Explosions ring out from the Dragon Community complex nestled in one of the mountains surrounding the World Tree. A fierce battle has erupted among the community members. In the midst of the chaos, a mother is valiantly fighting back a group of security guards, her resolve unyielding as she walks forward.
I fight off the pitiful weaklings trying to get in my way.
"PISS OFF!" I shout, launching another assaulter with a windy punch. The group of guards trying to stop me from advancing hesitates, seeing a third of their force taken down before even laying a hand on me. I can feel their emotions, a mix of fear and spite. How dare they be spiteful…
"Don't kill them! We can slip this incident under the rags with much effort but a murder will make it too impossible," Albert snaps me out of my rage. The lack of dignity this man has is incredible, being able to talk without a sliver of shame or restraint while being carried under someone's arm. Truly an embarrassing dragon folk, but I'm starting to have a unique sense of respect for him.
"Stand down, Admiral Vilkas! You have gone too far today!" the guard leader shouts. The tall physical variant shivers with both rage and fear. I raise my finger at him, eyes blazing.
"YOU stand down, sergeant! If I truly have done something wrong, how about you tell me what crime I have committed?"
"You have beaten up several official guards!" he shouts in exasperation.
"Purely self-defense." I shrug. "I was simply walking by. Why did they lay hands on me? Is the community complex not for all dragon folk?" I question the slowly retreating dragon folk man as I walk towards him. Say it. Tell me the reason you are doing this. Let them all know.
"The council will not stand for this!" he cries.
"True. Luckily, I have a good lawyer," I retort smugly.
I sense the winds set into a good flow again. I force the currents to bend and tighten around a single line. The winds swirl around the center line and transform into a dense hurricane traveling horizontally towards the guards. They scramble, raising their shields in defense. On the ground around them, a thin circle of fire appears—a barrier conjured by the leader. But alas, these few guards aren't enough to stop an admiral.
Some frontliners run out of strength, their shields getting blown away along with their magical protection. The violent winds rush down on them, smashing into their armor. I keep the winds dull and blunt so the fools won't die, but as a side effect, the magic has an increased impact. The shining marble floor beneath the guards fractures, sending tremors spreading across the ground. That broke some bones.
The winds didn't touch the leader. The fire around him focused in front of him, guiding the winds to flow over the man. As the barrier burned hotter, the surroundings began to catch fire as well. His personal barrier held strong against the magical onslaught. No surprise there. Even an untalented dragon folk is stronger than any average person. Luckily for him, I barely tried.
The winds return to chaotic flows after my spell, and I subconsciously start to sort them out again. I don't need magic to get my way through here. As a bonus, not using it too much lessens the risk of anyone dying.
The guard group continues retreating while the leader performs a small ritual to renew the protective magic on the group. They halt when the leader's back is against the door to the clinical wing of the complex.
"Final warning, sergeant. Get out of my way," I tell the nervous guard.
"Ah, shit! Charge!" the man shouts, throwing a few small shards of rubies into the air. The gems light up and transform into fireballs that rush toward me. As the fireballs begin to move, the frontliners attack, taking paths designed to surround me.
As all this unfolds, I continue walking forward. The fireballs hit my barrier, and I can feel the leader's magic clashing with mine. The winds overwhelm the fire, directing the fireballs away from me and causing them to hit the walls and floor behind me.
The brave guard who decided to rush directly towards me makes eye contact. I am a head taller than him. He raises his shield, trying to hide the swing of his baton. With a smooth motion, I turn my left step into an upward kick, disarming him by sending the baton and the shield flying from his hands. Without pausing, I continue the motion and bring my leg down forcefully on the man's head, stomping him on the ground and knocking him unconscious. The floor cracks under the impact. I stand on his head as two others attack me from each side simultaneously. However, they are slow.
I use my right leg to kick off the ground, rushing towards the leader who is now left unguarded. He raises his shield in defense, igniting it with his magic. With a quick left step, I gain more velocity and raise my right leg for a front kick. As the kick lands on the shield, the fire is swept away by the winds that rush past me, and the sergeant rockets through the door with a slam. The air around the door sparks as the defensive magic and machinery on the door break down.
