Athaer took a step forward, breathing in the familiar scent of fire and blood. The ashen ground she walked upon was hot, to the point it could boil water, not that the heat would affect a fire dragon in any way. The wind carried the smog of a nearby active volcano, spewing its pollution over the land. A snowfall of ash caressed her gleaming red scales as it settled on the ground below.

The murmuring of thousands of voices echoed around her, forcing her to hold her head high as she gazed toward her spectators. Tens of thousands of dragons, most of them fire, sat or lay on the steps of an ancient building, looking down into the arena she found herself in. The steps, crafted from what had once been molten earth, leaned outwards, rising to several hundred dragon lengths high and quite close to a thousand dragon lengths in length. It could take up to five minutes to fly from one side to the other at a reasonable pace. An oddly large arena to house the battle between only two dragons.

Athaer turned toward her foe. Theleon, a fire drake who held the title of king of the fire dragons. The most powerful of them all. At three hundred years old he had certainly earned the respect his name carried. Athaer could taste the fiery power that radiated from him, it shrouded around her, demanding every ounce of respect it deserved. Instead, the dragoness sat to her haunches, letting a slight smirk cross over her maw.

Her own power echoed within her, the fire in her being begging to be let out as it reacted to her excitement of the proceedings. She could feel it, swirling around inside of her, like a hatchling with a new toy. She didn't blame the fire, it was only acting as a mirror to what she felt. It helped her focus, to concentrate, knowing that this fight would decide the rest of her life. She wouldn't lose. After thirty years of training for this, she couldn't.

"You can back out, if you wish," Theleon rumbled in Drakin, the language of dragons, a language that consisted of the grunts and growls that were intrinsic knowledge of every dragon.

Athaer chuckled, shaking her head. Theleon was nearly two hundred and fifty years older than her, and her head only came to his shoulder. He was likely stronger than her, faster than her, definitely more experienced. He had fought and won these battles for a hundred years, ever since he had taken command the same way.

"No... no, I don't think I will. What? Are you scared?" chortled the dragoness, her tail lashing back and forth against the ground.

He snorted, "You are still young. You don't know what you are getting into."

Athaer only smirked in response, before looking up as a long low roar echoed over the arena. Their fight was being announced, finally. A large trumpet was situated at the top of the stairs. It was made to enhance a dragon's voice so that it could echo over several kilometres. Though no one would admit it, Athaer guessed such an apparatus could have only been made with human hands.

"Athaer, you challenge King Theleon for rule over our nation. Do you wish to back out of this challenge?"

Athaer raised her right wing, knowing that her own voice would never carry over such a distance. It was a symbolic gesture, meaning she was ready to fight.

"King Theleon, you accept this challenge?"

The drake narrowed his eyes at Athaer, before raising his own wing in willingness to enter battle.

"Then, let the challenge commence, and Terrinian be with you," the speaker announced.

The dragoness chuckled slightly at the mention of the name given to the element of fire. They had no idea how true that statement was. With a roaring cry, she launched herself forward, the fire that had been dancing around inside her exploding outwards, igniting her body in dangerous flames. Theleon matched her, his own fire scorching the ground below, turning ash and sand into molten rock.

As the two closed in on each other Athaer reached out to the fire shrouding her, picking at it with her mind, expanding it. The fire responded willingly. With the ease of flapping her wing, it leaped out from her body like an extended hand, slamming against the charging fire drake. A roar of pain escaped him as he was thrown back against the ground, winded and coughing.

Athaer didn't relent, launching into the air with a flap of her wings. The fire gathered around Theleon, and he cried out again as it launched him into the air, barely able to protect himself from the onslaught with his own flames. He flipped several times, before catching himself by the wing, snarling angrily.

Another pillar of flame struck at him, moving as if it were alive. With a roar the king connected with his own fire, forcing it out of himself as it gathered in front of him, blocking the attack with a great explosion. It gave him a moment of respite, in which he calmed himself, looking for the dragoness that challenged him.

