Happy New year, hope for a great start of the year for you all!
I'm out of town now, will try to keep up the regular posting.
-
Artorius's army moved through the smoldering remnants of what had been the camps. Fires crackled as torn banners hung limp over broken wagons. The stench of scorched scales and charred metal filled the air. He walked among his soldiers, who moved with a disciplined lethality that spoke of countless battles. The rebels had tried, in their desperation, to resist, but Artorius's presence alone had crushed the will of many. Those who survived fled into the twisting forests and crags beyond the Emperor's spine, only to be torn apart in isolated pockets.
It had not taken long. The battle was over almost as soon as it began. Artorius did not relish slaughter, but he acknowledged the necessity. Every fallen traitor strengthened him in ways that were both physical and metaphysical. As he stepped over the last of the smoldering corpses, a familiar warmth coursed through his chest.
Congratulations! You have leveled up. Race: [True-Blood DragonMen] → Lv. 30
Gained New Mutation: Draconic Eye
Skill: Inspect(Common) has been subsumed!
He paused, feeling the subtle shift. His vision sharpened, as though the world's layers had become transparent. He could see faint threads of power lingering on the scales of his soldiers, the residue of the rebels' desperate attacks, and the barely contained energy of the corpse they walked upon like ants.
Artorius's hand drifted to his cracked collar. The tiny fracture there, barely noticeable, ached like a persistent drumbeat, reminding him of the Kirin's strike. Thanks to it he could briefly tap into his suppressed abilities. Yet he ignored it. There were more pressing matters. The remnants of the army waited, organized, silent, expectant. Among them, one figure caught his attention, the old asteroid dragon elder.
Pulling up his new mutation, he looked at it more closely.
Draconic Eye - True sight of dragons, see the true reality of the world and what underlines it. See through illusions, invisibility, and magical disguise. Detect the presence of dragons, draconic magic, and elemental auras. Perceive the weaknesses and strengths of beings and see the emotional state and intentions. Predict immediate attacks. See cause-and-effect and more. This is a body mutation!
"Warleader," one of his sword drake officers said, bowing his head. "The last of the traitors are dead."
Artorius nodded, stepping over the charred husk of a rebel wyvern whose skull still steamed. "Good. We move." The army followed him up the massive spinal bridge toward the fortress, crossing over the fleshy canyon carved between vertebrae that had once belonged to the Probability Emperor itself. Corpses were being hauled by chains into vast bone furnaces where dragonfire roared. The scent of roasting flesh mixed with incense-like draconic oils made the air thick and metallic.
Artorius turned to look at the elder who had not fled with his two noble dragons and his followers when the offer was given. He remained, his limbs creaking like ancient timber, his eyes watching. Something about him did not sit right with Artorius.
Artorius narrowed his gaze, his new mutation at work for the briefest of moments before flicking out, there was more to him, secrets and lingering doubts but he did not call him out. Not yet. He had bigger concerns, and suspicion alone would not sway the coming storm.
They returned to the fortress once the hunts were over, walking past the hive of activities Artorius entered the command hall which was carved directly inside the Emperor's cranial cavity. Pillars made from petrified nerves held up a vaulted ceiling of translucent bone. Light filtered through faintly, ghostlike, illuminating the gathered royalty.
The Sword Dragon presided over them all, his form filling the chamber with silent authority. The Shadow Dragon stood next to him and had recovered partially though he still bore the signs of his ordeal. The Psychic Dragon sat quite while the Dawn and Twilight dragons were alert.
Gem and Fragrance had been beaten, their pride shattered, yet their presence was still required. The Sword Dragon's tail scraped across the bone floor, leaving a groove. "There is only one path forward," he declared. "We go down into the heart of the Emperor's corpse. We hunt the newborn dragon. We slay it."
A tense silence followed, thick enough to suffocate. The Gem Dragoness blinked. "…You can't be serious."
The Sword Dragon's gaze snapped toward her. "Do I look unserious?"
Her mouth shut. The Fragrance Queen glared but remained silent, perhaps remembering how quickly the Sword Dragon had executed the Sound Dragoness. The Twilight Dragon leaned forward, eyes bright and fascinated. "Hunt… an immortal-blooded hatchling," she mused. "A being that is far above us all…"
The Dawn Dragon exhaled slowly. "A newborn Void Dragon, Sword King. You call it an opportunity. I call it suicide."
