Remnants of Time

Malefor was running out of time.

The Year of the Dragon, ten generations, the Night of Eternal Darkness drawing too soon upon them... Years had passed, time ticking down, as he bided his own here in this inescapable prison. Meaningless events came and went, leaving him waiting in the dark.

Finally, it was all coming together. Something real was happening in this world; the end he had driven them all towards was upon them. And he wasn't ready for it.

He'd gone over it again and again... Turning battles nearly lost, buying as much time as he possibly could. And on that borrowed time he'd scoured the Realms for the slightest hint, the tiniest lead, the smallest sign.

But he couldn't find it. The one threat to him, the one thing left that could turn fate for good. The one thing standing between him and the end he so craved, the bloody beginning of a world reborn in ash.

The next dragon in his ancient lineage... The successor, the one who would inherit his most primal powers. Somewhere out there a purple egg lay dormant, the life inside on the cusp of taking everything he had, his only chance to end this once and for all, and he couldn't find it.

But brewing and brooding and scraping together every idea he had to no avail, finally, the tides turned.

“You're sure.”

The cold severity in that voice would have sent most apes scurrying for cover, but Gaul, his ragged grey fur and hunched stature betraying age, didn't so much as flinch. “We've tracked the Guardians to the Southern Temple. We know they have it. And more than just that – ”

The great ape rose from his kneeling position on the stone ground, excitement gleaming in his eyes. “There are dozens of other eggs. The rest of their generation. If we go through with this, the dragons will never recover.”

Before him, the dark Spirit Gem jutting out of the rock flickered and glimmered menacingly as if the entity on the other side was glaring down at him. But finally, Malefor's twisted voice emanated from it. “This is our last chance to end the dragon race and recover the purple egg. If you fail to bring it back – ”

“I will not fail.”

Again there was silence as Malefor considered. “Send all of the armies. Every last ape you can spare. And make sure,” the rumble of his growl filled the room, shaking the core of the mountain, “that the egg is not harmed.”

The unspoken or-else was not lost on Gaul, who, a bit quicker than usual, headed for the exit of his vast, shadowy throne room in the Well of Souls. “Very well. We march at dawn.”

Thus the ape left and the light faded from the gem, pulling Malefor's consciousness back into himself. His body separated, somewhere disconnected, eyes closed as it slept in eternal darkness. And his soul bound here in this void prison. Through the blinding brilliance around him, he could just see the stars.

The Night of Eternal Darkness was coming again. And with it, Alignment...

Twelve years from now, if all went well...

Nearly two hundred years he had been trapped here, waiting, biding his time. Only with great effort could his mind leave this cage, and only then into a specific concentrated point of magic. Those first few decades alone, stewing in silence and madness, he'd nearly gone insane.

If that egg was lost, he wouldn't get a second chance. Everything he had, all the progress he'd made, it would be gone. Escape could be possible. But it might be too late.

All those decades ago... He'd been so close, prepared to make the sacrifice that would purge this world in fire...

But this time, he wouldn't need to. This time, he would be free.

And he may just live to see a world reborn.