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Relationship:

Dogmatika Ecclesia the Virtuous/Fallen of Albaz

Characters:

Illegitimate Child of Albus | Fallen of AlbazEcclesia the Dragma Saint | Dogmatika Ecclesia the VirtuousCorlys "The Sea Snake" VelaryonMeleys | Rhaenys Targaryen Velaryon's DragonRhaenys Targaryen VelaryonDaemon TargaryenCaraxes | Daemon Targaryen's DragonHouse Targaryen Characters (A Song of Ice and Fire)Vermithor | Jaehaerys I Targaryen's DragonAemond "One-Eye" TargaryenRhaenyra TargaryenLaena Velaryon (Daughter of Corlys)Viserys I Targaryen

Additional Tags:

Alternate Universe - FantasyCrossoverTransformationDragonsAlternate Universe - Canon DivergenceThe Dance of the Dragons | Aegon II Targaryen v. Rhaenyra Targaryen EraCard loreWesterosi Politicsthose politics get smashed with a hammerMild Hurt/Comfortnearly everyone is an assholeNot everyoneAdventureMagicBranded StorylineFantasyMoral Dilemmas

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oh stars~!（＾Ｏ＾☆♪, JNW1'S favourite ASOIAF/GoT fics

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Published:2022-11-22Updated:2026-05-14Words:99,971Chapters:16/?Comments:383Kudos:796Bookmarks:318Hits:47,477

Nihilus Filius Et Sacerdos

DarkscytheDrake

Summary:

In the land of swords and lords, the dragons had begun to circle each other. Colors are shown and blades are gripped. Out of the east, from a land long ruined, two newcomers appear. One dark and one white, seemingly opposites, yet bound together. A dragon and a priestess have joined the dance. Whether or not the dance is ready for them is an entirely different matter.

Notes:

Inspired by A Stranger in a Strange Land by A_Strange_Twist_of_Fate

Hi! I'm Drakescythe Drake. To those who know me, glad to see you, those who don't, I welcome you. This is something that has been floating around in my head for a bit and after seeing House of the Dragon, I decided it would be a perfect setting for this idea, along with something that has caught my attention and I see no one else using: the Branded/Albaz card storyline from Yu-Gi-Oh! To those of you who don't know what it is, that's fine. It isn't necessary to know the lore to enjoy this story. Please don't turn around just because it mentions Yu-Gi-Oh!

Well, hope you all enjoy and constructive criticism is welcome!

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1: Valyria I

Chapter Text

Valyria

The stoneman let out a low rumble as he gazed at the blazing sky. How long? Moons? Years? How long since the sun had graced his eyes? When did he board the ship that dropped him in this...hell. For it surely had to be, even in his unfeeling skin.

If there was any place that would fit the title 'hell upon earth', it would be Valyria. The once-mighty empire, felled before the world. Where sky-piercing spires once stood and smooth roads once lay, now remained naught but ashes, slag and pandemonium. Reduced to such by the Fourteen Flames, instruments of the gods to exact punishment on the avaricious dragonlords who once called it home, as some of the priests used to say. Since its fall, sailors have attempted to venture into its ruins, hoping to claim lost treasure or weapons of Valyrian Steel. Even a single chest or blade would set a man for generations. A merchant like his father would be the most valued man in his Free City. Yet all who have tried perished in agony, or went mad...and still perished.

He remembered once hearing the screams. So long ago...was it? Fools. There was naught but death here.

Be it by the smoke, the firewyrms, or by his stray "brethren" that wandered the blasted hills and streets. Among other horrors.

The gravel shifted beneath his feet as he trudged back up the hill. Or was it a new hill? Maybe going in circles?

Bah, he had finally gone mad, hasn't he? Fortune had finally struck him! Better mad and incoherent than to keep staring at this wreck of a land. At least in Rhoyne, there could have been company. Maybe even a stone woman to sate the last embers of his lust. But no, the gods had not been content with punishing him with just this misbegotten disease. Their winds and currents carried his ship away from their path, sending them crashing into this new prison. Only two others lasted longer than a day. Where were they? There was something...no, a statue. But what is the difference these days?

He idly kicked the sword, worth a manse and a dozen slaves back home, away from him. The beasts that crawled here were not deterred by such things.

His knees wobbled and his vision swam. Ah, how long had he walked? Perhaps rest would help him find the peace -

There was thunder.

The sky tore open. Shaped like a diamond, dyed in purple.

His haze broken, the once-man stared upwards in shock. What was this? Had the Doom decided to regurgitate some new manner of horror?

A roar shook the earth. His stone brow crackled as he cringed at the sound.

And out of the hole, it appeared. So enormous, so familiar, what else could it be?

Out of myth, legend and the lands across the Narrow Sea, the dragon fell from the red heavens, smoke emanating off its form. It passed the line of the Fourteen, past the Tall Spire and...

A thud, a cloud of ash in the distance, a gust of strong wind. Then silence.

He stood there for a while, staring up and down between the hole in the sky and where the beast landed. Before he knew it though, his legs were carrying him away from the hill, and towards the impact site. Curiosity? More madness?

