Through the eyes of a certain critter

Fuahahahahaa! Worship me my minion, for I am Divine Beast Lyla! The most powerful spider to ever exist! A small, fuzzy spider stands victoriously atop her newly claimed minion, waggling her front legs in the air excitedly in a very... spidery way. Indeed, you should celebrate! To be taken under the wing of one as great as I is a truly rare opportunity. Though, I suppose you're the one with wings here... huh.

Lyla skitters around her perch, the soft white glow emanating from the snowy fuzz coating her basking the room in white. Bouncing her way to the ground she looks up with her eight cyan eyes, fully taking in the form before her.

A young dragon lay wounded, breathing slowly in its slumber. Two small onyx horns protrude from its head, reflecting nothing in spite of their seemingly mirror-like, smooth surface. Pitch black scales adorn the dragon's body devouring the light around them to emit a deep violet glow, softly pulsating in rhythm with its breath. Large leathery wings drape wide across the floor, the span of which only contested by the abnormal length of its tail, accented by a long, fine groove along the tip.

Hmm hmm, yes. Truly the most ideal minion. I'll admit, the blood is maybe a bit passé for my liking. Truly not the best fashion choice in this day and age. A dribble of crimson blood drips off the broken wing, trickling its way towards Lyla. Hm, maybe I should do something about that. After all, I need to earn some good spider points to be accepted as the master here.

Kneading together a spindle of thread, Lyla tightly wraps a makeshift silk bandage around the broken wing, careful not to further agitate the wound. Hopping back, she marvels at her handiwork with a nod. Ah yes, a fine job indeed. Perhaps I should go all out and make a shirt? Do dragons wear shirts? I don't think they do, hm... Accessories then? I have a dragon minion, therefore I must decorate it! That can come later though.

Skittering around her minion Lyla inspects for more wounds, finding only small cuts and a few missing scales. Cleaning the wounds with a hastily made silk rag she steps back satisfied. Hmm yes, very durable to have come out of a close fight against that giant snake thing relatively unscathed. As expected of my minion!

I was worried when it kept smacking its face on rocks, and stumbling down such an obvious hole, and then kept slamming into walls, and missing all those hiding spots... But worry no longer! For my time spent in silent, sneaky observation was not in vain! Lyla scampers in circles, waving her pedipalps manically like a mad scientist explaining their life's work.

Fuahaha, I knew from the moment this dragon flopped its way out of that egg it would make for the perfect minion! And I was right, it even has that cool tail sword thing! All I needed to do is wait for an opportune moment to assist it in its time of need to gain its undying trust and loyalty to me! Now I need only wait, and this dragon, seeing my magnanimity and grandiosity, will have no choice but to accept me as its master, fuehehehe...

Lyla rubs her pedipalps together as she mentally monologues her 'genius' plot to thin air. Now awaken my minion! You will make the perfect guide to the lower floors, being one of 'that guy's' creations... Hmm, doesn't sound mysterious enough. Maybe just 'him'? 'It'? Or... Fiddling with a loose thread as she ponders the most mysterious way to refer to what is obviously the shadow figure from the prologue, she turns her head to the sound of movement coming from the sleeping dragon.

Cyan meets violet as two sets of eyes lock their gaze together. Two vertically slit pupils dilate, revealing a deep black abyss which betrays no end, as they absorb the form before them. Lyla meets the gaze with her own glare of unwavering confidence. Until the slits constrict into thin lines, eyes opening wide in a predatory gaze as quartz teeth bear themselves to the world.

Uah! I'm not food! Ah right, this is where I must show my dominance as the master in this dynamic! Invisible auras collide between the figure's of black and white, neither making a grand effort yet still pressing their dominance over each other. The dragon rises, getting ready to pounce before wincing and looking back at its silk-wrapped wing.

Turning back only to see Lyla skittering from side to side, waggling her pedipalps aggressively in a display of 'dominance'. Fuahahaa! Fear my POWAH fool! These muscles aren't just for show you know! Obey me my minion, or prepare to face my wrath! This isn't even my final form!

