Laddom. A small frontier village wedged between the Scurab Mountainrange and the northern edges of the Scurab Black Forest.

Off-road and far away from the nearest townscape the village was only reachable through a narrow and meandering dirt track, one that was at most able to accomodate a single, impossibly tiny carriage.

Framed by thorns, inhabited by savage predators lurking behind every second brush and sitting atop a steep slope this quaint sanctuary remained untouched by many a filthy influence. Likewise it stood alone, for decades or even centuries.

Nonetheless the folk of Laddom were happy, a truly hale and vigorous ilk that went on their daily lives as farmers, working the hardy soil, or hunters, prowling and tracking game. The cityfolk that witnessed these people outside their cozy village home might describe them as boorish, rough and perpetually grumpy.

Though that was indeed the truth, who would hold it against them if they were suddenly robbed of their peaceful home, with crystal clear rivulets gargling unpoluted snow melt and healthy earth that still retains its boundless nutrients, turning every harvest into a reason for drunken celebration.

This small patch of untamed land was their home, their personal haven! As much as teeming danger lurked everywhere so did nature's wonders and beauty. They couldn't even begin to imagine what it would be like to forsake their snug little village; thereafter surrounded by people they didn't even know by name! Terrifying!

But today the mood was particularly solemn.

Laddom's mayor had just yesterday discussed an unsettling matter with the village elders. A reoccurring phenomenon that haunts the surrounding forrest. Of foragers and hunters returning in due haste, battered and fatigued, mumbling of nonsensical guises and apparitions.

A man with nary a fleck of skin on his face but instead a red skull; a garish joker covered in feathers of green, blue and pink; a vicious warrior clad in teeth and bones and a black greatsword slung over his back, oozing out scalp-tingling bloodlust.

Those were just one of the many faces this spectre assumed.

And it was just a few hours prior that a handful of scouts reported this wraith's presence to be in close vicinity of the village.

This was a matter of utmost importance, as neither of the elders nor the villagers knew of this creature's might. But to instill fear into the stallwart hearts of Laddom's natives spoke volumes in and of itself. And this was exactly what kept Chieftain Rakkon Ifrin on edge.

***

"So? What shall we do chief?", the elders were restless. Never before had they convened a meeting like this if not for the imminent distruction of the village or the Kingdom. And yet, for a single unknown figure they went to such lengths. But if the witness reports were truthful then they had all the reason to be trembling down to their boots.

A ghost scaring Dragons?!

Something didn't add up.

Rakkon folded his iron-clad hands before his chest, a lengthy, red-scaled tail hovering furiosly in the air.

"I. I honestly don't know. There had never been a case such as this... Whatever it is that roams this forest, it is dangerous." -Bearing his weight onto the coal-black table and pressing a finger on the wood he let the words settle.- "Quite so."

"What do you mean you don't know?!", Saghanna Ifrit, his younger sister and Great Elder, lashed out at him. "There is this- this... thing!- shuffling through our home and you just want to sit idly by and twiddle your thumbs?! Are you for real?", her ivory horns crackled with arcs of deep blue electricity, twirling and dancing like feverish serpents.

"Rakkon, I agree with the sentiment of your sister. We can't let such a volatile factor run amuk through our woods, lest we risk our all doom.", another broad-shouldered individual spoke with deep gravitas. His dark-brown beard rustled as Morgon Oum braced a hand against his chin.

Before another could add their two cents, Rakkon lifted his hands.

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"I know, I know. But for now we don't even know this... uhm... man's location, apart from some sporadic sightings all around. What? Do you think he will just: 'Bam!', in a flash appear in our midst? Ready to be butchered?!" -Rakkon could only snarl in aggression.- "Don't take me for a fool!"

But just as his voice melded into the pensive silence a guardsmen barged through the door. As a close knit-community no one actually frowned over this untimely intrusion but the pale face of the aghast man gave them a sense of foreboding.

"B-Bad news! The-the... It is here! That- this... That thing! It appeared! A-and... Lady Avianna is confronting it!"

The blood drained away from Rakkan's face as he overheard his darling niece's name.

"Where?!" -He shouted with scarlet wings breaking away from his robe.- "Tell me where that demon is! NOW!"

Apprehensive of the fiery wrath that was unleashed upon him the man buckled to one knee. "The p-plaza.", he told in a hushed whisper. "They are at the main-plaza."

But Rakkan never heard his final words as his back already disappeared through the roof.

The elders looked at one another, stunned. How did the intruder manage to get past them unnoticed? What kind of arcane ability could elude their detection? Or, much worse in fact, how powerful was this man to sneak inside, unobstructed?

All those thoughts raced through their heads but the next second they too vanished in sparks of fire, bolts of thunder, blades of wind or quakes of earth; joining the fight that was bound to happen.

***

The silence was thick in the musky yard.