He trudged through more earth, past pillars and houses. As he approached, he saw some of them had been blown away, concentrated in a circle.

Up the newly-formed hill he climbed, and carefully peeked over the edge.

A raspy gasp escaped his stony lips. There it lay, panting, clad from head to claw in glimmering steel. The skin on its wings was no skin, but a strange orange light that covered the spikes on its neck and shoulders.

His eyes widened. What manner of creature was this? What kind of dragon would be as armored as a Westerosi knight?

The dragon let out a guttural groan as it shifted its body. In its sharp claws it held a...girl? A maiden.

If he could smile, the stoneman would have been grinning from ear to ear. Such a delicate-looking thing, with hair spun like a gold river. Bruises marred her fair skin, and a strange weapon was clutched in her hand. But on her person..a bag! Possibly with food!

Oh, to have a taste of bread again! He would have it, he must have it. But the beast was there, and very much alive.

He ran. He cared not. To have a moment's relief from this eternal nightmare, to rejoice in pleasures he had thought long lost, he would pay any price. For what else was there?

Closer and closer, just within reach, he could already taste, feel -

The roar returned. A burst of light and heat. Had the sun returned?

Alas, he knew no more.

The maiden stirred, heat and noise rousing her from her slumber. But she was so tired...maybe a little more? Where was she?

A rumbling filled her ears. She knew this one well. How could she not, when she had faced him down only to reach out a hand for him?

"Albaz..."

And that's it for the opening! What do you all think? Ya'll willing to give this a try? Please?

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Rating:

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Categories:

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Fandoms:

A Song of Ice and Fire & Related FandomsA Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. MartinHouse of the Dragon (TV)Game of Thrones (TV)Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types遊☆戯☆王 | Yu-Gi-Oh! (Card Game)

Relationship:

Dogmatika Ecclesia the Virtuous/Fallen of Albaz

Characters:

Additional Tags:

Language:

English

Collections:

oh stars~!（＾Ｏ＾☆♪, JNW1'S favourite ASOIAF/GoT fics

Stats:

Published:2022-11-22Updated:2026-05-14Words:99,971Chapters:16/?Comments:383Kudos:796Bookmarks:318Hits:47,477

Nihilus Filius Et Sacerdos

DarkscytheDrake

Chapter 2: Velaryon I

Chapter Text

Guess who's back! It's me!

You know the drill: disclaimer, read, review, moo, yodelayheehoo.

Big shoutout for Just A Lad from discord and A_Strange_Twist_of_Fate from AO3 for helping me with this! You guys are the greatest!

"What say you, wife?"

The silver-haired Lady of Driftmark exchanged glances back and forth between her husband and the parchment on the desk.

"I would say that these are the words of drunken sailors and vagrants, had they been stated by anyone else."

Corlys Velaryon found himself nodding in agreement. If it wasn't for his brother's familiar scrawl, he would have thrown the parchment into the fireplace and forgotten all about it.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, the situation proved otherwise.

"Though given Vaemond's disposition, I cannot help but wonder if this is merely an excuse he wishes to give for the delay in his trading assignment."

"While I agree with Vaemond's tendency to be the 'Master of Complaints,'" his lips quirked briefly at his son's nickname for Vaemond. "He would not go as far as to fabricate an outright lie. If anything, this matches the gossip Laenor and I have caught from the passing sailors."

Rhaenys quirked an eyebrow. "What rumors would those be?"

He reclined in his seat and stared upwards. "That the Doom had come again upon Valyria, an unholy presence has settled there and raised the dragons of old, and will soon spread its hand across the world."

She idly tapped the armrest. "Hmph, drunken vagrants' tales indeed."

"Yes, but one of the things I've learned in my travels is that there's always an inkling of truth to each of these tales." He picked up the parchment and held it against the flame's light. "What we should be paying attention to from these rumors are the sightings of this new...dragon."

There were already three wild dragons that fostered in Dragonstone, and they each came with their own problems. Cannibal, who preyed on dragon young and eggs but who at least ate those who would try to ride him. Sheepstealer, whom they heard endless complaints of. Grey Ghost, who made the smallfolk nervous.

Another dragon, out in the world, where anyone in Volantis or Essos could try to claim him. No, they did not need an adversarial dragon-riding House to challenge him.

Rhaenys nodded. "And according to Vaemond, a human riding atop it."

Corlys raised the goblet to his lips and gulped it down. A rider...one not beholden to the Targaryens.

"If this is true, then the implications could be far more damaging than we realize."

The division in the court had never been clearer. The blacks and the greens had made their way into every facet of life in the Red Keep and outside of it. The yard, the great hall, even the servants. Last he heard from Laenor, even the smallfolk of King's Landing had begun whispering Aegon's name with raised cups and mocking Rhaenyra's claim. The one person keeping the two factions together was the king who, ironically, was also the only one completely clueless or apathetic to the whole affair. He knew His Grace was a peace-loving man, he had always been one since the days of his grandfather, and in his younger days, it was a boon for the realm, but he seemed to willingly blind himself to the slightest mention of unrest until it came smashing in his face.

