WARNING: GRAPHIC SCENES AHEAD. IF YOU'RE A LITTLE SQUEAMISH, YOU MAY NOT LIKE THE BEGINNING OF THIS STORY

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All-consuming pain. That was all Shade was aware of. It ran down his back in red hot waves. It blinded him, deafened him, drowned him, blocking all other senses, all other thoughts. It punctured deep into his body, agonizing his soul and mind. He couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't breathe. All that escaped was a low moan as his body tried to release the pain through sound. He was stuck in an endless array of agony, where the outside world no longer existed. An eternity seemed to pass before the pain started to dwindle.

Shade's senses slowly cleared. The first thing he noticed was the scent of burnt flesh and sulfur. It seared his nostrils, causing his stomach to gurgle in repulsion. Light slowly broke through the red haze of pain. A black and white snout inches from his face blurred into vision. As his sight returned he was frozen by what was before him, eyes wide in horror. Next to him lay the remains of a shadow dragon, its black scales having been melted through flesh, charcoal, and deformed instead of the glorious starlight darkness that they usually held. But what really held Shade's vision was the white bone of the dragon's skull protruding from what was left of its face, still attached to the vertebrae through dried and burnt tendons that were barely holding together.

Shade stared at the dragon for but a moment, before letting out a gagging cough, his stomach not able to hold the combined sight and smell of the horrors around him. He closed his eyes, forcing his legs to move as he struggled into a sitting position, sending all new agony rolling through his back and wings. He ignored it, desperate to get away from the dead dragon. A slight resistance in his right wing cause him to panic, and without thinking he pulled away from the resistance. A tearing rip followed, and a cry escaped his mouth as he staggered, falling to the ground, nearly blacking out for the second time.

He lay where he was for several minutes, gasping for air, trying to breathe through his mouth as to not catch the scent of the burnt dragon again. As he slowly recovered he forced himself to look down at his own body, frightened by what he would see. Much as he suspected, the scales along his back had been melted into his own flesh, ashen and deformed. The black scales running along his legs and underbelly seemed to be fine, or at the very least they weren't the cause of his pain, but as he looked over his wing he let out a pitiful whimper.

The actual limb was still there, stretching out from his back, along with the small blade at the elbow of the wing, but the leathery flesh that allowed a dragon to catch the wind and fly was nearly all gone. There was a bit left toward the very end of the wing, and the beginning where it joined with his body. One of the skeletal fingers of the wing was still intact though, but none of the skin covered it. All that was left of the other two fingers were bony stumps that looked as though they had been melted through. The drake gulped, forcing himself to remain calm as he looked at his other wing. His left wing hadn't suffered nearly as bad, though had several holes burned into it.

Shade forced himself to remain calm as he finally took in his surroundings. He was in a cave... or what was left of one. The lips of the cave were pealed backward, leaving the exit wide open. Throughout the cave were puddles of what had once been molten rock that still radiated a stifling heat. A small pond that had once been filled with water now lay barren and dry at the back of the cave. The walls had taken on an abstract distortion, stalactites dripping from the roof like icicles. It also seemed lower than he remembered. The sun overhead shone directly into the cave, its light illuminating everything.

As he looked around he found a large deformed mess of rock where he had been laying previously. Around the edges of the rock were leathery tufts of skin that took him a moment to recognise as the remains of his wing. His stomach twisted uncomfortably at the thought. He felt sick. The pain, the smell, his surroundings, it all combined into one overwhelming sensation that stuck in the pack of his throat, threatening to come up from his stomach. He coughed again, that acidic sour sting flowing through his senses. But nothing came up.

There were more bodies in the cave... or what was left of them. Bits of flesh clung to bone here and there, but all that was really left were skeletons of the dragons that had once inhabited the cave. Any flesh had been vaporized, besides his own and most of the dragon that had been killed in front of him. They were at the very back of the cave, however, where whatever had attacked them would most likely not have reached.

As Shade's more rational thought process began to kick in his took another look at the still mostly whole corpse, a dread suddenly flooding him.

"Mum," he whispered, as he took a scathing step forward, the burnt scales digging into his back and cracking from the movement forward.

Now that he had recognised the dead dragoness, the other skeletons suddenly became much more recognisable. The two smaller ones were his sisters, and the larger one close to the entrance and devoid entirely of any flesh was his father. A new feeling welled up within him, a different ache that swept through his entire body, centred around his heart. A whimper escaped him, but no tears came. His body had been nearly dried out by the attack.

"Mum," he said again, knowing that she was dead but hoping for the opposite.

