Hawkins would have fallen out of his chair if he had one.

“The Night Force?” he repeated, as if not able to hear the acutely pronouncing dragon the first time.

“Yes. The grimoire has the mark of their clan.”

Odi seemed undeterred by Hawkins reaction as if he had merely been startled by something a simple as the weather. It was unheard of.

“You’re sure it’s that? Absolutely? 100%?” Hawkins said, rapidly trying to go through all the possibilities in his head.

“It is quite a likely assumption considering black is their colour after all.” Odi said, her mouth twitching upwards at her own joke.

Hawkins wasn’t in the mood for jokes. Any Mediator who was worth their grimoire in Trait knew of the Night Force. He could feel his hands shake in fear at the thought of such a revelation but he couldn’t help but see how the facts fit together. There were seven main continents in Para Dormus, each had their own defenses and clans who had their own coat of arms, a sigil which recognised them as part of that clan.

Not one of them dared to use black.

Black was unchangeable, all consuming and held a deadly reminder that no one was safe from the demons of Hellgrind. If anyone knew a Night Force grimoire had just arrived on his doorstep, there would be an outright war to get their hands on it. No wonder the Swarm had gone after him in Axis twice already. They wanted it to do what thugs and thieves did best, take their revenge on those who oppressed them with a grimoire no one could defy.

Hawkins took a deep breath, attempting to break the overwhelming silence as Hack sat nearby, his impassive gaze settling on the hoarding dragon lazily flicking through reams of books, some bigger than her foreclaw.

“Can you show me the grimoire?” He said at last. “I couldn’t unlock it on my own. Wisp managed to convince it...but I was useless.”

Odi smiled wordlessly and stood up, inviting him over with a flick of her tail. He couldn’t help but admire her interlocking scales which shuffled together with every graceful move of her neck like the waves of a vast, dark river.

Bookshelves slid out of the way to reveal a much larger section winding its way to a dreary workshop. Hack stayed put, unabashed by the discovery as he nursed his leg on a nearby stack of medicinal ledgers, unaware of the sheer irony.

Odi’s workshop was precariously placed thing, as if constantly spinning on its axis, sectioned out by various sliding openings like bridges leading ships to water.  It matched any shape she wished, books and leaves of pages scattered across worktops and floor panels like falling leaves in the sunset. There, lying in the centre of the wobbly table relevelled by age old tomes and enough dust to make its own city was the reason for all this chaos.

The black grimoire.

“Took me a little while to figure this beauty out but I did have some help.” Odi explained, nudging the dividing door closed.

A series of scuttles, squeaks and loud swearing indicated there was something else here other than books. Odi paid no mind, opening the drawer with her tail and began placing a variety of brightly coloured crystals onto the collapsing leather cover.

“Normally, I’d use my Trait for this bit but since Hack told me you already tried that I don’t think it’ll work with mine.” she said, absentmindedly but her eyes said differently.

“Yours?” Hawkins said, mystified at how a lone dragon without a partner could use Trait so easily.

Odi ignored the surprise in his voice as her attention suddenly turned to the nearby set of shelves. She began to root around aimlessly with her claws before fishing out a ragged looking pair of earmuffs and an ancient pair of eyeglasses that looked older than Hack.

“Here. Put these on. I know you’re used to the smoke but my flame may be a little different than what you’re used to.”

“How can it be any different than-”

“Step back, please.” Odi told him quickly, not wanting to waste any more time.

Hawkins jolted awake at the sudden commanding tone, strapped on the equipment as quickly as he could and took a large step back. In a rush of power, Odi’s maw erupted into a jet of flame as she blasted the blindingly powerful dark inferno onto the grimoire. He had to fight to stop himself from lunging to protect the grimoire as he watched it burn away at the seams.

Hawkins couldn’t help but wince. It was the equivalent of burning someone alive. The grimoire connected the Trait to the person no matter what type or element. Odi had reassured him that even if there was someone who owned the grimoire, they would not be harmed by her examination no matter how harsh it seemed. Hawkins still watched between half lidded eyes as the fire began to dim, blinking as the traces of smoke were now vaporised by his Trait as if nothing had happened. Odi stood back, proud of her work as the grimoire emerged from the gloom, shrouded in a perfect seam of leather binding fit for any Traited.

