Slowly but surely, I made my way down the wall and approached the wyverns, coming off as confidently as I could… Being a crippled little girl on crutches, my small stature only exaggerated further by my oversized clothes. 'I never learned how to speak dragon… But somehow I don't feel like I need to…'
The wyverns all slowly spread away from me until the largest of them walked forward, its arms and legs were a deep red with scales, and its wings glowed orange and yellow with streaks of burgundy running through them like tattoos, fresh human blood dripping from its talons. As it approached, it puffed out its chest, raising itself high above me and baring its fangs.
I threw my crutches to the side and gathered my mana. "Try it…"
It let out a soft hum before lowering its head to the ground, lying down, and staring up at me. Without moving its mouth, its words entered my mind. "Young child of the great dragon Malkizadeck, do you intend to honor the ancestral pact?"
A soft whimpering kept tugging at my ears, making it hard to concentrate and finally stealing my gaze. 'It's a baby…' "Does it hurt?" I quickly looked around. 'Who's nearby right now?' "Philly!" I shouted, waving at her. "Go and tell Fritz to come find me here!"
She gave a confused look back, no doubt at the fact that I told her to go talk to my horse… But she complied nonetheless.
The wyvern in front of me raised its head with a growl, but I softly placed my hand on its nose before it could stand up all the way. "Tell me what happened."
"Spear clipped its wing, arrow to the side."
I walked over and knelt down. It may have been a baby… But it was still larger than I. The wound from the arrow was shallow, too. I thought the one guardian would be hesitant, but it almost pushed it closer to me instead. Of course, when Fritz arrived, she just healed it right away with magic. 'I wish she would just heal me… But she won't for some reason… I guess it's more likely she can't for some reason…'
"Good girl, Fritz," I said, rubbing her neck. "Can you make sure the others are ok too?" She neighed and stepped away before turning back to the wyvern's leader. "This pact, can you tell me what it is?" 'It's awkward to ask, but it's not like it can be avoided…'
"Will you offer us protection in exchange for our hunting of prey?"
'So it's like that then…' "Of course… But I'm not a full blooded dragon… Are you sure this deal is ok? My protection might not be as strong as you think…"
He lifted his head just above mine and let out a small puff of fire that blew back my hair before grinning ear to ear. "Do not worry, little pup. Now, cover me in your breath to complete the pact."
'Really…' I looked to the side, 'well… Just once won't hurt… I'll make it short,' "Are you sure you can take it?"
He laughed, "Try me, breathe the hottest flames you can."
I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as I stepped back before I raised my eyes again. 'As hot as I can… But just for a second… If I hold it, I'll scorch myself…'
Taking another deep breath, I felt the spark on my insides light the flame, and it bellowed in my stomach before bursting out as my insides transformed and reflexively grew scales, the fire exploding out as a pure white flame that shot across the courtyard right through him and even covered the back wall in ash. Unable to stop it, the flame continued to burn for a few more seconds before it finally died down to orange and vanished.
I grabbed my neck and fell to my knees from exhaustion. 'Wait… It doesn't hurt…' My body slowly reverted as the scales shed and fell to the ground. At the same time, I heard the wyverns all begin to hum. I looked on in awe as my flame scorched their scales. The leader was now as white as snow with golden eyes and veins that glowed, all the others nearby the flame had changed as well, growing white and gold swirling patterns in splotches as though their transformation was only partial.
The sound of their voices deepened, the rumble only rivaled by the smoothness of the females as they bellowed with the voices of giants. The soft melody seemed to call the very sky to stand still and the wind to cease. The growing chorus of 3 became 4 and then 8 and then all of them as one.
Above the sky where mountains rise,
Where fiery wings did sweep the skies,
The Dragon lords, of ancient name,
Stood tall to guard their young kin's flame.
Through forests deep and rivers wide,
The Wyverns soared on winds they'd ride,
But in the shadows, dark and cold,
Lurked demons' tongues, and whispers old.
The Dragon's breath, the Dragon's roar,
Kept danger far from every shore,
And with each dawn, beneath the sun,
The Wyverns sang for what was won.
Their bond was forged in skies so high,
Like thunder's call across the sky,
"O mighty shield of scale and might,
Who burns away the creeping night,
For us you fight, for us you die
And watch the stars from heaven's eye."
Through trouble, struggle, and ashen wake
Fire wrought the crystal lake.
Storm and war, and endless night,
The Dragon's wings brought blazing light,
The sky remembers ancient pain
Where dragons ' weapons for wyverns slain
So let the wind and flame entwine,
The Dragons' might and Wyverns' sign,
Without even realizing it, my heart had begun to race… I wasn't even really sure what was happening, much less what I should do about it. All of the wyverns bowed their heads low, and not even the crickets dared to creek.
I opened my mouth but slowly closed it again, taking a moment to make sure I wouldn't stutter. "What's your name?"
