Rise of the Devourer

Book 3: Chapter 30 — A Young Dragon

Zax regarded the young dragon in front of him, arrogance and self confidence oozing from her demeanor.

“It is good to meet you, Vion,” Zax said, smiling pleasantly at the girl. He could definitely see the reflection of her mother in her visage. Though what he sensed underneath was certainly far more dragon than human. The thought made him smile just a little bit wider.

“Who are you?” She asked, looking at Zax.

“Vion, this is Zax, a guest of our kingdom,” the king said, stepping forward.

Zax glanced back, giving the man a quiet hint to remain where he was. It’d been some time since Zax had encountered a dragon, but if this was the girl’s first time… things were not going to be peaceful for long.

“We knew your parents. Powerful warriors, both of them. It delights us to see that you still carry their legacy,” Zax said.

Vion looked at Zax in surprise, before she glanced back towards the king.

“He knows.”

The girl looked back at Zax. “You know who I am— and you say you knew my parents. How?”

“We considered your father, something akin to a brother. And in truth, we were not that distantly related in blood ties as well. We’d be something of an uncertain to you,” Zax said, and Vion froze where she stood.

Her eyes scanned through Zax, tried to pry through his illusions and magic. She couldn’t. His spell was complete, and she was still a youngling, barely in her second century. And so Zax let a little bit slip, let the barest of hints peek through.

The reaction was immediate.

Vion jumped back, her own transformation slipping ever so slightly as her eyes narrowed into slits. Fire danced all around her as she let out a throaty growl, looking at him with raised hackles.

“You. You are lying,” she growled, fire dancing around her body as her red hair swirled with magic all around her. No, not quite fire, Zax noted.

Lava.

“We are not. You have grown away from your kin, and it has made you forget how things work. You have not yet learned how to control your instincts,” Zax said.

Vion had already stopped listening, as the ground around them began to boil, lava forming around her. Zax cast seven different spells within an instant, forming a barrier around the nearby group watching them, and hiding the entire location from any prying eyes.

The young dragon let a barrage of lava burst out towards Zax, which were blocked by a simple barrier, and the remnants of lava collected into balls that cooled down instantly forming obsidian spheres that floated in the air around Zax before sparkling into lightning.

Zax simply smiled at her, not a single singe on his body.

Vion looked at the dragon and her instincts made her feel threatened for the first time in her life.

She called upon Identify, but only found what she’d seen from the start.

[Lightning Mage - ????]

And yet, when she looked at him, her mind screamed at her to remove this threat from her territory. To eliminate all that stood in her path. Vion channeled her magic, lava forming all around her and rising into pillars. The air itself began to sizzle, heat rising within the confined barrier.

She would show him. It didn’t matter that he was an A-ranker. Halfblood though she may be, she was still a dragon.

For a moment her self-confidence was regained. That was right. She was a dragon, far stronger than anything or anyone around her. She spent her time fighting creatures a rank above her for fun, there was no way that the man in font of her could be a dragon like her.

He didn’t have any pride, didn’t have any of the weight that a dragon would. He talked so humbly.

Vion refused to believed it.

And yet, her body hesitated to move. She did not understand what she was feeling, there was a new emotion in her chest. Her muscles were… shivering?

She ignored them, letting her lava flood outwards. The mage moved fast, teleporting in the blink of an eye as he raised pillars of earth that blocked her surf of lava. Vion didn’t stop, she let her dragon blood burn, her body glowing as her veins ignited with lava flowing through her. Opening her mouth she shot a giant ball of fire. A beam of water appeared around the mage, equally as large as it flowed around her strike, cooling it down. Steam erupted everywhere, blinding her, and the man moved non-chalantly through the blazing heat, arriving next to her as he tapped her shoulder.

Vion turned, striking back but he blocked the attack with a silent cast of a barrier, smiling at her. She looked him in the eye and felt her breath spike. She was sweating, her chest felt heavy and her body felt paralyzed.

Just… what was happening?

“What magic are you using! Why… why am I paralyzed. The astral script said nothing,” she screamed at the mage, trying to punch him, only to find every strike she made intercepted before it even began.

“That is no magic. It is an emotion. One, even dragons feel,” Zax said, and with ease he closed in, grabbing her shoulder, as he looked her in the eye.

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The two draconian pair of eyes met each other, and Vion finally understood what she was feeling.

Fear.

Words appeared in front of Vion.

Terror floods your body. Erase it. End it. Kill the source before it kills you.

Affliction level: III

Vion lost her senses. Her body changed, transforming, for the first time in her life, as something awakened inside of her. She roared, light erupting around her body as the figure of the young girl changed into a mighty dragon.

Obsidian scales that sizzled with heat covered her body, lava flowed in her veins, her eyes glowing with heat and energy. She swiped at her foe, all thoughts having left her mind, as the ground melted into a pool of lava underneath her feet. She spread her wings behind her, charging towards her enemy as lava filled her throat.

Pure instincts drove her, all rational thought having left her mind. There was a single purpose in her mind now.