“Wow. I’ve never seen a grimoire needing dragon fire before.”

Odi grinned, smoke drifting from her nostrils reminding Hawkins of a blacksmith who had just forged their first sword.

“Of course not. This is no ordinary grimoire.”

She nudged the book with her snout lovingly as it let off a spark of black electricity which made her chuckle. The insignia of the Night Force was unmistakable. Carved into the flames itself was a continuous outline of a dragon enraptured by the night sky, its claws outstretched towards the horizon, silent but menacing as if nothing could compare to the might and majesty of the night.

Hawkins couldn’t help but feel drawn to it. Inching closer his felt the burning heat of the grimoire against his palm, aching to feel the weight in his hands just once before-

“Hell’s teeth!”

A familiar voice awoke him from his daze as Hack attempted to make his way through the dividing doors without interrupting them. The access may have been granted but it hadn’t stopped Hack’s curse from acting up before he could announce his intentions for being there.

“Ruddy leg!” Hack cried out in pain.

The Sand Wraith was barely able to touch his feet let alone being able to lean against the immaculately clean shelves without keeling over. Odi noticed the sudden distress straightaway as she flung herself over to catch him while Hawkins flailed about, attempting to locate a chair. Dragging a nearby work stool over, he ignored the toppling of books as Odi gently lowered the aging Hack into the chair before finally turning her attention back to the still sparking grimoire.

“Odi! You might wanna come over here, quickly!”

The dragon let go of Hack at once, her eyes narrowing in disdain towards the thought of someone ruining her hard work. Dragons were not one to share their accomplishments, especially if they were sabotaged by someone other than themselves.

“Move away. Now.”

Hawkins backed away like a scared rabbit caught between the gaze of a fox as the deadly Scale Shrieker slinked by. Her scales rattled like chainmail as they stood on end, awaiting to pierce through any idiot who harmed an inch of such a priceless artifact. The black grimoire sat grimly on the worktop, no longer sparking with its usual vigor but instead was clamped together by a coil of chains, bound by a large silver lock tougher than anything the dragon had ever seen.

“What did you do?” Odi said, her voice low as she stared at the two gentlemen who were watching her warily.

“Nothing, I swear! I just went over to check if it was OK after the forging and I saw it was like that!” Hawkins said, trying to convince the angry dragon.

Hack snorted in derision.

“Yeah, right. You’ve wanted to put your greedy fingers on an Abnormal ever since you studied grimoires as a kid.”

Hawkins glared at him from the other side of the room, crossing his arms in an attempt to bite back a reply.

“At least...I have fingers!”

Hack rolled his eyes at Hawkins feeble attempt at a retort, his scales changing colour from purple to black, reminding Hawkins of a two legged Scale Shrieker.

“Now do you see why you should’ve sent it here sooner? Could’ve caused us a lot less trouble bringing it to an expert like Odi as soon as you got it.”

Just as Hawkins was about to speak up and defend himself, Odi let out a loud sigh of discontempt. One by one, the signs of her anger soon subsided as her scales flattened into the familiar aligning crisscross pattern the Scale Shriekers were known for.

“Hack, we need to figure out what in Hell’s great, gaping gnashers is wrong with this grimoire. Blaming Hawkins won’t help the situation.”

Hawkins mouth twitched as he realised where the Sand Wraith had gotten his precious swearing skills from.

“As for you, Hawkins. My kind may not be able to detect lies as well as some but I know a poor bluff when I see it. You are my client, I’d appreciate it if you trusted me.”

The Mediator jolted awake, bashfully scratching his hair before muttering an illegible apology quicker than a Fleetfoot dragon. Hack grumbled a blunt ‘sorry’ just as rapid as his companion had done, grateful for the dragon’s heightened hearing. Odi, huffed before turning her attention to the now imprisoned grimoire, trapped in chains of its own making.

“I know it’s hard but both of you, please try not to use your Trait for a few moments. I need to find out what’s wrong with it. Without trying to explode it.”