The nurses and the receptionist on the other side of the door have already moved to defensive positions behind the counter, away from danger. The leader hits the front desk and starts quietly coughing. He is not getting up anytime soon. Those few ribs should be enough of a lesson.
"Ugh, goodness me, this is something else," Albert coughs out in amazement, still being held under my arm.
"Take care of these fools," I nod to the nurses and dash away from the two guards I had run past.
"Take that turn!" Albert shouts.
"I know, Albert. I am an admiral; I navigate as a profession. I won't forget my routes," I say as I speed past the turn he pointed out.
"Do you?" he asks, watching the corner recede into the distance.
"It's too obvious. There's a good ambush point on that route," I reply, taking the next turn.
"There was a guard group at the front door to the clinic wing. There most likely are more," I continue.
The only reason I took this man with me was so he could open any doors or dispel any barriers they may have set up to stop me. I could have used a tool for that, but Albert is more efficient and reliable for those kinds of things. Not to mention, the guy is almost too enthusiastic to go against the council. I won't turn down a fellow council critic.
I fly through the tall corridors towards the hatchery door. As I approach the last corner, I can sense mages beyond it. I knew it. There's probably an entire checkpoint there. Good thing I've been building up wind all the way here.
"Albert, there are guards near the door. Prepare to undo the spell on the door," I inform the Mana Bender.
"Right," his voice drops as he slows down to the meditative state. The dozen magical gadgets he is wearing light up and start to hum quietly.
I round the last corner and inspect the guards. The other admirals shouldn't be here, and I doubt the Higher Dragon Council would lower themselves to guarding. In other words, there shouldn't be anyone capable of standing up to me here. Well, they were just planning to use politics to keep me away, so this plays into their hand.
I observe a small Elite Squadron of Judgment Enforcers guarding the door. Their leader, a recognized Advocate, steps forward, no doubt having sensed me before I entered. The tall, bulky dragon folk truly lives up to his name. With his wide upper body, thick neck, and large wings, he's a prime example of a Pure Family line.
"Admiral Vilkas, under the influence of the Dragon Council, I, Advocate Kone, must recommend you to stop." He salutes, his voice carrying the weight of authority and tradition.
The wind follows me as I turn, the hurricane not touching any surface. I direct the wind past me towards the door.
"I'm sorry, comrade. I refuse," I say politely to the older veteran. This guy is a prime example of an advocate. He has a duty to recommend, using fists if necessary, and he lives up to it. For him, I don't take it personally.
"I must recommend that you reconsider, admiral." A warm indifference emits from the man. He takes up a stance, stepping forward with his left leg and raising his scaly fists to the level of his face as I zoom towards him.
The other elites scatter around the room, sensing the incoming wind, but nobody takes the offensive. These guys aren't trying to beat me. They are here to slow me down, force me to cause collateral damage. They really are trying to play this as politically as possible. Too bad they didn't consider that the puny Albert has the guts to stand up to the council. With him here, they should have focused on stopping me from getting him close to that door.
I glance at the other Enforcers, taking note of their positions. As I formulate a plan, I focus my attention on the Advocate. I tense my muscles, imagining pushing the wind into a thin cylinder. With a straight punch, I direct the wind toward the Advocate.
Everything is still within the room. The only indication of the immense wind passing through is the howling whistle of all that air being pushed forward in a thin pipe at twice the speed of sound.
In a motion faster than the eye can see, the Advocate turns his body and throws a backhand cross toward the wind tunnel. Pulses radiate in the direction of the assaulting winds, making the wind reconsider its direction. As the air particles turn to head back toward me, they get trapped between the wind tunnel's constant flow of highly pressurized air and the pulses now raining on the wind tunnel as Kone's fists blur in a back-and-forth movement.