He fell beside her, whimpering and sobbing uncontrollably, the smell and view of her half-incinerated neck and visible skull no longer bothering him. Still, no tears came, but every sob caused his body to shudder, which forced a new spike of pain throughout his back. He didn't move for countless hours, not able to do so. Not until the sun slowly began to sink into the horizon. He had stopped crying now, in too much physical pain to attempt it.

"Agon!" a voice suddenly called out loud, "Have you checked this cave yet?"

"No!" the response came back, "Go ahead."

Shade froze as he heard the clicking of claws against stone echo as a dragon entered the cave. He glanced at the entrance, his heart thumping through his chest as he recognised he saw a dragon with creamy yellow scales with orange lined patterns. The flimsy wings were held at his side, and his head was down as he studied the skeleton of Shade's father.

The shadow drake lowered his head again, his breathing coming rapidly. They were looking for survivors. But did that mean they wanted to help him... or were they looking to kill those who survived? As the dragon approached Shade forced himself to hold his breath, curling up against his mother's side to show the burnt scales running down his back and his incarcerated right wing, hoping beyond all hope that it looked as though he were dead.

The sound of the light dragon's claws scraped behind Shade, the young dragon closing his eyes.

"Yeesh... Lumiane's equilibrium is a harsh thing," the light dragon muttered to himself.

Seeming to be satisfied with his inspection, he retreated from the cave, leaving the young shadow dragon to himself once again. Another sob escaped him as he recalled the events that had transpired to leave him like this. A flash of bright light and a searing power that had ripped apart the cave. There was nothing that could escape it. It had been too fast, too powerful.

But how had the attack happened? Shade recalled his father talking about how the fighting had been miles away. Had they lost? Did the light dragons somehow sneak past their line and attack from behind, killing all the non-combatants in the process? Or did the combined forces of fire, light, lightning, and chaos overwhelm them? Shade gritted his teeth. It was all too much. He was only seven years old, his hatchday having just passed.

But as he looked at the corpse of his mother, a sight that would be burned into his eyesight for the rest of time, a realisation hit him. He couldn't stay here. If he did he would either be found, or he would die from starvation. But with his back so injured and his wings useless he wouldn't be able to make it far. With a soft grunt, he raised his head again, looking outside. The sun was setting now, hues of blood orange colouring the sky. When night set, it would give him a chance. Night was when shadow dragons were strongest after all.

With a grunt the dragon got to his feet, forcing his body to move past the pain and the several small cracks that sounded from the broken scales along his back. He felt a trickle of blood run down his flank as the scales dug into burnt flesh. A gasp escaped him, the pain freezing him in his tracks. He waited until it passed, before taking another step forward. Another shock of pain. Another minute spent with his muscles seizing and his mouth forced closed with desperate whimpers. But as he moved more, the more his body and mind got accustomed to the pain. He doubted he would be able to walk properly, but it would be enough to get out of there.

As night fell Shade felt the pull of the shadows around him. They cleared his mind and soothed his body, and he reached out for them. A small smile found his snout. He had always been good at drawing the shadows. Feeling ready for the task at hand, he looked back at his cave, his home. His heart still ached, but his crying had stopped. He would mourn later when he was free to do so. He needed to be strong now, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to escape.

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he limped toward the exit of the cave. His body screamed in protest, but he was able to ignore the pain, at least for the moment. As he looked over what had once been his home he growled softly. The beautiful lush forests had all been turned to ash, as burnt and deformed as he was. The mountains surrounding them weren't much better, now lopsided and ugly. The river that had once flowed through the valley had evaporated, dashing the young dragon's hope of a drink of water to soothe his throat and burns.

In the dying light, he could see dragons flying in the sky. Mixtures of red and yellow, and he even spotted the emerald green of a life dragon. As the sun disappeared he was unable to see so far, but he could hear their wingbeats. They knew that if a shadow dragon was still alive, this would be when they would make their move. Taking a couple of deep breaths Shade drew the shadows in around him, and with a single step disappeared into them.

The shadow realm was always one of Shade's favourite places. It allowed him to view the world from a completely different angle, move in a completely different way. The shadows pulled him along through the darkness, meaning he didn't have to put weight into his steps, lessening the pain. At night, the shadow realm seemed endless, stretching as far as the eye could see. The ashen trees took on dark and grisly shapes, warping and moving in the darkness. The bodies of other dragons could be seen as well, dark shapes flying high in the sky, even though one could not fly while in the shadow realm.

It was possible to break it. Shade knew that if he came too close to another dragon, they would likely see his outline in the shadows, or if a light dragon happened to brighten the area around them the realm would be broken, forcing it to spit Shade out. It also took a fair amount of concentration and energy to remain in the shadow realm. If he lost it for a moment, he could be seen. But he only needed to last until he made it out of the valley. There he felt as though he could escape without any repercussions.