They nodded in gruffly in response, tired of waiting as the small wisps of smoke and earth between their fingertips slowly dissipated as they held their breath. It took a lot of effort to suppress their Trait completely, some had a lot whereas others struggled to control such an unruly power without summoning their grimoire by accident. Both Hack and Hawkins had their differences but they both couldn’t deny how difficult it was to hide their Trait.

Hawkins had his grimoire hidden in his duster coat while Hack managed to keep his grimoire hidden by having it mimic the colour of his scales. Satisfied with the result, Odi unsheathed her claws one by one and brought them towards the lock, choosing the most convenient one to slide into the rusted metal and attempt to pry the unpredictable grimoire open.

The grimoire let out an angry blast of black electricity, sending the dragon flying into the nearby shelves, toppling books everywhere as they crunched under her decreasing weight.

“Odi!” Hawkins cried out, rushing towards the dragon who was now no larger than his arm.

“I’m alright. Managed to lessen my weight before the fall. Size or not, we dragon’s know how to deal with an overzealous grimoire.”

The dragons grunts of frustration were more than enough to send a rush of relief through Hawkins spine despite Hack’s roars of laughter at such a sight.

“Ha! So much for an expert, Odiphilis! Looks like IT exploded YOU.”

Odi snarled at the use of her full name, deciding whether or not to fling a book at his head but decided she cared for the books a lot more than she did a crude Sand Wraith.

“You have a go then.” she huffed, her nostrils flaring in annoyance.

Hack rolled his eyes, flexing his arms as he gripped the wall tight, attempting to hoist himself up on his own. Letting out a series of expletives too harsh for words, Hack hobbled over to the grimoire, leering over it as he ran a hand over his scales in frustration before rubbing his hands together. His claws clacked together one by one as if he were rolling an imaginary ball in his hands. Uncovering his hands he picked up the small pebble in a single claw and flicked it into the lock like a pachinko machine, taking a few stumbling steps backward just in case.

Hawkins stared in disbelief as the teeny piece of smoothed rock settled in the lock for a good minute. He almost thought the old bugger had done it before the pebble pinged out at a tremendous speed and slammed into the ceiling, causing a large dent in the plaster above. There was a stunned silence between the three of them before the Sand Wraith plodded forwards again, staring up at the ceiling for a moment before choosing his words carefully.

“Yup. That’s not normal.”

Odi burst into laughter as Hawkins gave him a rare smile, hands no longer folded as he rifled around in his pockets for his lighter. Hack growled, not as bad tempered as before since he too couldn’t help but chuckle at the overly exaggerated head bobs of a laughing dragon.

“Now who’s stating the obvious, Sand Wraith.” Odi said, coughing loudly despite her laughter.

The Scale Shrieker dragon shook herself down, her scales shaking together like the wet furs of a dog. She tentatively moved towards the grimoire, as Hack stepped aside bashfully yet still cautious over the black books unpredictable nature. Odi saw his eyes drifting towards Hawkins ever so slightly as the Mediator began fiddling with his lighter, attempting to light a cigarette despite his shaking hands.

Eventually the grimoire had had enough, sparking erratically as Hawkins jumped in surprise, the cigarette lighting as soon as he did. Odi kept her beady eyes on the exchange, slinking slowly towards her desk as she lessened in size and watched as the smoke drifted harmlessly towards the grimoire.

“This grimoire has been Bound by a Lockbind contract. Recently.” Odi said quietly, bounding onto the desk as the grimoire began to float, mesmerised by the silver streams of Trait.

Odi gave the Smoke Trait a quick swat with her claws as the grimoire dropped like a stone back onto the desk, its chains reforming and clattering onto the desk as they wound around the book ever tighter. The dragon jumped back onto the ground, returning to her more familiar size, a little dazed by the sudden revelation.

“It reacts to your Trait, Hawkins.”

Hawkins mouth dropped open as the cigarette he was holding slipped from his mouth. In a vain attempt to catch it, his hands skimmed past it, the tip of the butt burning his skin as he sweared, finally able to catch it, extinguish it and stuffs it back into his pockets.

“That could mean that your Trait may be similar to the one who Bound it in the first place.” Odi mused aloud, pacing back and forth as her claws skittered along the hard, wooden floors.

“That’s impossible.” he said at last, trying to look serious despite the situation that had just occurred.

