Chapter 3-Mira Desert
The night was not something that Renna was used to powering through in one cautious, though nevertheless, hasty tromp betwixt the trees of the northern wood outside the safety of Warfang's walls. In fact, Renna could scarcely remember a time when she was outside the walls of Warfang without supervision from an older dragon. This was also the first time she could remember having the intention of staying awake until the start of the next day without getting a good night's rest. Always she had adhered to the guidelines set up for her to follow through childhood by her parents and later her instructors.
She was surprised to find that though the hour when she should have been tucked away under her mother's wing was long past, she was yet to feel the worse for it. She had expected the night to be utterly miserable and uneventful, measured out tediously by one dogged step through the underbrush after another. However, the sudden and unwavering thrill of setting out on an adventure with her friends invigorated her spirit in a way that she was altogether unfamiliar with. As she picked her way through brambles that slid harmlessly off her scales and leaped nimbly over gnarled, jutted roots with her friends, she felt in her chest the bursting energy of freedom. It was the excitement of danger, the fear of the unknown, and the drive of purpose all rolled together and she embraced it.
No mother out here to tell her which way was proper. No need for a father to shield her from the overbearing nature of the former. No master to point out this, that, and the other flaw in her form and instruct her on proper technique, drilling her over and over until she performed in a satisfactory manner. She was alone with her friends. The decisions that they were to make were theirs to decide with no resulting consequences save those life threw their way.
Renna bounded over another root and bounced off a boulder, maintaining her momentum as she rushed westward. She looked to her left where Tera and Sora ran wordlessly beside her. She glanced to the right and glimpsed Roxy pumping his powerful legs, his paws pounding across the forest floor, his muscular chest heaving in his effort to keep up with the lithe dragonesses in his party. After a couple hours, Renna ground to a halt and waited while her friends did the same. Tera and Sora appeared only mildly strained, but Roxy was heavier than the rest of them and required a moment to rest. After all, it would not do to tire themselves out after the first night of their journey.
Once they were gathered together Renna inclined her head to Roxy. "Need a break?"
Roxy sat and took several controlled breaths to lower his heartbeat. "Five minutes. And I need water."
Sora cocked her head and gave a quiet sniff. "There's some water about twenty yards that way." She pointed off to the left of the path they had been forging through the woods. About a minute walk in that direction revealed a narrow creek gurgling and lapping its way over rocks. The water was too shallow to expect to find fish in it later should they follow it further upstream during their trek, but it was clear and cool, which suited their present needs. After they had their fill they lay by the bank and rested their muscles while they caught their breath.
Renna tilted her head back and gazed wide eyed at the stars poking through the leafy canopy above. "Is it just me or are they a little brighter out here?"
Tera looked up and nodded once. "Yup. Without the lights of the city to blot them out, they have a bit more of a chance to shine out here."
"It's beautiful," said Sora.
Roxy looked up and cast his head about until he found the moons. He smiled and sat back, watching the two celestial bodies. "Before we left, Elleca and I agreed that we would always take a moment to look at the moons each night. That way it's like we're not really separated on account of the fact that we're looking at the same moons."
Sora's eyes twinkled as she looked upon the moons once more. "What a lovely sentiment. I wish Psy and I had of thought of that. Although, we have something else; we agreed to think of our favorite song before we go to sleep each night."
Tera gave a half-smile, one corner of her muzzle lifting ever so slightly. "Vera and I don't need anything like that. We can sense each other even from this distance. Though I do wish we could be close again. The separation makes my heart ache."
Renna looked away from the moons and the stars and glanced down at the crystal that hung at her breast. "And so long as I have this, it's like I'm actually carrying a little piece of Wither with me." She looked at each of her friends in turn and gave them the happiest smile she could muster. "So it's as you said, Roxy; we're not separate at all. We each carry the rest of our friends with us in here." Renna rested a paw over the crystal, and thus, over her heart.
"What about Wylee?" said Roxy.
Renna rose to her feet and said, "He is in our thoughts as well. Now come on. That's enough rest."
They traveled through the forest for several hours more, stopping only occasionally to drink at a nearby stream. When they walked, there was no need for words. Time felt much different as they passed between tree after fern after rock after bush. It moved much more slowly yet quickly at the same time. After what felt like something between an hour and a day, their surroundings began to seem steadily clearer.
After an indeterminate amount of time a groan broke the night long silence. "The sun's rising," said Roxy.
Renna and the rest of the dragonesses looked over their shoulders to confirm the unexpected statement. Sure enough, a tinge of pink filled the sky behind them, peeking through the leaves above. Renna urged everyone on for about another hour. The sky was significantly brighter by the time they reached the edge of the woods and the trees parted to reveal an open grassy meadow that stretched away into the distance. To the south was much the same as the west. However, the Roh River exited the woods a couple miles to the north. Its shimmering silver surface could be seen from the top of the knoll where they stood, surveying the land.
Renna pointed and said, "We need to get to the river before we settle down. We can try our paws at fishing when we wake up later. How's that sound?"
Everyone mumbled in agreement before heading back into the woods a ways and trudging further northward. Continuing through the trees was not as easy as it would have been walking through the grass, as Roxy was quick to point out. However, Renna agreed with him and then noted that it was a lot easier to spot a group of travelers when they weren't concealed by the trees. Roxy said no more and they continued on their way.
By the time they could hear the river Renna could tell that the others were exhausted. She held up a paw and said, "We'll sleep here. I'll take first watch, everyone get some rest."
Roxy flopped down on his side and shielded his face from the sun with a wing while Tera and Sora curled up and wrapped their tails around themselves. As they slept, Renna watched and listened to the forest all around. As the sun continued to rise, the noises of the night were steadily replaced by the stillness of the day. Nocturnal creatures were always so much noisier than those that operated under the sun. Now all she could hear was the inexorable rushing of the river in the distance. Out here in the wilds they appeared to be all the life in the world. But Renna knew better than to believe that.