One thing remained clear though: whether he liked it or not, Corlys' house would be drawn into this mess.

He could feel the storm approaching, his years at sea honing his inner feelings of danger. The question that remained was what would happen when that storm hit the Seven Kingdoms.

"If we are to secure the future of our House, we must ensure that we have the means to withstand whatever they may try." And that meant getting this dragonrider's loyalty before the Greens could.

His wife gently swirled her own cup. "Those being dragons."

"We have Meleys, Vhagar, Seasmoke, Syrax and Caraxes by virtue of Rhaenyra and Daemon. Our granddaughters are strong-willed, and I have no doubt that dragons will hatch for them." He rose from his chair and started pacing the room. "On the other hand, Alicent and her brood have only Sunfyre and Dreamfyre. Aemond has yet to claim his own, but I suspect it will not be long before he does."

"That still leaves us with an advantage. Vhagar is the largest dragon alive."

"Even the slightest gust of wind can change the course of a ship," countered the ageing Lord. An unknown dragonrider siding with the Greens could tip the scales in any number of ways. To speak nothing of their own ambitions as well.

An unknown rider could pose an unknown boon as much as an unknown danger, and he was keen to turn into the former before it could become the latter. House Velaryon was already one of the most powerful Houses in the kingdoms, with another rider they would be second to only the royal family, even higher than the Hightowers.

The pun made Corlys quirk his lip. Pity that his grandsons were not truly Velaryon. But their chance would come.

"And what of this 'unholy presence'?"

He waved her off. "That is the exaggeration. A dragon will cause folk to say anything." He paused for a moment, then he turned to Rhaenys. "I would ask that you and Meleys accompany me to investigate this."

The princess turned to meet his gaze, a flash of surprise across her features. Then, comprehension settled in.

"You wish for us to ride to Valyria on dragonback."

"We have already agreed to visit Laena and Daemon in Pentos, so gathering supplies will not be an issue and neither will carrying them be. Remember our trip to Qohor?"

Rhaenys smiled softly at the memory. "Aye, a beautiful moment after our wedding."

Corlys let out a chuckle. "Indeed. And every day we tarry is a day one of the Free Cities or Seven forbid, the former Triarchy, has a chance to claim this new dragonrider. With fair winds, it will not take us long to fly from Pentos to our ancestral home."

Her look turned thoughtful and she let out a soft hum. "Where did Vaemond say that the dragon was spotted? The isles are many and the Doom shrouds them from our eyes."

"He didn't specify, but according to some of the sailors, it was sighted somewhere along the southern isles, near the city of Old Valyria itself. A rider would need sources of food and water, for himself and the dragon; it would be folly for them to reside deeper in those ruins."

A few moments later, she inclined her head and stood up. "I shall tell the servants to prepare for a trip. When do we leave?"

"I am due to receive the king's permission for entering the isles any day now, so by the high tide after that."

The king's reply came the very next day, so after hurried preparations, Rhaenys mounted the Red Queen, clad in her armor and her hair tied back. Corlys nodded to one of his men and they raised a torch, to which the beast responded with a bellow and took off, soaring through the skies. With the blowing of a horn, Corlys and his escort followed them eastward.

They had arrived in Pentos after a week of fair winds. A lone pirate ship did try to approach them but was deterred by the presence of Rhaenys and her dragon. They were greeted with honors by the magister and with warm hugs by their family - excluding Daemon, who nonetheless gave Corlys a respectful nod.

A few days later, the Queen Who Never Was helped her husband mount her dragon. Only Laena had come to see them off, though that was by design.

"Bringing Daemon along is not the ideal solution," pointed out the old mariner. "If we are to parley with this rider, we need not a blunt instrument like him."

Rhaenys agreed after a moment of thought, albeit reluctantly. "I would prefer a show of force, husband, to show this newcomer that we are not to be trifled with, but you make a strong point. And it would be better to minimize any potential risks." Not that there would be any.

[H3]"Sōvēs!" [/H3]

Gripping tightly onto his wife's waist, Corlys felt a surge of excitement as Meleys beat her wings. He was a man of the sea as much as his wife was a lady of the sky and would never trade his ability to sail a ship, but the feeling of rising off the earth and soaring through the clouds brought a strange joy to his heart. The world and all its splendor lay before them, and none could touch them.

The cold wind buffeted their bodies as the waters of the Summer Sea rolled under them. Thankfully, the scarves they had taken provided ample protection. Rhaenys had warned him of the frigid breezes that could sometimes strike in the air, and he had equipped himself accordingly. The Targaryen princess did not need such things; flying was in her blood.

The sun hadn't even begun its descent downwards when faint peaks appeared on the horizon. A voyage of nearly three moons, reduced to mere hours. Despite his long years of marriage to Rhaenys, he could scarcely believe it.

"Old Valyria…" he heard his wife mutter. "There is naught but death in these lands. What kind of dragonrider could think to live here?"

