Path of Dragons

The wind whipped against Elijah’s body, threatening to rip him from the cliff face and send him sailing to the ground far, far below. Only an hour or so before, he’d made the mistake of looking down, which resulted in a wave of vertigo that nearly caused him to lose his grip. Their initial impression – that the peak was a mile or so up – had been a gross underestimation, and when Elijah looked down, he was reminded of those videos he’d once seen where people skydived from a position in the upper atmosphere. In short, it made him nervous in a way that had nothing to do with the consequences of such a fall.

It didn’t matter that he could simply shift into the Shape of the Sky – not to the most primitive parts of his brain, at least. That was the thing with fear – it was often irrational, and in this case, it took Elijah nearly half an hour before the pace of his heart rate decreased to normal levels.

He glanced up at Sadie’s armored from. Since her apology a couple of days before, her treatment of him had bordered on cordiality, which was a huge improvement over the open hostility she’d harbored in the past. Still, it was clear that she didn’t like him much. Elijah didn’t miss the slight crinkling of her nose – as if she smelled something horrible – or the narrowing of her eyes that often accompanied any glance his way. Yet, if it meant that she didn’t glare at him in undisguised hatred, he was satisfied.

He continued his climb, pulling himself up to the latest ridge. It was barely a couple of inches deep, and even though the howling wind, which far exceeded tornado velocities, was an issue, it was one to which he’d grown accustomed. After spending more than a week climbing the Singing Cliffs, that was inevitable. As had been the case with every other ridge, he shuffled sideways until, almost a hundred yards later, he reached another rope ladder. This one was constructed slightly differently than the rest, and it was composed of a single rope to which a series of horizontal rods had been attached at various intervals. The thing strained against the wind, but Elijah paid it no heed. The rope ladders had been sturdy enough throughout their climb, and he didn’t think that would change.

But then again, he hadn’t expected any of the other complications, either. From the birds that so often harassed them to the increasingly powerful aviaks that made their homes in the shallow caves pockmarking the cliff’s face, Elijah had been surprised at every turn. The only reason they’d survived was by leaning on one another’s strengths and covering for each other’s weaknesses. Still, the climb had been incredibly taxing, both mentally and physically, and Elijah had often found himself wondering if any of the less powerful people back in the Nexus would have any chance at conquering the challenge.

Perhaps.

People had a wide variety of skills, and if they worked together properly, the limits of what they could accomplish were far less restrictive. That had been an issue for Elijah and his companions. For all that they could each hold their own, they were not an established team. As such, they often under- or overestimated one another, which had created a host of problems along the way. Regardless, Elijah and his companions had persisted and endured, and now, they found themselves approaching the peak.

And whatever dangers they would find at the culmination of the challenge. They had discussed it a few hours before, when they’d gained a degree of respite within the final cave, but without more information, they could only make the most basic of plans. So, as was often the case, Elijah knew they would simply have to wing it and hope to adapt to the changing nature of the dangers they faced.

Following Sadie, he continued to climb hand-over-hand until he reached the end of the ladder. However, in this instance, there was no ridge. Instead, there was just an unbroken expanse of rock. The wind had worn it mostly smooth, so it offered few usable handholds.

After a few feet, two things became abundantly clear. First, the task would best be undertaken in the form of the lamellar ape. As the name implied, the shape – with its disproportionately long arms – was built for climbing. So far, Elijah had used it sparingly, largely because it clashed with the nature of his role. He was the group’s healer, and as such, he needed to be ready to do his job at a moment’s notice. Often, that meant he wouldn’t have time to wait for his transformation to complete. But as they’d climbed, the bird attacks had tapered off, and so, he felt confident that he could afford the transformation.

The second and more pressing issue was that Kurik’s small size worked against him. He simply couldn’t reach the handholds, and so, without help, he would be stuck. Elijah wasn’t certain, but he suspected that the same would be true for Sadie as well, though Dat was quite a bit taller than anyone else in the group – save Elijah when he was in his guardian form – so he would likely have the easiest time.