The silence of the woods pressed upon her, heightening her awareness and putting her somewhat on edge. There was no reason to believe that just because they were no longer under the protection of the city they were now in terrible danger. Malefor appeared to be focusing all of his forces on Warfang, and he had no reason to believe that they had left the city. Even if he knew where they were, why should he care about a measly group of younglings? Really, it was Wither's group that was more in danger; Wither was the one he wanted. So there was no reason to believe that there was any trouble lurking about other than the natural predators of the area, which should be no match for four dragons, even of their youth. After all, they had each consumed enough blue crystals to give them the elemental powers of hundred year old dragons. They were each a force to be reckoned with on their own. Together, they were mighty indeed.
These thoughts put Renna at ease and she forgot the eeriness of the silence all around. Then she heard a twig snap behind her. She whirled around in an instant and caught a glimpse of a deer bounding away, frightened by her sudden movement. Renna settled down again, breathing slowly to calm her racing heart. This was silly. Her fears were not unfounded, but she realized how childish it was to let them control her so. Remain calm, but vigilant, she told herself as she stared out into the woods all around, pacing a circuit around her sleeping friends so that she could watch all sides. Plus, the movement kept her awake. Without the steady progress of moving forward, the roiling energy at her core last night had burnt out and left her feeling just as weary as her friends had looked before they collapsed where they lay.
And so it was with some relief that, after a couple of hours, Renna awoke Sora and switched out with her before curling up where Sora had lain before drifting off to sleep. It was Roxy who woke them up some hours later. Renna rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and looked up. It was just past high sun. It felt strange to not be on the wall observing the defense of Warfang with the rest of the dragons, cheetahs, and moles. They had a very different job ahead of them now. But that would have to wait. Renna's stomach gave a gurgle of complaint. It was already past time for her second meal of the day and yet she had had nothing since before leaving the city almost eighteen hours ago.
"All right everyone. Who's ready to go fishing? I know I'm starving."
They all made their way wordlessly down to the river. Renna soon learned that most of her friends were not morning people. After a few minutes they broke free of the northern end of the woods and arrived at the Roh River. It was quite a ways across. They would have to fly if they ever wanted to cross to the other side. Renna looked out over the water and scratched her head for a moment while she thought. "I've never actually fished before, come to think of it. I'm not sure I know how."
Sora took off and circled low over the water as a vulture would. After a few lazy loops she ducked down and attacked the surface of the river, sending a cold spray through the air. Just seconds later she rose up and flew to the bank, a sizable pike held firmly in her talons. She landed next to Renna and dropped the fish, already dead, upon the ground and tore into it.
"How did you do that on your first try?" asked Renna. She glanced around at the others to see if they were in just as much disbelief as she was.
Sora swallowed her first bite and said, "My parents used to take me fishing all the time. Once I learned how to fly, they taught me. I've been doing it for seven years now. I thought I told you this."
Renna shook her head. "Not that I remember. Maybe you told Psy. Do you think you could teach me?"
Sora nodded and took off once more. Tera and Roxy followed. As they circled Sora gave them all instructions. "Fly low and look at the water around you in general. Try not to focus too much on any one point. This river is full of fish, so it shouldn't take you long at all to locate some shadows moving through the water. Once you've got one in your sights, just do what comes natural." Sora swooped down and plunged her claws into the waters once more and brought up a bass before making her way back to shore with it.
Tera was the next to dive. She struck the water in much the same manner as Sora had, though the current nearly dragged her further into the river. She flapped her wings furiously in an attempt to break free and pulled her legs out of the rapids, gripping a wriggling trout in her claws. She let out a whoop of glee and flew to shore with Sora.
Emboldened by Tera's success, Roxy was the next to dive. He misjudged the speed and power of his descent and nearly submerged the entire lower half of his body. After flailing around for a couple seconds he pumped his wings desperately to break free of the water's embrace. He, too, came away with a pike much the size of the one Sora caught.
Renna looked down at the river's surface. Glistening flashes of silver and white surged past in an endless charge to the west. After a few seconds, Renna noticed shadows flitting about just below the surface. She turned from one group to another, trying to locate something sizeable, yet not too difficult to carry back to shore. Finally, she made her selection and dove. The water's chill was piercing, not that it bothered her too terribly as a dragon's body was built to weather the most biting cold and the most blistering heat. Still, the initial shock before her body adjusted her core temperature to cope was enough to make her gasp. She nearly inhaled a gulp of water and floundered about with her wings and paws, trying to stay aloft without getting pulled into the river while grasping for the fish that darted away beneath her blindly squirming body.
After only a few seconds she had to pull herself away from the river and rise up, empty pawed. She glanced over at her friends, her pride a bit wounded that she was the only one to come away unsuccessful. Sora waved her over, but Renna didn't want to give up. She looked down into the river again and found a few more shadows. She lunged forward and struck the water, writhing this way and that with her paws, her talons groping aimlessly at nothing. Once again she was nearly pulled into the river; once again she pulled herself away without a prize.
Faintly, over the roaring waters Renna could hear Sora telling her to come back and take the extra fish, but Renna wanted to give it one more try. She steadied herself on an updraft and sailed further upstream before looping back around and diving at an angle, moving with the current. She struck the water and lashed out with her claws, catching something between her razor sharp claws and pulled up laughing in triumph.
On the shore she could hear her friends laughing, too. At first she waved at them with a huge grin on her face, thinking they were cheering her on, but then she looked down and saw the trout she had captured was just large enough to fit in her mouth. Sourness welled up inside her and her claws, nearly rigid as stone, let go of the fish and allowed it to tumble back into the water below. She flew the rest of the way to shore and landed next to Sora.
Though Sora did her best to find a bemused smile, Tera and Roxy were still giggling at Renna's performance. "Why'd you let it go?" said Roxy. "You could have tucked it behind a horn to snack on later."
Renna gazed blankly at him, unamused by his joke. "I've never been fishing before. It was my first time."
"I'll say, you did nearly as poorly as I did my first time," said Roxy as he continued to chuckle to himself and eat his fish.
Renna perked up and looked at him. "You've fished before, too?"
He swallowed his bite and said, "Yeah, I didn't make a regular thing of it, and I'm certainly not as good at it as Sora is, but my parents would take me fishing with Elleca and her parents a couple times a year. You should have seen how awful I was at it the first time. I nearly drowned myself. My dad had to pull me out of the lake. Oh, and lake fishing is different from river fishing." He gestured to the river and said, "This is a lot more dangerous than doing it in a lake. And the current makes it a lot harder in my opinion, too. Even with your first time being in a river, you did great to catch something on your third try, even if it was that little appetizer."
