I spread all four of my wings wide to catch the updraft rising above the freshly harvested field below. The golden aroma of the sun-dried grain stalks filled my nostrils as the warm air gradually carried me high into the sky. Stretching out below me were the fields, forests and pastures surrounding the prosperous coastal city of Selim - capital of the Principality of Fagnos. The soft breeze gently ruffling my fur and feathers almost let me forget all about the urgent task that had been given to my companions and me. Today was the day of Kekenyto in the month of Kelfeeito in the year of AN 1007, a day that would go down in history. But that was something I was yet blissfully ignorant about, soaring up high into the air on this warm autumn morning.
Who am I? My name is Idra Kegis, and I am proud and happy to be a Dragoness of the Kyera Clan, the Dragons of wind. That makes me quite diminutive compared to others of my kin, and significantly smaller than our ancestors, the mighty Greatdragons, or even our closer relatives the Dragonmounts. However, size isn't everything. What elevates us Dragons above the other Dracoforms is our intelligence. This makes us one of the eight Cemarelij - the civilized species of our world. Being of the Kyera Clan means that I actually belong to one of the smallest races of Dragons on Ceal, but there's no other clan that I would rather have been born into. Sure, the majority of Dracoforms can fly one way or another, but none of them can match the grace and agility with which we of the Kyera Clan soar the skies.
And soar the skies I did right there and then, effortlessly riding the updraft as high as it would take me. From up here, I could see for miles all around. The city of Selim lay nested in the wedge between the great river Rela and the little stream Varle. Half of it was protected by mighty walls, with the estuary of the Rela safeguarding the other half. An extensive trade harbor with many piers stretched along most of the riverside. On the far side of the river's mouth lay the town of Selimsport, which had about a Kanta - that is sixteen - more jetties protruding into the azure waters.
Connecting the two was the great Kepelius bridge. Its construction had only been possible due to the eponymous sage Kepelius using his vast powers to raise massive boulders from the river bed over a century ago. Those now served as the main pillars for the bridge, with the individual spans arcing wide and tall enough for ships to pass underneath. The bridge also marked the beginning of the Rela's estuary, constructed at the last relatively narrow point, after which the river only started to get wider and wider. Lazily winding its way from the low hills to the north, this was where the Rela gradually transitioned into the Yaeresic Ocean. I could not only see it as a wedge of brilliant sparkling blue from my current position, but also taste the salty tinge the sea breeze left on my tongue.
Surrounding the city, there was mostly farmland and pastures, with the occasional little copse or a row of trees between the fields. Farms and hamlets dotted the landscape in regular intervals, connected by a network of criss-crossing paths and roads, most of which were little more than better field paths. In addition to the smaller copses of trees, two major forests stood out on this side of the river: The Noricia Woods - located north of Selim and covering roughly three times its area - were the smaller of the two. Meanwhile, the Mannailu Forest to the southwest was a vast expanse of coherent woodlands, covering much of southwestern Fagnos. Both not only served as convenient sources for lumber, but were also wonderful hunting grounds for game, much to the delight of all the resident Gryphs and Dragons - myself included.
Today, however, I was on the hunt for something entirely different. Using my keen eyesight, I scanned the fields and pastures below, searching for any hint of the trouble we’d been warned about. You see, I am a member of a group of four... well, I guess you could call us adventurers. However, two of our number have recently started to settle down with their freshly-founded family. They only joined us in this mission because they couldn’t ignore trouble brewing so close to the city where they’re raising their two kids. That, and probably out of nostalgia for the good old times, when the four of us travelled the northern continent of Pelagia free as the wind, taking on tasks like this for a living.
Suddenly, something caught my eye. A stir of activity in one of the herds of cattle on a pasture below. What started as a small turmoil quickly escalated into a fully-grown stampede, the animals frantically seeking to escape something that had caused a commotion in their midst: A two-legged shape hunkered down over the body of a mortally wounded cow, its limbs still kicking as it lay on its side. Its assailant was ferociously tearing into the poor animal with claws and teeth, ripping pieces of flesh from its body and carelessly throwing them all over the pasture. Whatever this thing was, it clearly had not attacked the cow out of hunger, but was apparently reveling in the act of slaughter itself.
