(I) Dragons

-61 (I)

Dragons

“You know the worst thing about war and fighting?” Adam said. “It’s the waiting. It’s the part before, where you feel it in the air, you feel it coming, but it's not there yet. And so you’re just waiting for the hit to come. That’s what Captain Irons always liked to say—before every mock battle; same speech, every time. Today I think I finally understand the man, and I don’t bloody like it at all.”

Shiv, Uva, Adam, and Valor were flying low, hidden from any aerial observers by the foliage. They glided through a dense, interwoven canopy of branching trees, if they could even be called trees. The patch of wilderness they were in didn’t have any of those large mushrooms. What it did have were colossal briars, the brambles sprawling out across the land and leaving everything swallowed by absolute darkness. Even then, the strange light reaching down from the far-away ceiling of this region of the Abyss was dim, leaving the world shrouded in the colors of dusk.

Without his cloak, Shiv doubted he would be able to see anything, and without Adam or Uva being synchronized to his mind, nearsighted was all he would be.Shiv thought. For all he could do alone, he was very much a blunt instrument when it came to utility.

Adam’s eyes burned with unattuned mana, tendrils of wisp-thin power leaking out from his irises, both glowing sky-blue and dawn-bright. He was searching even as they flew, hunting for the rogue Descenders and the Aviary agents they were ferrying. Can Hu was helping as well. It dispatched a few of its drones through the air and took considerably less caution than the rest of the group. The drones were replaceable, and frankly, if they were noticed, they might even lure out some unseen threats.

Right now, though, there was nothing. All quiet before the clash.

Shiv, meanwhile, felt rather relaxed. He didn’t know if it was all the fighting that had conditioned him, if he was already used to death, or if it was just how he was. But tension, nervousness—that wasn’t so bad for him. Not right now, at least. Instead, he felt a building thrill. He’d never fought a dragon before. However, he did come face-to-face with one, moments before entering Weave: Sir Marikos. The dragon had obliterated him and a good portion of the landscape with a single Pyromancy spell. It was an awesome display of destruction, and also how Shiv unlocked Diamond Shell and Foreshadowing.

Shiv wondered how well he would fare against that dragon now.

“Shadow Cells are reporting no signs,” Uva said, releasing her brooch. Shiv held on to her. The speeds they were going were still manageable. But he could go faster now. Her armor could endure it. It was just going to be extremely uncomfortable due to her lacking Physicality.

“Alright. Well, while we’re searching, we might as well come up with something of a general plan,” Adam said. “I think we want to hit them quick, with—”

“No,” Valor cut in. “No disrespect to you, young Hero. But you listen to me this time. This is not training. This is not practice. This is something more. This is too much risk.”

Adam wanted to protest, but the Young Lord choked back anything he had to say with a rush of discipline.

Shiv grunted in surprise. “Did you just control yourself? Holy shit, Adam, you’re turning into a real boy.”

“Oh, shut up,” Adam muttered. “Valor, continue. Before I regret being mature.”

“I appreciate your sacrifice,” Valor said, a faint hint of grandfatherly amusement there. Then it was gone, and the grandfather was replaced by a Legendary assassin. “The first thing you need to know about the Dragon-Knights is that you cannot break their morale. They will not respond to psychological tricks.”

“What about Dread Aura?” Shiv asked.

“That…” Valor paused. “Not unless it is at Heroic-Tier.”

Shiv grunted. He kind of figured that was the case. “Suppose cowards didn’t go into mana storms looking for dragons to kill.”

“Indeed,” Valor said, “and that is the other thing. They are all skilled warriors, each one capable in both a magical art and a weapon skill. You can expect their Physicality and Toughness to be considerable. But dragons have a great strength and a great weakness. They are mana-hungry.”

“What do you mean, mana-hungry?” Adam asked.

The flames in Valor's sockets flickered. “Primal dragons live in mana storms or within gates, feeding off their cores. This is for a simple reason: primal dragons are not capable of generating their own mana. Primal dragons do not have the intellect or nearly the self-control to shape a lore. And so they consume unattuned mana to feed their own attuned existences. Their nature is not fully understood, even by the Descenders. Without enough mana, they will starve. However, things are different when a Dragon-Knight is born. When the Ritual of Dragon Matrimony is completed, one binds their very being with a dragon. Then, a new being emerges. A new being that is capable of generating mana while also remaining extremely mana-absorbent. But this also means that even their normal skills can experience the effects of if they are forced to overuse them, as it becomes their source of unattuned mana.”

“So what does this absorption entail? Spells don’t work on them?” Adam asked.

“Magic has a diminished effect. It will still hurt them and affect them. But it will not deal nearly as much damage as it does to anyone else. And worse, it will overload all of their skills.”

“What do you mean, overload?” Adam said.