"A desperate one, mayhap." He could see why King Jaeharys the Wise forbade anyone from venturing into these lands. They had claimed the life and mind of his niece Aerea and Balerion the Black Dread itself was never the same. Dark clouds of black and red swirled above the peaks, and the faint rumbling of thunder could be overheard above Meleys' wingbeats. The very air itself started to feel clammy and stale, as though it was slowly being drained of life.

Soon, they came upon a sight that made their breath hitch. "The Southern Gates," he whispered.

Two enormous sphinxes, carved from black stone, flanked the mouth of a mighty river. Behind them were the broken remnants of a mighty arch. Through that arch they saw little but more fog, and Corlys swore he saw…something moving in the water.

Meleys let out a low hiss that thrummed through her spine and up the Velaryons' bodies. "We cannot linger here long. We must stick to the outskirts."

And so they did, staying far enough from the shrouded ruins so as not to discomfort the dragon yet close enough to let them see anything unusual peeking from the clouds. They had made it to the, by Corlys' estimation, south-eastern part of the isles when they both agreed to turn back and retraced their steps. The sun slowly started to descend from its zenith as they began to fly back. Yet as the light of day started to dim, the old sailor's attention was drawn to a slight hitch in his wife's voice.

"What is that?"

Corlys looked towards where his wife was pointing and blinked. There in the distance, obscured by Valyria's ever-present clouds and fog, was a strange purple glow.

"I have no idea." As he spoke those words though, a shiver went up his spine. Just looking at…whatever it was, it made him unsettled. "Let us try and stay away from it."

While nothing had changed upon his wife's face, the way she tightly held her dragon's reins told him plenty. They stared into the distance for a few minutes, trying to spot something.

"Mayhaps we require a more direct approach. Hang on tightly," stated Rhaenys. "Dracarys!"

Meleys bellowed and a burst of scorching flame spewed out of her maw, echoing throughout the land. Corlys winced as the sound rattled his ears and the flames heated his body. He understood his wife's reasoning, but maybe she had been too direct.

"A…good suggestion." Rhaenys guided Meleys to fly in circles for a short while as they looked towards the isles, but nothing new appeared. "Let us repeat this all the way back. If we do not find anything, we will return to Pentos and resume on the morrow after."

"I agree." And that was their new routine; every short while Meleys would release a roar accompanied by a burst of flame, upon which they would circle in the air for a short while. When nothing responded, they kept flying.

But it was on the fifth - or was it the sixth? - call that they heard it — a faint, yet nonetheless unmistakable roar.

His wife glanced back at him and as their eyes met, they knew the other had not imagined it. Corlys glanced at the shrouded horizon once more, and then he saw it.

There, just behind a peak east of the great strait that separated the main island from its two lesser sisters, was a small shape, flying around. What was interesting was the fact that…it seemed to gleam, like polished Myrish glass against the sun. Honestly, he didn't know if he would have been able to spot the shape without it.

With a jerk of the reins, the red dragon flew towards the peak. As they flew closer, the beast's features started to clear up, but then it turned and dove right in between the mountains.

"Curses!" Swore Rhaenys. "It is fast."

"Can we still catch up to it?"

She shook her head as she pulled on Meleys' reins. "I would rather not. We still do not know what lurks in those isles and by the time we reach that pass, it will have gone deep inland."

Corlys bit his lip, weighing his wife's words, and conceded. "I agree. I would not have us become the next Aerea. Let us return for now. At the very least, we have a more precise idea of where to look for it."

She nodded and with a soft growl, Meleys sharply turned around. As they flew away from the ruined lands, Corlys spared a look behind him. At the very least, the day was not a total loss.

They had returned as the sky had turned dark and the stars revealed themselves. The Red Queen landed on the beach with a thud, heavy breaths escaping her maw. Corlys was not surprised; a flight back and forth like that was bound to be taxing, even for a dragon as mighty as Meleys. They were greeted on the way to the manse by Daemon and his guards. The prince enquired on their whereabouts, to which they responded with a tale they had previously agreed on: they had decided to take tours of Essos on dragonback, with Corlys stating it was an experience he wished to relieve from their younger days; a partial truth - he did consider this somewhat of a vacation. While Daemon eyed him with some suspicion, he also sported an amused smirk.

They had dined on the provisions they had packed, seeing no point in wasting already fine food. Rhaneys had decided to retire early, stating her back needed soothing. Corlys was tempted to join her, but not before making use of the magister's maps of Essos to try and mark down and narrow their field of search.

Thus, they tried again the following day. Waking up at the crack of dawn, they flew out to the islands and scoured the now-named western strait. Meleys bellowed fire and called out, they then spotted the gleam in the sky, gave chase, proceeded to lose it in the dark clouds, and then returned back to spend time with their family. The good news was that the trip was somewhat shorter, considering that they covered a more narrow area of searching.

This pattern repeated itself for several days, and each time they would fail to catch the dragon before it disappeared into Valyria. During each of those times, Corlys noted that Meleys managed to get closer and closer to the dragon before it managed to retreat. It was during the sixth attempt though, when Rhaenys' patience finally bore fruit.