I didn't waste any time and wheeled around in the air, using my two slender back wings for a maneuver that only a Kyera Clan Dragon could pull off. In the blink of an eye, I shifted from lazily circling above the plains into a breakneck dive, plummeting toward the creature as fast as gravity would take me. As I rushed towards the ground, I got a better view of just what I was dealing here: Though it looked like a Retafili - a two-legged Cemareli - it clearly wasn't a member of one of the eight civilized species. Nor was it like any other beast or creature I had ever encountered before. Rather, it looked like something straight out of a nightmare: A scaly body covered in spikes and spines, arms with long vicious claws, a maw gaping with enormous fangs, a head adorned with several mismatched horns, and a long, whipping tail that split into three, each end sporting countless painful-looking barbs.
Normally, I would have used the momentum of my dive to crash right into my quarry, counting on my Iserial Field, steel front paw guards and my ocean blue leather armor to protect me. However, with an enemy that might as well have been clad in blades, that approach suddenly seemed a whole lot less appealing. Instead, I slightly shifted the angle of my dive, still intent on making the most of my built-up momentum while also avoiding getting skewered by several Kantaj barbs, spines and spikes. The creature had not yet noticed my swift approach. It was still busily ripping apart the cow with what seemed like mindless fury. As I got closer, I could hear it utter guttural snarls and howls that sent chills all the way down my spine and to the tip of my tail. Whatever I was dealing with here, it was unlike anything I had ever encountered before.
For a moment there, I considered pulling out of my dive altogether and rejoin my companions before taking this thing on. But then I saw the herd of cattle, now huddled frightfully in a corner of the pasture, as far away from this bloodthirsty creature as the enclosure would allow. Panicked though they were, they still couldn't break through the confines of the Iserial fence surrounding their pasture. If I left now, the creature would slaughter them before I could return with my companions. After that, it would most likely make its way to another pasture, or even worse, one of the nearby farms or hamlets. If I wanted to make a difference, it had to be now.
I pulled up just a moment before reaching the creature, grasping at its horns with my armored front paws. Thankfully, I managed to avoid any of the points and then latched onto an antler-like horn. The momentum I had gathered during my dive was enough to simultaneously rip it right out of the creature's misshapen skull, and also throw it back several Kanfeltoj. A Kanfelto, that is sixteen Feltoj, and a Felto in turn is roughly the length of a Retafili hand. That makes a Kanfelto about the height of a single story in a normal building.
The creature crashed into the shrubs of a nearby ditch with a violent thud. Pressing the attack, I wheeled around and focused on the Iserial Energy surrounding me. I instinctively gathered it in my chest and throat, preparing to unleash the one inherent skill that all Dracoforms share: Dragonbreath. But instead of the wind-elemental breath that all Kyera Clan Dracoforms are born with, I channeled the energy into a pattern of my own. Over the course of my adventuring years, I had learned to integrate it with Kekeyro - the element of Water, and the element to which I felt the strongest affinity. Combining two resonant elements - such as Kyera and Kekeyro - was a technique that made Dragonbreath even more devastating, though it required a certain proficiency with Iserialogy.
Scrambling out of the ditch, the creature let out a bone-chilling shriek as it glared at me with furious, blood-red eyes. Soaring in the sky, I was well beyond the reach of its fangs and claws, but regrettably that didn't make the creature defenseless. Lashing its forked and barbed tail in my direction, it launched a number of the vicious-looking barbs at me. I narrowly dodged them with a skillful aerial roll, some of them missing me by less than a Felto. Then, I swiftly spun midair to face my opponent again and opened my maw wide. Letting loose all the energy that I had accumulated in the last few moments, I unleashed my personal variant of Dragonbreath: Ocean Mist Stream!
