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Caspian Darkwood
Essos, Vaes Yeraan
57 AC
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I soared into the air after finishing my conversation with Endaxia—as she said her name was—and was able to observe more closely the massive pillars surrounding the dragoness: ten enormous columns confining her in a prison.
From what I remembered, those pillars held a strange mechanism that empowered the Ender Dragon with healing whenever it landed in the center; however, according to what Endaxia had told me, they didn't serve that purpose here. Instead, their beams wounded her whenever she attempted to leave the vortex.
There was a high probability they would attack me as well once it became evident I was helping Endaxia escape. I couldn't afford to act without caution.
I approached one of the obsidian pillars. At its peak, a cluster of joined blocks spun upon itself, emitting a blinding glow. Determined to test the waters, I gripped my enchanted sword and, with a swift, powerful horizontal strike, hit the strange glowing artifact.
Woomm! The cluster began to vibrate, producing an eerie hum, while the blocks on the other towers simultaneously did the same. "This isn't good," I thought. Just as I feared, the crystals atop the other pillars released high-speed beams of light.
The first to hit me was the one from the crystal I had attacked. The force was so immense it pinned me in place; I could feel the enchantments on my armor shattering. If this continued, I would die.
BOOM! Suddenly, a massive explosion rang out. The force of the light beams ceased, and I fell hard to the ground. Looking up with difficulty, I saw that Endaxia had attacked one of the pillars, releasing a great ring of purple light that struggled to gain ground against the crystal's beam.
However, that wasn't the only crystal there. All the others turned their attack toward the dragoness from every direction, making her shriek in pain and fury.
"Good, keep it up," I thought, replacing my damaged armor with a new set and taking off into the sky until I reached a suitable height for what I was about to do. Grabbing an enchanted shield, I lunged toward one of the pillars. Sensing my approach, it diverted its attack from the dragoness to me.
But this time I was prepared. With the help of the shield, I managed to block nearly the entire impact.
"AHHHH!" I screamed as the beam of light began to envelop me, feeling my skin sear. "Break, damn you!" I yelled in desperation, drawing a trident and hurling it with all my strength at the crystal. It failed to react in time, allowing the trident to pierce it.
At first, nothing happened—the crystal simply stopped attacking me. Then, like a mirror shattering, it exploded, blasting me away.
The explosion was so violent it knocked me out of the air. I landed hard in the sand, but the task was done. The shockwave of power released by the orb was so great it destabilized the other nine, causing them to implode.
"Uff," I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding as I sat on the sand. It was over—or so I thought.
"If you have a plan to get us out, do it now. He has sent his pets." Endaxia's voice echoed in my mind as before. I stood up immediately, sensing something was wrong. In the distance, I heard the chilling growls of the Endermen; they had felt it too. I didn't want to stay to see what was approaching, so I rushed toward the portal I had used to arrive.
It was evident that portal wouldn't be enough for Endaxia to cross. A new one was necessary. A moment of uncertainty hit me—I didn't know if creating a portal from the End would take me back to Vaes Yeraan or somewhere else. But that was the least of my worries; once on the other side, we could travel. Without wasting time, I built another portal in place of the old one. It measured 20x20 meters—large enough for Endaxia to cross if she folded her wings.
Once the portal was active, I crossed first. It was better this way; I didn't want the portal to appear in a busy area where people might see creatures like the Endermen. God forbid they looked them in the eye—the last thing I wanted was a frenzied massacre.
Fortunately, the portal appeared in the mountains, far from the city. I knew this because, from the great height, I could see the massive dome where Balerion was kept.
Seeing the location was suitable, I crossed back through the portal.
Everyone was waiting. Not wanting to waste any more time, I flew to the portal I had originally used to enter and destroyed it. I didn't want to leave any backdoors that could lead to future trouble.
I returned to the others. "It's time to cross. I don't want to stay here longer than necessary." With that, the Endermen began to cross, leaving Endaxia and me for last. "Come on, you will see the sun once more." That was motivation enough. Endaxia finally crossed the portal, and I followed.
On the other side, I noticed a group of witches gathered, swords drawn and whips ready for an attack. I stopped them immediately. "Hey, everyone relax! They aren't enemies, they're with me."
"Your Majesty?" one of the witches asked. I noticed it was Valery. "It's me, Valery. Now, everyone stand down. They are with me." Valery and her group were hesitant, but they lowered their weapons. I, on the other hand, set about destroying the portal. Leaving no trace of it behind, I also had to destroy the other gate—the one I had built in my fortress.