Athaer allowed him the moment, gathering her flames around her and expanding them. They boiled around her, writhing and roaring as she held them back, waiting in anticipation for her to launch them forward again and engulf the dragon that dared face them. Theleon had recovered, mostly, and was watching with wide eyes as the firestorm behind her grew. No dragon should be able to maintain such a flame, not for long, yet her easy wingbeats and subtle smirk showed no strain in doing so.

With a roar the king launched himself forward, flinging his own fire in a direct line toward the center of the storm. It was a powerful attack, with the heat to melt iron to liquid in an instant. It was a bright yellow, nearly white flame, and even the dragons watching nearest to them, several hundred dragon lengths away, shrunk back in pain. Athaer snorted, the fire around her reaching forward like a mother protecting her hatchling with a wing. The opposing flames clashed sending another echoing explosion throughout the arena.

Athaer was now surrounded on all sides by her fire, the roiling firestorm sending waves of heat cascading throughout the arena. She closed her eyes, relishing in the power she wielded, the power she had held back all this time. She could feel the fire moving around her, reacting to her every thought and every will, reacting as easily as her wings and tail. It was a part of her. It was her, and she was it.

Tendrils of flames spiraled out toward Theleon as he tried to puncture the wall of flames with his own attacks to no avail. Realizing his predicament, he back winged, using his own fire to accelerate away with a short explosion, narrowly dodging the lashing burning tentacles that chased after him. He needed only a good couple of seconds before he would be able to match the unrelinquished power of the dragoness.

He landed with a huff at the far edge of the stadium, breathing heavily as he watched the small sun open, revealing the dragoness flying inside. He could just make out the small smile on her mouth, the flashing sharp teeth as she laughed at his hopelessness. It awoke a rage inside him. Never had he felt so disrespected, so challenged. She was toying with him, allowing him the short moments of respite that he needed to stay in the fight. Well, he would show her. Even her power could not hope to match that of the pinnacle of a dragon's strength.

With a snarl he reached for that strength, a deep well that resided within every dragon but only a few were able to access. It was a well of seemingly unlimited power. The perfect state. The perfect balance between element and mind. An equilibrium of fire and consciousness. The power of this equilibrium flooded him, coursing through him like an erupting volcano. Tremors of this power could be felt all over the arena. Reality itself bent and crackled around the fire drake as he pulled forth the reserves of this strength, turning all his attention toward his foe.

Athaer watched from within her firestorm, feeling the waves of power the echoed across the arena. She had this power too, of course. If she didn't she would have never been able to grow to where she was now. She never liked to use it however, as the repercussions for doing so always left her feeling as weak and useless as she once had been. Not that she needed to access this power. No, she had all that she needed right where she was.

Theleon suddenly exploded into flames. Gone was his flesh and blood, his wings and claws. All that was left was fire. It was a fire that moved with a mind of its own, rushing toward her and expanding into its own powerful firestorm that rivaled her own. She felt the strain as the two opposing flames clashed together with a thunderclap that echoed throughout the arena. The spectators watched with wide eyes, transfixed by the wonderful and deadly phenomenon.

The equilibrium surrounded her, pressing at her slowly shrinking ball of fire from all sides. It was all she could see, the power of it all she could feel. Her own flames struggled and fought with increasing desperation. The shield she had put around herself was growing weaker and weaker. A snarl escaped her, and her eyes narrowed as she worked the fire around her to greater strength, greater power. It wouldn't hold against the still growing equilibrium. Not for long.

So, she changed tactic, her flames reacting to her will. The outer barrier still held, but the inner storm curled tighter around her, gathering into smaller more concentrated balls of flame. Once she felt ready, the balls launched outward, spreading out into deadly spears, piercing into the equilibrium surrounding her. They dug in, separating the enemy from itself, penetrating through the unbreakable power of equilibrium.