Hack wasn’t entirely convinced, putting all his weight on the bookshelves as he rested his rotten husk of a leg on a series of ledgers.

“But when he tried to open it, it plays dead or doesn’t accept the Trait at all.”

Odi grumbled, getting frustrated by the infernally interchanging grimoire. It was almost as if it could hear how far fetched their conversation was becoming. First the Night Force, then the Lockbind and now this? Having the same two Trait Cores of Fire and Air wasn't uncommon. But...it was almost like these grimoires were related in some way? A previous owner or sucessor? A copy? Perhaps it belonged to those who had such a grimoire Lockbound in the first place? Whatever it was, Odi didn't like it.

“You know how rare grimoires like that are, Odi. Differentiating it from it’s Core Trait is like asking an ice dragon to breathe fire. It just doesn’t happen.” Hawkins said with finality, clicking the cap on his lighter closed.

Odi shook her head, knowing full well of the half lies he spoke. He was scared. He did not want anyone else to possess a similar Trait, a similar burden of control or be controlled by a power that was meant to be his own yet not natural to those who followed the law of Six Cores. Seven, if you truly knew the ways of the world.

Fire. Lightning. Water. Earth. Air. Light.

For those Traited who existed outside the spectrum had no need to use their grimoires within such simplistic terms. They could adapt, change their Trait to suit their own conditions and that itself made them unique. Abnormal. For what was a Shadow Trait but the absence of light? Once a Core Trait, now nothing more than a myth. No dragon could change what a grimoire was meant to contain within their pages but it could guide them towards a path previously unseen. Even by the Traited themselves.

“But it happened to you and it has happened to others. You need look no further than any previous Night Force members to see that.”

Hawkins kept his hands in his pockets, shuffling angrily as his feet scuffed the marks on the lacquered floor.

“She has a point, boyo. I knew an Earth Traited in the field whose Trait was like clay or mud. It was flexible and thanks to the terrain it could adapt to anythin’.” Hack said, marvelling at the memory of such a versatile Trait.

Hawkins raised an eyebrow in disbelief, unconvinced by the senile Sand Wraith.

But if you asked ‘em to fling a rock they couldn’t do it without a Water Traited nearby.”

Hawkins huffed, not entirely on board with such a Trait requiring another for support with such a large drawback. His Trait wasn’t like that. He didn’t need a Fire or an Air Traited to make his grimoire work. He did it all on his own, with or without Wisp.

“Even if it was possible, there’s no way any Night Force members could have Bound it so quickly. Odi only got it a few days ago and I doubt they could break in unnoticed into a Shriekers lair.” Hawkins said, folding his arm in defiance.

“Anything is possible after seeing this grimoire. For all we know it could’ve teleported here and back and I’d be none the wiser.”

Hawkins said nothing, the cogs in his brain whirring as Hack struggled to follow the debate, resorting instead to picking the dust out of his claws. It wasn’t that the Mediator didn’t trust Odi’s judgement, it was the fact that all of these revelations were coming together too fast to be more than just a coincidence.

To him, this felt like someone pulling the strings behind the scenes, like someone wanted him to go for help about a suspicious grimoire that just happened to end up on his doorstep. But he couldn’t admit that to them. He couldn’t allow himself to accept the possibility that one of them might be a spy.

“You sure about all this, Odi?” Hack said, breaking the silence at last.

Odi’s gaze snapped towards the Sand Wraith, his tail managing to reangle itself as he lowered himself back into the stool with a grunt of pain.

“I don’t wanna be messin’ with no Lockbind without knowing what I’m getting myself in for.”

Hawkins scoffed, rolling his eyes.

“Considering it’s connected to the Night Force, I don’t bloody blame you.”

Odi growled quietly, not appreciating the Mediators tone as Hack began removing some of the books behind him, tossing and turning with each grimace as the spines dug into his scales. Despite the pain, Hack seemed quite relaxed, as if he knew there was no use fretting over something they no longer understood or could open in the first place. He didn’t care either way, but she knew she couldn’t give up. Her kind was stubborn and judging from the hardened look in his eyes, Mediators were too.

“Bound grimoires tend to be quite finicky about revealing their secrets. You’d be lucky to get even one without affecting the curse. But I can try if you want?” Odi said, attempting to coax Hawkins to voice his thoughts once again.