"It's close enough! We cannot let it get away!" Rhaenys cried out, and with a bellow, Meleys dived in right after the unknown dragon.

Corlys wanted to protest, saying that it would put them at a risk that they had agreed to avoid. But the look on his wife's face erased any such notions. Velaryon she may be by marriage, but she was still a Targaryen. Fire and blood ran through their veins, and it showed when their wrath was roused.

Clinging tightly onto her waist, the seafarer felt the wind sharply stinging his cheeks as Meleys flew through the pass. When it ended, the view expanded into a thick jungle, filled with black-leaved trees, and on a large boulder, there it was.

Corlys gaped in shock at the sight of the beast. When it came to dragons, they generally appeared similar to one another. While they varied in the colors of their scales and the shapes of their snouts, along with the number of horns on their heads, they all shared many identifiable characteristics. The dragon before him though was completely different. Instead of scales, it was clad head to foot (four feet! Not two!) in what seemed to be steel armor, with not a hint of scales showing. Despite that, its powerful muscles could be seen with the plates, as though they were welded directly onto its skin. Its spines and wings crackled with orange fire and he even saw a flash of lightning erupting from beneath its feet. The dragon lifted its head and let out a mighty roar, akin to a howling wind combined with grating steel.

"By the gods…" muttered Rhaenys. "What manner of dragon is this? And who could afford to clad such a beast in full armor like a knight?"

"I…I must say, I do not know. It cannot be anyone from the Free Cities, else they would have crowed it to the world." He then shook his head. "No matter; we will find our answers soon, but we should not aggravate it."

At Rhaenys' urging, Meleys slowly descended upon the ruined earth, the trees bending away with the wingbeats. The dragon's glowing eyes followed them, not moving once from its position. Good - then the rider could not be far behind.

"Stay here, do not attack unless I say so," said Corlys. He picked himself up and slowly climbed down Meleys' body. He slowly approached the dragon as it switched its stare to him. When he made it halfway, something leaped from behind a nearby tree and landed right in front of him.

"ποιος είσαι?"

It was a girl, a very unusual one at that. She looked young, seemingly only barely older than his granddaughters. She wore a white shirt with a strange leather skirt and leggings, with an even odder cloak - no, it was a coat - that hung around her neck. Her braided hair was of spun gold, even more so than a Lannister, with blue eyes that glared at him. Yet several things betrayed her otherwise fair appearance: the first was a gold cross marking on the middle of her forehead, like a tattoo. The second were the small horns that protruded from the sides of her head. And the last thing was the massive hammer resting on her shoulder. He had seen warriors use war hammers before, but this one looked like it would take two, maybe three strong men to carry - and she was holding it like nothing!

Corlys Velaryon, the Sea Snake, was not a man easily taken by surprise. He had traveled all the way to Asshai-by-the-shadow, and seen all manners of wonders and mysteries throughout the known world. From shadowbinders to warlocks, basilisks to elephants, he was considered to be one of the most knowledgeable and well-traveled men alive. But this past week…had left him completely gobsmacked.

'Is that a dragon's skull on the hammer's head?'

So, what do you think? I put a lot of effort into this!

The Greek part came from the idea that Ecclesia is a Greek name and that many of the Dogmatika Nation's symbols are based on Byzantine iconography.

I'm a member of the Shiro's Gaming Omniverse Discord (discord . gg/wd3tUYWVCd.) server and the Emerald Library (discord . gg/elibrary). If you want to hop over and chat, either about this story or anything else, feel free! I also have my own server Drake's Lair, at (discord . gg/2bD4UgyyPA).

If you enjoyed this story, check out my other ones and look at my profile for challenges!

Most importantly...

[center]Read and Review! REVIEW![/center]

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Rating:

Mature

Archive Warning:

Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories:

F/MGen

Fandoms:

A Song of Ice and Fire & Related FandomsA Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. MartinHouse of the Dragon (TV)Game of Thrones (TV)Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types遊☆戯☆王 | Yu-Gi-Oh! (Card Game)

Relationship:

Dogmatika Ecclesia the Virtuous/Fallen of Albaz

Characters:

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Language:

English

Collections:

oh stars~!（＾Ｏ＾☆♪, JNW1'S favourite ASOIAF/GoT fics

Stats:

Published:2022-11-22Updated:2026-05-14Words:99,971Chapters:16/?Comments:383Kudos:796Bookmarks:318Hits:47,477

Nihilus Filius Et Sacerdos

DarkscytheDrake

Chapter 3: Ecclesia I

Chapter Text

Ta-da! Guess who? Here we are, and finally we have the first-ever Albaz/Ecclesia chapter!

You know the drill, and thanks again to Just A Lad from discord and A_Strange_Twist_of_Fate from AO3 for helping me!

"Did you find anything?"

The girl waited for a few moments before the boy's voice answered her from outside the house. "No food here either! What about you?"

She looked at the broken suit of armor leaning on the wall and shook her head. "Just more weapons!"

She couldn't see him at the moment, but she knew he was growling. "Mercourier's not back yet, so we've gotta keep looking."

