Everyone watched in surprise as Kiyan reached out a tendril of energy and linked with Ray. Energy enveloped Ray and he began shining nearly as bright as Kiyan. Kendra and Theo tried to link with Kiyan even as the forms of Kiyan and Ray began to melt into flames. The energy being released was enormous, the likes of which only Theo and Kendra had ever witnessed. When the flames began to die down Corban, Theo and Kendra rushed into the inferno looking for Kiyan. To their surprise they were met with snarls from a large dragon. Scales that glittered like diamonds but were black as night covered the dragon stood over the glowing form of Kiyan. Corban began calming the flames and soon had them put out but the dragon remained over Kiyan preventing anyone from touching him.
They stopped trying when the dragon spoke. “He must not be disturbed until it has finished or the energy released could destroy us all.” The dragon thundered the warning.
“What dragon lord are you. I am not familiar with your colors. Theo asked impatiently.
“Father of dragons you of all people should know who I am, after all you created me or rather will. I am Ray, kayloo and protector to Kiyan, child of time.”
Theo wasn't prepared for a revelation of this magnitude. It was true he had taken the form of a dragon the first time and had revived Kendra when she was killed trying to protect him while hibernating. She had ceased to be human and changed into a dragon lord that could shift into a dragon. Over time there had been other humans that he had gifted with a dragon's voice. Some still walked earth and others were here on the joined worlds. But a kayloo being turned into a dragon? That had never happened before. They were shifters but had never been able to take the form of a dragon. He said I would change him? Kiyan! He must have reversed the flow of time again, that had to be it.
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Kiyan wasn't sure what had happened, the last few hours or minutes were a blur. Details made their way through the pounding that was in his head. There was an attack, his friends, they, something had happened to them. The memories began to clear up as the pounding abated. They were dead, all of them. He had tried to save them but it hadn't been enough. Ray was dead too, but he felt something in the corner of his mind, he felt another mind present. It was strangely familiar yet it was not recognizable at once.
“He is waking up.” The words sounded strange to Kiyan. Trying to open his eyes he looked into a sea of black, black that was as black as the night yet as bright as the sun. Trying to focus he moved his hand. Don't try to move yet young one. The strange mind spoke in his head. Kiyan knew who it was but couldn't place it. Ray! The realization broke on Kiyan like a cold wave. The pounding was nearly gone now and Kiyan was able to think clearly now. The mind he felt was definitely Ray but Ray was dead, how could this be. And the others, rage filled Kiyan as he remembered how his friends had died. Opening his eyes again all he saw was blinding light yet he felt everything around him with perfect detail. Blinded by his rage he felt but didn't recognize those present.
Letting his rage flow through him he stood up. Feeling the dragon step back from his path he advanced. He extended his mind until he could feel the planet, pausing when he felt all the people on the worlds going about their lives he realized the destruction hadn't come yet. His only thought was that he needed to stop the drakken from finding this place. Reaching out and feeling the whole nebula he searched the library of memories and learned all that was known about energy. Feeling the nebula was charged with energy unlike any he had felt before yet he knew how to bend it. Wrapping the flow of temporal energy back onto itself he created a barrier that separated space from time. Using the separation he divided space with a thought, the joined worlds were safe. Only the ascended could move through the time bridge that held the bubble of space connected with the universe. Kiyan felt all the minds of his ancestors helping with the feat, lending knowledge and strength.
Finishing his task Kiyan was overwhelmed by the waves of energy that assaulted him on all sides. Kiyan felt Kendra and Theo call. “Come back to us, you have much to learn and this war will be needing you.”
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Corban was not that surprised any more by Kiyan. He had accepted that Kiyan was special long ago. Ray was now a dragon, and Kiyan had somehow released a huge amount of energy. After waking up, Corban had felt the rage and sense of loss that Kiyan felt. Observing Kiyan's energy he watched as it shifted and changed. Upon Kiyan opening his eyes he say how much energy was still in Kiyan. A few more moments and Kiyan's physical form began to dissipate, shifting into pure energy. So that's how one ascends he thought to himself. Kiyan's energy began expanding until it was beyond Corban's senses. Looking around him he saw Theo and Kendra collapsing onto the ground.
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When Kiyan regained consciousness he was laying in Corban’s bed. The glowing had gone away and the room was only lit by a dim glow wood seedling in the corner. Sitting up he saw James sleeping in a chair nearby and Kiyan could sense Marisa nearby also. He could sense worried emotions coming from both of them. Trying to remember what had happened he racked his brain, it was useless. There was a blank spot in his memory. The last thing he could recall was being in some sort of fight. Perhaps it was a dream he reasoned to himself. Remembering glimpses of a devastated world he shook his head. Hearing footsteps approaching he looked up. The person that entered the room was wearing a hooded cloak and the light in the room wasn't enough to illuminate under the hood. Kiyan used the air to feel the person’s face. The features he felt were unfamiliar to him, scales covered the finely formed face and piercing black eyes looked back. Looking deep into the eyes Kiyan recognized Ray. When Ray lifted the hood Kiyan watched as the scales melted into his skin and Ray looked as human as anyone. He had a distinctive look about him but no one would ever think he was anything other than a human.