A powerful stream of green-and-azure energy erupted from my open maw, crossing the few Kanfeltoj between me and the creature in the blink of an eye. The attack caught the fiend squarely in the chest, bursting into a vortex of wind and water on impact. The creature was blown back, and I kept the Ocean Mist Stream going for several more moments, tracking the creature as the force of the stream pushed it back four, eight twelve Kanfeltoj, and then over a full Ranfelto and into a copse of trees.
No creature of that size should have survived an unmitigated blast of Ocean Mist Stream like this. It appeared that whatever that creature was, it didn’t even have an Iserial Field to protect it. Or if it did, it had been weak enough that my initial dive attack had already ripped right through it. However, something made me keep my distance from the copse into which my attack had blasted the creature. An uneasy feeling at the back of my neck. Maybe it was the uncanny appearance and bloodthirsty behavior of this strange creature. Or maybe it was some instinct honed by years adventuring, telling me this wasn't over yet.
As if in response to my thoughts, a fresh volley of barbs shot out of the trees, and this time I wasn't able to avoid all of them. One of the barbs hit me right in the flank. Or rather, it would have, if not for my yet-intact Iserial Field. All higher animals instinctively gather this protective layer of Iserial Energy around them over time. It might not be enough to win an entire fight on, and it replenishes only slowly, but it can negate a solid hit or two. It worked to my advantage that Iserially gifted individuals, such as myself, also had more powerful Iserial Fields.
Even so, the extent to which that one hit weakened my Iserial Field was considerably more than what I would have expected of such a small projectile. Trying to take this thing out by myself might not have been such a good idea after all, but I could at least try. If worst came to worst, I was confident that I could shake it by flying higher up into the air. The creature's barbs wouldn't be able to hit me if I kept enough distance between myself and it. However, doing so would likewise make it more difficult for me to hit the creature in turn, so I kept that as a last resort.
Therefore, I only distanced myself from the copse by about half a Ranfelto. I was half expecting the creature to hide and attack me from the cover of the trees. Instead, it came rushing out within moments, snarling in a berserk frenzy. It tried to get as close to me as possible on the ground and hurled more barbs from its lashing tail in my direction. I beat my wings urgently to avoid them, gaining altitude in the process, the creature howling in fury as its attacks missed me by a wide margin of more than a Kanfelto.
Once I was about a Ranfelto up in the air, I took a moment to assess the situation. Clearly, the creature was in a much better shape than it should have been after getting hit square in the chest by my Ocean Mist Stream. Although I hadn't kept an exact count, it had launched approximately three times more barbs at me than it should have on its tails. That led me to a troubling conclusion.
The fiend was still angrily launching more projectiles toward me. Although they reached my altitude, they took long enough to do so that I could easily dodge them by circling around the creature and occasionally shifting my trajectory in an unpredictable way. Looking down at the creature, I had to strain my eyes to make out enough detail from this high up. After a few more volleys, I was certain: the barbs on its tails were regenerating at an unnatural rate.
While this creature might not have had much of an Iserial Field, it was clearly drawing on the ambient Iserial Energy - possibly on Naleiro, the element of Fauna - to replenish its quills. That likely also explained how it had survived my Ocean Mist Stream in the first place, and how it had returned to top fighting shape so quickly.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
That put me in a conundrum: Though I was an excellent flier, I lacked the raw strength of a true fighter. Sure, my Ocean Mist Stream was quite powerful, but it clearly wasn’t enough to bring down this resilient foe. The strain from my last use still lingered in my throat, and it would be some time before I could safely use it again.
Meanwhile, the creature, having apparently grown tired of trying to hit me in the air, shifted its focus back to the cattle huddled in the far corner of the pasture. My earlier attacks and evasive maneuvers, though unplanned, had positioned the fiend roughly two Ranfeltoj away from the frightened animals. Even so, it wouldn't take the fiend long to reach the herd if it decided to make a rush for them.
