Path of Dragons

Elijah awoke, and for a long time, just lay there unmoving. His body was still a mess – he didn’t need to inspect his wounds to recognize that much – but he didn’t feel like he had the energy to do anything about it. Nor did he have any idea how much time had passed. But one thing he did know was that he’d survived, and judging by the steady sound of heavy breathing nearby, the dragon had as well.

For a while, that was enough.

Soon enough, though, Elijah’s eyes fluttered open, and he saw a clear blue sky looking down on him. After taking a deep breath, he cast Healing Rain and watched the clouds coalesce above him before they dumped their regenerative payload on him.

Then, he began the arduous process of healing himself via Touch of Nature. He felt terrible, and his limbs refused to respond to his instructions. So, he channeled the spell without direction, letting the formless healing energy flood his body. It was inefficient, but given the sheer volume of his injuries, there wasn’t that much wasted Ethera.

He wasn’t sure precisely how long he lay there, but it was at least one day. Maybe more, considering that, while waiting for his Ethera to regenerate, he often dozed off. It wasn’t outside the realm of possibility that, on a few of those occasions, he slept through an entire night. But eventually, Elijah healed enough to sit up.

Predictably, when he did, he saw the familiar confines of his Grove staring back at him. He glanced down at his previously unblemished arm, where he saw a series of pale, thin scars marring his skin.

Elijah sighed. At the rate he was picking up scars, he’d soon become a malformed mess.

Glancing to his side, he saw a mass of golden scales. But given that the dragon was still alive – he could see that she was still breathing – he reasoned that he should take care of himself first, then heal her once he was healthy. So, Elijah continued on his long road of Regeneration, renewing Healing Rain every time it fell away and using Touch of Nature in the interim.

And over the next day, he gradually returned to health.

Then, he started in on the dragon. With the benefit of time on his side, Elijah could better gauge what was happening, and it didn’t take him long to recognize that the dragon’s pool of vitality – or life energy – was far larger than his own. When he healed her, it was like trying to fill a swimming pool with a bucket. He was making progress, but it was going to take a long time.

So, he bent himself to the task.

Fortunately, he was in his Grove, so food was no issue. And it only took a quick trip up to his tree house to get water – Nerthus had told him that it would be difficult to exhaust its water stores, so his basic needs were easily met.

However, beyond satisfying those necessities, he had a hard time focusing on anything but the task in front of him. That got a little better as the days passed, which hinted that the issue was related to forcing Ancestral Circle to teleport both him and the dragon, but beyond that, he was unsure what else to expect.

And so, days passed as he slowly healed the dragon, one Touch of Nature at a time. In a way, it reminded him of how he’d healed the guardian panther so long ago. But as difficult as it had been to heal the panther, it couldn’t even begin to compare – at least in terms of how much Ethera it took – to doing the same for the young dragon.

But Elijah persisted.

Curiously, Nerthus remained absent. At first, Elijah didn’t even spare the tree spirit’s absence a second thought. After all, he’d only had a handful of conversations with him since making first contact. However, as days passed without Nerthus making an appearance, Elijah started to worry.

Not that it did any good. The tree spirit showed up when he wanted to, and there was nothing Elijah could do to change that.

So, he pushed that from his mind and focused on healing the dragon. And finally, a week later, Elijah succeeded.

Thankfully, the dragon didn’t respond as she had in the ritual chamber. Instead, after her eyes fluttered open, she craned her long neck and looked around before focusing on Elijah. She stared at him for a long moment before saying, “I apologize for my actions, druid.”

Then, she collapsed into unconsciousness once again. Over the following few days, she awoke a few more times, but she didn’t speak again until, as far as Elijah could tell, she’d finally reached perfect health.

At that point, she said, “Where am I? What happened to the devourers?”

“You’re in my Grove,” Elijah answered. Aside from shifting to a more comfortable position, she still hadn’t moved. “You’re safe.”

“How did we escape? The leader would not have allowed me to leave without a fight.”

“I used a spell to teleport us here,” Elijah said.

She narrowed her eyes, then leaned closer, and for a moment, Elijah felt like he was being sized up by a much larger predator. Then, she said, “You are not strong enough to do that.”

He sighed, then sat down. “You’re not wrong about that,” he admitted. “It nearly ripped me to pieces.” He raised his arm, showing off the pattern of thin scars. “And I have the scars to show for it.”

“I see.”

“So, how did you get caught? No offense, but those guys didn’t seem all that strong,” Elijah said. “And you…well, you’re a dragon.”

Before, he hadn’t really understood why Nerthus had spoken of dragons with such reverence. However, after seeing the one before him, he thought he’d begun to understand just how much more powerful the species was. She was only a child, and yet, Elijah was certain that if she so wished it, she could tear him to pieces with only minimal effort.

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“They trapped me,” she said. “I was…foolish and hubristic. Despite my mother’s words of caution, I thought this world beneath me. I was wrong.”

Elijah didn’t probe the topic any further. Instead, he changed the subject, asking, “So, what do I call you?”

“I am Saraalinisa.”

“Uh…mind if I just call you Sara?” he asked. “Because that’s a mouthful.”

She cocked her massive head to the side as if thinking it over, then said, “I suppose that will do.”

“So, what happens now? Because I just checked, and my task isn’t complete.”

“Task? Wait…did my mother send you?”

“Are you going to eat me if I say she did?” Elijah asked.

“What? No!” Sara shouted. “Why would I eat you?”

“You attacked me for healing you back in the ritual chamber,” Elijah reminded her. “Just covering my bases here.”

“Bases?”

“Don’t worry about it. My point is that I really don’t want to get attacked again. So…uh…please don’t. Because I don’t think I can stop you if you want to eat me.”

“I’m not going to eat you!”

