away the one thing that will increase our potential in the world."

"You are threatening everything that has been built over the past millennia," Doran growled in response, "I do not wish to have you killed, but you are giving us no choice!"

"We are already the strongest nation in the world Zyal," Opallio said, "And we did that without element stones."

"And what makes you so sure we are? Huh?" Zyal turned his gaze upon her, "What makes you so sure when the new queen of the fire dragons has the power to defeat equilibriums? What makes you so sure when the mind dragons have taken control over the entire centre of the continent? When shadow dragons are so far removed from the world that we are barely able to find them? And the water dragons have free reign of the oceans at our flanks? I could change that. I could send us so far ahead of the other nations that they wouldn't even dream of going against us. We could decide who wins in any conflicts that arise. We could be the ones in control."

"Or we could grant the entire world access to a power that can't be contained," Strager said.

"NO! Don't you understand? Don't you understand what I have learned through working with the element stones? I have discovered powers that other earth dragons have never even dreamed of. And I can teach these powers. I can show everyone how to use them. But we need the element stones to do so!"

"I will not take that risk. The lives of our citizens are more important than the power gained through experimentation."

"Then you are a fool. Stop listening to that-!"

"Doran has nothing to do with this!" Strager snarled, shutting down Zyal's attempt at reasoning, "I will not let you continue to threaten our lives! You know what happened last time experimentation with the element stones were common practice. I will not take that risk again. And as a citizen of this nation, you will respect that."

"Or what?" growled Zyal, "What will you do?"

"You will be exiled," Doran spoke up suddenly, seeming very pleased with himself, "If, of course, your majesty wishes."

Zyal froze at the word, glaring at the old earth drake in livid rage. He could almost feel the earth beneath him begging to be unleashed upon Doran, to crush him into the ground, to send gallons of sand into his throat and choke him to death. No one could stop him. It would be too quick for them to stop.

Strager nodded slightly, considering the idea for a moment, before looking down upon Zyal with judgement, "Yes. That is my judgement Zyal. For your crimes, you will be cast out, ridiculed, a dragon with no home. For threatening the wellbeing of our nation, you are no longer welcome here."

"You can't-!" Zyal tried.

"My word is final! You will either leave or be treated as less than the animals we feast on. Any found showing you kindness will be put to death. Any claim you have on a home is void. You no longer have a family here. You no longer have an existence here! And if you dare try and fight against this then every dragon in this nation will work to drive you out, no matter how powerful you are!"

The earth drake cried out in protest, his claws digging into the sand at his feet and his body shaking with rage, "NO! You need me! You can't do this to me!"

To be exiled was a fate worse than death for many a dragon. It was a punishment reserved for the most heinous of crimes, where a dragon was too powerful to simply kill without great repercussions. It pitted every dragon within the nation against the one. If he didn't leave, he would be treated as nothing more than a rock at the side of the road. Any who showed him pity would be given the death that he supposedly deserved. He couldn't believe Strager would do this to him. The metal dragon had once been his friend.

"I have a mate, Strager. I have hatchlings!" Zyal tried one last time.

"And did they have a role in your crimes?" the king asked with narrowed eyes.

"No... no! Of course they didn't!" the earth dragon answered.

"Then once they find out what you have done, you will no longer have a mate, nor hatchlings who call you father."

"No... no," Zyal hung his head, his body shaking.

He thought he would be able to convince them. He thought he would be able to make them see that he was giving them the key to a peaceful future. A future in which they would flourish. But they refused to listen. They refused to see what he could see. They were blinded by fear. He knew that if he repented, that if he admitted his wrongdoing, Strager would likely forgive him. But he couldn't do that. His study of element stones was too important, too beneficial to stop. He couldn't stop, no matter what they said.

"Do you have any last thing to say?" the metal drake asked him solemnly.

Rage flooded the earth drake, "Fine. Fine! You don't want me around anymore? I won't bother you then. I won't threaten your way of life anymore. But when you see that I was right. When you see that I am needed, don't expect me to come to your aid."

The earth around them shook again as Zyal sat on his haunches, looking up at the three dragons who had once been his leaders. Strager's eyes widened, and his metal shell warped and moved, preparing to protect them all from the earth dragon's ferocity. The guards around him prepared to attack, still hovering in the air. Opallio spread her glittering wings with a hiss. Garner leapt into the air, flying down toward him. Doran backed away, hiding behind the metal pillar of his king.

Zyal snorted at them, before pulling the earth up around him. It was like a giant mouth erupted from the ground, swallowing the earth drake whole, before descending once again. As the dust settled from the sudden explosion of stone, Zyal was gone. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey guys! New story for you all. What d do you think of Zyal as a character? Do you think he is right, or is he wrong? Was Strager in the right to exile him? Or are they truly blind? I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter. The next story that is coming is 'The Last Shadow', and it will be out next week. Till next time, See Ya!

Pennator^^