People nervously scuttled about, the rattle of their plated armor the only noise so far.

Beads of sweat ran down Avianna's cheek as she watched the approaching foe.

A man, undoubtly, of stature two heads smaller than her, barely reaching her chest, but filled with vigor and a fire hardly anyone could compare with.

Clad in teeth and bone, mail as black as the night and pervaded with throbbing, vermillion veins, he was a living disaster.

Each scale that clad his chest, each fang that protruded from his armored knuckles and each patch of blackened hide brimmed with an undisputable ferocity, unleashed by only the mightiest of predators.

This armor alone was testament to her adversaries strength, that whomever or whatever could kill such beings would be a legendary figure. She could only gulp audibly, cursing her rashness that led to this moment.

If only she had stayed away, prevented her hubrys from marching onward without the slightest inkling of her opponents battle prowess, then it wouldn't be her facing the brunt of this infernal rapacity that was being exuded.

*Shrrrrrk*

Tearing through the impasse was the crips sound of a sword unsheathed.

Avianna could only gape at this sudden scene, not just how a sword half as tall as her simply appeared out of thin air but moreso at the frightening power it withheld.

A sword of embers and bone. A fiery amber crossguard transitioning into a bleach grey fuller, framed by spines of glow and tipping off into a scorching point.

This weapon looked to be made from a single, perfect piece -a composition of masterful craftsmanship and miraculous materials molded into a unique blade.

(Someone! HELP! WTF is wrong with my tables?! I just can't get it centered, or the background turn black for that matter... It's triggering me so hard... BOI!)

Beclouded Dalamadur (Rare 10) Attack 1122 Element 240 (Para)

Avianna looked on in utter terror as the shade approached and with sword in hand, every step traversing countless meters.

It crashed into her with its indomitable speed, taking the air out of her lungs as a shoulder slammed into her chest.

*Cough!*, carefully retreating Avianna bared her fangs with a gutural snarl. Her fingernails morphed into serrated claws, each sharper than the next, and soon her skin burst apart as scale after scale overlapped one another.

A writhing mass of flesh and polished shards bulged free from her tailbone, trashing about in concert of her roiling emotions.

But in spite of her primal transformation the shadow only snickered, stepping down once only to appear straight in her face.

A low growl was followed by an onslaught of criss-crossing swipes, the very air torn asunder by the power behind each swing.

Yet, the shadow deftly evaded each attack, even the sudden, bright-white firebreath didn't rattle its composure. Instead a fist came flying.

Connecting square to her stomach, the sudden strike left Avianna winded once more. She gasped for breath and the prior lunch loudly announced itself as it came trickling down her lips. But her enemy left no more of such leisure, as he came at her with untiring fervor.

*Shiiink!*, the glowing blade bit into her thigh with no mercy shown, only quick-thinking narrowly avoiding a swift amputation as she backstepped.

"AAAAH!!!" she cried out as not only intense pain but also a growing numbness was unleashed upon her in all its brutal glory, the young and naive dragonkin hardly spared as another clean cut marked her stomach, the scales giving way to the blade like soft butter meeting hot iron.

Today marked the first day that she had ever experienced such blood-curdling agony, such pure, white-hot liquid fire burning through her veins. She wanted to run away and hide, cry and scream, but the demon was right on her heels, catching up to her with an expressionless face ever so terrifying.

With an unyielding grip her body was jerked backward, the bones of her remaining wings groaning under the pressure as an armor-clad hand pulled at them.

"NOO!", she shrieked and kicked back at the figure behind her. But alas her foot never connected as she was pounded into the earth, her back arching as a fist pummeled her deeper into the small crater.

"KAH!", coughing up goblets of blood and bile she tried her best to make her body obey her commands, but the strain put on her meager muscles and flesh had finally taken its toll, now immobile and whimpering she couldn't put forth an ounce of resistance.

"Please... No... more..." She pleaded, much to the amusement of the unrelenting demon that stood with one foot atop of her, with eyes so very condescending.

"Pitifully weak", it mumbled and slackened the pressure. "I expected more of... dragons."

Avianna only gave a self-mocking smile, her cries muffled by the ruptured earth. Weak?! She was one of the strongest of her kin, and yet she had been played like a fool; disfigured and dishonored she now lies beneath her enemies mercy.

'There is no one that can vanquish this... aberration', she thought as swound took her into a deep sleep.

Though she could feel a powerful warmth cursing through her body the instant after, alleviating her aches and granting her blissful and painless solace.

***

Rakkan, impotent and trembling, watched as his dear niece's body lied motionless. Like a merciless reaper the ghost continued to stand above her, with arms reared back, the incandescent blade gleefully anticipating.

"NOOO!", Rakkan cried and plunged from the high skies. Reminiscient of a meteor his figure came crashing down, like heavenly retribution, onto the demon.