My goodness... you can't imagine how much i've awaited for this art to come out !
Lots and lots of discussions were necessary to make this out but in the end... i'm just stunned, it's incredible.

I so wanted to get this scene out of my mind, Aeryl wandering in a temple like the explorer he is, and escaping some traps in order to get something of interests ! A dragon indiana jones i guess it is, even if the context isn't the same here xD
I tried to write a story surrounding this moment... it was very difficult to get something i'd be happy with, but in the end, i think it helped me understand Aeryl better, him and his world, what he's trying to do, and what he's doing here.

But first of all... i really need to give all my thanks to the artist who made this :
 AbsoluteDream has been a joy to work with, he's also the artist behind Aeryl's reference and i just can't thank him enough... He's honestly one of my favourite artist ever ^^
Please go see their incredible gallery ! (and Deviantart account, also : https://www.deviantart.com/absolutedream )

And now... i will share the story here. Hope you'll enjoy it if you decide to read. And please don't hesitate to share any opinion or criticism, as long as it's respectful of course !

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The visit of this village was a rather pleasant experience ! I guess the stereotypes about fire dragons and their temperament are just that... stereotypes. Or at least that a good part of the fire dragons don't stick to them more than that, which is... normal I guess, but still rather reassuring in itself.
This makeup is really not pleasant though... especially with this heat, it was a pain to keep it on to stay discreet and look like a fire dragon... It probably wasn't that necessary, but at least I didn't attract any more attention than a fire dragon crossing the village anyway. Although... honestly, I must have looked like a really weird dragon ! Heh.

I should be pretty much in the right area anyway, according to the writings I was able to collect... more or less, it's really hard with a few snippets of texts translated and retranslated, even taking the basic versions... But I'll go with it, even with little chance of getting there. These kinds of extraordinary discoveries only happen in legends and novels... but... it's so exciting to think about! In the worst case I could at least travel to the Embraced Lands...
I finished my preparations and can finally leave anyway. I will have to go to the volcano now, it might be even hotter... I hope to be able to hold a little bit at least.

---

I feel like I've been walking for hours already, I just stopped to drink a little... The heat seems to be a little more bearable for the moment with the sun going down, but as I'm heading towards the volcano it's not going to get any better...
Well, the writings spoke of a "Heart of Flame" guardian, or something similar in any case. If the temple is located in the heart of the volcano, it is really not going to be possible for me, and these tremors punctuating my walk seem to become more and more insistent... it is rather worrying. I could already observe some slight landslides, some of them quite violent already ! I was able to catch myself by flying on a few slides... fortunately, it is probably not good to hurt yourself in the middle of the mountains. Especially since I'd rather save my wings with this heat that is likely to rise...

---

Even closer to the volcano, and the heat is really difficult to handle... I think I'll slow down the pace, it's not good for me. If I don't find something to shelter from the heat soon, I will probably turn back...
As if that wasn't enough, the tremors are even more intense, and I saw whole rocks sliding or breaking on the ledges... it's really worrying.

I'm starting to wonder if I did the right thing to undertake this trip... it's not made for a puny wind dragon like me...
But at the same time... I just want to take... a few more steps. Part of me doesn't want to let go of this story yet...

---

... It's not possible, I must have fainted during my research because of the heat? Or maybe... I was hallucinating the whole time. Holy crap, even rewriting all this I can't believe what just happened to me.

The shaking got more and more intense, so much so that I couldn't even avoid a fall this time ! I was taken by surprise as a gaping crack opened beneath me... Every rock in the crack threatened to fall on me as I tried to protect myself from the heavier one with magic, deflecting the rocks! I can still feel the chafing of the fall on my right arm. And still... I think I'm doing okay.

This rift... it extends even deeper... I feel that there is something at the end, I feel the air rushing in. ... I must be crazy to do this, I put myself really in danger... but I have maybe a chance to realize one of my dreams here...

The more I advance the more... "regular" structures appear, which seem to be cut. I have the impression of observing small details, columns, kinds of walls...
I... believe that I am really there ? Could this be... the temple of the Fire of Life ? I can't be sure but... I feel like my heart is threatening to burst out of my chest just thinking about it. Haha... the heat is really not helping.

---

... Everything is carved in the rock itself, but there is a certain variety despite everything, whether it’s red-orange rocks similar to those I walked on outside, or darker and ashy volcanic rocks detailing more precise structures. The more I look, the more I am breathless, it seems out of this world, it's hard to explain... As if the stones were carved by fire, seeing the traces and the heat that came out...
And yet, the silence is absolute, hardly the echoes of my steps, no trap is active, yet some switches are apparent, some slabs trapped in parts eaten away by time... But everything has stopped, everything is silent.