To kill the threat. To kill the thing which made her feel this way. To be free of this emotion.

Zax watched the girl, moving deftly as she swiped at him, and the world burned around him. He glanced back for a brief moment to the group behind him, before focusing back on the task at hand.

The girl had finally touched upon her true nature. Now, it was his job to reel her in.

The dragon muttered a silent incantation under his breath, and his human form dissolved into light.

***

Kaelan stared in shock at the battle taking place in front of him. Two dragons collided against one another, lightning and lava mingling together in the most powerful spectacle he had ever seen, and yet, not a hint of it crossed the barrier that remained in front of him.

Yet, that was not the most surprising thing. It was the fact that he had been traveling with said dragon for over a month and had not realized a thing.

Kaelan glanced around, looking at the others. A myriad of expressions were around him, yet not a single one of them looked surprised. Noah and Aurelia he could understand, but not even his uncle, father, or the king showed even a hint of shock.

“What in the depths is happening here?” Kaelan asked, as explosions shook the world around him from the battle taking place.

Stolen story; please report.

“Vion has lived for a long time, but she is a halfblood. Up until now, she’d been unable to attain a draconian form despite our best efforts—”

”—No, I meant why the fuck are none of you surprised at all?! Did all of you know??” Kaelan shouted.

Kaelan glanced around meeting the eyes of everybody one after another, finding all sorts of looks present around him. Noah put a hand on the draconian’s shoulder. “Sorry about not telling you. Zax prefers not to reveal it if possible.”

“I figured it out the moment I saw him. Know one dragon, and it’s not hard to spot the others. There are tells,” Valros said.

“You didn’t tell us till he practically confirmed it to you directly,” his father, Averos said, giving his brother a smile.

“Well… I didn’t want to raise a false alarm.”

“We knew Kaelan, but not for very long. About Zax that is. We thought the dragons had all left. Imagine our surprise when one showed up at our doorstep,” the king said, glancing at him.

“Yeah… no kidding…” Kaelan replied, before looking towards Noah.

“So you guys knew all along?” Kaelan asked.

“Well, yeah, sort of. We met Zax a bit before we met you guys and after freeing him, and stopping an Abyssal Rift from opening, he decided to travel with us,” Noah said.

“You guys did what?!”

“That was mostly him, we were shocked when a dragon just popped up in front of us and told us he was Noah’s friend. Oh the Abyssal Rift, right. Wow, I’m turning into Noah. Absurd things no longer feel absurd,” Aurelia said, cupping her cheeks as if having a crisis about her identity.

Noah laughed.

Kaelan felt the world spinning around him for a moment. And yet, when he had a moment to calm down, and look at the scene in front of him, to see not one, but two dragons in front of him, fighting, in the epitome of battles, a spectacle that he could only dream of watching in his life, he found the shock being replaced by a brand new emotion. Kaelan clenched his fists tightly by his side, trying not to let his face morph into a grin as he watched the battle. A new resolve formed in his heart.

He’d be damned if he let this chance go to waste.

***

The battle came to an end a few moments later, and Noah watched as Zax pressed his foot down onto the young dragon. He had to admit, he felt a little surprised that Vion had hurt him at all, as a small area on Zax’s body had the barest hints of a burn mark.

Noah wondered if he could do the same.

“Submit.” Zax commanded, his command shaking the entire world. Noah felt the weight of the command indirectly push against him and he almost buckled, falling down, but caught himself. He glanced around and saw Aurelia had lost herself as well, and Kaelan had stumbled ever so slightly.

The other three draconians stood unfazed.

Vion let out a whimper as Zax growled down at her, and a moment later her energy was exhausted completely as she returned back to her human form.

Zax raised his foot from the girl, transforming back into his human form as well. A spell was cast on Vion to obscure her naked figure, as her clothes reformed themselves out of thin air, covering her body.

The girl stirred awake, her eyes fluttering as she opened them.

“What… happened?” She murmured, still not truly back.

Zax extended his hand, dispelling the barrier all around them as he pulled the young dragon up.

Noah and the rest of them walked closer.

“You did it Vion,” the king said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “You transformed into a full fledged dragon.”

The girl looked confused, almost dazed, yet with each passing second, her awareness returned. She looked at Zax, glaring at him.

“You!” She shouted, but a single look from the dragon cowed her instantly.

“We understand that it wasn’t a pleasant experience. But it was for your own good. This is something even true dragons must learn, much less a halfblood who had never taken on a dragon form. Your instincts are powerful. So powerful that they can override the Astral Script itself. You must learn how to tame them, if you are to ever truly inherit your parents legacy,” Zax said. “Hate us if you must, but you will learn.”

Vion glared at Zax, but her anger faded quickly, replaced by a conflicted emotions. “My parents this, my parents that. Why does it matter? I never even met them. I don’t even know their faces!”

“Then you merely need look into a mirror. And you will see the reflections within it. The rest, we can teach you,” Zax said, as magic swirled all around him. An illusion formed all around them, two figures standing within the fog.

A man, carrying a giant battle axe, and a woman standing next to him.