"Oh, well that makes me feel a bit better then. Thank you. What about you, Tera? Have you ever been fishing before?"
Tera grinned and shook her head. "Nope, never. I guess I just got lucky."
Renna blinked and turned to Sora, who pushed the second fish she caught toward Renna. "Don't worry about it. You just need some practice is all. It wasn't any trouble for me to catch an extra. It's all yours."
Renna started in on her fish and looked up after a few moments of chewing. "Hey, Tera. Any news on the others?"
Tera frowned and swallowed her bite of trout before shaking her head. "Don't get too excited. I won't be able to tell you much until we meet up later. This amount of distance makes the connection too weak to know exactly what's happening to Vera, but if anything bad had happened to her, I would know about it."
Renna nodded and said, "At least that much is comforting to know."
"What about you?" said Tera as she eyed the crystal on Renna's necklace. "Can't you talk to Wither through that thing?"
Renna cocked her head and touched the black gem that Wither had given her for protection from forces unknown after Holly, the last Life Master and an ancestor, had told Renna that she could sense particularly dire danger in her future. The crystal was an exceedingly powerful magical artifact, and indeed, she did not know all that she was capable of accomplishing with it. It hadn't come with an instruction manual. And Wither had told her only the things that he knew how to do with his own power. The limits of the gem's capabilities were set mostly by her imagination.
Now that she imagined using it to speak with Wither, she held the thing in a paw and thought for a moment. "He uses the nothingness to eliminate the distance between two points so that they're right next to each other. That's how he shifts and listens to conversations from afar. But I can't visualize the space between us. It's too big and I've not seen it all myself. I need to be familiar with the space in between us."
Renna dug her claws into the pebbles on the shore, scattering them about. "We should have planned this out better. It doesn't matter that you and your sister are separated. We're still cut off from each other."
"Hey, that's not true," said Roxy. The bulky earth dragon leaned forward and placed a paw on Renna's shoulder. "You said it yourself. In our own ways we carry our friends with us in our hearts. So long as we keep pushing forward and don't look back, we'll see our friends again. But for now, our memories and the promise of making more with them will have to see us through the rest of this journey. Don't get so down. This is only the beginning. We have so much more to see."
Renna looked up and gave Roxy the brightest smile she could muster. Her scales brightened a fraction and a dreariness that had clouded her mind fled her at Roxy's words of encouragement, replaced by the same fire of freedom and the unexplored unknown from the night before. "You're right. I'm sorry. This is just new to me. It's all so sudden it's got me all out of sorts, but it's exhilarating, too. I just can't settle my thoughts on it all."
"Don't feel like you're alone," said Sora. She placed a paw on Renna's, her eyes crinkling, forming her trademark picture of sincerity and compassion. "This is hard for all of us, but exciting, too. Try not to focus too much on the negative. Acknowledge it, for it is there, but don't let it own you. It will do you no good, only pain and worry. Embrace life, and the newness that it still contains for you. There will come a day when that'll be gone for good and you'll miss it. Don't miss it all the more for never having enjoyed it."
Renna brightened all the more at Sora's words. "You always know just what to say."
Sora hummed and stood, turning to look out over the plains that stretched into the west. "We had best make a plan on how we're to get to where we're going. It may be a bit more difficult than it appears. From here it looks like there's nothing but open fields from here to the desert. If we try to cross that, there'll be no cover for who knows how long. There'd be no shelter, nowhere to hide, no advantageous ground to fight from. Food and water shouldn't be a problem if we follow the river, but where there's water there's life. Other creatures will flock to it. Some are bound to be native to these lands. Others? Who knows? We really have no way of knowing if Warfang is the only location Malefor is focused on. We already know he took four other lands for Arragor and his fellow delinquents prior to his campaign against Warfang. Perhaps he has expanded his territories in the interim."
Renna looked past Sora as she spoke. The grasslands fled into the distance to merge with the sky on the horizon. The only noticeable movement was the wind tousling the grass in rippling waves. To the right the Roh River wound a snake trail into the distance. On the left there were a few rolling hills that eventually diminished the further westward they went. On the other side of the river were more fields. Although these were suddenly and violently replaced by the scarred and ruined Burned Lands that surrounded the mountain that Malefor called his home.
There was no need to discuss traveling any closer to those cursed lands. Everyone had agreed in their meeting in the library that they would give the Burned Lands, and thus, the Dark Master himself, a wide berth. It was too dangerous for any of them to confront Malefor until they had heard the Chronicler's wisdom. That was the weapon that would grant them the power they desperately needed over their foe.
Renna cast her thoughts aside and looked between her friends. "There's no helping it. We'll have to cross the plains. There's no other way. But you're right, Sora. It is dangerous. We'll be totally exposed while we're out there. The safest way is to wait in the woods until nightfall and make as much progress as we can while under the cover of darkness."
Tera gave Renna a skeptical side glance and eyed her up and down. "I like your plan, Renna. I really do. But, uh, you're not exactly that stealthy even in the dark, if you know what I mean."
Renna looked down and noticed a few dots of light dash around her paws on the ground with her head movement. "Oh," was all she could think to say. She looked up and saw all of her friends scrutinizing her with appraising looks on their faces. Renna threw up her arms. "Well, it's not my fault I'm so bright. I am a light dragon, after all. It's not like I can dim this down," she said as she gestured to her glistening scales. "It just comes natural."
Tera scratched her chin for a moment in thought before waving Renna's defensive comments aside. "No, no. You're right about it not being your fault. But you're wrong about not being able to turn it down."
Renna cocked her head in confusion. "Huh? I don't follow. What are you saying?"
Roxy grinned then and said, "Does this mean Renna's going to be a dirty dragoness?"
Renna reared her head back at the unexpected comment. "I beg your pardon?"
Roxy dug his claws into the ground and raked the pebbles aside. "Oh, get your mind out of the gutter." He raised his paw toward her, rubbing the mud he had scooped up between his claws.
Renna felt her wings droop a little and she let out a huff. "Oh. Great. Problem solved."
