Cale suppressed a scream as Fengari rose into the air and shot forward the next moment. Surprised, he hid behind the dragon's head and clung to its horns as the wind rushed past them. His whole body was paralyzed and tingling as Cale squeezed his eyes tightly shut and concentrated on not falling off. It felt like he was in free fall, that's how fast the dragon was moving.
But then he realized something he hadn't been aware of before. He could hear the wind, but not feel it.
Cautiously, he pulled himself closer to the horns and dared to open his eyes. At the same moment, Fengari shot in the cloud cover so that they were surrounded by a dense fog. With wide eyes, Cale looked around. He was sitting in a barrier that surrounded the entire dragon.
The dragon's mana enveloped them completely, like a second skin. Similar to a mana armor, something mages liked to use to strengthen their defenses. But Cale noticed that her mana felt different from the pure mana of humans. Even if he couldn't put his finger on why.
Cale let his gaze slide to the side and saw the dragon's broad wings steadfastly defying the wind nonetheless, and suddenly he saw Altona. He was speechless. In the space of a few seconds, they had overcome a tremendous height difference and were now flying over the mountain foothills. Below them stretched the creature plains, while Cale could see the lights of villages in the distance.
"This is breathtaking", Cale murmured softly to himself, straightening up. He continued to hold on, but the dragon's mana protected him from the pressure that would otherwise be on him.
"Isn't it? I told you I was the best", Fengari replied, somewhat cocky. She flapped her wings a few times and flew horizontally over the ground. Like the queen of the skies, she scoured the landscape at a speed that humans could never match. She flew smoothly along the mountains to the east, when Cale began to sense another source of mana. Surprised, Cale turned toward the cliff face while Fengari flew on, disinterested.
Fengari struck hard a few times and quickened her pace, while Cale perceived another figure struggling into the sky in the distance.
Cale detached his attention from the follower and looked ahead. The dragon was struggling across the deeper creature plain at lightning speed, heading for the great sea to the east. All at once, Cale sensed an enormous mass of mana that Fengari seemed to be heading straight for and became nervous. Cale knew his Igrikum was strong, but would he be able to withstand an attack from multiple dragons at once? Could he even fight it off and escape? How far could he push his luck?
Inevitably, his gaze landed on Fengari. With her speed, it was unlikely that Cale would even be able to flee anywhere without her following him. Not to mention the fact that he was over a vast expanse of land that hundreds of thousands of creatures called home. A place that even Cale preferred to avoid. They were near the 4th level, undoubtedly the most dangerous area on the entire continent. Surviving here was significantly more difficult than in the True North, because it wasn't the extreme weather conditions that were the problem, but the dangerous creatures that lived in this region. Cale had therefore never set out to fight his way to the coast, but he had come very close a few times.
"We're almost there", Fengari spoke up a moment later, heading for the mountains to their right. Surprised, Cale buried himself behind the horns while Fengari turned sideways, pulling her wings close to her body and squeezing through a small crevice in the rock. All at once, Cale felt himself flying through an invisible membrane of mana and looked around in surprise. He saw something he had never known existed before.
The mountains of Sylve split in two to the east.
The mountains rose into the air like two real walls, with hardly any light coming through from outside. Only the sound of the sea echoed through the gigantic crevice in which they were currently located. Elegantly, Fengari moved across the chasm and headed for a brightly shining spot. It took Cale a moment to realize that a large fire was burning at the bottom and the heat was spreading through the gap.
The dragoness slowed down, using her broad wings to slow her speed as she gingerly came to a stop on a generous flat rock. Cale looked around, he could feel mana all around him, which frightened and fascinated him at the same time. It was too dark to make out much, but he could feel dozens of pairs of eyes on him.
In the next moment, another dragon, much smaller, appeared next to them and immediately stared at Cale.
"A human?", the dragon gave out, as more and more sources of mana came at them around them.
"You brought a human here?", another voice from the shadows spoke up. When Cale looked up to follow the voice, he spotted a dragon above them, clinging to the rock and watching the action with interest. A wide variety of voices echoed through the heights, but they all spoke of the 'human' that Fengari had brought here.
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As reality returned, Cale realized something that he had not wanted to acknowledge until just now. He was very sure that there should not be as many dragons living in the mountains of Sylve as he just sensed. How many mana sources were here? Forty? Fifty? Probably even more, since the dragons were constantly moving and he couldn't count them accurately.
"That's not a human", a loud, deep voice spoke up, causing Cale to flinch in surprise. He immediately shifted his gaze forward and watched the shadow move. Cale gulped as the whole shadow turned out to be a gigantic dragon. With large, heavy strides, it stepped into the open space and spread its wings menacingly to the side, intimidating Cale all the more.
"Not a human?"
"That's not a human?"
"How can that not be a human?"
More and more personalities gathered. It was as if the dragons were gathering for a banquet and Cale was their main course. The queasy feeling he had been carrying all along was becoming more crushing by the second.
