Cassandra's hand flew to her mouth as she gasped. "Dragon? Here? How can this be?!" she stammered, her eyes wide.
"It sounds just like the one that attacked Agamemnon when I was seven," Georgi said. "I remember it well. This farm isn't fireproof and the ward's shot. Lets make haste for the church!"
"The church?" Cassandra blinked. "But the..."
"Ishira will protect us." my dad replied, pulling my mom into his muscular arms to carry her. "The church has the strongest wards in town! Hang on tight!"
"Ishira will protect us," Mom affirmed with a nod as dad took off at a brisk pace down the path heading to the island in the middle of the river valley.
I sighed mentally. It was clear that neither of my parents knew that they were selling their souls to diabolical forces that destroyed Tricameron Citadel and brought down a far more magically advanced civilization. The fall of the Alanian Magocracy clearly cast Skyisle into a dark age where everyone was a level 20 pawn, not knowing their fate akin to sheep at a farm... simply waiting to be slaughtered.
I wished that I had a communication spell of some sort to warn my parents not to make more Vows... but then again Cassandra and Georgi would probably ignore a questionable, disembodied voice of their unborn son warning them not to trust their life-saving deity.
"How did you find me?" Cassandra asked, leaning her head onto my father's chest.
"The Goddess led me to you. I felt it in my soul that you were in grave danger," Georgi replied. "Did you..."
"I traded one of my skills for protection," Mom said.
"Which one?" My dad asked.
"Pest destruction."
"Ah, that was a good one," Georgi sighed. "But I'm glad you did it, Cass. You saved our little darling and protected yourself long enough for me to arrive."
"It's a mild inconvenience in the face of death," Cassandra muttered. "I'll unlock a similar skill and bring it to LV 20 in due time, don't worry, love."
As dad rushed down the valley floor with mom in tow, the forest around us came alive with terrified animals fleeing in all directions. Flocks of escaping birds fluttered through the air. The roar of the dragon echoed again, closer this time, and the ground shook with the sheer power of it. Deep rumbles of thunder followed. The sky overhead rapidly darkened. Judging by the cloud formations, it looked like a tornado was coming.
"I don't understand," my mother muttered as dad ran across the wooden planks over the rushing river water, finally reaching the church on the island and joining the throng of people heading into the gothic gate. "What's a dragon doing in Skyisle... there should be no worthy prey here for it to consume! High level beasts avoid our fault..."
"I have foreseen this," a woman loudly declared from the dark gray, stone stairwell. "It is a sign of dark times to come! The end-bringer is near and all shall be judged!"
The doomsday-announcer looked no different from any other villager in terms of her outfit, yet she somehow instantly commanded everyone's attention. Her hair was black with streaks of gray, pulled back in a neat bun. An old scar ran down the left side of her face, her left eye pale and unseeing and right eye dark brown and sharp. As we came closer to her, I noticed that a lilac string was wrapped snugly around her forehead featuring a single, large, violet bead with a stylized drawing of an eye on it.
I guessed that the string and bead was some sort of a sign of authority similar to the red armbands worn by the 'People's Druzhina' who were were voluntary detachments for maintaining public order in USSR.
The woman expertly began to guide the panic-stricken villagers down the stairwell, her eyes flickering with odd violet sparks.
"Head down! The catacombs will keep us safe from the dragon's wrath!" She declared.
"The gate is open?" one of the villages asked.
"The gate into the caverns is unlocked," the authoritative woman nodded. "I've made sure of it!"
Giovashi Incandictia Skyisle - female - human - LV 20 farmer
The Infoscope identified her.
"Giovashi? Where's the Imperial Overseer?" Georgi asked.
"Drinking off our taxes in Agamemnon," Giovashi spat out with disdain. "Thankfully, the Overseer of Equality is more concerned with fulfilling his base desires with Pink Courtesans than watching over us," she continued, her voice echoing through the catacombs, "But we have Ishira's blessings and protection on our side. We're not alone in our time of need!"