After the last light faded from the evening sky the four of them took flight, leaving the woods behind them to barrel over the plains as fast as their slowest companion. Sora had to take it slow so as to not lose her friends, and even Tera appeared as though she did not have to exert herself as much as she had anticipated. Roxy slowed them ever so slightly. His wings were still not powerful enough to carry his bulky frame at great speed for extended periods of time. But of them all, Renna suspected that it was she who had the worst time of it.
Tera's solution to her natural radiance was efficient, if disdainful. Her friends had slathered her entire body with river mud in the late afternoon. It coated her scales with its brown, slimy, sticky substance. At first, it hadn't been too bad, as they had started with her back and sides. Then came the underbelly, which tickled more than she would have liked to admit. Though as embarrassing as her fits of laughter at her friends' application of the muck to her underside was, the process became more unpleasant as it went. Sora and Tera applied more to her tail and backside while Roxy carefully covered her face and neck. Having the goop cling around her eyes and over her snout was a terribly uncomfortable sensation that drove her to the urge to jump in the river and roll around under the water until she was utterly clean.
Of course, she couldn't fulfill this desire and was instead forced to wait in the woods with her friends while the paste dried on her body. Some of it cracked and flaked off, but for the most part she was enveloped in the stuff. Now she flew beside her friends and tried not to pick at the cloaking armor that covered her head to tail. Some spots were still semi-visible after some of the pieces fell off, but from a distance, she would have been more difficult to spot than any other member of the group.
"How are you holding up, Renna?" said Sora.
"Dirty," said Renna with a self pitying whimper. "My mother would faint if she could see me now. My scales have always been my pride and joy, and now I'm—I'm—"
"Camouflaged?" said Tera. "Get over yourself. You'll be fine. Who knows what sacrifices we'll have to make during this journey? If this is the worst thing that happens to you during the trip then you should count yourself lucky."
Renna knew Tera was right. Still, it did not do being this dirty. Renna would wash herself of the filth that choked her beauty the first chance she got, and before anyone else saw her in her current state.
Grunts of strain and effort sounded through the air behind Renna, and she looked over her shoulder to see what was the matter. "Everything okay back there, Roxy? Need a break?"
Roxy kept huffing and pumping his wings, but refused to reply to Renna's query. After a few seconds it became apparent to her that this was because he couldn't afford the breath. She turned her head forward again and said, "Let's land for a bit. Roxy needs a breather."
They all spiraled down to the grass below and settled gently several yards from the river. Roxy lumbered over to the rushing waters and drank, though not too deeply so as to upset his stomach, there was still more traveling to be done. He came back over and settled down next to Tera with a sigh. "I needed a drink, and about five minutes, if that's okay with everyone."
Sora nodded silently, and looked at the sky. "The stars indicate that we've been flying for about six hours. I estimate that we have three hours until sunrise."
Renna's eyebrows shot up at this information. "Wow, Sora. I didn't know you could tell time by the stars."
"Hm? Oh, yes. Master Valorie taught us. Didn't Yarrow teach you that?"
Renna shook her head and said, "Yarrow was always concerned with elemental lessons. Between Wither not knowing what his was for the longest time and me being a light dragon, he thought that was far more important than anything else."
Sora placed one paw over the other and looked Renna in the eyes. "Why does the fact that you are a light dragon make elemental lessons such a priority in Yarrow's eyes?"
Renna shrugged her shoulders and said, "I don't know. I guess he thought I was too dangerous. He was always impressing on me how destructive light dragons can be and incorporated elemental control into every lesson. I guess it didn't work well enough. You know. Remember the supernova incident? If Wither hadn't been there to absorb my fury I would have destroyed Warfang."
"That was a long time ago," said Sora. "Your lessons were not sufficient to teach you the responsibility necessary to understand both what you are capable of and how to control it. You've learned since then through experience, which is the real teacher for some things, and you are remarkably better than you were before. Still, it's a pity Yarrow never had the time to teach you more survival skills or any basic knowledge regarding anything other than your elemental powers. As important as the topic may have been for you and Wither, such a superficial education makes you vulnerable in nearly every other way. It is the job of the elders to teach us about everything it takes to be a self sufficient dragon. I fear Yarrow's anxiety might have clouded his judgment against your favor. Still, it is not my place to question him. But it is yours. I would suggest confronting him about this once things are back to normal."
Renna said nothing. For the remainder of their brief rest, her thoughts were full of the implications that Sora's insight had revealed. Renna had missed out on many important lessons that the rest of the dragons of her generation had been given. She found herself realizing that other than knowing where they needed to go, she knew nothing about the actual journey. She had nothing to contribute, no applicable knowledge, no useful skills. All she had were her superior elemental abilities, and the crystal that Wither had given her. Sora could tell time by the stars. Sora knew how to fish. Tera had figured out a solution to keep her camouflaged. What else did her friends know that she didn't?
Being the strongest member of the group was empowering. It gave her a sense of duty. She was there to protect them, and was indeed their best chance of survival if they got into a physical battle. But was power like that virtue enough to lead? Wasn't more required of a leader than a firm paw with which to enforce one's will? Surely it didn't come down to who held the biggest metaphorical stick. Renna knew she had much to think about. Still, she set aside these thoughts when she noticed that her friends were rising to their feet and stretching their limbs in preparation for more flight.
"We're not far from the desert now," Roxy said as he flexed his wings. "The plains between the woods and the Mira Desert were roughly the same distance as the distance between the southern edge of the woods and the western one. We should get there a little after sunrise if nothing interrupts our flight."
The swishing of the tall grass all around them intensified as the wind picked up, blowing eastward. At first, Renna frowned at their misfortune, because the headwind would slow their progress through the air, but then she caught the faint scent of decay. Everyone else shifted uneasily on their feet and turned westward, scanning the bobbing grass off into the distance. "Do you smell that?" said Tera. "Something's died out here."
"So these plains aren't completely uninhabited," said Roxy. "It's a fertile place. There's plenty of vegetation for wildlife and water to spare at the river, like we said earlier. No reason to believe we're alone out here."
The wind kicked up again. This time the smell was much more powerful than before. Renna was immediately tensed and crouched low. She felt her pupils widen and her nostrils flare. Her ears tuned in even more to the minute sounds of the night over the endless rushing of the river. Still, there was nothing that could be heard or seen but the field of grass dancing in the wind. Even so, the odor of death hung thickly in the air now, growing ever more and more powerful.