Ecclesia sighed as she gazed in dismay at the ruins around her. Things had been going so well, and now they had to end up in this...desolation. A half-shattered pyramid, toppled spires, broken pillars, wrecked shells of houses all around. She even saw fragments of murals, now blackened or chipped away to the point of being unrecognizable. The rest was just rubble and stone. Vines covered some structures, but they all looked sick, withering or just plain wrong. This place made Golgonda look tame - for all its inhospitability, the great sand sea was both beautiful and calming at times.

A skittering noise reached her ear and she tightened her hold on the hammer. They had already been attacked by one of those fire monsters and although she sent it flying, she really didn't want to meet any of its relatives.

She bit her lip and looked around. The remains of what were once most likely towers and temples were scattered all around her and into the cloudy horizon. Broken statues of dragons and strange four-legged creatures loomed in both open ground and shadowy corners of every smooth black road. What was this place? Why did it feel so…dead?

Hearing footsteps approaching, she turned and saw her companion trudging up to her, carefully moving around the scattered rubble. At her pleading look, he shook his head. "Nothing but metal and stone," he then shot a glare at the direction from which he came. "I don't know why we came back here, it doesn't look like any food could survive."

"I thought that maybe we could find some pickles. Back in Dogmatika we had cellars of pickles and dried beef for emergencies."

The ashen-haired boy took a whiff of the air and immediately cringed. "If there is, I can't smell it over this…whatever is in the air." He idly bit his lip and tugged on the hem of his coat. "Hope Mercourier gets back soon. I really don't like this place. There are lots of dead dragons around."

Ecclesia nodded in agreement. "I know Albaz, I know."

They stood there for a few more minutes, idly looking around and sticking together when Albaz's pointed ears twitched. He swerved his head to her left and she followed his gaze. When she saw the flash of blue in the distance, she couldn't help but smile.

"I told you he wouldn't get lost."

"I know that, he didn't get lost the other times. I'm just worried that something like that fire-snake thing will ambush and eat him."

Fluttering above their heads was a little bird, made of bronze and machinery. The bird circled twice before settling on Albaz's shoulder and letting out a mechanical chirp. The white-haired boy grinned and gently rubbed its head with a gloved finger. "Did you find anything bud?"

Mercourier's gem-blue eyes flashed and with a flutter of its bronze wings took off again, away from the ruins. Albaz and Ecclesia shared only a brief glance before bolting after the bird, kicking up gravel. Wordlessly, they followed it toward the expansive black forest that was outstretched before them. When they had first arrived, they were reluctant to enter, not knowing what they might encounter, but now it seemed like Mercourier had found something worthy of attention.

The inky-black leaves passed by them as they ran. Ecclesia idly glanced at them and wondered if she'd touch them, would her hands get sticky? They looked all nasty and slimy, not like regular trees.

They soon topped before what looked like a wrecked tower. It wasn't much different from the ones in the city, to be honest, save for the fact that it looked far more intact. Glancing behind her, the girl noticed that they had gone rather deep into the forest. And judging by the ground, there weren't any of those strange bursts of air. Those looked nasty too.

"Oh…another tower. No food?" asked Albaz. The bird shook its head and the boy sighed. "Okay…at least it's away from there. I didn't like sleeping there."

"Me too." She then noticed something poking out of his coat. "Did you find something?"

He blinked with his one open eye. "Hmm? Oh yeah." From his belt, he pulled out a sword with an ornate pommel. The steel had a strange look to it, like rippling water, something shared by other bits of metals she had seen in the ruins. "Found it lying next to a skeleton. It looks cool and it's really sharp." He gave it a few swings. "It cut a rock like it was nothing."

"Really?" She stepped towards him and gave it a closer look. "Is it a magic sword?"

Albaz glanced at the blade for a moment, then shrugged. "I don't know."

It didn't look like any magic sword she'd seen…if it was one. "Do you wanna see what's up there?" she asked, pointing to the top of the tower.

"Sure!" He grabbed Ecclesia's arm and pulled her along into the tower. The insides were far neater than she'd expected - the walls and rooms were mostly in one piece, and the stairs looked intact and safe. They climbed up all the way to the top, whereupon they exited onto a balcony.

From it, the view of the forest was spread before them, a sea of black and purple leaves. Behind it the shapes of the ruins they had traversed hours before cast ominous shadows against the dark clouds, like sleeping behemoths. The girl squeezed Albaz's hand as he hissed at the sky - and she knew why he did so.

Above the ruins loomed a gigantic, diamond-shaped hole, casting a dark purple glow above the ruins. Ecclesia held back a gulp; seeing one of those things had never bode well for them - especially this one.

"...I still don't get why can't I fly through it."

"...I wish I knew too."

She felt his hand tighten over hers. "Every time I tried to fly through, it just blasted me back."

"I had to stop you after the tenth try."

"I tried the next day, but nothing changed." He looked down and dismay colored his features. "Am I doing something wrong? Maybe I'm not trying hard enough?"

"Albaz," propping the hammer against the balcony, she held his clenched hand with both of her own and stared in his eyes. "You did nothing wrong, none of us did; no one could have seen that hole open in the middle of our path."