Fortunately, my Dragonbreath was not the only option I had for attacking from a distance. I also had a number of offensive Iserialogies at my disposal, and while they probably couldn't overcome the creature's regenerative abilities, they hopefully would keep it distracted. Gathering the surrounding ambient Iserial Energy, I focused it into one of the basic Kyera-Iserialogy patterns I had memorized: Blast Wave.
Once again, I dove from the sky. Heading for the herd of cattle, I positioned myself between them and the creature, then quickly spun around and unleashed the Blast Wave right at it. The compressed wave of air did not cause a lot of damage, but it excelled at knocking targets back. As it was, it once again sent the creature flying for several Kanfeltoj, away from the herd.
Unfortunately, the creature had not simply waited patiently while I carried out my daring maneuver, nor had it attempted to dodge my attack as I had expected. Instead, it had used the opportunity to launch several more barbs my way, two of which found their mark. One was deflected by my Iserial Field, but the second pierced through, narrowly missing my wing and embedding itself in the leather armor protecting my left flank.
I winced as the barb pierced through my armor and fur, and buried itself in my flesh. The wound was thankfully superficial, but the pain was sharp and lingering. Now I knew for sure that I couldn’t afford to let too many of these attacks hit me. If the barbs alone were this dangerous, then I definitely didn’t want to get anywhere near the creature’s claws and fangs.
For the moment, I held the fiend's attention once again, and used that to bait it even farther from the herd. As I did, I gathered more Iserial Energy than before, channeling it into the pattern of a deafening Thunderclap. The mighty burst resounded across several Kanranfeltoj, causing the creature to stagger and clutch its head in disorientation. Seizing the opportunity, I cast another Blast Wave, striking it squarely and hurling it backward.
From there, I alternated between drawing the creature toward me and forcing it back, steadily driving it to the far side of the pasture. Finally, with a concentrated effort, I unleashed another Ocean Mist Stream, blasting it clear over the Iserial Fence. However, despite my best efforts to avoid its barbs, by the time I had succeeded, I was already bleeding from several wounds. I was seriously considering retreating, but doing so at this point would likely undo what I had accomplished so far. The creature had probably already torn one hole in the Iserial Fence to get inside in the first place, and would have little trouble doing so again.
However, just as I was about to give up and leave the poor animals to their fate, I finally received the backup I had been waiting for. Earlier, I hadn't just used the Thunderclap to stagger the creature. I had long since come to rely on that particular Iserialogy to alert my companions when I was in urgent need of assistance, just like now. Granted, the four of us had spread out across a wide area to search for the menace terrorizing this region, but my mate not only had keen ears, but also paws nearly as fast as my wings.
Running on all fours in his Lyerelo Morph, Jioan Reklif had adopted his largest form. That made him only slightly smaller than me - roughly the size of a small pony. Covered in rust-brown fur from the tips of his tufted ears to the end of his bushy tail, he could easily have been mistaken for an unusual animal. Yet, the maroon combat robes that stood in stark contrast to his current feral shape marked him unmistakably as a Celinne. The members of this shapeshifting race were the only Cemarelij that could take both a two-legged Retafili Morph and a four-pawed Lyereli Morph. Charging at the creature without any attempt to hide his presence, Jioan was clearly focused on drawing its attention away from me.
Sure enough, suddenly faced with an earthbound adversary that was rushing straight at it, the creature spun to face Jioan. As my mate made no move to slow down even a Kanfelto away, the fiend swung its vicious claws at him. At first, it looked like Jioan was about to lunge at the fiend and get hit by its claws. However, at the very last moment Jioan ducked beneath the swipe instead. In the blink of an eye, he shifted into his two-legged Retafilo Morph, and standing up from his crouch delivered a powerful palm strike to the creature's chin from below, snapping its head back and sending it flying. Unlike me, Jioan was not only a skilled fighter, but a veritable martial artist with superior reflexes. He had no trouble hitting one of the few spots where the creature wasn't covered in spines or spikes.
