This side of Allusia was supposed to be abandoned but Fa Lian saw enough refuse and refugees to know that was incorrect. She bounded over the rooftops to avoid the winding alleys below. She couldn’t afford to be slowed down by anything, geography, architecture or people, so she took the path least travelled.
Speed was important here.
Fa Lian wasn’t letting herself think about Yurie. Whatever had happened to her made sense - Ah Dan fixing things that no one else could. Of course he did. Fa Lian had left Yurie with Xiaomei and Hyun Soon, telling them to catch up when they could. There was a look of offence from the two before Fa Lian took off.
Well, if they could keep up, it would be different.
She was flying. She had been for days now, internally. The once rough and rupturing power of Ryong Aang now sat comfortable in her chest. The dragon’s essence was wrapped around her core like a lizard warming on a rock. The rock, her mother’s - no, Fa Lian’s own soul stone, was soaking up the ambient power of the beast.
The result was more power than she had ever felt. Her mana felt… new. It had once felt ancient, unfathomable and even tainted, yet her experience with Ryong Aang (and, she begrudged, Ah Dan) had allowed the mana to move differently. She could feel the excitement in her mana channels as the flames started to spread and give her strength.
Her hands coiled around the warm dragonscales in her hand. The Dragon Bo, Ryong Aang’s form for centuries, was now her’s to command and shape. Even as close as she was to the dragon within, Fa Lian would never know the intricacies of the beast or its form. For now, she was content with the understanding she did have.
What once was a staff could now be whatever she needed. Gauntlets, a shield, a sword, a bow, a javelin, a whip, a net, a hammer. The true potential may have been even greater but experimenting with the limits of her new weapon would take time. Time she didn’t have right now.
Vaulting dozens of feet to the next rooftop, Fa Lian finally spotted the Court. She rather liked the look of the place, though the white-grey stone of the labyrinth was dull. She would have painted it, if she were in charge. Maybe she would take it as her home, a place to watch the insects scurry around with a wall to her back.
She continued towards it, shaking away the draconic thoughts of conquest and land ownership. Her mind felt different, though still her own. It was strange but feeling the influence of Ryong Aang on herself was not entirely unpleasant either. Confidence was not in short supply for Fa Lian but having a dragon inside her helped her direct that surety.
She had shaken away conquest and replaced it with simple destruction. She had been told there were enemies. That was enough.
Fa Lian knew nothing of them other than
In truth, she was happy to leave the others behind.
As Fa Lian cleared the large courtyard and found herself outside the Court itself, the sounds from within painted a strange picture. The clashing of wild animals fighting? The rage filled screeching that could only accompany pain being inflicted by two people who hate each other. Which one was Dan, though? With no time to deliberate, Fa Lian chose overwhelming force. If she needed to finish every fight in the Court right now, she would. Following the echoes of the closest battle, Fa Lian slowed as she reached what appeared to be an auditorium.
Without her own conscious bidding, the Dragon Bo shifted when Fa Lian looked inside. Quicker than lightning, the staff splayed out and formed a large shield, just in time to block the resounding blow that followed. The force of the attack was spread through the shield and Fa Lian rolled with the attack, letting it send her flipping in the air. Before she landed, she spotted her attacker.
Though which of the women had hit the shield, Fa Lian didn’t know.
A red-skinned woman, taller than any Fa Lian had ever seen, was currently locked in combat with a lioness. She seemed powerful, using her waist length dreaded hair as an additional limb, deftly blocking with it and whipping it around for attacks. The lioness stood like a woman, fought like an experienced combatant and was ferocity incarnate. The lioness also seemed to be losing. The pair did not even seem to be bothered with her presence, content to keep tearing strips from each other without paying Fa Lian any attention.
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All other worries left her mind. She would not be ignored.
The dragon inside wriggled with glee as Fa Lian landed, the shield already turned into a heavy hammer. With all the force she could manage, the spinning momentum she gained from being thrown amplifying her speed, Fa Lian slammed the weighty weapon into the floor.
A shockwave, fueled by the indomitable strength of a dragon and Fa Lian’s own mana, exploded out from where she hit. The energy of it threw both other women away. The position she had landed and their continued combat meant both women collided with the wall Fa Lian now faced. Each woman jumped to her feet quickly, but the battle stopped while the situation was assessed.
All of two seconds passed. Fa Lian was surprised and impressed with Calliope’s trust in her. Within an instant, she had turned her back on Fa Lian once more. This time, there was no angry dragon in her throat about it, this time it was simply that the lioness woman knew where the enemy was.
Unfortunately for Ravage, she had not seen Fa Lian before. She did not know who she was, why she was here or whether she should be afraid of her. That made her slow to dodge. The speed of Fa Lian’s attack increased confusingly as the slow, heavy hammer’s head became a long snaking blade instead.