“That sounds like what someone who intended to eat me would say.”

It was a strange thing, watching a dragon roll her eyes. Curiously human, but also undeniably alien. Either way, Elijah found it disconcerting. “I have no intention of eating you,” she said. “So, please – just leave it at that.”

“Fair enough. My original question still stands. I’m not saying the only reason I rescued you was to complete that task, but I’m not saying it didn’t play a huge part in my decision,” he said.

“What was the objective?”

“It just said to rescue the child.”

“Child? Ugh. She would phrase it like that,” Sara said. “I’m almost a century old, and she still treats me like an infant.” She let out a snort. “So infuriating!”

“Again – please don’t eat me.”

“I am not going to eat you!”

“Good. Because I’m sure I don’t taste very good. Too little fat.”

“What is wrong with you?” she asked.

“Nothing. I just don’t want to get eaten. Plus, I’ve been living on this island alone for close to two years at this point. I mean, I did talk to some nice walrus people, but they weren’t real, so I contend that doesn’t count. There’s Nerthus, too, but he’s a tree. Or a tree spirit, I guess. I’m not sure where he ends and the tree begins, if I’m honest. He’d probably tell me if I asked, but that just felt a little rude, you know?”

“What is a walrus? And why would they not be real?” she asked.

“Uh…never mind. My point is that I really, really don’t want to get eaten. I can’t stress that enough.”

“I swear not to eat you.”

“Even if you’re annoyed with me? Because –”

“No matter what, I won’t eat you. There. Satisfied?”

“Well, not really. Who knows if you’re a liar? I mean, you seem trustworthy as far as giant, golden dragons are concerned, but I’ll admit that I’m not the best judge of character. I mean, I had this girlfriend back in high school who was sleeping with half the football team, and I never –”

“Can you please stop babbling?” Sara interrupted.

“Oh, right. Just haven’t had a lot of conversational opportunities lately. So, about my quest? Or task, I guess. Not sure if there’s a difference, but we mustn’t get the terminology wrong.”

Sara sighed, a bit of a spark escaping from between her lips.

“Don’t roast me either.”

The dragon didn’t respond, which Elijah thought was moderately concerning. Instead, she asked, “How did my mother contact you?”

“She didn’t. She talked to Nerthus.”

“This is the tree spirit you mentioned?” she asked.

Elijah nodded, then hiked his thumb in the direction of the ancestral tree. “Lives over there. But sometimes, he visits me in the tree house.”

Sara nodded, then pushed herself to her feet. When she did, Elijah could only stare in awe. Her form was even more magnificent than he’d first thought.

“Stop staring. It’s weird.”

“Don’t stare. Gotcha,” he said, though he didn’t look away.

Sara let out a huff, then headed toward the ancestral tree. When she reached it, she called out, “Tree spirit! Speak to me!”

Nerthus appeared only a moment later, and Elijah groaned, “Oh, come on. I tried to get you to come out like ten times over the past week, and nothing. But she calls for you one time, and you just pop right up?”

“She’s a dragon,” he said unapologetically, as if that was explanation enough. Looking at Sara, Elijah couldn’t really argue with that assessment.

“Please contact my mother and tell her I am safe,” Sara said.

Nerthus disappeared, merging with his branch. He was gone for only about thirty seconds before he reappeared, saying, “Your mother wishes for your return. Consent, and Elijah will complete his task.”

“But she said I could stay on this –”

“She was very specific about the conditions. She said – and I quote, ‘You have visited the new world. Return and continue your training.’ The Great –”

“Ugh. Fine. I’ll go. Just do it.”

“Wait, what’s going on?” Elijah asked.

“The tree spirit is going to use his connection to the world tree to send me home,” Sara said. “Once I’m back in Kabalis, you’ll get your reward.”

“Ah. Makes sense, I guess,” he said, tapping his lip. “Except for, you know, the whole thing! You’re just going to connect to the World Tree? And what the hell, Nerthus? Could you have just sent me away?” He sighed, then before either Sara or Nerthus could respond, Elijah said, “You know what? Never mind. The answer’s probably just ‘magic,’ anyway. Right? It’s magic.”

“It’s not not magic,” said Nerthus.

“Fine. Carry on, I guess. Stupid trees and magic and dragons…”

He looked up at Sara, then held up his hands, “Not you. Obviously. As the only dragon I’ve ever met who – let’s remember – promised not to eat me, I’m very much on your side. And your mom’s. And any other dragon out there, I guess. Let’s just say I’m pro-dragon all the way.”

To drive his point home, he held up two thumbs.

Sara, for her part, just shook her head, then placed her foreleg on the tree’s trunk. Looking down at Elijah, she said, “You’re weird. But thank you.”

Without waiting for a response, she disappeared. Nerthus wilted, merging with his tree without another word. That left Elijah alone.

Again.

“What’s new?” he muttered to himself. However, at least he’d completed his task, which was important enough. He couldn’t help but think that he’d have traded the reward for a little company, though.

Congratulations! You have completed a Task. Standby for reward…

Elijah held his breath until the next notification flashed before his eyes:

Blessing of the Dragon received. Please choose which form it takes: Core Advancement Item (Wings of the Dragon) Spell (Firestorm)

Elijah sank to his knees as he read the notification. He’d anticipated that the reward to be good, but the Blessing of the Dragon exceeded his expectations. The first option was something he’d sought – without any luck – for quite some time.

The second option was a little less exciting, but the name was evocative enough that he was practically drooling at the possibilities. However, the third choice was probably the most straightforward – a new spell, and the name Firestorm suggested that it was a powerful one.

Still, Elijah only looked at the options for a moment before making his decision.

You have chosen: Core Advancment

Elijah grinned. And then, something exploded inside of him, driving him back into unconsciousness.

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