I used that opening to follow up with another Blast Wave, which hit the fiend in mid-air and sent it flying even further. I knew that would only buy us a little time, so I hurried to touch down next to Jioan. He belonged to the squirrel-like Zinsheb Tribe, and in his Retafilo Morph retained only his animalistic ears, eyes and tail. He also still had small claws on his bare feet and his hands, even though the claws on his hands were presently covered by his sturdy combat gloves. Aside from the short, untidy rust-colored hair on his head, the rest of his body now lacked any fur, although the color of his skin was not much different than that of his coat. He was still wearing his Iserially enhanced combat robes, which had changed form with him - an enchantment that was valued by many of the shape-shifting Celinne.
"My my, looks like I arrived just in time," he said with a hint of amusement in his voice as he gave me a smile. However, having known the usually light-hearted Celinne since childhood, I could also make out the relief in his words. "What was that thing anyway?"
"We can talk later," I urgently replied. "That fiend is incredibly resilient, and it can regenerate. Look!"
True enough: Though our combined attack had inflicted quite a bit of damage on the creature, it was already staggering to its feet again. Slowly, it started moving toward us, getting faster with each step as its injuries rapidly healed.
"Oh my, how annoying," Jioan remarked, sounding slightly annoyed. "Which plan?"
I took a moment to assess the best course of action in my head, then replied, "Cerulean Skytrap."
"Can do!"
Jioan crouched down, placing one hand on the grass in front of him while I leapt backward and started flapping my wings to get airborne again. The creature kept moving toward Jioan - first limping, then walking, and finally running. My mate, however, made no apparent move to react to the creature's assault. Already, it was only a Kanfelto away, but just as it was about to strike, the Iserial trap which Jioan had stealthily placed on the ground in front of him erupted. A swirl of uncontrollable chaotic energy spiraled upward from the grass in wild and random shapes, harrowing the creature as it launched it into the air.
That was Jioan's specialty: Using Iserialogy to place traps that would trigger as soon as an enemy set foot on them. In this case, he had used his favorite element of Ariro for the trap. The element of chaos was unpredictable and not very reliable, but it was quite powerful and quick to cast. In fact, using Ariro in this situation had been a bit of a gamble on my mate's part, but it had worked... this time. Jioan didn't have such good reflexes because everything always worked out for him.
Meanwhile, I had been gathering Iserial Energy myself. Not Kyera this time, but Kekeyro - the element of water. Between the river and the ocean, there was plenty of that available. I simply hadn't used it before because it took longer to cast, and its Iserialogies were not as accurate as those of Kyera. However, with Jioan now keeping our opponent occupied, I finally had the opportunity to safely call upon the more powerful spells in my repertoire. I unleashed the Geyser Iserialogy as the creature was starting to fall. Just before it touched down, a powerful column of scalding hot water erupted from the ground, launching the fiend back into the air as it flailed around.
During that time, Jioan had already started preparing another trap on the ground. Of course, he couldn't predict exactly where the Geyser would send our foe. Instead, he relied on me to use a well-aimed Blast Wave to direct the enemy into what - according to our plan - would now be a more powerful Kekeyro trap, the element of Water being the one we both shared. As I did just that, the trap triggered, and a jet of water - similar to my Geyser - launched the fiend into the air for the third time.
This was our time-tested Cerulean Skytrap plan. Between Jioan and me, we had enough skills and Iserialogies to keep an enemy in the air almost indefinitely, as long as it wasn't too heavy or clever enough to figure out a way to escape. The strategy was only really effective against a single earthbound opponent, though, so we rarely had the chance to use it. However, in a situation like this, it was the perfect approach.
Even so, it still took frustratingly long to finally put the fiend down for good. Although we managed to keep it trapped in the air for most of that time, it still inflicted several injuries on us as it thrashed around aimlessly midair, flinging barbs in random directions. Fortunately, our combined power was sufficient to overcome the creature's formidable regeneration. By the time it finally stopped moving, our attacks had reduced it to an unrecognizable pulp of scales, flesh, bones, and spikes. Compared to that, the carcass of the cow slaughtered by the fiend looked outright aesthetic.