I keep my hand stretched out as the wind meets the man's fist, and so does he. It turns into a magic battle. I push the air towards the Advocate's fist, and he redirects the flow backwards. The pressure at the meeting point increases, seeking an escape from the clashing flows of energy, but I don't let it. I concentrate the air towards the impact point between the two opposing forces.
Ice starts to form in the center of the impact point. I guess that's enough. I let the wind return to its natural flow and focus solely on ensuring that the air doesn't blow back towards me too hard.
As the pressure lowers too quickly, a large amount of vapor explodes outward in a shockwave. The entire building shakes, and the furniture in the room is thrown against the walls, shattering into pieces. The Advocate, nearest to the explosion, is blown into the door he is guarding, and the other Elites in the room are pushed into the walls, their defenses smashed into the surfaces around them.
I scan the damage, surveying the scattered debris and shattered furniture. The Advocate lies crumpled against the door, and the other Elites are slumped against the walls. I can pay for this, surely.
"Open it," I command, dropping Albert near the door. Our movement is concealed by the vapor, and our presence hidden by Albert's gadgets.
The Advocate groans beside us, slumped against the door.
"Our fists have spoken. I ask you to consider the further potential damage to the personnel and infrastructure that could happen if we continue, and its consequences," I say with a smile at my colleague.
"Fair," he replies, his tone unwavering despite the situation. He stands up and takes a stiff ceremonial stance.
I can sense the other elites regrouping and getting their bearings. Too late. The shining, strong aura that the door once emanated fades away. With a push, the door opens before us. The dawning nervousness that had bewildered me in the weeks waiting for the egg to hatch floods back. This uncertainty, waiting for the world to bestow a soul, makes me feel more out of control of the flow of things than ever.
"There are no barriers from here on. Not even the Council dares to disgrace this place, it seems," Albert says, relaxing with a sigh. Breaking the seal was the hard part; fixing it is his next task.
"They disgraced this place when they tore a mother from her child," I snap.
"Fair," Kone claims.
"Fair, is it? That's funny considering that you were trying to stop us," Albert tries to shake the stoic Advocate Kone.
"It's not my place to judge the judgment of the Council. I only recommend as those wiser than I say I should recommend," Kone states, unshaken.
"Even when they are rotten and unfair?" Albert presses.
"Not my place to judge," Kone remains steadfast in his beliefs.
"Albert, thank you for your help," I interject, stopping the bickering. I pat the shorty on the head, and he smacks my hand away, glaring at me in disgust. I smile in response.
"I won't forget this favor," I say, dashing away from the charging elites who have regrouped. They follow right behind me, ignoring Albert, who sits down next to Kone. As they start to catch up, I spread my wings wide and blast a wave of wind behind me. The pursuers are thrown off balance as I accelerate in the opposite direction.
The many doorways blur in my eyes as I speed past them. The nurses watching over the hatching rooms duck and dodge to the sides of the hallways as I fly by. Protective parents stand in front of some doorways, their shouts and screams silenced by the howling wind. Sorry, folks. Just passing by. As I make the final turn and see the doorway leading to my baby, all thinking stops. My mind is overwhelmed by a maternal instinct to protect. I charge towards the doorway, failing to notice Albert's assistant in front of it.
I try to slow down but realize using my wings would create a gust of wind that could harm my baby. Instead, I put my legs down and slide towards the door. The wind hurls past me, throwing the assistant off her feet and into the air. I directed most of the wind away from the doorway, so she took the worst of it. Luckily, that fur of hers will protect her.
My momentum stops as I smash my hand through the wall I slid towards. I raise my head and see my daughter sitting on the ground in front of the doorway. She looks up at me, her face a mix of confusion and curiosity. Her eyes have a smooth black circle around the otherwise white iris.
There were many questions in my mind at that moment. How did she get off the pedestal? How did she get all the way here? Weren't her eyes different before? But I ignored all those thoughts. Before I knew it, I had broken through the window with Taysi in my arms.
At this moment, I know. No matter what happens after this, no matter how severe the consequences of my actions, this is worth it. What I am doing is the right thing. I know it, and I know that the world itself knows it.