Chapter 50: Strumming the Strings of Fate

L'vay spun around joyfully, his butterfly wings opening as he danced into the air. A laugh rolled out of him as he ran fingers through his bangs, his eyes almost glowing as the laughter left him.

How long had it been since he last had a moment of freedom like this? It could be more to his liking, but it was more than enough to make him feel like the world should tremble. He could almost do anything. He could not bring harm to Hoka, or Chiaki, but every other life in this domain was his to play with. It would just take a bit of finesse, and he could remind them all why he should never be forgotten. That'd start with using Hoka's magic to make this orchestra his own.

He drifted back down to her globe and touched it, feeling the life swirling inside it. But it was so much more precise, each bit of it singing a different song. Hoka did not fully know her magic. How, after all, had she mistaken Mordunaal's torch for a dragon? That girl was clearly human, in a way he personally didn't like. There were a few humans, in fact. One so filled with spiritual power he might as well just be a skin suit. One so worthlessly human L'vay was sure she'd be dead without Hoka's intervention. There were also Jun Mi and Syd, the three demons and several almost demons, and… He grinned widely, there was an elf among this gathering too.

L’vay touched his right eye and it changed, iris and sclera trading places as he touched Hoka’s globe again. Threads of fate filled his sight and he moved people here and there, twisting bonds into something that’d shift their fates drastically. His own little symphony was coming together, and it was nearly perfect, except for one little thing.

Mordunaal’s torch.

He couldn’t be sloppy with that one. There were few things the faerie would say he feared, and that ageless dragon was easily one of them. There could be no room for mistakes. Osheandre meant imprisonment, but Mordunaal would mean death. Before he moved, he’d have to watch, and as a pixie of him spun together near that girl, he found himself giddy about what this torch might do.

As Kiara continued toward the center of the domain, she remained unaware.

Perhaps she would have noticed if she paid attention to her wind, but her mind was elsewhere. She was too deep in thought. After Keigo reported back, it felt like their group was more on edge, and maybe they should have been from the start. After all, when did it become easy for her to go to battle? And after what she learned about the wraiths, the question felt heavier.

Astral Wraiths were like vampires drunk on elven blood. Not perfectly, not precisely, but enough so to say they didn't hunt indiscriminately. Did they hunt people with astral energy? What did that mean for the battle she had ahead? What did that mean for Nandaxia right now, where just one beast had been a problem? How were her friends? How was her family? As she trekked through this spirit domain, here more so to fight demons than the wraith that worked with them, she wondered who was fighting back home, and how strong the wraiths were growing.

Something tapped her shoulder, pulling her out of the thought.

Looking at it she found a scaled tail and turned the other way to see Shuraat’s grinning face. The dragon boy whipped his tail back behind him and nudged her.

“You were thinking really hard. I could almost hear it.” He smiled.

She flushed.

"I was thinking about the astral wraiths and how no one can fight them back home." Her eyes cast down, and he tugged her arm, bringing her to a stop.

“I’m guessing you didn’t think that much about it before.”

Kiara shook her head. “I didn’t think about a lot before, even after meeting Mordunaal. I didn’t get this idea that I was like, the chosen one or anything, you know? I just learned I have to fight, and I got that when I fought Cucumber.” Shuraat’s eyes widened. She forgot she hadn’t told him much about herself.

"Cucumber? As in the human, Bernard Cucumber?" He asked.

She flushed again.

“Yes…someone kind of revived him. They made a deal, and he was really mad. If he got what he wanted he would have made things worse.” She still firmly believed that. There was no grace in a dead man being made into a martyr, but no freedom in a martyr coming back. “So I knew I had to stop him.”

“But you didn’t start thinking of yourself as a hero,” Shuraat offered a smile.

"Of course not! Danson and the others are a lot stronger than me. And I'm kinda following them, not leading."

"And now you're thinking about how you might have to lead?"

Kiara sighed deeply. “No! Maybe? I don’t know…” She sighed again.

“Would you like to hear would Master Nohyr would say about this?” Shuraat gave another smile.

"Does your master have wisdom for this type of situation?"