The Psychic Dragon opened one eye. "The probability of our deaths in such a confrontation is… statistically high. That is not a compliment."
The Shadow Dragon stiffened, voice hoarse. "You did not see it," he whispered. "Its presence was annihilation. Its breath unmade soldiers. It devoured dragons without touch, without bite, it simply erased." His wings convulsed at the memory.
A murmur spread through the assembled royals. But the Sword Dragon did not waver. He loomed over them, wings half-spread, the lethal arcs of his blade-feathers humming with metallic menace. "Yes," he growled. "A Void Dragon. Immortal blood. But this is not the first time such a thing has happened."
Silence crashed into the chamber. Every royal present froze. The Sword Dragon's eyes burned like sword-points heated white-hot. "Long ago, in this very nest," he said slowly, "another supreme descendant hatched. When it emerged, all noble, royal, and sovereign-blooded dragons were devoured by it in the whole Nest."
The Dawn Dragon swallowed. The Twilight Dragon whispered, "A myth…"
"It is not a myth," the Sword Dragon spat. "It is history carved in the Nest we stand in. If we do nothing, if we hesitate, we will die as they did. Do you want to repeat the past?" A heavy silence fell.
Then the Dawn Dragon spoke carefully. "Before we descend… should we not send word to the Seven Sovereign Dragons? They must be told of—"
"No." The Sword Dragon's answer was immediate and absolute. Every royal blinked.
"No…?" the Gem Dragoness repeated, stunned.
The Sword Dragon's smile was slow, sharp, predatory. "If we kill it," he said, "then the immortal blood is ours." His gaze swept the room. "Forget emperor-blood. Forget kingship. We speak of evolution beyond Sovereign. Beyond anything alive in this age."
The metallic taste of greed and ambition thickened the air. Not a single dragon could deny the allure. Immortal blood. Power beyond lineage. Ascension without limit. The Sword Dragon's chest swelled with lethal triumph. "This creature is a newborn. It has not yet learned its own laws. This is our one chance. If we let it grow…" His eyes turned cold. "…nothing in the Nest will survive."
He stepped closer. "You think the Sovereigns will share such power if they come? They will claim the immortal hatchling for themselves," he snarled. "We will be footnotes in their glory. Tools. Sacrifices."
His voice boomed through the chamber. "But if we slay it first… the Seven Sovereigns will kneel before us." Ambition filled the room like wildfire.
The Psychic Dragon clasped his claws. "Fascinating. Suicidal. But fascinating."
The Dawn Dragon sighed. "Reckless… but necessary."
The Twilight Dragon's grin widened. "We descend."
The Gem Dragoness glanced between the others and finally dipped her head. "I will go."
The Fragrance Queen hesitated longest, hatred flickering in her gaze but in the end she bowed. "Very well."
The Shadow Dragon shuddered and uttered, "This is a mistake."
Nevertheless it was done. One by one, they dispersed, heading to rally their personal forces, gather their weapons, and prepare for a descent into the Emperor's depths, a labyrinth of dead magic and ancient predation.
Artorius turned to follow, "Artorius." The Sword Dragon's voice froze him mid-step. He turned back. "Stay." The command was final.
The doors closed, leaving only the Sword Dragon… and the paper dragonness who stepped from the shadows like an unfolding scroll, her parchment scales rustling. The Sword Dragon's gaze bored into Artorius. "What happened to your followers?"
Artorius didn't hesitate. "They abandoned me," he said evenly. "When word spread that an immortal-blooded dragon had been born… they fled. They wanted no part of what came next."
The Sword Dragon studied him for a long, heavy moment. Then he sighed, a sound like blades grinding. "Getting reliable hired help is troublesome."
Artorius kept his face neutral as the paper dragonness spoke next, "I have received word that they joined a new faction rising up. A growing anti-royal coalition who is nearly a thousand strong now led by some rabble rouser. They intend to take down royal-blooded dragons."
Artorius kept his expression carefully still. Why did that person sound so familiar? The Sword Dragon clicked his tongue. "I would have sent you to hunt them down, Artorius." His wings flexed. Then folded. "But I have a more important use for you."
Artorius frowned. "What use?"
