It was a normal sunny day on the broken isles. While every once in awhile, evil and darkness began spreading throughout the western reaches of the land, but it was kept in check under the watchful eyes of the Blue Dragonflight stationed deep in the heart of Azsuna. Senegos, the leader of the Blue dragons on the isles, kept an ever-watchful eye on the lands, making sure that peace was kept and the balance and harmony of magical essence was maintained. In the forests of Azsuna, there was a refuge, a safe haven for dragons of all kind to take shelter from the war and chaos that occasionally broke out through the land. The safe haven came to be known as Azurewing Repose. For now, during the time of peace, the dragons trained day and night, training new generations of dragons to uphold the balance.
Stellagosa awoke from her slumber inside of her cave at the repose. She opened her mouth to let out a long drawn-out yawn while she stretched her wings. The light of dawn shined through the entrance of her cave, helping her awaken faster. After wiping her eyes and shuffling her wings a bit, she made for her cave's exit with the intent to check up on the rest of her fellow dragons to see what they were up to.
She took her first few steps out into the campground's, sat down, and let out a satisfied sigh, closing her eyes and smiling as she embraced the gentle morning breeze on her face and breathed a breath of fresh air while her feet rested on the soft comfortable soil of the campground. As she was enjoying her morning, she was quickly greeted by another drake just like herself.
"Are you ready for the day's tests?" Said the Drake.
She huffed pridefully. "How could I not? I've been training for this day my whole life. I'm done living a peaceful life, I'm ready to go out and change the world for the better." She remarked.
Already her heart filled up with joy and anticipation. Today was the day she would finally take her test to become an agent of the Blue Dragonflight. From the day she was born she had trained, just like every other dragon in her clan, practicing her magic so she could one day join the ranks of her fellow agents. She had only recently become of age and looked forward to her trials for many years. Very few dragons possessed the determination, perseverance, drive, and spirit that Stellagosa had. Since she was a whelp she had dreamed of one day making her grandfather, Senegos, proud.
"No offense, but if I were you, I'd step aside. I have no intention of being defeated this day. Today, I will be the next agent." She said with a smirk before standing up. As was tradition, the blue dragons dueled each other in a battle of tooth, claw, and most importantly, magic. The one who would impress Senegos the most would be the one to receive the promotion.
Stellagosa tilted her head to the side, cracking her neck. "Alright." She said with a confident smile. "Let's do this."
A dragon was sent flying through the air at high speeds until he crashed against the base of a tree before collapsing to the ground, exhausted and defeated. In front of him stood Stellagosa who had easily bested him without breaking a sweat.
Senegos was keeping eye over the event. He marveled at Stellegosa's performance. "Well... I have to say, I am deeply impressed!" Senegos said with a hearty chuckle. "Would anyone else care to face Stellagosa?" He asked with a perked eyebrow.
When Senegos looked around, there were dozens upon dozens of blue drakes laying on the ground, exhausted, each of them having been effortlessly defeated by Stellagosa. Their tired bodies littered the campground all around.
Stellagosa smiled and sat down next to her grandfather, her confidence was unwavering. As she looked out towards the sea of defeated would-be agents, the rest of the remaining drakes looked up to her and started backing off, too afraid to stand toe-to-toe with her.
"Nobody else wishes to step up?" Said Senegos again as he watched the remaining drakes back off in fear of his granddaughter.
"I'll take the challenge." Said an unknown voice in the crowd.
Senegos and Stellagosa both widened their eyes in surprise as a blue drake stepped forward, a confident smirk adorning his face just like Stellagosa.
"Elegos?" Said Senegos, surprised to see at least one of the remaining drakes had courage.