The Mediator ran his hand through his hair, his eyes shut in concentration. After a moment, his eyes opened, full of determination yet his closed off stance suggested he was wary of the decision.

“It’s been hiding something ever since it arrived on our doorstep. Bound or not I say we open it. Together.”

Hack jumped up in surprise before his weight gave out and forced him back into the seat, whacking his head against the shelves above him. Books rained down on him from all directions, the Sand Wraith barely able to bring his claws up in time to shield himself but nonetheless fought to say his peace.

“And let whatever heathen of Traitkind is locked in there out? If you want a one way trip to Hellgrind be my guest! I’d rather not be cursed a second time!”

The grimoire let out an explosive burst of Trait which startled the three out of their wits, Hack gripping the edge of the bookshelf tightly. There was a crunch of steel grinding against steel as the three watched as the black book ominously floated towards them, settling in midair between the three.

“Don’t. Move.” the dragon breathed, her voice barely a whisper.

Then, as if a miracle had just occurred the lock disappeared from sight, flicking open its ragged pages to allow tentative entry for barely a moment. Silvery words burst onto the page in quick succession, barely able to be legible in such a crude scrawl but the words once spoken aloud soon shone against the frayed, bloodstained pages.

Hellgrind.

Trait.

Night Force.

Cursed.

Grimoire.

All words that had recently been spoken now strung together as a kind of code left only for those who could decipher it. A blast of silvery light echoed around the room as the grimoire left one last message onto the fading page. A name and a symbol etched in flame.

“What in Hells name-”

Odi interrupted the Sand Wraith at once, barely able to make sense of it herself.

“Did everyone see that? Did you all see the same thing, the same name?”

Hawkins barely understood her reasoning, miraculously still standing despite being blinded by the light.

“What does it matter if-?”

Odi roared angrily, causing even more books to shake out of their place.

“Tell me!”

Hack gulped, his purple scales now a pale lilac in colour.

“Rider. It said Rider.” he admitted, avoiding their gaze.

Hawkins nodded rapidly, still in shock before blurting out a reply.

“Y-yeah. I saw it too.”

Odi let out a wheezy breath, her scales tingling with worry, much like when she sensed a lie but she ignored it, still haunted by the words etched in her mind. All three of them were visibly shaken, every inch of Odi’s scales was standing on end as Hawkins was barely able to keep himself standing much longer as he slumped slowly to the floor, pale as the pages they had just glimpsed. A second was all it took for them to turn from a rebelliously confident group to a shuddering mess of limbs.

“It had some kind of image next to it. A sigil, I think.” Hack said wearily, breaking the tension as his scales attempted to return to its normal shade of violet.

“It was a phoenix.” Odi said at last, attempting to gather her thoughts and focus on what she did know. “A black phoenix.”

Hawkins skittered back at once right to the edge of the room as the grimoire lay eerily close to him, the gloom of the library casting shadows over them all.

“What does that even mean? I thought phoenixes were red or gold?”

It was as if the room was mimicking the Trait they now knew was contained within such a sinister grimoire. It was more than Shadow. It was pure, unrelenting rage.

“Do you think...resurrection?” Hack said, struggling to think straight.

Odi shook her head, her scales following suit.

“No. The black phoenix is a sign of death.”

Hawkins gasped, unable to say anything more.

“You mean-”

Hack stood up in shock before realising his injury and slammed back down onto the ground, muffling his cries of pain.

“Rider, the Captain of the Night Force...is dead.”

“She’s dead for sure?” Hawkins said, incredulously half in shock and in a crazed state of disbelief.

“Yes. There’s no doubt.” the she dragon said quietly, not wanting to disrespect the dead any further.

Odi tried to remain impassive as she watched as Hack’s scaled turned from a dark purple to a deep angry red, finally settling on the immovable darkness of black once again as he finally realised what Hawkins had but in an entirely different light. Whereas the Mediator was stuck in a perpetual state of euphoric disarray, Hack the Sand Wraith was in a state of morose, deciding to voice what they had all uncovered in a single, solemn moment.

“The grimoire wasn’t a curse. It was an obituary.”