Fledgling: Part 83

Greetings all

Decided an earlier post would be best today, so please enjoy the update!

This one was power hungry and knew that if he could control a Champion better, he could create a force that not only managed to defeat the Dragon but be powerful enough to rule the universe with. Shareik never forgave himself for what this Edzeeker had done.

Experiments ranging from those done on Dekai to those spread amongst the other races of the universe. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Edzeeker would periodically let the Dragon out to test his experiments. These encounters were so brief that none of the Heavenly were aware of it.

That was until Edzeeker found the girl again. He had heard of the mourning human king and queen announcing the adoption of a daughter. Shareik was fond of the humans; they truly had a soft spot in his heart, so he kept an eye on them. Especially in this universe, which seemed to be free from the touch of the Dragon.
He had gone to the King and Queen to meet this new child. When he saw her, he knew that he had made a mistake. How could Edzeeker know about her? How had he found her? Shareik had been so careful. While this wasn’t the girl he had handed over to the General, she was the same girl.

She had been gravely injured and just laying his hands on her, he knew what had been done to her. She was the spitting image of the new protocol that Edzeeker had been building. Edzeeker had kidnapped this child to build his creation. Shareik was horrified. How had he allowed this to happen? Yes, he wanted a tamed Dragon, but not like this. It was why he found the other girl. She was only supposed to get the System, not be turned into a weapon.

He had kept his composure then, helping heal her as much as he could. The adoptive parents had been grateful. Shareik made it his mission to bring Edzeeker to heel, but the Dekai had gotten too good at hiding and was avoiding him.

Shareik wanted to protect the girl from more harm. He had given her a favour, hoping that it would protect her in the future. But it hadn’t. As Shareik had tried to hunt down the elusive Edzeeker, the Dekai was moving in the background, putting his final pieces into play.

It would be years again before Shareik would look in on the girl, now going by the name of Saita instead of the one her parents had lovingly given her. What he found broke his heart. Not only had Edzeeker come back for her, but he had somehow convinced himself that he could breed the girl to create an army of Champions.

Mentally destroyed, bodily broken, the girl had spent months carrying a child she hadn’t wanted. Her family was murdered, her mother betrayed her, and she still lived a nightmare. But Shareik couldn’t interfere directly. If he did, then his brothers would know what he had been doing, what he had caused to be done to this poor girl. He sat and watched as the life within her grew. Edzeeker hadn’t been wrong. The child had all the potential that his mother had. He would have made Champion unrivalled.

But Edzeeker got complacent. He felt that he was in control. He knew that Shareik couldn’t do anything about what he had done without exposing himself. He left the humans, not waiting to see his creature bear the unwanted fruit. Shareik’s heart bled for her as he watched from within the time corridors. If only she had the favour, she could ask for his help and he would grant it. The Dragon had enough power to take from. All she had to do was ask for it.

But she didn’t. Eventually, she was rescued, but not before she birthed the child forced upon her. She hated it but refused to have it disposed of. She wanted it near, but not near enough for it to be within her sight or hearing. Shareik decided to reveal himself to her. The first time since she was a child. She was in no state of mind to speak to him, and that madness would show once again when Edzeeker returned to claim what he thought would be the answer to all his problems.

It wouldn’t be, and Saita tore him apart as if he were prey. Shareik didn’t interfere. Didn’t help the Dekai who had done all this harm. Were they all like this? All the Dekai? Surely this Edzeeker was an exception. He had to be. Shareik could start again. He knew he could. There was enough power to reverse time, but he couldn’t take that power, not without a favour wishing for it.

He approached the girl once more, explaining what he would give her if only she used the favour. She had looked him in the eyes and ripped up the flimsy paper. But she didn’t understand. The paper meant nothing; it was the meaning, the contract behind it. She just had to speak the words, and he could fix everything. He tried, doggedly, for years to make her change her mind, but she stubbornly refused him.

Until one day, another Saita appeared. Shareik was shocked. This was not a skill the girl had. This was a new one, but it seemed to have had a similar past to the one who was meant to be queen. The only difference was that she had somehow managed to copy Edzeeker’s ability to travel through time to arrive at the very place that the queen and Shareik needed her to be.

Years of resentment and hate came crashing down as the queen’s resolve finally broke, and she relented. Using the favour, but not as Shareik had intended. Her attachment to the forced son was too strong to rewrite that part of her life, no matter how badly it hurt. Shareik watched carefully as it wasn’t he who was summoned. He was surprised to see that a version of him from the future had taken the request and granted it to the queen.

Odd, while he knew there was a possibility of running into himself, he could see the age playing on this version. He had all but given up, and Shareik couldn’t help but wonder why. He needed to find out how this Shareik was here at just the right time and why his powers had diminished so much. But before that, he needed to get a closer look at this new girl. She may have looked like the queen, but the energy flowing within her was a fingerprint that couldn’t be copied. He just needed to get close enough.

As they were traveling to return to their time, Shareik managed to snag part of her energy. This was strange. He had already met this girl. Was she the one? He was sure that he already had the correct child, the one who would become the tamed Dragon. Did he make an error? No, surely not. He never made mistakes.
That thought stung as he was reminded of his failure in trusting Edzeeker. He was dead now. But was he? If there were multiple of this Saita, then perhaps there was an Edzeeker that could be better moulded, trained to do things better. Shareik had to try once more.

And so the pattern continues. Should have left well enough along Shareik.

For those of you who have never heard of Fell Dragon you can find Book 1 here, Book 2 here, Book 3 here, and Book 4 here, Book 5 here, Book 6 here, Book 7 here, and Book 8 here
If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. I love discussing my books!
As the series continues, it will combine with another book series I wrote. To avoid confusion about what is happening, introductory chapters will be introduced separately so that you don't have to be lost. However, these chapters will contain spoilers. You can find these chapters here:
Races Explained
Banishment
Royal Guard
Saasha’s Direct Family
Saith Characters Recap
Human Characters Recap
Alternate Timeline Brucel
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