Regardless, Kurik was the first to fall prey to the obvious problem of his size. So, Elijah called back for the dwarf to jump on his back. For his part, Kurik obviously didn’t like the idea, but he liked the notion of going back without conquering the challenge even less. With a grimace, he climbed past Dat, stepping on the Witch Hunter’s head along the way, and shimmied up the replacement rope and onto Elijah’s spiny back. Then, he wrapped the remnants of the old rope around Elijah’s shoulder, affixing himself in place.

“Let’s go!” he called.

Elijah nodded, then continued on. With his long arms and incredible Strength, the way was much easier. Even the howling wind was less impactful, making him wish he’d let himself use the transformation sooner. Yet, he comforted himself with the knowledge that it would never have worked. For all the versatility of his class, when he shifted into one of his forms, the scope of its power was very limited.

With Kurik on his back, Elijah ascended, and eventually, it became clear that even Dat was struggling. So, the Witch Hunter followed Kurik’s example and climbed onto Elijah’s back. For his part, the Druid barely noticed the extra weight.

Disaster struck when Sadie, attempting to reach a distant and tiny outcropping of rock, was hit by a particularly powerful gust of wind. Normally, she could endure something like that with ease, but it hit at exactly the wrong time. Already unbalanced, she was thrown free of cliff.

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Fortunately, Elijah had already noticed her struggles, and he was quick to react. One of his long arms darted out, grabbing her around her leg as she fell past him. She jerked to a stop, her arms still flailing as she dangled from his grasp. Then, he pulled her close. From such an awkward position, it took a few seconds for her to join the others on Elijah’s back, but she managed all the same.

After that, Elijah continued his climb, and for the last thousand feet, he was forced to leap from one outcropping to the next in a series of maneuvers he knew none of the others could have managed. It wasn’t just that he was stronger than them – which, in his lamellar ape form, he certainly was – but rather, that his instincts seemed perfectly suited to the task. If his draconid form was good for stalking prey, then the Shape of the Guardian seemed built for climbing rock walls.

Perhaps that had been the creature’s native habitat.

Throughout the last stretch of the climb, it became clear that Sadie was not happy with the situation. Not surprising, given her personality. Elijah suspected that she didn’t deal well with anything out of her control. He knew because he recognized that trait in himself.

In any case, with the help of the lamellar ape form, Elijah managed the climb well enough, though he would never have categorized it as easy. And the very last step – which required him to leap almost thirty feet straight up – was more than a little harrowing. Dat let out a curiously high-pitched scream as they sailed through the air, and he felt more than one set of fingers digging into his scales. He grabbed hold of the ledge, and despite the powerful wind, managed to pull himself – and his passengers – over the lip.

Finally, they had reached the peak.

Elijah flopped onto his belly, the fatigue that had come from their week-long climb having finally pushed him over the edge. Until that moment, he hadn’t let himself acknowledge it, but more than anything, he needed a good, long rest. As he lay there, luxuriating in the few moments of respite, the others extricated themselves from his back.

It wasn’t until Dat said something – Elijah wasn’t paying much attention – that he realized what else had changed.

“The wind,” he muttered, his voice coming out in a low growl. “It’s gone.”

Indeed, he’d grown so used to it that the sudden silence of the peak seemed odd in a way he couldn’t really explain.

Elijah finally pushed his exhaustion aside and focused on the facet of his mind associated with One with Nature. During their moments of rest, he’d begun to work on the next phase of his cultivation. And as he had in the previous step, he chose to work on his Mind first. He knew he wasn’t getting the most out of One with Nature or his Domain back home, and his Mind was the weak link. He wanted to shore up that weakness, and he’d begun working towards that goal.

His efforts hadn’t been terribly impactful so far, but he had noticed a minute difference in how quickly he could interpret the wealth of information available to him. So, he was satisfied with his progress.