She bit her lip as her voice began to hitch. "I know…it hurts. I just saw Fleur again after so long and we had to leave…now I don't know where she is or even where Kitt and our friends are…" she took a deep breath and her voice regained a measure of steadiness. "But we have to keep trying. Maybe there's something on this island that can help us. And you're back in your human form, so that means something. We will see our friends again, I promise."

Slowly, Albaz nodded, not once trying to escape from his friend's hold. Ecclesia had often told him about her sister/mother figure when they were wandering the Great Sand Sea. What did it feel like, to have someone that cared that much about you raise you for ten years? A hint of a smile appeared on his face. "...thank you."

The girl smiled at him in return. Unfortunately, their little moment was interrupted by a huffing sound coming from Ecclesia's hammer. They turned and saw two yellow eyes peeking from the skull atop the hammer glaring at something in the forest.

"Rockey? What's wrong?"

The living machine let out a puff of ash that floated from the top of the skull and into the air. The two looked in the same direction and saw one of the nearby black trees rustling. Then, out of the darkness of the woods crawled a serpentine creature that glowed red like flames and slithered across the ground. It raised its dragon-like head and let out a loud hiss, sounding like sizzling meat.

"Oh, those things. They look weird for dragons. Some of them tried to attack you, right?" Albaz asked.

Ecclesia nodded. "Mm-hm. They're hot to be around and I don't wanna be bitten by those teeth, even though they aren't that strong." A small chorus of hisses emanated from the woods. "He must have friends."

"...I don't think they'll leave us alone."

The girl frowned and grabbed her hammer. "No, they won't. Let's make sure they don't get close to the tower." Albaz grunted in affirmation and the two leaped from the tower, right towards the fire-serpent. The poor creature barely managed to flinch back in surprise when Ecclesia's hammer slammed into it and sent it flying.

With another throng of hisses, four more fire-serpents lunged from behind the trees and straight at the duo. Albaz drew his new sword and with nary a word, his hand and the blade were alight in white fire. He swung his sword at one of the lunging beasts and bisected it in an arc of fire. Its friend hissed in rage and lunged again, only to meet the same fate.

The boy turned to see if his friend needed help and saw the other two serpents getting smashed into the ground by her hammer. He saw one trying to get up from its little crater weakly, but another smash to the head crushed it into a pulp.

The girl barely looked winded and she lightly grimaced at the sight of the remains. "Are there any more?"

Albaz sniffed the air. "No, not nearby." He idly looked down at the sword, which was no longer engulfed in flames. "What now?"

As if to answer his question, low gurgling came from both his and his friend's directions. Ecclesia ducked her head in order to hide her growing blush, and Albaz scratched his head. "...looks like we should eat."

From the satchel around her waist, the blonde pulled out a square of white bread and split it in two, handing one half to her friend. They walked over to the tower, sat down on the ground cross-legged, and began to eat.

"We're running out of food," muttered the girl between bites. "We have to find more."

"We could try cooking those,"replied Albaz, gesturing at the remains of the fire-serpents.

While the idea seemed appealing - especially since meat was involved - Ecclesia had some doubts. "I don't know…there's something weird about these things." Her nose wrinkled. "They smell rotten, really rotten. Meat shouldn't smell like that, especially after we just killed it." I don't know if they're safe to eat."

The boy hummed as he idly kept chewing on his bread. "...I could transform again. Maybe there's something in this place I can hunt and bring back here."

Ecclesia looked at him with concern. "Are you sure? We don't know what else is out there."

"You said it yourself; we're running out of food."

As if to further emphasize that fact, a low growl emanated from Ecclesia's stomach. Fighting down her blush, she nonetheless conceded the point - the rations would run out soon, and they would have to find another way to feed themselves. Whatever plants around them did not look appetizing at all, even if they could bear fruit, so it would have to be hunting.

"Just…don't go too far."

Albaz nodded and took a few steps away from her and the tower. He closed his eye and exhaled sharply, the sound cutting through the air like a knife. Then, the gems on his chest and head flashed a brilliant white and orange. The air filled with heat and in a burst of fire and lightning, where once there was a boy, now stood a dragon, with scales of steel and wings of flame. With a mighty roar, the dragon flapped its wings and took to the skies, leaving Ecclesia staring at him, a strange mixture of emotions in her eyes. "Be safe."

A few hours passed (or maybe less - what little sun that pierced through the clouds did nothing to indicate the time) and Ecclesia did nothing but idly wander around the tower or rest. The former saint kept checking the horizon for any sign of Albaz's shining scales even though she knew that she should have more faith in Albaz's capabilities. An amnesiac he may be, but fighting was in his blood. Also, if the fire-serpents were anything to go by, then there really wasn't anything that could harm him - especially as a dragon.

Finally, she saw it: a gleam in the sky, growing brighter and brighter until it landed right next to the tower. Rushing over to him, she saw that in his jaws he held several large fish, some of which were sizzled.

"...maybe we should go hunting only when we actually need food. We don't have any way of keeping any of these fresh."