"You will bring back the Ocean Dragoness and the Sky Dragoness."
Artorius stared. "We were just fighting them," he said flatly. "They'll kill me before they hear a word."
The Sword Dragon's smile was slow, dangerous. "Then you will have to be very convincing."
Artorius felt his stomach twist. "And how," he asked, "am I supposed to convince two dragons who want me dead… to join your cause?"
The Sword Dragon's grin sharpened into a blade. "That," he said, "is up to your resolve." His wings opened in a metallic whisper. "Force them. Beg them. Threaten them. However you choose, you will bring them."
Artorius did not bow. He simply nodded.
The Sword Dragon smiled. "Good. Then go. Because if you fail…" He leaned forward. "…the immortal hatchling will not be the first thing to devour you."
-
The wind howled through the shattered peaks of the Dragon Wing, carrying with it the stench of burnt scale and the echoes of distant battle. Fires burned along jagged cliffs and ruined camps, a grim reminder of recent conflict. From the shadows, a new force emerged. Artorius's former lieutenants, Raijin, the storm-wreathed Thunder Dragon, and Zoklath, the coal-black Dread Dragon led a ragtag army of mercenaries, criminal bands, gladiators, prisoners, and dragon tribesmen, all united under a single banner.
Ouroboros greeted them as they entered their camp, his form shimmered subtly, scales rippling with strands of green and gold that seemed to twist like spiraling coils of time and fate. Whispers of the Wisdom Dragon's knowledge and the promise of freedom from royal tyranny rippled through the land like wildfire. The soldiers and mercenaries, usually so fractured and undisciplined, fell into line under him, guided by his presence and knowledge.
The four noble dragons, Viserion, the Frost Dragon; Shiun, the Golden Imugi; Raijin, Thunder dragon; and Zoklath, Black dragon sat together with Ouroboros at the head. "So good to see everyone all here. Tell me how is Artorius?"
Raijin spoke first, "Last we were with him there was some in-fighting happening between the royal dragons. He is still under the Sword dragon's thumb."
"Well we need to get him out," Viserion intoned.
"He was made to swear oaths," Zoklath replied.
Ouroboros couldn't stop chuckling to himself as he remarked, "So the same thing he had been doing happened to him."
Shiun shook her head, "it's not funny. We need to get as far away as we can from here. Did you not hear the news they brought? An immortal blooded dragon has been born."
"Yeah, that is not good news…" Ouroboros began before the sky darkened unnaturally.
From above, a ripple passed through the clouds as a figure descended like a blade of lightning. Ripples of storm-lit silver and white clouds fanned out, carrying the Sky Dragoness. Her eyes burned like twin suns, and her talons glinted with the promise of death. She landed atop a jagged outcropping, power incarnate, and surveyed the army below with a predator's disdain.
The soldiers shivered. Many had fought dragons before, but few had faced one of Sky's caliber. She radiated power, bending the air with the pressure of her wings, the clouds above her twisting into storm funnels. Even seasoned soldiers felt their knees quake.
"Shit, what is she doing here?" Raijin asked out loud.
"What else could she be here but for an army," Ouroboros answered.
"Stay calm," Zoklath growled to the fighters, the shadows around him coiling like living chains. "She underestimates us. She thinks only we can be cowed."
The Sky Dragoness spoke, her white and silver scales casting jagged reflections. She spoke, voice carrying over the battlefield. "Dispersed mercenaries, traitors to nobility, gather! Today, I shall reestablish order! Today, I will show you what a true dragon is that can defy the will of the skies!"
"Now!" Ouroboros hissed, his serpentine body coiling like a whip around his lieutenants. "Form ranks. We hit her together, hard and fast. No hesitation!"
With nods, the four dragons prepared themselves, their eyes glowing with power refined in slaughter. The Sky Dragoness roared, lunging toward them talons rending the earth as she sought to strike them down. The Imugi anticipated her strike and called them out, Viserion's frost engulfed the ground beneath her, forming razor-edged columns that erupted around her, slowing her.
Raijin's thunder cracked in rhythm with his heartbeat, striking at her, disrupting the flow of her elemental control. Zoklath's shadow coiled around her like serpents, constricting her. The four of them moved with perfect synchronization, a quartet forged in countless battles, each move anticipating the other. Even the Sky Dragoness, unrivaled in raw power, found herself struggling to match their coordinated assault.