By now all of her friends were glancing about just as she was, posed and at the ready. No one had to point out how unnatural it was that the scent was becoming stronger, nor what that meant. Whatever the source was, it was getting closer. Based on the strength of it, it was close enough now that they ought to see it if not for the tall grass.
Sora slowly raised a paw and swept it through the air left to right. A particularly heavy southerly wind came out of nowhere and flattened the grass in front of them for fifty yards. There, not thirty paces in front of them was a host of horrific creatures. They were dead. And they were not dead. Their flesh was bloated in places and sagging in others. Where once there had been fur there now were clumps and tufts remaining. In some places, the skin had fallen away and open wounds lay perpetually open. Hideous sores bulged, others elsewhere wept with a disgusting ooze. Bits and pieces of extremities were missing and a few had lost one or both of their eyes.
There were half a dozen of them, some standing stock still as if in shock of their sudden revelation by the unexpected wind, others twitching and jerking uncontrollably. They looked to be wilds dogs at one point in time, but no longer. They were now clearly twisted by magic most foul, for no creature so far gone could continue to linger without the help of the arcane. The real question was how could something like this have happened all the way out here?
As far as they knew, there was nothing for miles around. The mountain that Malefor called home was at least a day's flight northward from their current location. And Zar's undead warriors came from much further north all the way up at Dante's Freezer. Arragor fought with apes and Obsidius with the grublins; these couldn't have come from them either. Then Renna had a thought. These creatures weren't just dead. They looked as though they had been ravaged by some sort of disease. Rather, it was as if they had succumbed to the vilest of pestilence.
Now Renna had an idea as to why Warfang had remained unchallenged from the west for all these months. Xath had been busy elsewhere. And it appeared as though Renna and the rest of her group had traveled into his new territories. It was the only explanation for what she saw before them now.
Renna slowly leaned toward Sora and said just loud enough for her to hear, "I don't think they can fly. If we take wing, we should be safe."
One of the creatures, the most distorted of the bunch, gave a jerk. It fixed its hollow-eyed gaze on Renna and gave a stumbling lurch in her direction. Though it was just a step, she nearly took flight, her senses so heightened that the world seemed to slow around her. The dog-thing opened its mouth and leered at her with a haunting, unnatural expression. It moved its jaws and a gurgling, rasping noise sounded. The foulness in the air intensified.
Renna covered her face and forewent subtlety, instructing her friends to do the same. But the smell was no horrific attack. Rather, the near formless half-thing was clearing its throat of a repulsive black discharge that it spat upon the ground. It raised its head to blindly regard Renna again. "We have been expecting you."
Renna widened her eyes in shock. Roxy was visibly sent reeling at the simple statement. Sora and Tera stood their ground. Renna actually ventured a step forward, fighting the nauseating stench that threatened to overwhelm her. "Waiting for us? But how can that be? When you had no way of knowing that we were coming."
All of the dog-ish lumps of flesh and bone shuddered and gurgled, their jaws clacking and remaining teeth gnashing. The one that spoke continued. "We were given instruction by our master to patrol these lands for you. He claimed that you had all given up the safety of the city in favor of a stroll through Avalar. We did not think that he spoke truly, for it is a foolish thing you have done, but here you stand before us."
Renna felt a fresh wave of fear wash over her. She shifted her weight to her right paw and felt the crystal brush against her chest. "And who, may I ask, is your master to know such things when we've left only a day ago?"
Once more, all of the horrors shuddered and gurgled. Only then did Renna realize that they were laughing. "Our master is the very same which has plagued your city these past moons, the Dark Master, Malefor, himself."
Renna wrinkled her snout at the rankling odor that seemed to envelope them completely. "Malefor created you? He has never employed creatures quite so vile before. What fresh abominations are you?"
Any remaining shuddering and gurgling among the beasts came to a sudden halt and they all simultaneously glanced down before looking back up. The lead dog-thing spoke again. "Our apologies. The differentiation of every node in the web is most difficult with all these strands connecting us."
Renna turned her head to view the creature with a side glance. "Don't try to confuse us with meaningless talk. Answer me clearly or the time for talk is past."
"Oh, there is much time for talk," said the dog-thing. "We've all the time in the world for talk. There's no need to cut things so short. We speak truly. We are all one, you see. These creatures you see before you. Those which lurk elsewhere in these vast lands, both near and far. And then there's the blessed Creator, who watches all from our heart. We are known as Lord Pestilence, but in an earlier life those we knew referred to us as—"
"Xath," said Renna. The ghastly being inclined its head briefly in recognition of the name its master used to go by.
"Still your tongue, Renna. That name is no longer who we are."
Renna was about to give a retort, but stopped when she saw Sora slowly step forward. Renna glanced at her and saw the unmistakable expression of disbelief and comprehension. She stepped past Renna and walked a few steps further before stopping and inspecting the horrid things with great scrutiny. Finally, in a hushed voice that was just barely over a whisper, she asked, "Xath? Is that really you in there?"
The dog-ish horror tossed its head and gave a snarl. "That is not our name! We are Pestilence now. You may preface it with Lord or General or not at all, but that name is no longer who we are." The creature settled down, taking several slow, wheezing breaths to calm itself.
Then it raised its head and held the pose for a moment before lowering its eyeless gaze to Sora once more. This time it spoke in a different voice. "But yes. It is I who speaks through these once wild coyotes. Very perceptive Sora. You always were such a clever dragoness. I have always admired that about you, you know. Perhaps, in my youth, I did not always show it properly, but I have grown since…"
Renna looked back at Sora and saw that she was trembling. She took a shaky breath. "That day. In the park."
The creature let out something akin to a whine before continuing. "I can never take back what I did to you, only apologize and move forward. I know what I was like, what I've been like. Psy broke something inside me that day, and I was unable to do anything about it. But Malefor has used his magic to fix it, and improved me a thousand times over after that. You should see me now. I reign supreme at the top of the tallest tower of the castle that looms over Concurrent Skies. I am as a king, more, a god to the people I have filled my kingdom with these past moons.