"Blessed be the Goddess of beauty and fertility!" An old, wrinkled woman beside us declared.
"Blessed be!" The crowd echoed, chanting praises to Ishira.
Judging by the pulse of mistrust and hatred deep in my soul from the shard of Kopusha, I suspected that Ishira was likely the one responsible for this dragon incident. If the local gods fed on Vows, it was clever of her to place her followers in danger so that they could make more Vows.
Apocalyptic prophecies, exploitation of emotional vulnerabilities, traumas, or personal crises to establish control and influence was a common tactic also used by small cults back in USSR. My NKVD-assigned Officer, Alexander Gradenski proudly spoke of his participation in Operation North which dealt with arrest and deportation of thousands of cult members and their families to Siberia in 1951. While there was a lot of things which Commissar Gradenski and I disagreed about, at the very least we had a consensus that "end of the world" cults were bad.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Giovashi's now glowing eyes and soft words seemed to comfort the villagers as they followed her lead down into the depths of the church, their fear giving way to a grim determination.
The catacombs were damp and gloomy, lit only by a few hex-lanterns carried by some people. The villagers huddled together, their fear and apprehension filling the air. Yet, there was also a sense of unity, a shared strength that echoed in the prayers uttered between the dragon's roars and crackle of thunder overhead.
Giovashi moved among the villages, her violet forehead-bead and eyes glowing in the dim light. She spoke words of comfort and led prayers to Ishira, her presence a balm to the terrified men, women and children.
My parents nestled close, holding onto each other.
The dragon-attack experience reminded me of the time when my mother and I hid in Moscow metro station, deep underground during the summer of 1941. Tracer fire from anti-aircraft batteries and searchlights lit up the skies over the Kremlin as over two hundred German bombers relentlessly attacked Moscow for five hours, dumping firebombs onto the city I loved with all of my heart.
As there wasn't much I could do in the cavern, I pushed my Infoscope through layers of rock to see the creature from a better angle.
After another minute, the Infoscope emerged above ground and I saw it. The dragon was a gargantuan beast with orange scales and a brilliant, ruby-red mane. It soared through the turbulent skies, its massive red wings cutting through the supercell storm with ease. Its eyes glowed with an unnatural yellow glow, akin to a pair of beacons against the backdrop of dark, ever churning clouds.
Lightning danced between the clouds and across the dragon's wings whenever the beast belched fire. I guessed that the physics of this were similar to a volcanic eruption cloud, in which tiny particles of volcanic material collided with one another at high speeds, resulting in the separation of charges and a ridiculous rate of lightning.
[Aradria - female - Red Dragon LV 209]
the Infoscope identified the beast. It, no she had a name unlike the Blood Elk monsters!
The beast swooped low, spewing fire from its toothy maw, turning the dense forest into an inferno. The flames spread with unnatural speed, driven by the fierce winds of the storm, consuming everything in their path. The once verdant landscape was quickly transforming into a charred wasteland, enormous pine trees reduced to smoldering husks.
The dragon roared once more, a deafening sound that echoed through the valley, filled with an ancient fury.
This creature was indeed a harbinger of disaster, untamed, wild power and absolute destruction combined into one horrifying package. And she was right above my new home, threatening the lives of everyone I was yet to meet!
As Aradria continued her deadly flight, a sudden violet glow caught my attention. The church spire had begun to pulsate with a vibrant, violet light. The glow intensified with each passing second, echoing the rhythmic chant of the villagers huddled in the catacombs beneath. The chant led by Giovashi was a prayer to Ishira, a plea for protection, a desperate cry for salvation.
Giovashi stood in the center of the congregation, her eyes closed and hands raised to the stalactite-covered ceiling.