He nodded excitedly. “Since being a dragonfire sage requires a pilgrimage, it requires we think about what role we’ll end up playing. We’re strongly encouraged to fight for a cause, and he knew that we might become invested in it. Being invested is a part of being a sage.” He looked down. “But it’s weird being from the dens and thinking that the causes of non-dragons has to decide your future. Mordunaal became king of a nation, but that wasn’t really his goal, and he delegated rather than ruled. Rifana became like a god. Other dragons became figures of myth. There are a lot of stories that say that if you go on a pilgrimage, one way or another, you’ll find yourself in an important role.”

“Sounds stressful.” Kiara murmured.

Shuraat met her eyes. “It is! It scares some of us away from being sages. Being just a normal dragon is simple and free! Before I went to Master Nohyr, hunting was what I worried about the most. Dive bomb, cut off a path, be the final strike against the prey. If you mess up, you might not eat tonight, or you might have to go on another hunt while you’re hungry. We build little nest together with other dragons around our age. A nest comes apart if you can’t hunt together.”

Kiara frowned, that sounded stressful in a different way. But, between a bad hunt or being absent from a world-changing battle, she’d definitely choose the hunt.

“So what did Nohyr say?” She asked.

“He told us to think about what we first learned about hunting. We all have a role, yeah, and it might change tomorrow. I had to be the final strike a few times, and I messed up a few times. It was never perfect, but that day I was chosen because I got the most rest, or because our prey was fast and I was fastest. He said all that matters is that you try to strike when the time comes.”

“So…what? Don’t try to hunt before its time to hunt?”

Shuraat grinned. "Yup! I won't know what herd is nearby until the nest scouts tomorrow. I won't know what role I have to play on my pilgrimage until it's time to play it. You can think a lot about it right now but, what if you were still on your world and asleep? Wouldn't it be sort of the same? Would you blame yourself for sleeping while bad people were doing bad things?"

Kiara's jaw tightened, but she couldn't object. It felt wrong to accept that being in the dark was just what she had to accept, but it wasn't like she could go back home, and it wasn't like she was ready to face an army of wraiths alone. She smiled at Shuraat and nudged him.

“You’re so wise,” She beamed and it was his turn to flush.

“I’m just repeating what Master Nohyr taught me!”

She nudged him again. “I bet you’re the smartest person in your nest!”

He shook his head frantically. “I’m not! I’m just trying my best.”

Kiara grinned and patted him, somehow feeling like an older sister, even though he had helped her. She was glad Shuraat was paired with her, and glad they could go on to fight together. She decided that she was going to protect him and help him build his flame if she could. They continued on, and she found herself speaking before she noticed it.

“So what is your nest like? How do they form anyway?”

“My nest is great!” He lit up. “There’s five of us in it and we mostly have fun and stuff. Oruut is really good at cooking, so everything tastes great. Sesshir and Kyiri always choose the best hunts, and they’re always fun and fulfilling. Ayame’s the only nondragon in the nest but she’s really good at landing fatal blows.” His sharp teeth almost sparkled as he grinned. “It started with Sesshir and Kyiri. Up until we’re about ten, our parents do the hunting for us. Sesshir is the oldest of the group and started the nest the moment he turned twelve. Kyiri was the one who found a good den for it. We’ve been at it for four years now.”

“Sounds fun.”

Kiara imagined living like that with her friends. Taylor would have definitely been the best hunter, and Shin would probably plan all of them out. Tristan would make sure they were well fed and rested, and she? Well, in that type of situation, why wouldn’t they know about her magic? The thought made her smile, and the smile quickly turned mischievous.

“Is there anyone in the nest you like?” She gave him a sly look.

Shuraat froze and looked away. “I like everyone.”

“You know that’s not what I mean!” She nudged him and could swear he was blushing. “Tell me, tell me!”

“Well…Sesshir is really handsome and Kyiri is really pretty but…”

“But…!”

“I think Ayame…maybe…”

Kiara grinned. "Tell me more." She sang at him and his tail began to swish.

“She’s a panther myrin. She’s really agile and she moves like a blade of grass in the wind. It’s like she can cast a spell on you. She’s fun to chase and dance with, and she has a really nice laugh.” His tail swished faster.

“And you like staring into her eyes.” Kiara offered.

Shuraat shook his head! “I didn’t say that!”