"And you want to know the best thing about my kingdom, Sora? No one is different. No one is misunderstood. No one is made fun of or looked down on because of what they are or are not. We are—"
"All one," the dog-ish, half-living thing said, finishing in its original voice. "You've no idea what it's like, this sense of community, of belonging, of connectedness, of universal and unconditional love. We have achieved utopia. And we would accept you all into our world. Fear not, the beings you see before you were not self aware. They were not deserving of the Paragon Strain that you would receive. They are more like pets and received only the Degenerate Strain as a result."
Sora backed away slowly until she was just behind and beside Renna. "We're fine as we are thanks," said Tera.
The zombified dogs turned as one, appearing to notice the other dragoness for the first time. "We don't recall asking. Often times people don't know what's best for themselves. But you will."
The creatures lurched forward only to dash directly into a solid wall of stone that erupted from the earth. "Let's get out of here," said Roxy.
They all took wing and left the snarling dogs lashing furiously at the air. As they soared up and westward a voice rapidly shrinking into the distance echoed up at them. "We are legion. We have eyes everywhere. There is nowhere you can go where we cannot see you."
For the next six hours they traveled as fast as they could. The flight was filled with a sense of unease and haste. Though none of them said anything, it was clear that neither of them were too keen on landing any time soon.
As the sun started to come up behind them, the world grew nearly imperceptibly brighter until more details of what lay below could be made out. The tall grasses of the plains thinned and the fertile soil steadily lightened in color as they flew on. The grass by the banks of the river never fully faded away, but the greenery of the landscape had all but vanished an hour after the soil of the plains had been utterly replaced by a sea of sandy dunes that stretched past the horizon.
The land wasn't the only thing to change. The very air felt desolate as well. It was dry and hot, and yet, somehow wonderful. As the sun rose ever higher in the sky the heat became ever more and more intoxicating. Several times Renna felt her eyelids dip as well as her wings and the rest of her body. She had to shake herself awake and widen her eyes as much as she could in an effort to keep them open. The fourth time she caught herself losing altitude she noticed that the others were having much the same trouble.
Finally, she performed several circling loops before descending to the earth below. When she landed, her paws touched down on the unfamiliar texture of the sand. It was mesmerizing how it melded to the shape of her paws and radiated a firm, unwavering heat. As the others landed next to her they, too, admired the feeling of the sand beneath their pads as they dug their claws in and flexed their toes.
"Wow, this place is amazing," said Roxy with a poorly concealed yawn. "I thought the Mira Desert was supposed to be brutal the way moles and cheetahs describe it."
"Their bodies aren't designed to cope with the heat," said Tera as she lay down and stretched out on the sand. "It's unbearable to them. But for dragons, the desert is a paradise. It's sunny all day every day and the sand holds in all the heat. It's the best place to sun yourself in all of Avalar."
"And as long as we stay close to the river," Sora said, "we shouldn't have to worry about food or water while we're here. That's what's most dangerous about the desert. There's almost no source of water or food if you go deeper in, and it takes two days to get through it. Two days without food is okay, but water is a necessity for life."
"So we'll stay close to the river," said Roxy as he flopped on his side next to Tera.
Renna watched as Sora's face lined with worry. "I'm not so certain it'll be that easy. If Xath is holed up in Concurrent Skies like he said, and those creatures were way out on the plains behind us, there's certain to be more of them along the way. Concurrent Skies lies close to the western most point in Avalar right up by the coast. The mainland tappers of into a narrow peninsula out there, but several dozen miles from the tip, where the peninsula is at its widest, the crystal fields of Concurrent Skies begin. It would take us three days to get there from here."
Renna looked over at the river in sudden understanding. "Oh, I see what you're saying."
"Yes," said Sora. "Two days west of here is where the crystal fields begin. That means there's nothing but desert between here and Concurrent Skies. So for those creatures to survive out here, many of them must stay close to the river. They may be twisted by dark magic, but I'm betting they still need water. Which means staying by the river all the way through the desert may be too dangerous. This segment of our journey may be tougher than you realize."
Roxy stared down at the sand. He appeared to be fighting sleep while trying to figure out a way around the conundrum. "So, we'll figure it out. For now, I say we take a nap. I'm falling asleep just lying here."
"We can't just fall asleep in the middle of the open," said Tera. "Some of those creatures might come by and see us. We're totally unprotected out here."
Sora cast her gaze about the dunes to the south and west. "That's something else I was afraid of. There's really no cover to speak of in the desert. This is about as good as it gets right here. The only thing I can think of to make the situation somewhat safer is to head south just a bit and camp out just over one of those dunes. At the very least we might be protected against watchful eyes passing by the river."
"All right. Let's do it," said Roxy as he sluggishly rose to a sitting position.
"First things first," said Renna. "I am not going another minute with all this dried muck on me. I feel awful. I'm washing it off in the river before we go."
Sora placed her paws together and looked Renna in the eyes. "I understand your discomfort, Renna, and I'm sorry you've had to fly around like that all night, but perhaps it would be wise to continue to carry on like that while we're in Xath's territory. You're easy to spot on the plains, but you're impossible to miss in the desert. If you wash your dirt off, anything within a mile of us will be able to see you if we fly or crest the dunes. Flying will be the quickest way out, but if we're forced to walk, I imagine weaving between the dunes has a bit of a disorienting effect. We could wind up going in circles. That would almost certainly get us killed.
"I'm sorry to say it, but I think it best for the group as a whole if you continue to wear that stuff. Though perhaps a trip to the river would be prudent. I think we could all use a drink and a meal. Plus, you actually need to apply more mud. Some of your scales are shining through in places where more of it has flaked off."
Renna made a mental effort not to protest rather loudly against Sora's advisements. For try as she might, Renna couldn't think of a solid reason why washing the dried mud off her body would be a good idea. She turned her back so Sora couldn't see her pouting and said, "Fine. Let's just go."
Half an hour later their bellies were full of river fish, their thirsts were quenched, and Renna was coated in even more cool, damp river mud. Though she had hated subjecting herself to being covered in the muck, she found that the chill of it sharpened her senses and broke her out of the soothing lull of the desert heat. Alert and revitalized, she could see clearly now that her friends were sluggish and unfocused. Roxy was looking around blankly with hooded eyes and a pleased expression on his face. Tera kept stretching her body out on the sand and dozing every chance she got. Even Sora, for all her survival skills, was yawning and nodding off regularly, only to jerk her head up once her chin touched her chest.