"Ishira, hear my plea. I offer my skill of [Light Manipulation] for your divine intervention," she declared loudly, her voice echoing in the catacombs. "Here and now I make an Unbreakable Vow to you, my Goddess, in exchange for power to drive away the beast! Join me, my friends! Offer your skills to our Goddess, so that we may survive this day!" She appealed to the crowd. "Together! We will need all of us to repel the beast before it destroys Skyisle!"
One by one, the villagers offered their skills, joining with their own Vows. My father sacrificed [Timberlore] while my mom sacrificed [Dish-cleansing].
I pulled Modify out and formed a second Infoscope, peering at the interior of the cavern and the outside at the same time, not wanting to miss a thing.
There was a sudden surge of energy, a ripple that swept through the air. An entire sea of gold threads akin to a wheat field emerged from the Astral and danced across the crowd, forming into a brilliant, gold tree that only I could see.
Giovashi's entire body ignited with violet fire. She rose into the air, her feet no longer touching the ground, her hair floating as if she was underwater. As the violet fire washed over her, she became perfect.
Perfect like the most beautiful person I laid my eyes on, perfect like a mathematical equation that answered every question about the structure of the universe, perfect like a cure for death...
Avatar of Ishira - female
The Infoscope helpfully defined the immaculate being.
"Ray of Judgement," Ishira spoke, with a voice made from sublime voices, her eyes blazing with violet flames.
The spire's glow over the church reached a blinding intensity.
Suddenly, a beam of pure violet energy erupted from the spire, piercing the turbulent skies to strike at the dragon.
The dragon roared in pain and fury, veering off her destructive path. The beam chased the dragon, relentless and unwavering, clearly hurting the creature.
The dragon began to retreat away from the violet beam that left black scorch-marks across her scales and torn holes in her massive wings.
Aradria vanished in the distance and the supercell storm followed her, leaving behind only the rain that slowly began to put out the burning forest.
"I have saved you today, my children," Giovashi/Ishira spoke with the same, cascading, inhumanly perfect chorus-voice. "Rejoice, for all is well! The rain shall put out the fire. Skyisle shall not burn under my ever-watchful eye that sees all."
The villagers, my parents included, wept in joy, their voices filled with gratitude and devotion, dropping to their knees in prayer to what they witnessed as the manifestation of the Avatar of Ishira.
As the villagers celebrated their narrow escape, I found myself caught between relief and a new sense of unease. The dragon was driven away, but at what cost? The villagers had offered up their magic skills in a desperate plea for divine intervention, and it worked. But I couldn't help but wonder what the true price of their Unbreakable Vows to Ishira would be in the future.
Giovashi descended to the stone floor, violet light leaving her form, billowing dress and hair settling back down. She no longer looked like the most beautiful thing in the universe.
"The Goddess blessed us with her presence!" She announced. "Remember this day and speak not of this to the Overseer of Equality!"
My parents held each other tightly, their faces etched with relief and exhaustion. We had survived. For now. But the dragon attack made it abundantly clear that the world I was about to enter with my sister was far from safe.
Giovashi Incandictia Skyisle - female - human - Priestess of Ishira LV 89
My Infoscope redefined her. Giovashi's dark brown eye filled with violet sparks suddenly settled on my Infoscope as if she could clearly see or perhaps sense my microscopic, all-identifying spark of magic.
"Tut, tut, little curious kitten," she smirked and clapped her hands together, producing a violet pulse of magic. Both of my Infoscopes suddenly crashed, winked away, leaving me completely blind.
I retreated into the confines of my thoughts, feeling terrified of the Priestess of Ishira. My only hope was that Giovashi didn't realize whom the Identifying spellwork belonged to.
Nothing else of note followed. The villagers prayed. I settled on quietly contemplating the future, feeling a bit drowsy.
I had a lot more to learn, a lot to prepare for. The world of Novazem was fraught with dangers, monsters, gods and their followers who seemed more foe than friend.
I would need all the intelligence, focus and strength I could muster to navigate my way through it all.