Tilting it's head in a mix of confusion and curiosity, the dragon leans in slowly towards the palm sized spider. Lyla pauses her show of force as their eyes lock once again. This is a good thing right? You accept your place as my minion?

The dragon plants its snout on the ground before the spider, warm breath rippling through fur. Are you asking for a name? How about Draggy? No! Stupid! Then... Dragolord? Or how about... As Lyla contemplates a name for her new dragon minion a long tail sneaks behind, nudging her forward and onto the dragon's head.

Draco? Too wizardy... Dragonite? Might run into copyright issues... Lyla skitters a bit before sitting comfortably, finding purchase between the onyx horns. This one has teeth so that won't work... I can hardly imagine it stealing from dwarves and terrorising hobbits so that one's out, hmm...

The dragon lifts its head close to the ceiling, taking in its surroundings before slowly making its way out of the crevasse, a slight limp in it's step. What about... Hm, no, but? No... Hmm, maybe? Kinda? Nah... Or what about... No definitely not...

Through the eyes of a certain dragon

Wahahaha! Success! Glory! I have acquired myself a flash-light! With my new minion no amount of stupid dark cave can stop me! Now onward! To the first edible thing I can find! I'm starving! Aleph triumphantly gallops through the cave at a frankly slow, and limpy, pace. Still, she is going faster than her earlier fumbling now that she can see, courtesy of the small glowing blue and white spider perched on her head.

Who decided spiders can be so cute? They deserve a raise! My cute lil' minion shall be coddled and fed only the finest... Whatever glowing white fuzzy spiders eat. Hmm, I should give it a name. Is it a boy or a girl? The arm thingys are kinda thin so I guess female? Why do I even know that? Whatever. I shall dub thee Bloop!

Bloop skitters energetically between the two horns on her new perch, eyes filled with an oblivious spidery glee. Striding onward at a reasonable pace, Aleph searches for the nearest source of food. Focusing her hearing she follows every sound she picks up on. Small clatters of falling pebbles, occasional scritches, and the soft drip of distant water fill the cave. The pair come upon various strange, spirally plants and cube shaped fungi, with Aleph giving each a curious sniff and a nibble before rightfully deciding they each taste more revolting than the last.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Patiently identifying sounds and filtering the excess noise, Aleph begins to narrow down on a promising scritching sound, slowly growing desperate as she begins to worry if everything here is going to taste this bad. Maybe I just have really bad taste buds? I hope I haven't poisoned myself already... Careful not to make any noise herself she gently stalks forward, each step chosen with calculation so as to eliminate any possibility of creating sound by knocking a pebble or stumbling.

Edging around a corner Aleph spots her prey. A small lizard, camouflaged grey against the rocky wall it clings to, lays in place with its eyes sealed shut. Barely noticeable save for the occasional twitch of its front leg and the corresponding scritch of its hard scales against the wall. Doesn't look tasty... more like a moving rock really. Most dragons can digest pretty much anything as far as I'm aware, but I need nutrition not energy.

Aleph gently lifts Bloop with her tail, placing the critter behind her before turning back to her target. At the very least it's alive, so it's gotta have something in it worth eating, as long as it's not poisoned. Instincts would be nice here, but alas I cannot simply look at a thing and say 'yes tasty'. Though, I think poisonous creatures usually advertise it with bright colours and stuff, rather than rocky camouflage, so it's probably fine. Either way I'm hungry, and this is probably better than those weird square mushrooms.

Crouching low and stalking her way closer she readies herself to pounce the unsuspecting rock lizard. As she enters striking range the lizards eyelids shoot open to reveal two glowing yellow eyes. Taking this as her queue Aleph leaps forward, striking with her claws. The lizard manages to adeptly slither its way between both sets of her front claws before being run through and pinned to the wall by a bladed tail.

Tail sword for the win! Blood drips down along the boney blade, running off and falling to the ground, leaving not so much as a stain. Guess my body's hydrophobic. Or at least hemophobic? Worth testing when I get the time. Bloop skitters her way back to Aleph's side, her glow once again saturating the cave as she looks up expectantly at the newly claimed prey.