He raised his head. "I am Kylo, first of the flame."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Siya…" I slowly looked around, realising everyone else was just as nervous as I was. "If you are willing to fight by our side, then I will welcome you… But… Can you speak English? That would help a lot…"
Its long neck swayed as it looked around. "With magic… But it would be… Tiring…"
'Do they not have much mana? Actually… I don't even understand how we're communicating right now… It's not telepathy, I'm not using magic… I guess it's just a dragon thing.' I let out a small hum. "Alright… Forgive me, but… I don't know anything about wyverns… I've never even seen one until now… So, I apologize if this is offensive, but you don't eat humans, do you?"
"It's inefficient, not worth the trouble of fighting them, and they taste rotten."
"Good to know… although strangely offensive to hear…"
He suddenly shook his head. "Oh, no, not you. You would, of course, be delicious."
"That honestly might be worse to hear…" My brain nearly fried as my human side undoubtedly felt unsettled… But yet I also felt a slight heat rise in my face, steaming from my lungs. I cleared my throat and called over Philly since she was nearby. "Kylo, this is Philly. She's the commander in charge of handling creatures we call war beasts… It's nothing like you, but it's the most similar thing we have dealt with…"
He closed his eyes and lowered his head, but only slightly, remaining far above her, as she timidly waved, stiff as a board, neither of them saying a word.
'How do I get over how awkward this is…' "To put this bluntly… After forging the pact, you are all serving under me now, right?" 'That's what giving my protection means, isn't it?'
He slowly looked back at me. "We are bound to you by a blood pact of exchange. We will uphold the pact…" He looked back at the baby Fritz had healed. "As well as repay our debts…" His neck slowly twisted back around to stare at Philly. "But we are not your slaves… We do not serve you, but simply acknowledge you as superior."
'What a roundabout way of saying yes…' "In other words… If I tell you to fly out and catch me a wild boar, you will, but if I tell you to let Philly ride you, that's off limits."
He snorted at her. "A wise assumption."
I sighed, scratching my head. 'I had a feeling…' "Don't worry, there would be no reason for anyone to ride you anyway… It would probably just hinder your movements if anything makes you more than capable of understanding orders on your own… It's not like you're a horse…"
Fritzs growled, whipping her head around and staring at me before sprinting off. "Right… Not every horse needs a rider…"
Kylo grinned again, chuckling softly. "So then, what would you need of us…"
'That's the question…' I sighed, rubbing my throat and speaking out loud again. "For right now, I want you to work with Philly here to make sure you all have a place to sleep soundly, and food to eat… It's already late, tomorrow we will discuss how we are going to deal with the humans that caused you harm…"
He sighed, blowing smoke out the side of his mouth. "Philly." He said softly, using magic to change his voice and speak audibly in our language.
"Y-yes…" She stuttered.
"You have been harmed…"
She slowly covered her hand. "We're soldiers… We've all been harmed once or twice… Siya has three broken bones, are you really surprised I'm hurt too?"
I just shrugged as he glanced back at me before refocusing on her again. "Fire's purpose is not to harm others… The mage that burned you. I have his scent. He will burn."
'Not exactly how I'd go about making friends… But hey, it seemed to put her at ease, I guess…' The baby wyvern timidly walked up and lay down at my feet like a cat rubbing against me before its mother apologized. 'I guess even wyverns prefer the heat of dragons to that of their own mother… I kind of feel guilty…' "Please, don't worry about it." 'Now for what I really wanted to do… Let's see… Right now, the strongest in the camp is probably either me or Al.'
My eyes focused and locked on, comparing us to Kylo.
[Siya: Integrated]
[Height. 5'0 / 152 cm]
[Weight 105 lbs/48 kg]
[Age ***]
Strength
165
Agility
165
Endurance
180
Constitution
200
Intelligence
150
Wisdom
250
Total / Level
985
Faith
–
Divinity
***
Magic
120
[True dragon form increases all stats by 100.]
[Al.]
Strength
210
Agility
210
Endurance
230
Constitution
260
Intelligence
120
Wisdom
100
Total / Level
985
Faith
–
Divinity
***
Magic
0
[Kylo: Dragon forged]
Strength
240
Agility
320
Endurance
270
Constitution
300
Intelligence
120
Wisdom
180
Total / Level
675
Faith
–
Divinity
***
Magic
61
'Yes… No human can dare match up against such a monster… Except me, I guess…' My heart suddenly felt heavy as I read the rest of the information that had changed. [integrated] "Mr. Dragon?" I whined out loud. 'He really is gone… Isn't he… It's because I was in that form for so long… When I broke down in Kasesh and hid myself away…'
I slowly sat down before lying on my back. 'If that's true, then why did Rafi force me to revert? Or rather, how did she do that? If it's integrated, shouldn't I only have one form? No, because dragons have two senses, they can turn into humans, right?' I sighed. 'Maybe I can force myself… That seems dangerous though… I'll try it when we get to a safer place.'