Stellagosa lowered her eyebrows. "You..." She said with disdain. She had encountered Elegos many times before, the two of them had always fought and bickered since they were young. Stellagosa always thought of him as cocky, arrogant, and overconfident. Like herself, he also showed more promise and skill than the rest of the drakes which irritated her as he was the only thing standing in the way of her path to greatness. Stellagosa and Elegos were the only drakes who showed true physical and magical mastery, which put them at odds with each other. Their relationship could be described more or less as a rivalery as both of them had sought to claim the promotion that Senegos offered. Nevertheless, Stellagosa felt she was superior to him and that nothing could stop her now.
"Are you sure about this? Just back down, Elegos, it will be easier. There's no need for anyone else to get hurt." She said.
Elegos looked up to Senegos and then back down to her and perked an eyebrow. "I have no intention of getting hurt today. But I have every intention of becoming the next agent." He said sitting down before the two of them.
Stellegosa lowered her eyebrows. "Fine. Be that way. I've battled almost every drake in camp, one more shouldn't be a problem." She said standing up and looking towards her grandfather, awaiting his permission.
Senegos shrugged. "Very well. One final duel. The winner will receive the promotion. The loser goes back into training." He said, gesturing towards them. "You may begin." He said.
Stellegosa looked back towards Elegos, looking him over from head to toe to try and spot any weaknesses. She was slightly irritated that he was trying to stand in the way of her promotion and thus, she prepared to effortlessly defeat him like she had the rest. When she looked up to him he had assumed a combat stance, ready to face her.
"This will be quick." She said before taking in a deep breath, charging herself with arcane magic. Once she had stored up enough energy she opened her maw, releasing a tremendous blast of raw arcane energy upon Elegos, hoping to overwhelm his magic with her own.
After seeing her charge up, Elegos firmly planted himself with a steady stance. He raised one wing into the air and swung it around himself, shielding him inside an arcane barrier. Once his full body was shielded, he braced himself with his shoulder up against the front of the barrier to provide more support.
When Stellagosa's blast reached him, it was indeed powerful but his magic was strong enough to match her own, after her attack dissipated, he was still left standing, his shield still intact.
Stellagosa gasped. "Impossible." She said seeing him still standing tall. She growled and dug her front claws into the ground, drawing an arcane rune into the dirt that, once completed, began to glow with power. After charging up yet again, she extended her left front leg and launched a barrage of powerful arcane missiles toward his location.
Elegos charged his wing with arcane magic and covered himself with it. Her missiles deflected off of his wing, ricocheting off in random directions. As Stellagosa assaulted him, Elegos began powering up while he held his defenses. His other wing began to glow as well as the arcane power began to surge through his body. After deflecting a few more of Stellagosa's missiles, Elegos spun around slicing his other wing through the air, unleashing a slicing horizontal blade of arcane energy through the air.
Stellagosa gasped and backed up, attempting to shield herself. When his arcane attack landed on her, it detonated in a violent explosion that shattered Stellagosa's defensive barrier and knocked her back. However, Stellagosa was able to regain her footing and avoided being knocked over. She planted her feet firmly into the ground as she slid, leaving a carved-out dirt trail as she was knocked away.
After recovering Stellagosa looked up to him and growled. She had defeated the other drakes so easily, her magic effortlessly overwhelming the others, but against him she just couldn't break past his defenses.
After seeing her her get back up, Elegos reared up onto his hind legs, charging his front legs with power before rearing back down with a massive stomp. A cracked formed in the earth that began traveling toward Stellagosa, creating a fissure. Stellagosa looked down to see the earth glowing beneath her. She quickly dove out of the way before the glowing fissure erupting into another violent explosion. After avoiding his devastating blast she realized her magic couldn't overpower him. Instead of trying another attack she simply charged him, ready to take him on with tooth and claw. She kept an eye on him at all times, making sure he didn't cast any spells for if he tried to, she would attempt to silence him.
When Elegos saw her charging him he braced himself and matched her force with his own when they collided. Both dragons reared up onto their hind legs, attempting to overpower each other. They interlocked their front claws and struggled, both of them attempting to gain the upper hand. As they struggled, Stellagosa could feel he was starting to push her back. She refused to allow herself to be overpower and pushed back with all her might, matching his strength.