She felt the wain in strength from her enemy. The surprise and shock of being ripped apart from the inside sending ripples of confusion through the enemy flames. The tendrils she had sent out continued, her concentration and control over her flames allowing her to send them further and further. In the end, they were simply extensions of herself, as good as her own flesh and blood. They curled and ripped through the equilibrium like a tail through water, forcing the equilibrium to focus more energy into repairing itself over and over again.

The battle continued this way for several long minutes, Athaer feeling the strain against her flames as if it were her own body. Her own energy was waning, and the concentration required to keep both her attacking and defensive flames strong was beginning to show. Her mouth was drawn back in a snarl. Her wings were getting tired, and the ball of fire protecting her continued to get smaller and smaller.

But Theleon was growing weaker as well. Each pass of Athaer's flames cut weaves into the power he governed, stopping his momentum for just a moment. The flames didn't hurt, but he could feel the effects on his equilibrium. Each attack lessened his power inch by inch as he poured more attention into breaking the fire shield of the dragoness.

Athaer knew she couldn't last much longer, so she changed tactics. She pulled back her tendrils of fire, back into the protective circle she had made, infusing their power with the shield. She narrowed her eyes, the fire dancing with her will as it began to rotate, as though it was caught in a tornado. The rotation fed into its energy, the fire becoming hotter and stronger with the momentum. The flaming tornado ripped at the attacking equilibrium, causing it to draw back, just for a moment.

It was all that Athaer needed, as with a roaring cry she pushed her fire outwards, transferring the momentum into a massive explosion that broke Theleon's equilibrium apart. The earth rumbled. The sky crackled. The smoggy clouds in the sky were separated by the sudden release of power. The dragons watching yelped, some getting singed by the attack as they were thrown back into the steps they occupied.

The firestorm of both combatants dissipated. The commanding presence of equilibrium shuddered, before disappearing altogether. The remnants of Theleon's flames imploded on each other, forming back together, before disappearing leaving a barely conscious fire dragon laying on the ashen field, breathing heavily.

Athaer felt her breath coming in ragged gasps as well. She looked down upon Theleon with a growl, pulling in her wings to drop into a short dive to the ground. She landed with a soft thud, the ash around her feet forming a small cloud at the impact. For a moment she simply stared at the defeated fire drake as he shuddered and groaned, before opening his eyes.

"How... how are you so strong? It shouldn't be possible... it shouldn't be achievable," he muttered.

"Yet here I am," she growled.

"Who are you, Athaer, to command such power?" he looked at her, struggling weakly to his feet, "Why, before this day, have you never shown yourself?"

"Who am I?" the dragoness snorted, "I am one you cast out, so long ago. The one you cast out because you thought I was weak, that I was useless, simply because I didn't have any connection to the fire of our nation. You probably don't remember, you've done the same to so many others."

The fire king froze at those words, staring at her with a newfound fear, "You... you were one of the fire starved?"

"No longer," she smirked, before opening her mouth and shooting forward a short flame.

It curled toward the king, almost transparent. He didn't even react. The fire entered his nostrils, burning through his body. He let out a scream as the flame spread through his veins, boiling his blood and scorching his flesh. He fell to the ground, writhing like a snake caught in talons. He screamed and screamed, and screamed before the flames erupted from his eye sockets and hearing glands. His body went still, and ever so slowly began falling to ash, joining the ground below.

Athaer watched with a small smile. There was no remorse in her heart, no shame. There was only triumph. A sense of psychotic victory. It made her tail shiver and the fire inside her dance with glee. With a simple turn, she looked toward the rest of her kin. They were all silent, watching her with awe and fear. The dragon took a single step forward, opening her maw and letting out a roar that echoed from one side of the arena to the other. It was a roar of victory. A roar of challenge. A roar of power. The dragons flinched, then, one by one, they bowed their heads to the new queen of fire. 

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

So everyone here is the first story from the second age. I hope you all enjoyed it. Tell me what you think, give me your theories. Everything. I want to hear it all. The next short story will be out next week, and is called 'The Conclave of Spirits', so look forward to it. I am XD. See Ya!

Pennator^^