Aww aren't you just the cutest lil' critter. Here, you can have the first bite. After all I'm the kind of magnanimous leader who treats her minions well. Lowering the skewered lizard to Bloop she waits as the spider looks back up at her. Cyan eyes glimmering in adoration before Bloop grasps the lizards head, violently twisting it off with her pincers and skittering to the side to nibble on her prize.

Huh, I guess spiders eat meat. Here I thought they sucked blood or something. Weird. Anyway, bottoms up Aleph bites into the front half of the lizard with a resounding cronch, assaulting her mouth with the taste of blood and rocks. Euugh! Should've just ate it whole. I don't even have lips to chew with so I really don't know what I was thinking...

Finishing the rest of her meal in one gulp Aleph places Bloop back on her head before moving on. Wasn't very filling... I'll have to hunt a bunch of those to keep up with my own metabolism. Dragons are just way too inefficient... Oh well, hopefully I can find something bigger in these parts.

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Lesser Earth Lizard Juvenile Earth Drake

Appearance:

A half stride's length from head to tail, with four limbs spreading out three palms across. The body is adorned with a thick layer of rocky scales, seemingly composed of actual rocks from the surroundings yet fused to the skin beneath like actual scales. Each leg and the tip of the tail appear to have much less armour, likely for better articulation, with visible patches of black leather on the belly side. They possess the same yellow eyes as most creatures on these layers seem to have, using the reflected light they emit to accurately map their surroundings similar to the sonar ability used by some fish. The flesh beneath their scales is minimal, making it quite the mystery to how they can support their own weight and flee with such speed when I approach. They use gravity magic to reduce their weight! Only they use so little of it that I am unable to detect it with my own. Or perhaps they are able to mask it in some way. Definitely worth further investigation if I can find more!

Diet:

I believe these creatures to be omnivorous scavengers. These are most likely carnivores, as most Earth Drakes are Their teeth indicate predation, yet to hunt with such a weight would burn more energy than they would claim from any prey. They likely use gravity magic to reduce their weight and pounce on prey from above It also seems the surrounding rocks make up a part of their diet, as shown by the presence of said rocks in their gizzard. It is also possible that these rocks are somehow further digested to produce their scales.

Behaviour:

I have been unable to encounter these lizards doing anything but hide, camouflaged between cracks and crevasses in the rocky walls of the cave. It seems likely that they are somehow able to detect my presence before I can detect them, though whether this is from advanced hearing or some other sense I am unsure. Considering they are actually Drakes it seems they were simply detecting my Mana, rather than relying on any mundane sense

Other Notes:

Considering their scales are near identical to the surrounding rock, they have no real use that would warrant hunting them over just collecting rocks from the cave. Their teeth however do appear to be well adapted to grinding down rocks, making them useful despite their small size. Their flesh is minimal, and what meat there is tends to be tough and tastes like rocks. Not exactly a delicacy. The scales are worse. Do not eat the scales. If they are Earth Drakes capable of magic they should have some form of Mana core somewhere, though I have no specimen at this time to test with

I do wish I could spend more time here. This is one of the more interesting layers of the labyrinth I have explored, with all the creatures adapted so well to the dark. I would especially like to find out what manner of creature could grind the cave floor into such a smooth, lightly patterned surface, almost reminiscent of the great marbled roads of Terris Armoura. Alas, I have a task I must complete in the depths of this labyrinth. I can explore more on my return trip to the surface.

Addendum:

Further exploration has revealed to me that these lizards are most likely the juvenile form of an Earth Drake. Their ability to cling to walls appears to be enhanced by a lesser derivative of the Earth Drake's gravity manipulation, and the clinging pads adorning their fingers likely develop into clawed paws later in their development when they no longer need the additional support to handle their weight.

This layer of the labyrinth is most likely some form of common breeding ground for many of the greater creatures found in the depths below. How such large creatures can find their way between the layers though is beyond me. All of the inter-layer tunnels I have found are much too small for anything larger than a Basilisk to fit through, let alone a fully grown Earth Drake. I know dragons often have the ability to compress themselves into a smaller form. Do Drakes have something similar?

-Excerpt from section 50 chapter 7 of the Lost Hero's Journal