Elegos opened his mouth, preparing to unleash another blast at her at point-blank range. Before he could finish charging she quickly head-butted him, dazing him for a moment. She took advantage of the opportunity to grasp him by the neck and throw him to the ground with a mighty slam. After slamming him to the ground, they both started rolling around on the ground until eventually she was able to get into a position to pin him. Using the weight of her body, she pinned him to the ground, forcing him to lay on his belly while she held his neck down with her tail. She managed to grab his left hind leg, wrap her front legs around his ankle, and lift his leg up into the air, practically holding him upide down. Using her tail she kept his head pinned down, forcing his face into the dirt.
"Yield." Stellagosa said. "I could break your foot if I wanted to." She said, slowly twisting his ankle, threatening him with pain.
He refused to say anything, instead he chuckled, only slightly wincing at the pain of having his ankle twisted.
She lowered her eyebrows, irritated as she didn't understand why he was laughing. "Last chance." She said, her eyes scanned over the white-colored bottom of his foot before digging her claws into his heel slowly and threatening to twist his ankle further. Though as she was about to claim victory she felt something tapping her belly underneath her. She quickly looked down and saw the spiked tip of his tail was charged up with energy and glowing, ready to explode at his command.
Stellagosa shook her head. "No! It can't be!" She said, bewildered.
"How could he have casted a spell without me knowing? I had my eyes on him the whole time! That's impossible!" She thought to herself.
Senegos perked his brow and smiled, impressed. "Well well well... would you look at that, a draw! You don't see that every day." He said. "You can let each other go now. I've seen enough."
Stellagosa's frowned, disappointed. She let go of Elegos' foot and stepped off of him, allowing him to get back up.
"You both seemed so evenly matched! Clearly both of you have put an impressive amount of effort and determination into your training. I believe it's only fair that both of you receive your promotion." Senegos said.
Both Elegos and Stellagosa's faces lit up and they looked toward Senegos with eager eyes. "You mean it?" Stellagosa said, excited.
Senegos nodded happily. "Congratulations to the both of you. You have impressed me with your skills in both might and magic. I will assign both of you a task for you to complete, a task that all blue dragons must learn how to master; maintaining the balance." He said.
Elegos and Stellagosa nodded at the same time, respectfully, but after nodding they both looked at each other for a moment, a look of resentment in their faces.
"He doesn't deserve it. I outsmarted him and defeated him fair and square. He thinks just because he can sneak in an attack while i'm not looking that he is my equal? What a joke... today was supposed to be my day." Stellagosa thought to herself.
"For now you can take a break until your assignment is presented to you. You will both go out with a partner in order to watch each other's backs. Remember, teamwork is important so make sure you and your partner work together." Senegos said before bowing to them. "You are dismissed."
Elegos and Stellagosa looked towards each other one more time before turning their heads, shunning each other and going their separate ways.
When Stellagosa left the training grounds she decided to pay her pay her sister a visit.
Upon arriving at her sister's cave, she knocked on the entrance. "May I come in?" Stellagosa asked. "Ceregosa?" She said, looking around.
"Yes! Yes! come in!" Ceregosa said, inviting her little sister into her cave. "I heard today was a special day for you, how did it go?' She asked, sitting down and folding her wings in front of her as she tilted her head and listened.
"I passed! Grandfather thinks i'm ready!" Said Stellagosa with an excited look on her face.
Ceragosa gasped. "Wow! I'm so proud of you!" She said moving forward to give her sister an affectionate nuzzle. "Are you going out on your first assignment to make it official?"
Stellagosa nuzzled her sister back and nodded. "Yes I am. Grandfather will send my partner to me whenever they're ready. I'm ready to head off as soon as possible. Destiny awaits." She said.
Ceragosa smiled. "Well I know you'll do great! Do you know who your partner will be?" She asked.
Stellagosa shook her had. "No. I assume it will be one of the new agents who still need to get a bit of practice in. Though I assume-" She said but was interrupted by a knocking at the cave entrance.