Renna cleared her throat and gained their attention. "This heat is making you all sleepy. I think the desert may be more our enemy than you imagined, Sora. If there's one thing I learned outside of elements in class, it's that dragons are always calmed by hot, arid climates. Granted, I learned it while reading the Book of Light, because light dragons can create weather like that, but that's neither here nor there. We won't be able to get much done during the day here. We need to take shelter now and try to get going once evening rolls around."
Sora hardly possessed the strength to argue at this point. She merely nodded sleepily and urged the others on with Renna's help. They grudgingly lifted their wings and took off to drift lazily over the nearest dunes and settled on the other side of the closest one. Renna agreed to take the first watch and the rest of the group was asleep in minutes.
At first, standing guard was easy for Renna. The mud coating her body protected her from the gentle caress of the heat radiating from the sand. However, not long after her friends were asleep the mud on her scales dried and the coolness it had provided was sucked out into the vast expanse of the desert air. The layer of dirt shielded her a bit more for a time, but eventually the desert claimed her and she drifted off without even realizing it.
The sun was low in the western sky by the time Renna was awoken by a sudden shaking. "Wake up. What are you doing? You were supposed to wake one of us to take your shift."
That was Roxy. Renna looked around and immediately her heart skipped a beat. "Wait, what? What time is it? Whoa, no way. I'm so sorry. I don't even remember falling asleep. The desert, it must have made me lose control of my senses, too."
"It's okay," said Sora quietly. "No harm was done this time, but in the future we need to be more careful. I fear it is as you said earlier, Renna. The heat of the day here will sap us of our energy. But at night the desert is just as cold as the day is hot. It will steel us. We must make as much progress as possible if we are to escape unscathed."
And so they set off. They flew a bit further south away from the river before flying west through the desert. They took their first break just as the sun's last light disappeared over the horizon. They flew back toward the river for another drink and to catch another much needed meal.
As they sat finishing the last of their catch Renna said, "So how much longer do you suppose it'll take to get through this desert?"
"We're not even half way through it yet," said Roxy. "We kind of just started, you know? We need to travel all night tonight and tomorrow night and then we'll be at the edge of the desert, assuming all goes well. Right Sora?"
Sora didn't answer. Renna looked up from the scraps of her meal as she discreetly spit out a few fish scales. "You all right Sora?"
Renna saw Sora looking past her. She turned around and looked to the east. There, about a hundred yards away were the six dog-things. They were running with a speed that seemed impossible for the healthiest of creatures let alone such decayed, broken things. They would be on them in seconds.
Renna stood as quick as she could and raised a paw. White hot light burst forth and enveloped the foremost creature. When the light vanished, there was a pathway of glass stretching between Renna and the dog-things. There were only five now, with no traces of the other.
Still, they did not appear daunted in any way. Sora twirled a claw in the air in front of her and a whirlwind formed, creating a twister of spiraling sand. The column surrounded the creatures and buffeted them with a barrage of disorienting debris. Roxy joined in using both of his paws to motion in the air much as Sora did. His movements corresponded with a great upheaval of sand that was dumped into the miniature tornado. As the air around the dog-things thickened, Tera sat and concentrated with her eyes closed, though nothing happened.
For several long seconds the tornado tore away at the dogs-things before three of them jumped free of the torrent of wind and sand. It was at this point that Tera finally appeared to finish with what she was doing and stood. "Don't look at me," she said as she opened her eyes. After seeing the elemental tricks of the dragons, the dog-things were prepared to dodge out of the way of this new assault. However, only one was quick enough to heed her warning to her friends and look away in time. The other two suddenly fell to the earth and moved no more.
The final dog-thing flinched violently and let out a terrified yelp as its two companions died and shrugged off whatever mysterious affliction ailed it. It rushed forward and made to slash at Sora. Just moments before it reached its mark Renna reared up and shouted, "Be gone!"
The dog-thing let out a howl and was suddenly enveloped in a writhing cloud of impenetrable darkness. When the cloud shrank away to nothing, the dog-thing was gone.
For a few fleeting moments, Renna's heart pounded with the residual fear of the unexpected assault. After a few seconds to come to terms with the fact that the danger had passed she ran to Sora. "Are you all right? It didn't touch you, did it? It got awfully close."
Sora shook her head wordlessly and stared at the ground between her paws. Renna pat her gently on the back and looked up at Roxy and Tera. "Nice teamwork guys. Especially you, Tera. What was that?"
Tera flicked her tail with a little extra flourish and raised her head. "Gorgon Gaze. Ever hear the phrase "if looks could kill?" Well, let's just say that to fear dragons dying of fright is a common concept. Though the technique is difficult, but I was top of my class. Plus, all those blue crystals we absorbed help."
Roxy was standing in place and looking all around as the others spoke and finally joined in the conversation. "Hey, I don't mean to be a downer or anything, but ever consider that there might be more of those things heading this way? I mean, think about it. They found us all the way out here without a trail and despite the fact that we flew. They would have had to run on foot from the time we ran from them back on the plains to now to get here. That means that they're pretty darn tireless, and they knew exactly where to find us. In case none of you can remember, they said that they have eyes everywhere. Not to mention the fact that they're all connected, so if we killed them here—"
"Others will be here soon," said Renna.
"Yeah," said Roxy. "I vote we leave. Now. And don't stop until we can't move our wings anymore."
In wordless agreement the four of them took to the skies and soared farther westward, trailing south to leave the river. After mere minutes in the air, a few black dots appeared on the horizon. There were some coming from the northwest, presumably following the river, which was now just out of sight. Others drifted into view more to the south. As they continued to fly, it became steadily more obvious that these dots were moving across the sands. It was impossible to say how many there were. The distance between them and the shimmering heat of the desert blurred them together and masked their true numbers. There could have been a couple dozen or possibly several hundred.
"It's them," said Roxy after a couple minutes of trying to discern what they were. "They're traveling through the desert, looking for us. We need to land or they'll see us for sure if they haven't already."
Everyone agreed and drifted down to the sands below to hide amidst the dunes. When they touched down the sand was still warm beneath their feet, but already it was beginning to cool. Night was only a couple hours away. As they stood between the dunes looking up and around a dry wind blew sand in their faces, forcing Renna to wince and cover her face with a wing. "What are we going to do? Everything looks the same down here. And did you see them up there? They're coming toward us from the north and southwest. They'll have us in a pincer with the hour if we're not careful."