“But how? Why didn't you tell me you could take a human form?” Kiyan was confused, he thought he had known Ray but here was something that made no sense. There had never been a Kayloo that could take a human form. Humanoid yes but distinctive to their species.
“Young avatar, it was your father that sent back the energy to change me. He rewrote all my forms so I could better protect you in the future.” Ray whispered in Kiyan’s mind.
“You're awake finally Kiyan. We were worried about you.” James woke up and walked over to Ray. “Kendra told us what happened. Did you really come back from the future? From what I saw it seems pretty dangerous.”
Kiyan wasn't sure how to explain accept with the truth. “I watched as the drakken destroyed everything. They killed everything on the worlds, I had to come back to stop them.”
Kendra says that you protected the Refuge somehow. “I don’t know how you did that but it took a lot out of you. You have been sleeping for the last week.” Kiyan could sense James’ concern in his voice. “I’m glad you are ok.”
“Ha it would take a lot to hurt Kiyan now. He is ascended however it may take years before he learns to use his powers like the other ascended here. No one has ever ascended at so young of an age.” Ray Surprised Kiyan by speaking audibly.
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“Come the council is waiting.” Theo sent the message quietly.
The Council of the Allied Races had assembled by the time Kiyan arrived. Kiyan was feeling a little self-conscious when he saw how many people had come. There were representatives from the Thorans, Water Elves and a half dozen other races sat waiting around the table.
Theo whispered in Kiyan's ear. “There is nothing to fear from them. They are our allies in this war and they want to meet you.”
“Greetings Kiyan, we only have some questions for you about the future that you experienced. We need to learn all that we can, anything can give us an edge over the drakken.”
Kiyan opened his mind and began showing those present what he remembered. There was only shattered fragments but he hoped it would help. He showed them everything that happened even when he passed backwards through time. He tried to hide his feelings but must
have slipped a little because he felt Theo filtering the memories.
One of the aliens were no longer able restrain herself. There was a feeling of sorrow as he showed the last part. “We are sorry for what you had to go through. But this is also good news, we are able to shift our focus from preparing a defensive to a planning an offensive. The fleets of drakken that are approaching will begin to explode soon after the rift is sealed. You destroyed them as you moved from the future, there should be little to none left in a couple more weeks.”
Another alien spoke next. “Kiyan we know that you haven't finished your training yet but we think that the drakken will try to corrupt the timeline in order to destroy us. You and the rest of the ascended race could be invaluable temporal agents. You could enter the timelines at various points and prevent incursions that might erase the future.”
Theo spoke to the assembly. “We understand what you mean and we mean no disrespect however there are already ascended protecting the integrity of the time line. Kiyan is still young but he is one of our most powerful, he needs to be able to control his powers before he takes on any missions. The space time shield that Kiyan built will protect from the attacks of the drakken fleet but they might be able to use temporal weapons. If they do they could cause the barrier to break down. If it does then the space time bubble will be detached and drift in the void. We believe that if this happens we can tether it with a dimensional fragment but that will not allow for transit between dimensions so we must resort to a mobile headquarters.”
One of the other aliens spoke next. “When you warned us that this day might come the Assurian race began building battleships using the latest technology that the allied races had access to. We have managed to integrate gravity cannons, stealth technology, the latest generations of AI integration, temporal drives and generators into the designs that the ascended used in the last time war. We can have the fleet here before three cycles are complete.”
“Thank you Deltac, we can use these ships to base our defense.” Theo seemed impressed.
That last alien spoke. “Prometheus you have helped us before when our dimension was collapsing. Thanks to you our race lives on in a stable dimension. The least we can do for you is to offer it as a hiding place for the refuge. If you shift it into our dimension we will guard it.”
“Perhaps that is the best path that is available.” Theo thought for a minute. “Yes it can be done. If we tether it to your dimension then cut it loose on this end then it will shift. Sheila, your dimension would be the safest place for the refuge. The drakken would never find it there. We would be in your debt for this.”
Sheila responded adamantly. “Nonsense it is our pleasure to help you. We are forever in your debt this is only a little in the way of payment.”
“Then it is settled,” Theo announced, “We will hide the refuge then we will regroup and scan for incursions and find any remaining drakken. A long war is ahead of us. The future of the known time streams are hanging in the balance.”
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Grolar grunted to his first officer, prepare the temporal shielding, our scanners are detecting increased chronitonic activity. Soon he thought to himself, the dark master would be ruler of this universe, none could stand in his way. As his disciples the drakken would be given what the dark master didn't want. The thought of the untold riches that would come his way made him happy or as happy as he could be. The fleet was cloaked, an invention of the dark master himself, and was drawing closer to where the epicenter of the event had been. A dozen stars going super nova at the same instant was not something that happens. It had to mean that the ascended were close. Where they were the precious refuge where they protected those pathetic soft skinned creatures was close by.
Grolar's first officer interrupted his thoughts. “Captain the rift is closed, there are no more reinforcements coming through. Grolar considered killing the first officer for the interruption, after all he was just one of the younger clone batches. But reason overruled when he remembered how good the clone was at running the ship for him. The rift should have remained open. Those ascended must have devised some trick.”