I cross each part, drawing a makeshift map indicating the different rooms. Some of them are practically empty, even inaccessible under the rocks, wondering what could have been in them, and what happened in the meantime ? Others... were in better condition, some engravings having more or less survived the test of time, but never quite complete. Every time I entered a room my heart jumped, coming across an empty room was a heartbreaking experience, but when I found something, anything... it was like a relief, it made me think that I didn't come all this way for "only" empty ruins... One room contained a really fascinating engraving !... Hmm, impossible to draw it here, I already can't write properly under this heat...
It represents a series of fire dragons gathered and praying. Some kind of rays of light are touching them, or maybe they are emitting it ? These "rays" are concentrated in a point, it seemed that some kind of object was placed there but it was difficult to distinguish what. And a ray going upwards after that, the top of the engraving having been degraded, it's hard to say towards what. Maybe there was nothing above it ? But in any case it was a fascinating discovery ! There must be something that is kept here... and it seems rather important, an object of worship or magic in some way. It's a long shot but... I really hope I can find it ! That would be amazing... my throat is tightening just thinking about it.

---

I'm in - I... I think ! Although... wow, how long has this temple been abandoned for this artifact to be so "easy" to access ? The outline of a switch on the wall stood out more because of the damage... I prepared myself for a possible trap but... nothing, again. Just the sound of a sliding wall... behind which was this strange artifact.
Yet, while everything else in the temple seemed to be in ruins, this artifact... untouched, perfect, not even an ounce of dust... I almost feel like I'm being called by it... I- I better just observe for now. A dark red octagon, a little bit burgundy, engraved with old draconic runes... I'm still having trouble reading it all, but I think I recognize the character for "heart" ? A "heart of flame" maybe ? So maybe the riddle was more about that than the heart of the volcano... It might not be the only one of its kind, and I don't know what it was for... but I want so much to get it back to study it more closely !

Woah, just thinking about everything I did until now... this is what I had always dreamed of, in my wildest dreams of exploration at the beginning of my trip, this is the kind of moment I was looking for but couldn't believe…

---

.....

What did I do.

Stupid, stupid dragon... why didn't you follow your intuition ?!
I... I couldn't help it, that stone... I took it. It was just... stronger than me.

Suddenly... I heard a slight roll, but turned around fast enough to watch the fireball being shot at me! I reacted out of pure instinct, and deflected the attack with a wind magic induced punch! I could already feel my heart beating fast, and was breathing heavily... I had just realized that I had let my guard down too much... if I had not reacted in time I could have...
... I should have known better... it was really weird. In fact, it was almost disappointing. All for this ? The attack could have been dangerous, yes, but... the artifact seemed far too valuable for such a simple defense.

... It was just the beginning. The ground began to shake intensely, sprays of flames and lava escaping from new cracks ! I literally moved only by pure instinct and reactivity, flying as fast as I could and dodging the flames that escaped from the walls! I had only one thing left to do... RUN ! And fast !
In addition to the sprays of flames and the lava that was gradually covering the ground... it was the temple itself that seemed to collapse. Large and small stones were falling from the walls and ceiling, in corridors that were narrower than they already were and in rooms that were falling more and more into ruin. And as if that was not enough... a large part of the apparent traps were now activated at my passage ! An arrow will have wounded my right shoulder and pierced the tip of my left wing...
I can't help but wonder if... it was really worth it... taking the artifact out of my bag, ready to throw it into the collapsing temple, tears of pain escaping my eyes... That's when a spray of flames escaped from the wall again, right in my direction !
At that moment... I felt such an intense emotion... a kind of "rage to live" like never before... I instinctively protected myself by placing the artifact in front of me, and concentrating the remains of my magic in front of me to repel the attack but... it should never have been enough. I could feel the intense flames eating away at my scales, burning my face and arms slightly... before suddenly it turned into a kind of gentle heat, which faded away on its own, and took some of my burns with it…

To this day I don't know what could have happened at that moment... I probably should have died here, and if it weren't for this... strange miracle... I would have. And just as I opened my eyes, stunned, I felt the sunlight rise, and break through the openings... the exit was in sight. I had to summon all my remaining strength to avoid the rock debris, the lava that was catching up to me, and hold onto the shaking ground... I forced my wings to propel me slightly past the debris, and grab the rocks before finally exiting... collapsing to the ground.
And watch the volcano erupt.

I can't help but wonder if... I'm the one responsible for this. And what did I cause by doing this ? What was the meaning of this temple... and all that I discovered there. And above all... this artifact, did I really do the right thing in recovering it ? What can it be used for...
Now it's just too late to turn back.

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(There's a sort of little follow up to this story, but it's much less thought, might edit it sometimes but if you want to see it here it is : https://www.furaffinity.net/view/49942750/ )