“I bet you know what color her eyes are though.” She grinned again and he covered his face. “What did she say when you became a sage?” She had the feeling he couldn’t cover his face hard enough. “Something sweet?” She smirked at him and he rumbled with a groan.

“She said…when I learn my flame, she’ll be my first sage.”

Kiara covered her heart and Shuraat pushed her away with his tail, dropping down on all fours as if he was cornered or about to transform.

“It’s not like that though!”

Kiara ignited her fingers and drew a heart in the air. He blew it out and she let out a chuckle.

“It’s cute!”

Shuraat groaned again, looked around as if looking for a place to hide, then rose back on two feet and pouted.

“Well…what about you! Is there someone you like back home?” He said, and her heart ached.

Stolen story; please report.

She let out a mournful sigh, “Tristan…we even kissed a couple of days before I came to Magdalea…I think we were going to start dating…” As she spoke, heartache turned to embarrassment. It was the first time she thought about the kiss or where it might take their relationship. She soon settled on heartache, however, remembering the horrified look on his face.

“Something bad happened?” Shuraat picked up on it.

“I didn’t tell my friends I could use magic and they saw me hurt someone. I did it to protect them but…they were scared.”

He came over and patted her shoulder. “It’s alright! Maybe there’s someone on this world for you.”

Kiara’s heart skipped a beat and Shuraat grinned as he caught it.

“There’s someone else already?”

"No!" She said all too loudly. "I mean…not really…" She touched her lips. "There was someone else who kissed me, but she said she only did it because my magic loved me."

Shuraat shook his head, "I don't get it…but…you like someone too!" He teased and she laughed as she pushed him away. "But who do you like more?"

"I've known Tristan longer. I actually feel like I know him. Pialla was fun to travel with, and was so pretty." Very pretty. Kiara didn't have the words to fully illustrate what she meant. "But I didn't spend that much time with her. We traveled for a day or so. Got to her hometown. I fought Cucumber and slept for a few more days. Then we went separate ways."

“That’s kinda sad,” The dragon boy replied.

Kiara started to shrug but realized with a pang in her chest that it was. “I guess that’s just what it’s like to travel.”

Shuraat nodded. “I guess so too. I haven’t been anywhere long enough to bond with anyone since I left. I think you’re the first real friend I met since I left the dens.”

Kiara gave him a wide grin. “We’re friends now?”

He grinned confidently back, “Definitely!”

They both snickered and her smile softened, “What about the Jade Warden you came here with?”

“She was more like… Master Nohyr, honestly. I wouldn’t call her a friend, maybe just a traveling companion.”

Kiara thought about Diana and the others and realized she was in the same boat. She didn’t even stop to ask herself why she was traveling with them, simply finding herself towed along on their journey. Where were they going beyond the Sea Festival they mentioned before? What were their goals beyond that? She hadn’t even taken the time to get to know them when they were at the resort, too focused on training instead. It made her come to a stop again and he turned to look at her.

“What’s wrong?”

“I guess nothing…Nothing bad anyway. I’m just realizing you’re my first real friend too.” Beyond traveling together, beyond the fight, beyond any ideas of fate. Shuraat was her friend, and it made her smile.

His tail swished. “You’re lucky, then. I’m a very good friend.”

She laughed hard back, “Yeah. It’s nice that I can tell when you’re really happy about something.”

Kiara looked up suddenly as she felt something ripping through the air, throwing herself back and pushing Shuraat with a gale. He hardly seemed to need it as a body dropped between them, strong and slender, crouching where he landed. Shuraat breathed in, and vines whipped up from the ground, wrapping around his neck and swinging him around. He hit a bulbous bud and pollen erupted in his face, sending him into a coughing fit as the vines held him tighter.

Kiara raised her hand, fingers burning, spewing a flaming ray at the vines and the attacker got between them, flat palm forcing the flames to splay. Shuraat coughed on and her heart raced. The attacker pulled his mask away, revealing the face of a young man with skin dark like her own.

"Does your mommy and daddy know you're running around playing with their cache?" He said and she aimed for him, ray firing from her other hand.