Ouroboros waited, coiled atop a ridge, watching the battle unfold. The subtle twitch of his jaws, the slight flare of his nostrils, revealed the amusement he found in watching the Sky Dragoness brought low by dragons she would have considered beneath her.
With a final, thunderous strike, the sky dragon was driven to her knees. Frost and shadow constricted her balance, and lightning seared her wings. She fell forward onto the shattered stone, breath ragged, eyes blazing with disbelief. "How?!"
From the ridge above, Ouroboros slithered forward, each movement deliberate, arrogant. The chaos of battle had not touched him; he seemed almost untethered from the world, a predator surveying prey trapped within his web. His eyes glinted with amusement as he regarded the kneeling Sky Dragoness. "You serve me now, willingly by oath or face death. Which will it be?"
The Sky Dragoness spat, wings flaring despite her weakness. "I… I will never bow to you," she growled. But even in defiance, the fire in her eyes flickered with hesitation.
Ouroboros smiled, a curl of fang and tongue, his posture loose but radiating command. "What else do you have left? You are a beaten dog even your parent has abandoned you, I do not see a hair of them from above."
The Sky Dragoness inhaled sharply, scales bristling, wings trembling. She knew he spoke the truth, she had been abandoned as a failure by her father. She glanced at the four dragons who had beaten her, and then back to Ouroboros. Her pride warred with survival.
"I… I swear," she spat finally, her voice harsh, edged with venom but unmistakable in its sincerity. "I swear by my scales, my wings, and the fires of my ancestors, I swear by the Eternal Flame that I will serve your cause."
A silence fell. The four dragons released her gently, and she rose shakily to her feet, head low but gaze sharp. Her pride remained, but the game had changed. Ouroboros coiled closer, his tongue flicking across jagged teeth. "Good," he said, almost lazily. "We have much to do!"
-
The path to the Ocean Dragoness's domain wound across the Dragon Emperor's calcified ribs like a jagged spine-bridge. Wind howled through marrow hollows, vibrating them into a low, mournful hum. Blue draconic lanterns, embedded into bone crevices by the Sword Dragon's servants, flickered with ghostlight as Artorius approached the abode.
Artorius exhaled slowly as he stepped across a steep incline of fossilized scales. The collar around his neck pulsed faintly, the thin crack at its base like a lodged splinter. His brief access to his power was there but he wanted freedom.
He had a difficult task ahead of him, the Ocean Dragoness was one of the most disciplined royals. Even her enemies respected her composure. She never acted impulsively, never attacked without precision, never wasted breath or blood.
He pushed those thought aside as a set of footsteps approached. The asteroid dragon elder emerged from behind a crest of bone, his body clicking softly like old stone rubbing together. His limbs were too thin for his size, his eyes, though those old, knotted rocks held clarity and depth beyond his guise.
"You walk alone, young Warleader," the elder rasped.
"What do you want, Elder?"
The asteroid dragon tilted his head, bark plates shifting like layered scrolls. "A conversation. A question."
"Then ask."
The elder inhaled, a sound like a rock shooting through the sky. "Have you reached him yet?"
Artorius blinked. "Reached who?"
"The Dragon Emperor, of course."
Artorius stared. "…What?"
The elder stepped closer, leaning on his staff carved from living stone. "Have you spoken to him? He stirs. His corpse hums with troubled prophecy."
Artorius looked confused. "The Emperor is dead."
"Dead?" The asteroid dragon chuckled, a rumbling stony creak. "Ah, child. Death is not so simple for those like him."
Artorius frowned and peered much more closely at the asteroid dragon. Reality sharpened, peeled back, rearranged. A faint ripple spread across the elder's shape like paint melting off canvas. Beneath the benign meteoric visage was a colossal shadow of starry wildfire, great draconic power, coiled and bound, folded into an impossibly small form.
Artorius felt his heart skip. This… isn't just an asteroid dragon. He snapped the Draconic Eye off before he drowned in the weight of what he saw. "…Who are you?" Artorius whispered.
The elder smiled gently. "All answers will be revealed in due time!" Before Artorius could speak, the elder dissolved into drifting petals of star-dust and vanished.
Artorius stood alone, the wind chilling the sweat on his back. "What in the hell is going on…?"