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

“I mean that if you hit a Master-Tier dragon with any kind of strong-enough spell, they will take fewer injuries, and it will feel like you are fighting a Hero instead of a Master.”

“Oh, Broken Moon,” Adam groaned. “How did the rest of you poor fools survive these bastards?”

Valor laughed. “All the Faiths have their own means and advantages, and the Descenders are far outnumbered by all the others. There are also Heroes and Legends beyond mere Dragon-Knights. That is the fortune of the other Faiths. This will not be your fortune, however, as you will be facing these dragons with equal or lower numbers, and I cannot support you as a Legendary Pathbearer at the height of their power would.”

“Nice,” Shiv said.

Both Uva and Adam stared at Shiv.

“What?” Shiv said.

“Your willingness to fight anything is really quite disturbing sometimes, dear brute,” Uva mused in his arms.

Shiv shrugged, causing her to bob up and down slightly. “It’s a Pathbearer’s life for me.”

Valor cleared his throat. “Continuing on, the group will be composed of multiple dragon varieties. Not all dragons are the same. They are bound to a certain idea or concept, like a shadow, or flame, or the sky. This sometimes makes their natural magics quite odd—”

“Natural magic?” Adam asked. Shiv was happy that it was the Young Lord doing all the repeating and asking for clarification for once.

“Yes. I told you before, they cannot generate their own lore, but they are shaped by calamity. And it is best to understand the dragon as something that has hatched from a natural disaster, and they will always be able to call on the power of that disaster.”

Adam closed his eyes. “Of course they can. This just gets better and better.”

“And we’re not done yet,” Valor said, his tone severe. “This Lance is most likely also very used to fighting as a team. If we are lucky, they are a mixed group, different turncoats fleeing together by circumstance. A Lance is usually composed of eight to twelve dragon knights, and most often, it is supported by thousands of squires and other personnel.”

“Good thing they don’t have that,” Uva said.

“Yes,” Valor said. “One of the few saving graces in this mess: They are running alone. They do have Aviary agents, but they are comparatively far less of a threat.”

Uva let out a breath. “By the Composer. Weeks ago, if you told me that, I would have despaired.” She paused. “I’m still despairing. But at least I have a Jealousy I can use.”

Adam’s head snapped to attention. Shiv balled his fists. “What?” Shiv asked. “What’s wrong?”

“Dimensionals,” Adam said. “Wind dimensionals. They’re flying above us, we should—”

A flash of translucent magic erupted out of Uva and shot into the air. For a few moments, whorls of shadowy mana seeped out with her Psychomancy as the silhouette of Jealousy shivered like a halo behind her head. It receded back into her mind a moment later. “They’ve been dealt with,” Uva said. “We keep going.”

Adam and Shiv stared. “Well. That’s… terrifyingly effective,” the Young Lord breathed.

“A Jealousy makes for a good weapon,” Uva noted. “Anyway, Great Valor? You were busy demoralizing us.”

Valor continued doing just that. “In the more likely scenario, the Lance has likely fought for more years beside each other than you have even known the Young Lord, Shiv, and there will be more of them than us. They will be more experienced than you, and each of them will likely have more skills than you. And greater skills as well. But they can be bested. They are not invincible, and they make mistakes as well. I have killed many a Dragon-Knight. They die hard, slow deaths, but they die all the same.”

The skull turned its burning glare on Shiv. “And then there is you. You are something we have that they do not. One who dares to die, one that grows strong from dying. But more importantly, we are capable of strategies that the dragons might not be prepared for. Shiv, you will engage them first. No Stealth. Be vulgar. Use your Momentum Core and smash deep into their ranks. Try to get to the Aviary agents. Sell your first life as dearly as possible and draw them to you. Endure. Make it last.”

“Got it,” Shiv said. “See if I can avoid the selling my life part, especially with Can Hu in here with me. If it comes to it, I'll split off from it beforehand.”

“I will support you,” Can Hu said. “Any and all efforts. Your bone is rated at Master. It will take substantial effort to crack it. Do not worry, Pathbearer. My death will not come so easy.”

“Adam. Once you find the Lance, try to locate the agent or knight who holds my fragment. If I manage to reclaim the fragment, I believe the Quest will conclude—for what else will they use to bribe Compact? The resulting completion should give you all a boost of levels—and that might be all the difference between life and death.”

“And stop the gate from getting more defended,” Shiv said.

“Sister Uva,” Valor said. “You will be most necessary among all. Your Jealousy will let everyone stay connected—so you cannot allow yourself to be pinned or drawn into a melee by the enemy. Strike the vulnerable dragons and break their minds. I expect at least one Psychomancer among them, but not a Heroic one. Use the Greater Demon’s might to your advantage, but use its Stealth as well. Do not linger—and if you find yourself pursued, break contact through whatever means you can.”

“Understood, Legend.”

“There is another thing: Both you and Adam need to remain within a kilometer of Shiv at most.”

