The Child of Feiradyr Series: Episode 4 – The Madness of Draxu

Welcome back, child of Feiradyr. There is much to do and we must hurry. You are only just learning to crawl? Then allow me to carry you. I’ve seen blood and death. Our time is fast approaching. Hold your breath…

Lady Freigeye’s creations left her glowing with pride, power, and exultation. But it was not so for Draxu…

The creation of Draknass had left him inexplicably exhausted and weak. He sensed his time was growing short, and in this time he’d realized the key to life required both sun and moon Stallarins working in tandem. His anger at his fellow suns for lashing out against the moon Stallarins had begun haunting his dreams, leaving him unable to rest, unable to cease his charge through the stars.

He began a mighty trek through the cosmos, searching for answers, a way to bring the moon Stallarins back to continue their quest for life, their quest to end their unquenchable thirst for creation.

He passed by vast swaths of brilliant twinkling stars, swirling blasts of galaxies, countless planets devoid of life, fields of rock drifting through the dark abundance of space for countless days, weeks, months, years, decades, centuries, millennia? There was no way for him to be sure. His strength was waning. Only his anger kept him plowing doggedly onward, drifting swiftly through the vast unrelenting reaches of space.

Finally, just as Draxu was certain his quest had been in vain, he was visited by a great power. A dark flow of mystical force. A great cloud of blackness so deep and so vast Draxu was certain he’d be lost in it forever if he stared too long. It was shapeless wisps of magic dissipating and reappearing across the macrocosm in front of him.

Draxu felt suddenly strong. The outer reaches of the power flickered and seeped over him, leaving him full of vigor. The great power gave him the answer. It told him the only way to save the Stallarins, to grant them their power and souls back, was to reset the cosmos to their original form. To black void and nothingness. The power showed him the suffering Stallarins in the folds of its great layered mass. Draxu heard their screams, their pleas for his aid.

He was blasted through the stars at unfathomable speed, the instructions of the great power reverberating through his being.

He went to Lady Freigeye and told her of what he had learned. Of the answer to their struggle. Their son, all of their creations, must be destroyed. Existence itself needed to be reset. The great power had demanded it.

The Lady Freigeye beheld all of her children. The great rolling wilds of Draknass. His mountains, oceans, swamps, great swaths of trees breathing in the rich breeze. Velve and his people dancing in the meadows, soaking up the moonlight pulled towards them by the great firebird, drinking deeply from the streams kept overflowing by her rock golem. She thought of her elation and sweat and tears and grief. She thought of the heavy weight where her heart would be if she were human at the hurt her Guardians had inflicted on each other. The pain it had caused her. The unfathomable depths of her anguish.

Well, would you… Could you destroy them all?

And so the Lady Freigeye refused Draxu’s request. She would not allow her children to be destroyed for the sake of more. More life. More creation. More Stallarins.

The Poisoning of Draknass

When Lady Freigeye took her rest after long periods of watching her children and planning her future creations, Draxu began whispering to Draknass…

He was desperate to return the galaxy to its original form. To get the days long since gone back. To have enough Stallarins to create even more life.

And so he whispered dark lies to Draknass. Planted poisonous seeds in his mind in an effort to drive him to madness. He let the great power seep into the boy. Let its presence and influence corrupt him. To get him to destroy himself and all the Lady’s other children. If they perished, surely she would reconsider resetting the world.

Draknass began to grow weak and sick.

His once fertile soil turned black and appeared scorched. The lush thick grasses that covered the plains and rolling hills died. Water began to dry up, despite the interference of the Worldkeepers. Draknass’ molten eyes grew hotter with hatred. The oceans grew nearly too warm for the plethora of sea creatures that inhabited them. The firebird hunched dejected on the branches of a great pine, picking her feathers in frustration. The sea dragon roared out his rage and pain into the deep trenches of the world. Velve cried out to Lady Freigeye, desperate to understand how he and his people could help their sickly brother.

The Mother Stallarin screamed out in grief, distraught over the state of her children. Velve and his people rushed to the aid of Draknass, trying to soothe his anger, his frustration, his distress. Volcanoes threatened to erupt. The crust of Draknass grew blistered and began heaving. Velve’s people urged the planet to stop, rushing towards his humanoid form.

The boy lashed out, slaying many of the Elves. With a wail, he snapped entirely.

Draknass roared and groaned, and grew to an enormous size. His bulk threatened to crush his planetary form underneath. The molten core flowing to his meridians oozed and blustered forth lava, spilling it onto the surface of the planet. The crown of flowers that had previously adorned his brow wilted and fell, disintegrating to ash as they fell past the magma of his body. His continued to grow, nearing the size of the Stallarins, threatening to bring about the end of days…

The great power flickered and crackled about him, flaring in a great curtain like a thunderstorm suddenly descending. Its blackness swirled and enveloped Draknass. It infiltrated his entire being, and with a sickening twist of undulating power, the boy’s eyes became the void…

Lady Freigeye screamed in horror, her power radiating through the galaxy.

“Save them, we must save them!”

Her words echoed around the cosmos, giving life to her ultimate wish, giving voice to her desire. The Mother Stallarin knew what she must do then. The gravity of her choice settled over the great expanse of space. It rocked the foundations of creation.