Taking a couple of deep breaths, concentrating on his path, the young dragon began to move, letting the shadows guide him forward. He moved slowly, carefully. He knew where he was going, and though the strain of the shadow realm could be felt slowly degrading him, he knew that if he hurried it would only make his discovery that much more likely. So he took his time, acting as though the dragons would be able to see him if he stepped into the line of sight. He hid behind the trees, sneaking along with practiced skill.

A small part of his subconscious found this action almost amusing. It reminded him of a game his friends and him played nearly all the time. Sneaking past each other, trying to see who had the best eyesight to catch them, who noticed the shift in the shadows as one tried to sneak past the other. Amusement quickly dissipated into sorrow when the drake realised he would never be able to play that game again.

He growled mentally at himself, 'No, don't think like that. I can't be the only survivor of this massacre.'

Using that anger to refocus himself he continued through the shadowy forest. There were places in which massive holes were left in the shadow realm. Shade couldn't see into them, but he knew what they were. Light dragons had the ability to make their bodies light up like the sun, and by doing this they were able to chase away the shadows around them. Shade knew that if he entered one of these pockets he would find himself face to face with a light dragon. The other energy species were also able to provide light from their own elements which could fracture the shadow realm, but none as potent as light dragons.

Using this knowledge, he skirted through the forest, dodging past the patrols, destination, and goal in mind. The strain was beginning to become noticeable now. His breaths were becoming more ragged, and the pain in his body growing more intense. It was making it difficult to focus on keeping the shadows comfortably around him. He wouldn't be able to last much longer at this rate.

He was so focused on his task that he nearly missed the enclosing blob of light that moved toward him. He let out a mental yelp of surprise, quickly staggering away from it, nearly breaking his concentration. The light stopped, however, then rapidly began moving away from him. In fact, it seemed that all the areas of light around him were moving away, converging on something in the distance. A breath of relief escaped the young dragon, and after making sure no dragons were around him, he allowed the shadows to escape his grasp, bringing him back to the real world.

He nearly wished he hadn't as a scream echoed through the valley. There were several blasts of light a couple of hundred dragon lengths away, followed by a roar of pain. Shade looked wide eyes and the black scales of a shadow dragon were illuminated by the battle. The roars and screams shook the very air, but it was over quickly. One shadow dragon could not defeat an entire army. A blinding beam of red chaos energy struck it in the chest, not killing it, but disabling it long enough for a light dragon's beam to cut through it and kill it.

Shade shivered involuntarily as the shadow dragon's dying scream echoed once again. They were killing every shadow dragon they came across. Shade gulped, beginning to hurry toward the exit of the valley as fast as his broken body would allow him. He managed to call upon the shadows once again as he made his way through, hiding from the sentries that occupied the pass and escaping out into the wilderness, where the trees were green again.

Shade held onto the shadow realm for as long as he could, before letting it fall away. Once he was back in the real world he felt the cool wind brush over his burnt back, sending a stinging relief running through him. He staggered onward, determined to place just one foot in front of the other, wanting to get as far away from the horrors of his home as possible. Now that he was safe, the adrenaline of the escape was beginning to wear off, leaving him exhausted, hungry, and thirsty. His entire body felt as though it were burning up again, but this time from the inside.

He walked for hours like this, blood running in rivets down his back as the burnt scales dug into his skin, breaking and cracking with every step. His vision began to swim once again, and it felt as though the very earth below him was beginning to move. Another step and the energy from his legs seemed to disappear from him, and he collapsed with a groan. It was all too much. The pain, the sickness, the exhaustion, it was all breaking through to him.

His vision was blurred, but he noticed he was at the very edge of the forest, looking out over a field of green. He felt himself smile slightly. The field reminded him of the green back home. The green that the valley used to have. Darkness began to descend onto him, but he thought he heard voices. A cry for help and the thumping of talons around his head. The last thing he thought he saw was light green scales nudging against his snout. 

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Hello everyone! The next story is here for you. I hope you enjoyed or were at least entranced by it. What do you think of Shade, and what do you think happened to his home, and more importantly, why do you think it happened. The next story will be out around this time next week. This time you get to choose out of the next five stories.

The Element Sage: Ruban, water drake - 11Yrs BTA

Mother of Dragons: Anastasia, human woman - 30Yrs BTA

Living Mountains: Aerial, wind dragoness - 39Yrs BTA

Blinding Light: Kibre, Light drake - 21Yrs BTA

The Council of Species: Opallio, Crystal Dragoness - 41Yrs BTA

So make sure to tell me which one you want next. And I will see you next week.

Pennator^^