“What? That’s practically close range,” Adam said, confused. “Why? This sounds like suicide.”

“No, what will be suicide is if you keep your distance and remain alone. Because the knights will have Diviners with them—at least one. And they will have a Jump Mage as well. Multiple Jump Mages for a Lance, under normal circumstances. They will immediately blink over to where you are. And I would not pit you against a single knight in close combat, let alone two. Three means certain death. Thus, you need Shiv or a Trapdoor Weaveress to respond and stall them while you reposition yourself.”

“Right,” Adam said, letting out a breath. “Let the Omenborn take the hits.”

“That’s the spirit,” Shiv said.

“The Lance will try to set up a defensive posture when attacked. Expect massive, wide-sweeping spells cast by multiple magi in concert—Shiv, interrupt them if you can. Adam, call out what you see. A firestorm can spread beyond control and burn away all cover.”

Valor trailed off at this point and sighed. “I wish I had more time to prepare you. I was content to let you all train, to let you develop tighter bonds first. I thought it would be enough for the gate… but this is more than that. The System is forcing you to grow faster than…” Valor paused. “It did the same thing to me. When I was a boy. One conflict after another, one Quest after another, so much death and struggle. If you survive this, you will be on your path to being truly favored, and you will have to survive the next threat on the horizon. You will start embarking on a path to higher power, power that few Pathbearers will ever see in their life, let alone in weeks or months. But there were those who walked alongside me when I was young. Only one still remains aside from myself. Be ready to die, all of you, and be ready to lose each other, if that is what’s to come.”

“No,” Shiv growled. “I won’t let that happen.”

Valor regarded him and huffed. “Shiv. You will need to learn this lesson at some point. You would have learned it in the teleportation anchor weeks ago, had you not performed that admirable act of sacrifice. You cannot protect everyone, and the System demands strife. With strife comes death. Hold on to these moments and memories. In the end, that might be all you have.”

“And my morale is almost entirely eradicated,” Adam moaned. “, Valor. I will take your tactical advice into consideration and pretend I didn’t hear the rest.”

“So, Adam, what was your cunning plan?” Shiv asked.

“Well, it was mainly about you launching yourself into them with Momentum Core, causing chaos, me firing at them from far away, calling out orders, and then, as we kill all the easy threats, we would have you wreak havoc in the middle of the dragons while the rest of us and the Weaveresses hit them from the outside and trap them in a pincer. I would rely on your cockroach-like nature as we whittle them down.”

“And it would have been a good plan for most enemies,” Valor said. “Alas, the knights are dynamic, and they do not hold and defend. They turn and attack. A final thing to note: They are very hierarchical. you kill the captain of this Lance, and that is a major if, then perhaps their cohesion will collapse. But it will not stop them from being dangerous.”

“I’ll see if I can find the captain, then,” Adam replied. Just then, his eyes widened. “I see something… I see…. I havethem!”

The Young Lord laughed. His eyes flared once, and Uva fed what Adam was seeing directly into Shiv’s mind. For a moment, even while observing the distant horizon through Adam’s senses, Shiv didn’t know what was happening.

The air was clear, aside from what seemed to be a few glowing spore-like creatures that twirled through the twilight sky, their forms thin but bulbous at the end, twirling feathers pulling them aloft. The ground below was alight with gleaming rivers that mingled among bioluminescent trees. These were unlike the sprawling forest of brambles Shiv and the others were currently passing through, instead appearing like large, dome-shaped flowers that almost seemed to fuse together, their petals mingling together, making them seem like blades of grass flanking the forking streams.

“There,” Adam said, focusing intently on a specific spot in the air. Finally, Shiv saw it: a shimmer in the air, nothing more than that, even to Adam’s incredible vision. But the shimmer moved, and the surrounding light bent unnaturally around it. It curved like there was something hidden, a bit like a Trapdoor Operative’s invisibility cape when it wasn’t fully covering them.

“They’re cloaked,” Shiv said.

“Optical camouflage,” Can Hu agreed. “Every proper fighting force uses it. To remain unnoticed is the first and outermost means of self-preservation.”

“How far away are they?” Shiv asked, clenching his fist. His gravitic field shivered around him as his battle thrill climbed.

“Approximately 20 kilometers. We should reach them relatively fast and hit them at an angle if we accelerate. I’ll find us an interception point. Shiv, start filling your Momentum Core. You’re going straight out, like Valor said. Hammer your way into them and make a mess. And drag out your death as best you can.”

“Always intend to,” Shiv said.

“And… good luck,” Adam spat quickly.

Uva said nothing at first, but she sent him a few memories. A feeling of focus and calm. He replied with a memory of his own: strength and fearlessness. More than anything, there was trust there. They had fought, bled, and survived many things together in this short time. And that shaped a bond harder than most could fathom.

“Go,” Uva said quietly. “Show them who’s the greater monster.”