The girl stared, in shock, but the illusion lasted but a mere moment, before it faded away.

“We are not your enemy Vion. We are… perhaps the only kin you have left. If there are others, we do not yet know of them. But we are here. And we will be here. For as long as you want,” Zax said.

Vion looked at Zax, her expression twisting as she clenched her fists.

“I don’t need you,” Vion said.

“Perhaps not. But do you truly not wish to know of your parents? Who they truly were?” Zax said. “If you don’t, then we will leave. If you truly do not want us to be here, then we will not bother you again. But do not make decisions in anger,” Zax said.

“We came here because we knew your parents, and felt an obligation. Young dragons can be difficult to handle, especially those who do not yet have a handle on their instincts.”

She growled.

“Lady Vion, I know that this is difficult for you, but if you can truly learn how to master your gifts, our kingdom will forever be complete,” Averos said, walking closer.

Vion glared at the man. “That’s all you guys care about isn’t it? This kingdom and it’s legacy and what not.”

“We care about you Vion. Stop acting like a child,” the king said, raising his voice. “You know you must learn. You are simply shaken by the experience. But it is something that will empower you. The fact that you are resisting so much is precisely why we do not let you leave the palace.”

“You’d never let me leave anyway. The risk is too high and what not,” Vion shot back.

“But especially not if you cannot show that you can be trusted to stay composed. To be in control, and to not lose yourself should an enemy far beyond you were to appear and push you to the limits,” Zax said.

Vion didn’t reply.

The dragon’s expression softened. “Have you visited your father’s grave?”

“Once. From the outside. I didn’t want to go in,” Vion replied, much more quieter now.

“It may be grim, but that is his legacy. And… that heart belongs to you, more than anyone else. But if you do not prove yourself worthy, you will never truly be able to inherit what he has left behind for you.”

“I… don’t know. Do I really need to? I don’t even know them. And… what if he didn’t really want me?” Vion asked.

“There are many dragon bloods. But the soul of a dragon can only be inherited under special circumstances. Why would he have gone to such lengths to make sure you would survive, had he not loved you?” Zax asked.

Vion looked at Zax. She opened her mouth, as if to protest, but then closed it once more. “Okay,” she whispered.

“What was that? I couldn’t hear you,” The king asked.

“I said okay!” Vion shouted, and the group smiled.

Zax nodded at her words.

“Noah, and Aurelia. For the two of you specifically, there are a few things Vion can do. She is a fire dragon. For Aurelia, there can be no better person to train with or enhance her magic through. For Noah, she is the daughter of the greatest warrior we ever knew. Do not look at her level and make the mistake of thinking she is on par with you. She is still a dragon, levels are a poor measure for her strength, just as they are for you,” Zax said, glancing at the two of them.

“And for you, Vion. From Noah you can learn how to fight till the very end, to persevere, and to keep going even when you are the weaker opponent. From Aurelia you can learn how to control your flames, to bottle your fury. And to tame your instincts,” Zax said.

“What about me?” Kaelan asked.

“You are already a proficient warrior, Kaelan. We will be relying on you to keep these three in check, but we have some other plans for you as well,” Zax said, and the draconian nodded.

“Plans?” Noah asked.

“Indeed. We’ll be leaving the three of you upon the Wyvern cliffs. Your task would be to survive the wilds and to defeat and bring the heart of an adult wyvern within one hundred days. Kaelan will visit there every few days to train with and to watch over you, but he will not interfere, only guide and train with you. We will not interfere regardless of circumstances.”

“What’s the point of this?” Vion asked.

“To prepare you for the trial. And them,” Zax said.

“Are you fine with this?” Vion said, looking at the king. “Him just barging in and demanding all this.”

The king looked at Vion, and nodded. “It is for your own good.”

“Why do you guys get to decide that?” she spat, heat rising around her body.

“Are you afraid?” Zax asked.

“What?” Vion snapped back.

“Do not compensate for your fear, Vion. You are a dragon. Fear is not something you are used to. But that is precisely why you must learn this. Learn this from them, from people who live so much closer to death than we do, and yet fight back anyway,” Zax said, glancing at Noah and Aurelia. “But if you wish to back out now, we will not force you. We do not teach cowards.”

“You—” she burned with fury. Vion turned towards the wyvern cliffs.

“Watch me. I’ll be out of there in a week.”

“Do the two of you have any objections?” Zax said.

Noah glanced at Aurelia. “Well, I was gonna go there anyway,” he said.

“I don’t have any problems. We need to train for the trial, where we do that doesn’t matter too much,” Aurelia said.

“And that settles it then,” Zax said.

New Quest obtained!

Quest: A Wyvern’s Heart

Obtain the heart of an adult wyvern before the 100 day time limit for your test.

Difficulty: Hard

Reward: Unknown

Noah smiled as he looked at the quest.

“Then, let us depart,” Zax said.

“Wait, right now?” Noah said, but before he had any time to protest, wind magic gathered around all of them.

“Hold on tight!” Zax said, and with a trailing scream from Vion, the group was off into the skies.