Her dodge only slightly slow, Fa Lian’s blade ripped Ravage’s cheek open as she tried to avoid the followup to her attack. Instead of giving her the chance, both Calliope and Fa Lian pressed the assault. There was no need for discussion, no banter to be thrown around. Even if she wanted to spit barbs back and forth, Ravage could no longer speak naturally, her mouth hanging open slightly, muscles cut.
Fa Lian had walked into a life or death battle. She intended to treat it as such.
As she launched forward once more, the snaking blade in her hand became a rigid spear. Ravage saw it coming this time, adapting to the malleable nature of her opponent's weapon and preparing for whatever Fa Lian could throw at her. In response to her, Ravage flashed a flare of energy. Colourless light appeared in her eyes which then travelled up her brow and through her hair. The light danced quickly, collecting into the metal ball at the end of the majaal woman’s hair.
With wordless rage, Ravage unleashed her technique. From the orb of metal, a deafening ringing exploded. The structure of the weapon in Fa Lian’s hands shivered, reacting to the sound and almost melting. All rigidity lost, the strike landed with all the force of a wet noodle’s slap. A clawed hand was suddenly just nails as Calliope raked across the red skinned arm and drew no blood.
Their mana had been disrupted by the sound and Ravage used the opportunity well. A viper’s strike whipped out, her foot connecting with a hastily raised block. Fa Lian spun away again, almost losing grip of her weapon as she flew into the middle of the large auditorium.
Calliope seemed to fare far worse. As her mana was blasted away with Ravage’s chime, all of her energy seemed to disappear with it. Fa Lian herself was still strong but Calliope must have been fueling herself on mana for nearly the entire fight. Angry she hadn’t noticed, Fa Lian did a hurried cycle of her energy. Ryong Aang’s grumpy soul gave her power reluctantly, needing to be chided from within like getting a treat from a sleeping parent.
By the time Fa Lian landed, the weapon had reformed. Rigid spikes flowed up Fa Lian’s forearms, her weapon taking the form of two bracers of dragonscale. She punched them together as she began approaching the majaal. Calliope could not dodge the incoming strike and Ravage’s long leg swung back in a long pendulum before colliding with the elf.
Instantly, the light faded from Calliope’s eyes. Fa Lian could not tell whether she was unconscious or dead but the sound of her body hitting the wall with no bracing was like the dropping of a steak. Without the worry of the elf, Ravage turned her full attention to Fa Lian before she could reach her.
Punched the gauntlets together again and rolling her neck, Fa Lian smiled. She felt steam hiss from her mouth as her temperature continued to rise past boiling. It felt good. Even the fact that Calliope was out of the way was a silver lining. Fa Lian didn’t have to worry about her any more, whatever happened.
She had finally warmed up.
Ravage threw the first punch but regretted it as Fa Lian’s block raised. Scorching heat alongside razor-rough gauntlets shredding the incoming punch. The woman groaned in pain and tried to take a backstep, but Fa Lian stepped in at the same time. The distance between them didn’t change for a moment, Ravage’s eyes wide in shock and worry as she saw the incoming punch aimed directly for her ribs.
With a planted foot, a spun hip and a rotating shoulder, Fa Lian’s fist found purchase in the right kidney of Ravage. She powered on, using all of her weight, her strength and every ounce of mana she could channel into the blow. Ravage was lifted off her feet but Fa Lian wasn’t done.
With incredible force, only possible now that she had wrestled the last dragon to heel, Fa Lian stepped in again. Her fist was still buried in the woman’s side, twisting and crunching through her guard, Ravage’s blocking arm blasted out of the way. She continued the punch, shoving the woman up and then slamming her down one handed.
It was a devastating strike. The orb of metal pressed brutally into Ravage’s back. She made no sound except a wheeze, all the air smashed out of her and no promise when the lungs would reactivate. Her own breath was quick and shallow but the punch had been enough to end the battle.
Without conscious command, the gauntlets turned into a different form. A more final form. With the calm that had fallen over the room, Fa Lian had time to admire the dagger which had shaped so nicely from the liquid scales. The tip was incredibly sharp, all of the killing power of a dragon refined to a gorgeous white-steel point. The hilt was a fine crystalline thing, all ruby and onyx.
Standing over the majaal woman, Fa Lian could see in her eyes that she knew Fa Lian’s thoughts. She probably even agreed with them, if the roles were reversed Ravage would certainly have ended the fight with the blade Fa Lian now found herself contemplating.
The question Fa Lian was asking herself did not need an answer.
Xiaomei and Hyun Soon finally caught up. Fa Lian’s presence could do no more in this room and the sounds of combat were, luckily, still present. Ah Dan was still fighting. Leaving the other two to contain the defeated majaal, the dagger turned once more into a staff and Fa Lian set off in search of the battle.