Again he stopped them, no, caught them, fingers wrapping around the fire and twisting it as if they were strings. She felt him rip it out of her control, spinning it into a ball and whipping it back at her. She leaped to the side and it burst against the ground, spewing orange flames across the grass. It felt wrong to focus on the color, but it filled her mind first. When it left her control, the fire wasn’t scarlet anymore.

"Who are you!" She demanded, eyes drifting to Shuraat. His claws were in the flesh of the vines around his neck but barely seemed to tear them. He could still breathe though, she could feel, but not enough that she wasn't alarmed.

The stranger glared. "I am Rhamal, disciple of Yoshiki Ayaka." He had short auburn dreads that were still dark at their roots. Small horns broke the skin of his forehead. Was he a demon? Would he be a problem like Miki was?

“Why are you hear?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that. You were with that dragon pup before. So what, your parents are on vacation and you thought you’d go around playing with their cache? Thought you’d be some legendary Wyada hero?”

Wyada? Cache? What was he talking about and why did he seem so sure? She ignited both of her hands and lifted herself off the ground.

Rhamal’s eyes widened.

Did that shake his confidence?

"You're not a Wyada…but no spell words, so you're not a wizard either…" Was that horror filling his eyes? "You can't be a Dumabi."

“I might be!”

“Dead stars you are!” He roared.

“I am!” She roared back.

Rhamal sneered and dropped again, making vines whip up at her. She carved them up with her flames, burning so hot they turned to ash as they snaked toward her. She went high up and dotted the world beneath her.

“Scarlet stars!” Her minefield ignited, scarlet blast erupting, but failing to touch him as he spun around.

He pulled at the wind and she almost dropped as he rocketed into the air after her. She struck back with a burning missile, only for him to pull it apart and come level with her.

"Scarlet," She raised her hands, touching them at the wrists. The fire mana felt like it was rushing out through her blood, and she put fury behind the word, "Roar!" A torrent engulfed him, catching him before he could catch it.

But he didn’t drop.

Instead, he burned in the air in front of her, body coated in rolling fire. Slowly it seeped into his skin until it was gone, and then his hand ignited.

"You are a Dumabi girl…" He murmured as he raised the orange flames.

His magic came and Kiara hovered dumbstruck, realizing she couldn't burn him either. This didn't feel like a fight she should have been in. Her mind was racing. How was she supposed to win? What could she do in the seconds between his hand coming up and his spell coming out?

Nothing.

But her scarlet stars paid off.

Just as fast as he rose Shuraat shot up, body burning as he slammed into Rhamal. Where he was a boy before, he was a dragon again, and his horns stabbed hard into the demon’s side, making him roar as Shuraat carried him away.

The flames meant for her hit Shuraat instead and did absolutely nothing. He ripped his horns out of Rhamal, swung around, and knocked him back to the ground with his tail.

Shuraat huffed and Kiara did too.

“You okay?” He asked, and she shook her panic away.

“Yeah…I just…he just ate my magic.” She looked at Rhamal. He pushed himself up, the wound in his side already healing. “I don’t know how he did that.”

"I heard of a Sun Land's tribe," Shuraat replied. "The Wyada, who can touch mana. They can store mana in things, and if they're skilled enough they can pull a spell completely apart. Maybe he's one of them?"

Rhamal roared. "I'm half-Wyada! My mother was Dumabi!" Flames danced along his fingers. He whirled a fireball together and tossed it at Kiara, bringing vines up after him as he shot back into the air.

Shuraat put himself in the way of the flame and Kiara cast her own through the rising vines. Rhamal struck at them both with the wind, knocking them back with one attack and separating them with the next.

Several more blasts knocked Shuraat back to the ground.

The grass stirred around him, growing fast, and he kicked back as it speared up to claim him.

Rhamal struck fast before he could get too far. Sliding up behind him and throwing wind and foot at the boy's back.

He tumbled into the grass and it went up in flames as Kiara shot over, running her fingers through it.

“Scarlet,” She started without thinking, asking herself what she could use that he wouldn’t just absorb.

Flames rolled all the same, from him, from her in response, and from Shuraat as he rose above Rhamal and spewed them down.

The demon gave them a lot of distance before he could get caught, and the two touched the ground, measuring their opponent.

“Why did he just dodge your flames?” Kiara asked.