But that was a matter for another time. First, I had to settle the Endermen and Endaxia. I chose a section of the forest for the Endermen; it was vast and wouldn't pose a problem for them, even if there were more than a thousand.
As for Endaxia, I chose one of the three stables—specifically the one closest to the lake. The site had a large central courtyard with enough space for her to feel comfortable, and it was near the other two stables so people could bring cows, goats, or sheep to feed her.
Fifteen minutes later, I returned to the fortress, specifically to the room where everything had begun. Upon arriving, I saw Valka still standing at the entrance. A mental exhaustion, rather than physical, had been taking hold of her.
"You should relax," I told her, reaching her side and giving her a soft kiss on the lips. Her eyes were full of questions, which I answered before she could speak. "I opened another portal; it took me near the great waterfall. Regarding the purpose of the trip to the End, rest easy. Everything went well—better than expected, actually."
I opened the door to the room and found the portal still active. "Did you find the Ender Dragon?" Valka asked behind me as I destroyed the portal blocks.
"Her," I said. "The dragon is female. Her name is Endaxia. Right now, she's resting in one of the stables. And she wasn't the only one to cross; some Endermen followed too. They follow me now."
"Endermen?" she asked, confused. "They are beings of darkness. Although they are peaceful most of the time, they are still supremely dangerous. Is it safe to have given them free passage?"
I nodded. I understood her concerns—I had them myself at first—but I didn't think they would be difficult to handle, especially considering they were the ones who chose to follow me as their leader without me even asking.
"They agreed to follow me as their leader... or something like that. I'm not sure. What I do know is that they are under my care now, and well, I won't complain about having such capable beings under my command."
Having finished my work there, I walked with her to the exit where the horses were waiting. "What news of Aerea and her dragon?"
One of the Dothraki replied immediately: "She is still in the dome, tending to her... dragon." I nodded and thanked him, mounted my horse, and rode with Valka at my side.
"Something has been troubling you since you returned," she noted.
I smiled at her. I hadn't needed to say a word; she realized it on her own. It seemed we knew each other well by now. "Yes. While in the End, Endaxia told me that Notch was the one who kept her there—that he practically used her as a gladiator. And when we were about to leave the dimension, we felt a presence. Ancient, powerful, and with ill intentions."
"That's why you destroyed the portal, isn't it?" That was what I loved about her; she found the answers without feeling overwhelmed.
"Exactly. I didn't want whatever that thing was to follow us here."
"I understand," was all Valka said. We arrived at the dome after a few minutes of riding.
"My Khal, the woman is still inside." As we arrived, a Dothraki stationed nearby gave us a summary of what had happened. I quickly dismounted and entered the dome.
There, Aerea was sitting on the ground near Balerion's head. Upon seeing me arrive, the great dragon grew restless. A powerful growl erupted from his chest, though it was quickly suppressed as Aerea calmed him.
"I see he is doing much better," I commented, noticing that many of Balerion's wounds had healed. At my words, Aerea allowed herself a cheerful, sincere smile—the first since I met her. "Yes, Balerion is better now. I can't tell you how much I owe you."
I brushed off her thanks. Instead, I looked closely at Balerion's wings. "I'm going to remove the roof of the dome. This will let the air in, and Balerion will be able to leave and fly around the area."
Aerea was practically jumping with joy. "Thank you, thank you so much! Even I miss feeling the wind."
"Very well. However, I hope you know how to control him. I have a dragon too, and I don't want there to be trouble between them. I trust I can control mine, and I expect the same from you." I didn't give her time to respond; instead, I soared into the air. No doubt that must have surprised her greatly, but once I was far from her, I couldn't see her reaction.
I set about removing a large part of the roof. The construction was something that always marveled me. While I couldn't make a block stay suspended without anything to support it—perhaps the only drawback I knew—I didn't need columns or beams. As long as the blocks were connected to one another and supported by some surface, I could build extraordinary things.
Like right now: as I removed part of the roof, the structural stability the dome offered—that is, the weight of the roof—no longer had the arch to discharge its weight into the ground. By all rights, it should have collapsed.
Instead, nothing of the sort happened. The part of the roof I left remained suspended, even if it supposedly violated the laws of physics. It didn't bother me; if it worked, there was no reason to worry.