"We have to move carefully," said Sora. "We can work our way through the dunes and climb them periodically to see what's around us. It'll be harder and progress will slow down considerably, but it's the only way to get through the area undetected."
"Even then it's not a sure thing," said Roxy.
Tera looked over at him and gave him a nudge. "We'll make it. Just don't lose your cool. People make way more mistakes when they're afraid."
Roxy looked as though he was going to say more, then nodded and started walking forward. The rest of them joined him. Renna jogged a few steps and took the fore, ready to head off any danger should they be surprised. The wide, sweeping canyons between the dunes towered above them like massive land whales. The heat of the sand ebbed away as the sun continued to dip toward the horizon. Down in the valleys it was already a strange, deeply shadowed twilight, though sunset was still over an hour away. Wind moaned between the dunes, picking up sand and tossing it into their faces or carrying it away to be rejoined with more sand. A couple of minutes into the trek Renna looked over her shoulder and saw that their footprints were erased by the ever shifting sands just a couple dozen yards from where they walked. Good. The easier to move undetected, she thought as they pressed forward.
After half an hour Roxy climbed one of the dunes and peeked over the top in an effort to get a look at their surroundings. He stayed low so as to remain unseen by any other watchful eyes. When he returned, sliding down the sandy slope, he gave his report. "I didn't see anything. Those figures we saw earlier are nowhere to be seen."
Everyone took a moment to digest this unsettling information. "They've moved into the dunes," said Sora. "They're using them to hide just as we are. We'll not notice them until they're right on top of us."
"What do we do?" said Tera.
Sora sat in silence for a full minute. Renna looked around where the slopes of the dunes curved away, blocking their line of sight. The shadows were deeper than before now. And the wind kicked up more sand now and again, giving the faint impression of movement. "We can't stay here," she said. She looked at them all in turn. "We have to keep moving. If we stop we're done for."
As she said this a small trickle of sand cascaded down the slope of the dune next to them. All of them looked up, but there was nothing. Silently, they ran through the canyon. The sand muffled their footfalls, but also served to hinder their passage. All that could be heard was the gentle disturbance of the sand beneath their feet and the moaning of the wind between the dunes. The air suddenly grew cold. The desert was losing its heat at a more rapid pace now and Renna could feel a chill working its way down her spine.
A flicker of movement. Her head snapped to the top of the dune that bisected the end of the canyon. All that could be seen was another miniature avalanche of sand. She stopped. She felt her friends halt behind her. The wind died down for a brief moment. Renna could hear her heart beating in her ears. In little more than a hushed whisper barely loud enough for herself to hear she said, "They're here."
Howling figures surged over the crests of the dunes and down the slopes on all sides. They were completely surrounded. The wind kicked up again. It now carried with it the foul taint of the creatures' presence. They came in all shapes and sizes, gamboling, sliding, and lunging their way toward their quarry. Some were like the dog-things from the plains. Others were more serpentine. Others bore wings and the remnants of once proud, beautiful plumage, which now was worn away in patches along with goodly portions of flesh and bone.
There were at least a couple dozen of them this time. As they approached they let out chattering squeals and grunts of excitement. When the closest was thirty feet away, Renna blasted it with another all consuming beam of light. The dune was instantly scored with a trail of molten glass, and several other creatures which had been unfortunate enough to be in close proximity to her target were set ablaze.
Their howls never turned to cries of agony, however. They still lumbered onward, seemingly unaware of their burning flesh. Renna continued to give off bursts of devastating light energy, utterly vaporizing her foes one by one by means of photonic immolation. It amazed her how easy it was to completely destroy them. Each time she dipped into her magic and willed white hot beams of blinding light into existence, another life was extinguished, leaving nothing but faint, elongated shadows of their forms scorched into the sands of the dunes before they, too, were swept away by the wind.
Behind her, she vaguely registered sounds of her friends slaying more of the monstrosities together. She was swallowed up by her task, firing beam after beam of light until the creatures on her side were no more. Thirteen times she used her magic, and thirteen of the creatures met their end. And all she had to do was stand in place with her paw outstretched. When the last of them was gone she stared down at her paw. She realized that she was shaking.
"Renna! We need your help." That was Tera.
Renna whirled around and saw that her three companions were attempting to fight off far more of the creatures than had appeared on Renna's side. At least as many as she had killed already lay dead and twice as many remained. Renna swallowed the lump in her throat and moved past Sora, who was using her wings to kick up a small sandstorm. She passed Roxy and Tera, moving the fear dragoness out of the way to stand before the teeming field of creatures. There were far too many. She would have to use the crystal.
As she moved her paw toward her chest another shrieking howl filled the canyon. All of the half dead abominations faltered for a brief moment. The call had not been from one of their own. Then a figure soared low over one of the dunes and swept over the battlefield. A ripple of explosions bloomed in its wake, sowing confusion and despair among the horde of vicious animals. The figure did a u-turn and doubled back for another pass. More firebombs detonated below it as it passed the battlefield.
By now Renna could see that the mysterious attacker was a youngling fire dragon. He cleared the segment of the canyon that was filled with furious, writhing bodies and touched down to charge into the fray. Some of the creatures turned their focus to this new threat and were quickly dealt with by fiery blasts that erupted from his maw. He let out a whoop of glee and tumbled through the battlefield, setting himself on fire and biting the end of his tail like an ouroboros before rolling through the ranks of wretched enemies.
With his upset to confuse their foes, the tide of the battle was turned and Renna, Tera, Sora, and Roxy fought their way through the creatures, using magic to kill them all, as they were too dangerous to touch. Within minutes the last creature was lit ablaze by the mystery assailant and fell bubbling and twitching to the sands, its smoldering remains lighting the canyon with oily, flickering flames.
The fire dragon walked toward the group and stopped just a few feet away from them. He looked them all up and down as though he were more surprised to see them than the hideous monsters he had just helped them kill. Then he gave them a lopsided, toothy grin and snickered. He shoved his paw forward in an awkward gesture and cheerily greeted them. "My people! That was awesome! You guys rock. What up? The name's Quincy."