Only after we had made sure that it was really dead did we allow ourselves to relax a little and tend to our wounds. In this case that meant using the Spark Kyklij that most adventurers carried around. Jioan pulled one out of his combat robes, while I used a low-level Levitation Iserialogy to retrieve one from a pocket in my leather armor.
Jioan, being a Celinne, could shift between a four-legged Lyerelo Morph and a two-legged Retafilo Morph. Thus, he always had the option of shifting into a form where he had the luxury of hands. Meanwhile, I, as a Dragon, was stuck on all fours. So, if I wanted to manipulate my surroundings, I either had to make do with my front paws or maw - which were equally ill-suited for precise manipulation - or rely on Iserialogy. Fortunately, low-level Levitation was something all Dragons and Gryphs were taught at a young age. Using one's front paws or maw was considered beneath the dignity of a Cemareli, so it was something that we Lyerelij only did as a last resort, or if we were sure no one was watching.
Levitating the thin, square, card-like Kykli near the wounds on my flank, I trickled a tiny amount of Iserial Energy into it to activate the dormant Iserialogy within. Spark was the preferred Iserialogy when it came to tending to minor injuries. Furthermore, thanks to recent advances in the field of Kykli-making, they were actually cheap enough these days that adventurers like us could afford them by the Kanta. Granted, they were not very useful in the midst of a fight due to the limited healing they provided, but they were great for post-combat recovery.
Orange sparks started emerging from the Kykli as it gradually dissolved, actively seeking out my injuries and mending them with a warm, tingling sensation. I'd still have to find someone to patch up my armor later, but that could not be helped now. Regrettably, the energy from the first Spark Kykli was spent before it could heal up all of the wounds I had sustained during the fight, so I had to expend a second one.
"I will have to get around to learning restorative Iserialogy at some point," I muttered, "It's all well and good if Claudia is around, but somehow, we still manage to get ourselves into situations like these."
"If you do, be a dear and go for Naleiro, would you? The healing from the element of Fauna is just so much more pleasant." Jioan remarked while applying his third Spark Kykli. That one time when one of his Ariro Traps had misfired, the creature had managed to land a few good hits. His arm was still bleeding from that.
I snorted, rolling my eyes in mock exasperation. "Sure, I'll just ignore the fact that I have two elements resonant with Jelzyra and dedicate my time to learning an element that I have absolutely no connection to! I know that Flora healing stings a bit, but it's simultaneously more powerful and more energy-effective."
"It also takes longer to cast, and the healing process takes longer too," he quipped right back, "I'm not sure if I would call that a good trade-off."
"It'll still be about a decade faster than learning an element on the opposite side of the Element Sphere," I replied, making an exaggerated pouty face at him. Then we both burst into laughter.
The two of us had been together for most of our lives. We had grown up together on the tropical continent of Ventana. Right from the start, we had gotten along well, and our relationship had gradually grown deeper - and also more intimate - as we had gotten older. Eventually, we had decided to travel the world together. We had left our home behind, crossed the ocean to the great island of Makariba, then journeyed to Pelagia in a roundabout fashion, and finally reached the south of Rida. Along the way, we had met our two other companions, who were still out and about in the nearby countryside.
"Come to think of it," I observed after I had caught my breath a little, "Claudia and Marius didn't come running like you did. I know they're not as fast as you in your Lyerelo Morph, but still, they should have been able to get here by now."
"Maybe they ran into more trouble along the way?" Jioan mused. "Do you think there are more of whatever that thing was around?"
"Well, we'd better look for them and find out! Come on, hop up!"
Jioan didn't hesitate and shifted into his Lyerelo Morph. Earlier, he had taken a deliberately larger form to come to my rescue. Now he shrank down to a more compact size, about two Felto in length, tail included. Like that, he was small enough to perch on my head if he wanted to. However, since this would not be a relaxed flight at leisurely speed, he instead leaped on my back and scurried into a little satchel sewn into my leather armor for exactly that purpose. Once I ensured he was safely settled in there, I jumped into the air, spread my wings and took to the skies once more.