“He can’t absorb them.” Shuraat replied.

Because a dragon's flame was their life force! It wasn't fire mana like her own.

"So he's not absorbing flames, he's absorbing mana." She thought about that and what he said about her before.

He thought she was a Wyada because she was throwing flames, which meant she'd have to have a limited supply. When she flew it shook him up, could they not draw from more than one cache at a time? Furthermore, what did that make him? Not just a demon, but a demon who could turn himself into a cache? Would his fires run out, or did his demonic powers somewhat revive his Dumabi abilities? Her mind buzzed with questions, and as if he could hear them he responded.

Rhamal roared, “How do you not know that if you’re a Dumabi. Damn that! How are you even using magic!”

Kiara decided they could win. He attacked Shuraat first because he’d never be able to beat a dragon. They just had to do enough damage right? If she distracted him she could leave that to Shuraat. She looked at the dragon and hoped he got what she was planning.

“I don’t know…” She answered. “But if you’re one too, why are you fighting me? Why are you working with the Yoshiki sect!”

The demon laughed, “You can’t get it, can you? You don’t know how horrible it is to lose your connection to the veil. You don’t know about that empty feeling inside you, or how using a cache doesn’t feel real! You’re just some lucky kid who’s folks didn’t have to worry.” He shook his head. “But the sect gets it, more than anyone on this whole damn world. Losing your natural gifts, being targeted because of them. The sect can give our people their power back, so the real question is why you’re fighting against them!”

She shook her head. “You can’t believe that! Doesn’t it seem too good to be true?”

Rhamal laughed, “What, you think they’re using me? What do you even know about the sect that a Warden didn’t tell you? Do you think people who use the power of slain demons are going to tell you the truth about them?”

Kiara's jaw tightened, but she didn't have a reply. Shuraat's silence seemed just as heavy beside her. Rhamal's glare spoke volumes for all of them, however, as he brought his hands together to cook another fireball.

“Just a couple of kids in the way of something a lot bigger than them.” He lifted a massive blaze above his head, flames swirling in a massive ball. “I’m going to make this as painless as possible for both of you.”

He fired a shot too big for Shuraat to intercept, sending the ground up in flames as it exploded with a boom.

Kiara flew fast and far away from it, giving a lot of distance that he was quick to close. He chased after her through the air, fireballs flying wild as they cast, blasted, and cast them aside. He caught up with a punch that missed as she let herself drop.

“Scarlet Ray!” She shot and he caught it, yanking the flames from her hand. “Scarlet Spring!” She cast with her other, flower flames blossoming between them.

She covered her eyes as they exploded, blinding him like a flashbang.

And yet, a blast of air smacked her, spiking her toward the ground.

She hit it hard and the breath rushed out of her lungs. Blades of grass shot up, punching through her arms and legs. Rhamal weaved together a new fireball and tossed it, just as another hit him and sent him spinning.

His fireball went wide and Kiara got a moment to catch her breath. She almost missed it when it happened again, but realized that it was Shuraat striking him like a hawk. She heard the crack of bone as the dragon’s body whipped into the other side of him. Rhamal tumbled down gracelessly, his body healing but mind far away. Still, Shuraat did not relent, a burning, spiraling spear that seared, ripped, and shattered.

When Rhamal finally hit the ground, Shuraat flew over one more time, spewing a nasty torrent that made Kiara shield her eyes.

Somehow Rhamal rose, but as a charred thing, taking heavy steps, mouth hanging open in a soundless scream. He stomped, and stomped, until he fell over and Shuraat came to land beside her, his draconic features making room for the boy again.

"That was," the words were hard to find. Even as a fire mage, even with this being the third time she saw someone burned so thoroughly, it was still not easy to watch. "Horrifying…" She said, at last, wishing she could say something more encouraging.

"It's alright," Shuraat said, as if he knew. "You don't have to ever be alright with it."

She swallowed and clenched her teeth.

"Right…yeah. Let's keep going." She wished one more thing as she started off again.

She wished she could say it bothered her more, but as horrifying as it was, she was actually relieved. That was the scariest part of it all. She pushed it out of her mind though, as her wanderer's note came out.

The fight against Rhamal felt like something in this battle had changed...

[Chapter 50 ends...]