“No matter, there are enough of the first wave here to destroy the refuge and find earth.” Grolar was almost happy at the news, more riches for him. The ascended shall pay for their blasphemy of the dark master with their lives. “By our hands the immortals will fall. The darkness will poison them and consume them.”
Grolar felt warm suddenly, perhaps the environmental systems have malfunctioned. I'll have to kill the engineer if it isn't fixed fast enough. “The temporal shields have failed!” The first officer snarled, in another moment the captain's blaster had done its job and left a charred corpse. The navigation deck began to glow even as Grolar felt his scales start burning. This wasn't supposed to happen, there was no glory in death without a hundred enemies dead at one's feet. Those accursed tyrants of time, there was no hope of the ascended's victory. This was only a minor setback. It was white hot now and Grolar succumbed to the heat before the ship exploded.
Chapter Seven: Journey
Merlin lay in his tower unable to even pretend to sleep. The last few days had been a lot to deal with. Apparently finding direct assassinations were failing, the drakken had chosen a different approach. The drakken had managed to infiltrate a few nomadic tribes and had manipulated them into joining together and laying siege to Camelot. That in itself was not a problem, the problem was that inexplicably all the knights and soldiers had fallen ill with some sort of plague. It took all Merlin’s life bending skills to keep all the castles defenders from falling dead. It was a plague like none other. Striking its victims dead within twenty-four hours and not having any perceivable cure. Merlin had scanned the food and water without finding a cause. The air itself hadn’t offered clues either. There was no cause and no cure, the only thing keeping the people alive was Merlin boosting the immune system and regeneration rate of the residents of the city. The worst part was that Merlin was already feeling the drain on his energy, it would be a matter of a week or two before he gave out.
Merlin was disturbed from his thoughts by the incursion alarm going off. Scanning the city he was surprised to note that the intruder was already nearing the castle. I must be feeling the effects sooner than I thought, he commented to himself. Trying to predict the path of the drakken Merlin picked a spot that was likely to be passed but as he did the mind of the drakken faded from his view. The filthy beast must have found a new trick. Teleporting to the last known location he caught a glimpse of it as it disappeared around a corner. Running after it Merlin felt the pain and surprise of the guard that was unfortunate enough to meet the drakken. This drakken is not like a normal drakken should be, it moves too fast. Must be a genome revision in the latest clone batches, Merlin thought, I have to stop it. Rounding the corner He was startled by a flash of light and smoke from a stun grenade. It had no other effect than to slow him for a second but that second was all it took.
When Merlin raced into King Arthur’s chambers he stopped in his tracks when he saw the drakken swinging his blade at the throat of the king. He might be able to heal the king but there would be questions, preparing to launch a fire blast at the drakken Merlin stopped in mid move when he saw what happened next.
The blade, sharp as a razor, passed through Arthur’s throat but instead of a spray of blood like Merlin was expecting there was a glow as the injury disappeared a moment afterwards. King Arthur of Camelot was an ascended. The drakken was just as surprised as Merlin was. Arthur took advantage of the pause to shed the beast’s mind with a psionic attack.
“Merlin, I’m sorry I had to keep you in the dark for as long as I did. They had to think I was human and after living as a mortal for forty years I nearly forgot what it was like to be ascended.” Arthur explained as they stood over the drakken corpse.
“But how did you become King Arthur?” Merlin was perplexed, there hadn't been a disruption in the timeline for years before Merlin had arrived
.
“In this time stream Uther’s wife died before giving him a son. That would have been the real Arthur. Unfortunately there was no magic or people gifted with certain skills that were called magicians in the land so Uther was sonless. I could have gone back in time farther and made it happen but all the best possible futures faded every time I changed anything. I inserted myself into the timeline and placed myself in a position where Uther adopted me as his son. I still have to live out a life and die so to say so the integrity of time will be preserved. Merlin you also have an important part to play in this event. The sickness is caused by dark energy. It corrupts matter and energy in the light universes so what we need to do is find the device that is letting it seep through the fabric of the universe.”
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Kiyan was spending the last day he would spend with James and Marisa in who knows how long. Theo had told him it was his choice and no one would hold it against him no matter what he chose to do. Kiyan still hadn't made up his mind as to which way he wanted to go. The allure of peace on the joined worlds amidst the turmoil that Kiyan knew would be coming. On the other side of the coin was the fact that he would never be able to forgive himself if he left the rest of the universe to the fate of the drakken. James and Marisa were leaving the choice to Kiyan even though he would have rather had someone tell him what to do and save him the indecision.
“Kiyan you know we would go with you but we wouldn't do anything but become a weakness. Neither of us is a warrior. We will always be with you in our hearts.” Marisa tried to help Kiyan deal with the weight of his decision.
Kiyan understood and didn't want to put them in harm’s way but he also knew that they would be safe where the refuge was going. He wouldn't have to worry all the time if he knew they were safe. He would miss every one, that was a given. His thoughts wandered to the new ships that would be arriving later this afternoon.