"This is an Apostle of the gods", the deep voice declared, which is why everyone else instantly fell silent. They seemed to look with horror at Cale, who only looked in irritation and fear at the great dragon, who must have been their leader.
"You're an Apostle?", Fengari uttered, raising her head, which made Cale hold on with a jerk. He had almost forgotten that he was still sitting on the dragon's back.
"Who's that?"
To Cale's surprise, another, female voice spoke up, and Cale glanced at the large dragon, which looked around to the back. Behind his silhouette emerged another dragon, which was snow-white. But that was not what horrified Cale. It was the fact that the female dragon was hiding her mana, so Cale didn't feel its presence in the slightest.
"The human child's name is Caleb Leuen. I brought him here because he is looking for one of our siblings", Fengari explained calmly. Cale watched as the white dragon came to a stop next to the large, dark gray dragon and returned his gaze.
"Let the Apostle speak for himself", the apparent leader admonished, which gave Cale goosebumps. Hesitantly, he let go of Fengari and let himself slide to the ground, all the while being watched by countless pairs of eyes. He was nervous, so nervous that he had trouble walking properly. He took a few steps away from Fengari and bowed as he introduced himself.
"Pleased to make your acquaintance. My name is Caleb Leuen", Cale began cautiously and rose a moment later. He swallowed his nervousness and returned the serious gaze of the large dragon in front of him, while a few dragons took seats on the rock wall behind him, silently listening to the conversation. "I am in search of a dragon whose name I do not know. I'm afraid I can only describe its appearance."
"What a dilemma. An Apostle looking for a dragon and not knowing his name", interjected the little dragon to Cale's right who had followed them here.
"Have you met him personally?", the white dragon gave voice. Her voice was calm and gentle, almost innocuous compared to the others present. Whereas, in Cale's estimation, she might be the most dangerous among them.
"I merely saw him in my insight when I became an Apostle", Cale explained truthfully, which is why the white dragoness turned her gaze to the large dragon to her right.
"Describe him to us", the white dragoness asked Cale without taking her eyes off the large dragon.
"He should be about 6 meters and black as night."
"Scanty", the big dragon interjected.
"Did this dragon do or say anything in particular?", the white dragoness inquired.
"He was beside me here in the mountains and seemed to have been talking to me, though I'm afraid I can't say what about. All I can judge for certain is that he... that this dragon gave me a similar feeling like the Dragon Queen."
"What?", Fengari exclaimed in surprise.
"That's absolutely impossible!", another unknown dragon exclaimed.
"A dragon that reminds you of the Dragon Queen?", the white dragoness spoke up. "Can this... be, Palaios? Is this Apostle here an... Apostle of Mellontikos?"
"He must be lying, Chioni. You know very well that the gods have abandoned us", the great dragon threw out indignantly, causing Cale to wince. He wasn't lying, but how did the dragons suddenly come to talk about the gods. Especially about Mellontikos, the god of the future?
"And yet an Apostle now stands before us", replied the white dragon, whose name was Chioni. "Perhaps we should make contact with Velence, he may be able to..."
"He can't", Palaios interrupted them instantly, snorting as his stern gaze lingered on Cale. "Apostle Caleb Leuen. Come here."
Seeking help, he looked around for Fengari, but the dragoness looked at him as expectantly as the others. Inwardly, Cale sighed as he turned his attention back to the leader and hesitantly approached him. He did not understand what the dragons were talking about. He was only able to pick up bits and pieces of information, but they were of limited help. First of all, the fact that Velence was not only the name of the island, but also the name of a dragon. Could it be that the Dragon Queen was in reality not a queen at all, but... a king?
"If you have truly seen the one we believe it to be...", Palaios lifted before lowering his head and coming to a stop directly in front of Cale. "... then we will know very soon. I want you to think of the dragon of your insight and try to absorb his mana into you."
"What?", Cale repeated irritated. "How am I supposed to... absorb the mana of a dragon..."
Cale fell silent as he noticed the serious look on the other dragons' faces. Hesitantly, he let a quick glance trail behind him before clenching his hands into fists and trying to remain calm. His institution told him not to inquire further and just do as the dragon asked.
"Fine", Cale replied, closing his eyes. The explanation was rather poor, but Cale did as he was told. He recalled the old memory and saw the small, black dragon before him. A vision he had always repressed, as this dragon had always frightened him. But as he forced himself to focus on the dragon, he could feel his Igrikum start to move on its own. Cale could feel the dragon's strange, dominant mana vividly making itself heard, and it almost seemed as if it was calling out to him. Something that he himself had never been aware of before. The mana of the dragon from his insight felt completely different from the mana of the humans or the dragons present. It felt... like the mana of nature.
"The mana really is from...", Chioni murmured softly.
"You are pretty stupid, aren't you?", Palaios volunteered, causing Cale to open his eyes in surprise.
"Excuse me?", Cale retorted, trying not to take the statement as an insult.
"The dragon you seek is Mellontikos himself."