In any case, when he focused on One with Nature, he came to realize that instead of the barren expanse he’d expected at the top of the plateau, he’d found a paradisical – if small – stretch of forest. It reminded him of the oasis surrounding the Circle of Spears, though this one was obviously quite a bit larger. The plateau itself was around five miles wide, and the forest extended almost to the edge.

But thankfully, there were no dangers afoot.

After a few minutes, Elijah let himself return to his human form, then cast Healing Rain. He rolled over, basking in the rejuvenating precipitation. His companions did the same, and slowly, their fatigue washed away. It wasn’t a perfect solution. The only true cure for exhaustion was rest. However, it did allow them to return to fighting shape far more quickly than would have otherwise been possible.

Eventually, Elijah sat up, taking stock of his allies’ conditions. Everyone looked fine, but then again, they hadn’t been forced to carry the load for the last leg of the trip, either.

Once it was clear that Elijah was well on his way to recovery, Dat and Kurik took up their mantle as scouts and disappeared into the forest. It was no jungle like below, and instead of the dense tangle of vegetation, the trees were well spaced, with minimal underbrush. Still, there was plenty of opportunity for a stealthy predator to lurk, so the caution of the two scouts was warranted.

Unfortunately, their departure left Elijah alone with Sadie, who wore a complicated expression. Finally, she took a deep breath, looked Elijah in the eye, and said, “You have saved my life again.”

He shrugged, nervously reaching down to toy with a tuft of grass. “Kind of comes with the territory,” he said. “You’d have done the same for me. You have done the same.”

“That’s different.”

“How?” he asked, cocking his head to the side.

“It’s you.”

“And what’s so wrong with me?”

She looked away, then said in a low voice, “Everything.”

“Damn. I guess I should’ve expected it, given the way you look at me. But still, that hits me right where it hurts. What makes you so sure I’m such a terrible person? Why do you hate me so much? I know my personality can be a little grating. I say all the wrong things at all the wrong times. But this is much deeper than that. Did I wrong you in another life? Do I look like a cheating ex or something? The guy who bullied you in school, maybe? I’m really trying to understand this, and I’m coming up empty.”

Sadie didn’t immediately answer, and for a few seconds, Elijah thought she wouldn’t. But then, she finally said, “I can see the weight of your sins. I can smell the stench of evil on you, like the rotting carcass of your misdeeds. That is what I see when I look at you. That is what I feel when I’m in your presence. It’s like maggots crawling all over my skin.”

“Ouch,” Elijah said, trying to wrap his mind around how her ability must have made her feel. The closest comparison he’d felt was when his shapes accentuated certain emotions. Or the subtle influence he felt from One with Nature. “You can’t turn it off?”

“I cannot.”

“I…I’m sorry,” Elijah said. “I’ve made mistakes. A lot of them, and I have more guilt than you can imagine. I don’t regret most of my actions. I was justified in…most of the things I did, I think. But I’m sorry you have to feel the aftermath. You shouldn’t have to deal with the consequences of the things I’ve done. When we get back to the Nexus, we can go our separate ways.”

“Perhaps that is best,” she said. “For what it is worth, I don’t think you are as evil as Sense of Sin says you are. You’ve saved my life on multiple occasions. Dat’s too. And while the cynical side of me says that you did so for your own reasons, I choose to believe that there is good buried beneath that cloud of evil.”

“You make me sound like a monster.”

She shrugged and looked way. “That is what you feel like to me.”

After that, Elijah just shook his head, and the conversation ended. Instead of dwelling on her perception of him, he focused on the things he could control. Like his Mind cultivation. Or his surroundings. But despite his efforts, his thoughts kept wandering back to her situation. To live with that every day? It must have been hellish, especially for someone who seemed to value logic and reasoning over emotions.

All power came with a cost, though. How they went about paying that price was what truly mattered.

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