The dragon dropped the fish and let out a low grumble. With a smile, Ecclesia reached out and gently patted him on the snout. "It's okay, at least we have food."

And thus a sort of routine was formed. Each day, the two children would wake up in the tower and exercise for a bit. Albaz would then transform and fly off somewhere to hunt some food for the day, which would mainly consist of more fish, some fire-serpents, and the occasional strange-looking…creature which none of them were able to identify. But it was edible, so that's what mattered. Then they would continue to explore the strange place - which they had learned thanks to his hunting trips was some sort of large island with others near it - on foot or by Ecclesia riding on Albaz's back, and finally, they would return to the tower and sleep.

The islands were very similar to the one they were on, and alternated between varying degrees of better or worse, the latter more than the former. As for why didn't they move on to another island or just to a better looking place - it all came down to the presence of the Hole.

"It might open up for you again, then we could return home."

Looking back on it later, it was a flimsy excuse at best…but it's what they wanted to believe. So they didn't want to leave its line of sight.

A bit of good news was that they stumbled into a clean hot spring with a lake of freshwater tucked in between the mountains of a nearby isle, so that solved the issue of a water supply. Ecclesia was thankful that her clothing was made to withstand wear and tear, so she didn't have to wash them, same with Albaz's.

Something else that they noticed while flying over the water was the occasional ship filled with sailors. Ecclesia was tempted to go down and talk to them, but Albaz never got too close. When she asked about it, he said he heard them speak strangely and looked frightened. At worst, they would end up attacked, and he didn't want to risk her.

For a month or so, that was what happened. Until one day, when Ecclesia was fiddling with some trinkets she had found in the ruins while Mercourier perched on her shoulder, Albaz came flying down and quickly transformed back into his human form.

"There's a dragon out there."

She blinked. "A dragon?"

He nodded. "Yeah, a red one. I heard it roaring a lot so I flew in for a closer look, but then it turned around and saw me. It started to chase me so I lost it before it could catch up."

The blonde girl rubbed her chin. A live dragon…they had seen the remains and statues of dragons all around them, but never a live one. "If it chased you, we must be in its territory. I have been to a nest before, but Fleur once told me they can get really aggressive if their territory is attacked."

"So why didn't it follow me?"

"Maybe its territory isn't here, but nearby? Still, as long as you avoid it, you should be safe." She looked down at his landing site. "No fish?"

The boy bashfully rubbed his arm. "I…kinda dropped them when I spotted that dragon."

Ecclesia let out a small giggle. "That's alright; we'll stick to fire-serpents for today. I saw a small group of them just outside the woods."

Over the next few days however, Albaz would keep seeing the dragon over the waters beyond the mountains. Every time it would spot him, it would roar and give chase and he would fly and lose it. The foreign dragon would never venture into the island proper, or even past the cloudline.

The question as to why it acted so aggressively was answered when the dragon boy caught a glimpse of something unusual…on the dragon.

"Humans? Riding the dragon?"

"Mmm-hmm. A man and a woman, I think. I didn't stop to find out exactly."

Albaz's statement caused Ecclesia to hum in concern. Humans riding dragons…she did it with Albaz, but she had heard of some other 'heretical' tribes that used dragons in such manners. Back in Dogmatika, they were considered 'pure' beings - unless they came from Holes - and riding one would be considered sacrilegious. Not that she cared anymore, but that provided some context for the situation.

"I think they're chasing you. I don't know why they aren't entering the island, but they've found you and…" she stepped closer and grabbed the boy's shoulders. "I don't think that we should be taking any more risks. Who knows what they want?"

"...maybe we can ask?" Ecclesia was about to protest but Albaz quickly cut her off. "I'm not saying to just fly out there and ask, I'm saying that we should do it somewhere nearby, on our terms. Maybe they can help us like Kitt did."

Although the girl didn't believe that the same camaraderie Kitt had shown them would suddenly appear here as well, she slowly began to nod and agree. Watching the Hole and looking around the island was getting tiring and…she missed having other people to talk to. She wouldn't trade Albaz for the world, but still.

"What do you have in mind?"

He gave her a small, fanged smile. "I bait them."

For two more days, Albaz flew out again, but this time, he didn't return to the tower, but rather to a small clearing next to the mountains where they could take them with ease should anything unpleasant occur. The first day he returned alone, but the day after another roar echoed throughout the island and from her hiding spot, Ecclesia spotted a red dragon bursting out of a narrow pass in the mountains. True enough, she could make out the forms of two humans sitting on top of it.

The dragon landed a short distance away from her and one of the humans, an older man with long, silver hair disembarked from the saddle after saying something she didn't understand to the woman holding the reins. He slowly started to approach Albaz in his dragon form, and when he came close to her little hiding spot, she leaped from behind the bush and landed right in front of him, pointing her hammer right at his stumped face.

"Who are you?"

…maybe that was not a great first impression.

So what do you think? Next time, the full meeting!

If you enjoyed this story, check out my other ones and look at my profile for challenges!

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Read and Review! REVIEW!

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Chapter 1585 - Nihilus 1-3