The air trembled as silver and grey light clashed high above the clouds.
A storm had gathered not one born of nature, but of power and vengeance.
The Silver Elder Dragon, the Sage's true form, hovered in the raging sky. His once-glorious wings were torn and bloodied, his silver scales dimming under the crackling energy surrounding his foe. Every breath he took shimmered with pure magic, and every exhale carried a low growl that shook the air.
Facing him was a serpentine behemoth Rynvar, the Grey Eastern Dragon.
His body stretched like a living storm, sleek and endless, covered in smooth grey scales that reflected lightning. Long whiskers danced with static as clouds coiled around his massive form. His eyes pure white and pupil-less burned with cold fury.
Rynvar's deep voice echoed across the storm.
"Still clinging to that body of yours, Silver Elder? You should've faded centuries ago."
The Sage lifted his head, his silver mane billowing. "And let corrupted filth like you reign over what's left of our kind? Never."
Rynvar's form rippled as he descended slightly, the wind bending around him.
"Filth? You call me that after you betrayed the oath?" he hissed.
His tail lashed, lightning sparking along its edge. "You remember the day, don't you? When we swore to protect the balance between dragons and mortals?"
The Sage's expression hardened. "I remember," he said quietly. "And I remember the day you shattered it."
Rynvar's thunderous laugh echoed through the sky.
"I shattered nothing. I simply accepted what the world already decided. Balance? Peace? Those were illusions created by a foolish queen."
At that, the Silver Elder's claws tightened. His eyes flared white-silver.
"Watch your tongue, Rynvar. Her name will not be dragged through your corruption."
Rynvar smirked an unsettling, serpentine grin. "Then perhaps you should have protected her better."
A violent silence followed.
Then the Sage roared pure rage, pure sorrow and lunged forward. Their massive bodies collided, silver and grey light spiraling like twin stars colliding. The sound was deafening; shockwaves cracked open the sky, tearing clouds apart in spirals of light.
Rynvar's tail whipped through the air, sending bolts of lightning that wrapped around the Sage's wings. The Elder Dragon retaliated with a blast of silver fire that illuminated the storm light meeting thunder, burning ozone filling the air.
"You've fallen too far, Rynvar!" the Sage bellowed. "You've lost yourself!"
"Lost?" Rynvar's voice was now layered, distorted by the energy pouring from him. "No, Silver Elder. I've ascended!"
He twisted his body in a graceful arc, striking the Sage across the chest with a tail coated in lightning. The impact sent the silver dragon crashing into a floating mountain ridge, shattering it into dust.
The Sage roared in pain but steadied himself midair.
"You may have gained power…" he growled, "…but you've lost your soul."
"And you," Rynvar said softly, almost mournfully, "lost your queen."
The Sage's breath hitched. For a moment, his resolve wavered then he charged, light bursting from his maw in a brilliant beam of silver flame.
Rynvar met it with a storm of his own, lightning and cloud twisting into a monstrous vortex.
The two forces collided in a spectacle that turned night into day.
When the light finally faded… the sky was quiet.
And only one dragon's shadow still moved within the mist.