Both Stellagosa and her sister turned their heads to see who was at the door.
"Oh! Stellagosa's partner I assume. Welcome!" Ceregosa said.
When Stellagosa saw it was Elegos who was designated to be her partner, her eyebrows lowered.
"...You've got to be kidding me..." She thought.
Stellagosa stormed out towards the center of camp where Senegos was resting. "Grandfather!" She yelled out as she approached the edge of his nest.
Senegos raised his head up from the ground and turned to make eye contact with her. "Yes, Stellagosa? What is it?" He said, still laying on the ground but keeping his head up to talk to her.
"You're partnering me with Elegos? Why? You know I don't like him." She said, sitting down and folding her wings in a pouting manner.
Senegos huffed and nodded. "That's part of the problem. We can't afford to not like each other. We blue dragons work together as a team and a team is nothing without trust. You two need to learn to get along and work together, to trust each other, otherwise it's not a team anymore."
"I don't want to be on his team!" She said, growing more frustrated. "Why can't I go with my sister? She can watch my back while I take care of the assignment!"
Senegos shook his head. "Your sister already passed her tests many years ago and she is one of my most trusted agents. Elegos, however, still needs to complete his assignment aswell. If you work with him, you both can complete your assignment and receive your promotions together. This is a learning experience for you both, child." Senegos said trying to help her see reason.
Stellagosa lowered her head. "Grandfather, I don't see the point-"
"Stellagosa, listen to me. I've made my decision and it is final. Don't disrespect your grandfather's wishes. Complete your task and you will take your place amongst our ranks. If you don't you will have to go back into training. I will not debate this further with you." He said with a stern tone of voice as opposed to his usual warm and friendly demeanor.
As Senegos finished talking with his granddaughter, Elegos started approaching the two of them.
"Ah, Elegos! Just in time! Hopefully you are prepared to face the coming trials?" Senegos said, his face lighting up.
Elegos nodded. "With pleasure. Nothing is going to stand in my way." He said before glancing over towards Stellagosa who saw him looking at her and turned her head away from him in disgust.
"Very good." Senegos said. "For your assignment, the Ley-Ruins of Zarkhenar house numerous arcane elementals that periodically spawn from the energy stored in the surrounding crystals." He said. Senegos summoned a scrying orb for them to see what was going on. The orb allowed them to see the ruins and the numerous elementals that inhabited them.
"The elementals usually last for only a few moments before becoming unstable at which point they fade away harmlessly. However, one elemental in particular has managed to stabilize and is now growing, feating on the arcane essence of the ruins to grow bigger and more powerful." He said, changing the orb's image to show them the arcane elemental that stood towering above the rest, menacingly. "I want you two to visit the ruins and put a stop to this menace before it grows too powerful for us to stop. If you prove your cunning and guile by completing this task, I will grant you both the promotion of agent." He said putting the orb away before turning to look towards both of them. "Are you ready?"
Elegos and Stellagosa both nodded to Senegos, humbly accepting his task.
"Good. You may head off when you wish, but do not wait too long, each second the elemental grows in power." He said.
"I'll bring it down." Stellagosa said with another confident smile before turning to leave. Already she could feel the excitement coursing through her veins. Today was the day she would finally join her fellow blue dragons. As she walked and thought to herself, she couldn't help but hear the sound of footsteps following behind her, knowing it was Elegos.
Stellagosa sighed. "I don't need his help. He already tried to show me up today and now he's just going to get in my way. I don't have time to babysit him." She thought to herself, irritated that he was her backup instead of someone she trusted like Ceregosa. She tried to get the thought of him out of her head and instead focus on her coming trial. "I haven't come this far to be defeated. Nothing will slow me down." She thought before raising her wings. With a mighty gust gathering under her wings, Stellagosa took flight, her eyes fixed on what was in front of her while trying to forget what was behind her. Nothing would stand in the way of her destiny. Not today.